In the third book, the young magic-users travel to Dondar, a beautiful land of purple skies and blue grass. It is also home to Garonath, the unfriendly wizard of forms. With help from their unicorn friends, they fight his magical monsters, but they soon fall into the hands of Sarman, the evil magician who wants to rule the Diadem . . . and needs their souls to accomplish his despicable mission! But the ultimate battle lies ahead when they must face the Triad and discover what the mysterious Diadem rulers have been planning all along.
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About the Author
John Peel was born in 1954 in Nottingham, England. He attended Nottingham University and began his writing career as the editorial assistant for England's Apparel Production and Marketing. He later worked as a comic-strip writer for Marvel Comics in London, and was until recently the overseas television critic for England's Starburst magazine. Since immigrating to the U.S.A. in 1981, John Peel has worked as a contributing writer and editor for numerous media-based magazines. He now writes novels full-time from his home on Long Island, where he resides with his wife, Nan, their wirehair fox terrier, Dashiell, their orange, spotted tabby, Amika, and their miniature pinschers, Loki (aptly named after the Norse god of mischief and destruction), Bartleby, Shadow, Reggie, Tievel, Rocky, Anubis Princess and Lady Penelope.
He has just sold his first film script, Haunting Adrian, which is expected to commence shooting in the near future.
He has just sold his first film script, Haunting Adrian, which is expected to commence shooting in the near future.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
p r o l o g u e
Sarman sat upon
his throne, brooding.
Carved from a single immense diamond,
the throne sparkled in the lights
of the huge room. In front of the throne
was a large, polished mirror, upon which
flickered images that Sarman was only
half watching. Around the room, the
Shadows writhed and shifted, waiting
for orders from their Master.
"They may be getting too good,"
Sarman mused, stroking his dark beard.
He shook his head. "They are only
children, though, and still new to magic. How good
could they possibly be?"
"They will be no match for you, sire," the closest
Shadow whispered. "No one is, not even the Three
Who Rule."
"The Three Who Ruled," corrected Sarman. "I am
the One Who Rules now. Don’t ever forget that." The
Shadow whimpered and retreated, realizing it had made
a potentially fatal mistake. Luckily for it, Sarman had
other things to concentrate on.
In the mirror, he could see forms of the three people
he was studying. "Score, Pixel, and Helaine," he
said softly. A street rat from Earth, a computer nerd
from Calomir, and a girl warrior from Ordin who had
begun by masquerading as a boy. Hardly the sort of
people one would expect to become great magicians.
And yet, these three were doing just that. They had
defeated and killed that idiot magician Aranak. They
had fought trolls and goblins, and then made friends
with the same goblins and a handful of centaurs. That
was unheard of in all the worlds!
Yes, these three were far more dangerous than he
had anticipated. But they were also absolutely necessary
to his plans. Sarman had seized power, but it was
taking too much out of him to maintain it right now.
He was a prisoner in his own fortress, chained to his
own throne. There was just one way to free himself,
and to roam the Diadem at large—his now by right of
conquest!
He needed these three brats here, where he could
kill them and absorb their power.
Right now, they had crossed over to Dondar, and
that was a short journey away from the center of the
Diadem, where he waited for them. He had to make
absolutely certain that they came to him.
"Shadows!" he cried. "To me!"
There was a hissing, a bubbling, and then, as swiftly
as they could, the Shadows seethed across the room
to hear his commands. He hated having to rely on
them, because none of them was overly bright, but
they were all he could use right now. For all of his
power, Sarman was reduced to catching glimpses of
the children in his mirror and having his dark agents
spy on them and nudge them in the right direction.
"Go to Dondar," he ordered the Shadows. "Watch
the three children. Make certain they head for the
Portal here. Don’t interfere unless you have to, but
they must come here! I need them." He lowered his
voice and stared about the room at the Shadows. "If
they don’t get here, for any reason, then I am going to
personally rip each and every one of you into tiny
shreds. And then I’ll kill you. I’m sure you all understand
me. Now, go! To work and make certain those
brats are here soon!"
The Shadows hissed their understanding of his
orders, and then writhed away toward the Portal to
Dondar. They would all do their best to see that his
orders were carried out. Soon, hopefully very soon, the
three children would be in his power.
And then he could drain them and kill them, and
he would be free once more.
Not very long now . . .
1
"Now, this is something
else," said
Score, awed at the scenery before him.
He and his companions had just stepped
through the Portal from Rawn and
emerged here on this new world, Dondar.
Rawn had been very pretty, but,
apart from its odd-colored trees, had
looked very much like Earth. It had
been almost easy to forget at times
that they were on an alien world.
But Dondar was very different.
The sky was a faint purple, touched here and there
by cotton-candy clouds. The grass was a rich blue
color. The trees that he could see were all tall and thin
and bent into strange shapes. Their leaves varied in
shades of blue, purple, and orange in a kaleidoscope of
color. There was no way that he could think, even for
a second, that this was Earth.
"I could almost get used to this," Pixel said, looking
around admiringly. "It’s really pleasant."
"And probably very dangerous," Helaine finished.
"Everywhere we’ve gone so far has been. We’d better
be prepared for trouble." Her eyes were scanning the
horizon already.
"Lighten up a little," Score told her. "We’ve only
just arrived. I’d say we have a good ten minutes before
we’re due to be attacked." He grinned to show he was
joking. "Anyway, it’s time to take stock, don’t you
think? We have to figure out what we’re doing."
"We’re following somebody else’s plan, as usual,"
Helaine growled. "I know we chose to do it, but I don’t
feel comfortable with it. I’d sooner be in charge." That
was true enough, Score knew. She was a warrior from
a world where women were supposed to do as they
were told. She’d pretended to be a boy named Renald
until recently so that she could get away with her
behavior.
The problem was that they needed more information.
All they knew for certain at the moment was
that they were being drawn somewhere by some
unknown enemy who controlled the Shadows. That
person didn’t want to kill them—at least not yet,
because the Shadows actually saved their lives once.
And there was someone else involved, trying to help
them, who was sending them cryptic messages and
pages of clues that they kept picking up—and that still
made very little sense.
And then there were the Three Who Rule. They
were the tyrants who controlled all of the worlds of the
Diadem from their central world that only magicians
could enter. But who were they? Right now, Score,
Helaine, and Pixel were on Dondar, one of the Inner
Circuit worlds and just a jump away from the Three’s
home base.
Helaine frowned. "If Shanara is correct," she said,
"then we’re being trained as weapons to fight the
Three, because we have tremendously strong magical
powers ourselves. And Oracle said that we will have to
face the Three before our journey is over."
"If we can believe a word he says," Score added. "I
still don’t trust him."
"Neither do I," agreed Helaine. "But it is possible
that he’s trying to help us, as he claims. Even if he does
talk in riddles and rhymes."
I do what I must; I do what’s allowed.
At least you’ll admit, I stand out in a crowd.
Score spun around, and saw that Oracle had simply
appeared, as he always did, without warning. He was
dressed completely in black, as usual, with a slightly
mocking smile on his face. They still didn’t know
much about him, except that he claimed he wasn’t
really real, and that he was trying to help them. On
the other hand, Shanara had believed he worked for
the Three Who Rule, which could make him an
enemy agent. And he’d also cheerfully betrayed each
of them at least once, while claiming it was for their
own good. He claimed that he was forced by the spell
that had created him to speak in rhymes all the time,
and that he couldn’t help giving them obscure comments
instead of direct help.
Oddly enough, that made some sort of sense to
Score. Though magic was everywhere in the Diadem,
it was strongest closer to the center and weakest at the
edges—where Earth was. Something had corrupted
the magic, though, and from time to time it wouldn’t
work properly. They’d almost been killed several times
when their magic had backfired without warning. If
Oracle had been created by magic, then he was probably
affected by this corruption, and unable to do what
he was supposed to do.
"Now what do you want?" Score grumbled. Every
time Oracle showed up, it usually meant trouble.
Your decision was wise to continue your quest
For you have reached the ultimate test.
More pages are here, more pages abound
And you shall not rest until they are found.
"Well," Helaine commented, "that’s a change.
Good news for once." She turned to Pixel. "That’s
your job, I imagine. You have the ruby."
They had discovered that their magical abilities were
intensified if they focused their minds through different
gemstones. Each one had a different property, and the
ruby enabled Pixel to locate the position of anything he
might want. Thanks to the goblins on their last world,
each of them now had four different gems. And Helaine
had the Book of Magic that explained how each jewel
could be used.
Oracle held up a hand.
Your quest continues as you meet with a stranger;
But first there will be, as always, a danger . . .
And he vanished, like a TV being turned off.
Score groaned. "That we needed to hear?" He
looked around, but everything seemed to be absolutely
peaceful. "Do you think he was kidding, just to get
a rise out of us?"
"If we assume that, we’ll be in big trouble," Helaine
replied. She now held her sword at the ready, and was
scanning the woods. "But I can’t see any trouble at
all."
"...
Sarman sat upon
his throne, brooding.
Carved from a single immense diamond,
the throne sparkled in the lights
of the huge room. In front of the throne
was a large, polished mirror, upon which
flickered images that Sarman was only
half watching. Around the room, the
Shadows writhed and shifted, waiting
for orders from their Master.
"They may be getting too good,"
Sarman mused, stroking his dark beard.
He shook his head. "They are only
children, though, and still new to magic. How good
could they possibly be?"
"They will be no match for you, sire," the closest
Shadow whispered. "No one is, not even the Three
Who Rule."
"The Three Who Ruled," corrected Sarman. "I am
the One Who Rules now. Don’t ever forget that." The
Shadow whimpered and retreated, realizing it had made
a potentially fatal mistake. Luckily for it, Sarman had
other things to concentrate on.
In the mirror, he could see forms of the three people
he was studying. "Score, Pixel, and Helaine," he
said softly. A street rat from Earth, a computer nerd
from Calomir, and a girl warrior from Ordin who had
begun by masquerading as a boy. Hardly the sort of
people one would expect to become great magicians.
And yet, these three were doing just that. They had
defeated and killed that idiot magician Aranak. They
had fought trolls and goblins, and then made friends
with the same goblins and a handful of centaurs. That
was unheard of in all the worlds!
Yes, these three were far more dangerous than he
had anticipated. But they were also absolutely necessary
to his plans. Sarman had seized power, but it was
taking too much out of him to maintain it right now.
He was a prisoner in his own fortress, chained to his
own throne. There was just one way to free himself,
and to roam the Diadem at large—his now by right of
conquest!
He needed these three brats here, where he could
kill them and absorb their power.
Right now, they had crossed over to Dondar, and
that was a short journey away from the center of the
Diadem, where he waited for them. He had to make
absolutely certain that they came to him.
"Shadows!" he cried. "To me!"
There was a hissing, a bubbling, and then, as swiftly
as they could, the Shadows seethed across the room
to hear his commands. He hated having to rely on
them, because none of them was overly bright, but
they were all he could use right now. For all of his
power, Sarman was reduced to catching glimpses of
the children in his mirror and having his dark agents
spy on them and nudge them in the right direction.
"Go to Dondar," he ordered the Shadows. "Watch
the three children. Make certain they head for the
Portal here. Don’t interfere unless you have to, but
they must come here! I need them." He lowered his
voice and stared about the room at the Shadows. "If
they don’t get here, for any reason, then I am going to
personally rip each and every one of you into tiny
shreds. And then I’ll kill you. I’m sure you all understand
me. Now, go! To work and make certain those
brats are here soon!"
The Shadows hissed their understanding of his
orders, and then writhed away toward the Portal to
Dondar. They would all do their best to see that his
orders were carried out. Soon, hopefully very soon, the
three children would be in his power.
And then he could drain them and kill them, and
he would be free once more.
Not very long now . . .
1
"Now, this is something
else," said
Score, awed at the scenery before him.
He and his companions had just stepped
through the Portal from Rawn and
emerged here on this new world, Dondar.
Rawn had been very pretty, but,
apart from its odd-colored trees, had
looked very much like Earth. It had
been almost easy to forget at times
that they were on an alien world.
But Dondar was very different.
The sky was a faint purple, touched here and there
by cotton-candy clouds. The grass was a rich blue
color. The trees that he could see were all tall and thin
and bent into strange shapes. Their leaves varied in
shades of blue, purple, and orange in a kaleidoscope of
color. There was no way that he could think, even for
a second, that this was Earth.
"I could almost get used to this," Pixel said, looking
around admiringly. "It’s really pleasant."
"And probably very dangerous," Helaine finished.
"Everywhere we’ve gone so far has been. We’d better
be prepared for trouble." Her eyes were scanning the
horizon already.
"Lighten up a little," Score told her. "We’ve only
just arrived. I’d say we have a good ten minutes before
we’re due to be attacked." He grinned to show he was
joking. "Anyway, it’s time to take stock, don’t you
think? We have to figure out what we’re doing."
"We’re following somebody else’s plan, as usual,"
Helaine growled. "I know we chose to do it, but I don’t
feel comfortable with it. I’d sooner be in charge." That
was true enough, Score knew. She was a warrior from
a world where women were supposed to do as they
were told. She’d pretended to be a boy named Renald
until recently so that she could get away with her
behavior.
The problem was that they needed more information.
All they knew for certain at the moment was
that they were being drawn somewhere by some
unknown enemy who controlled the Shadows. That
person didn’t want to kill them—at least not yet,
because the Shadows actually saved their lives once.
And there was someone else involved, trying to help
them, who was sending them cryptic messages and
pages of clues that they kept picking up—and that still
made very little sense.
And then there were the Three Who Rule. They
were the tyrants who controlled all of the worlds of the
Diadem from their central world that only magicians
could enter. But who were they? Right now, Score,
Helaine, and Pixel were on Dondar, one of the Inner
Circuit worlds and just a jump away from the Three’s
home base.
Helaine frowned. "If Shanara is correct," she said,
"then we’re being trained as weapons to fight the
Three, because we have tremendously strong magical
powers ourselves. And Oracle said that we will have to
face the Three before our journey is over."
"If we can believe a word he says," Score added. "I
still don’t trust him."
"Neither do I," agreed Helaine. "But it is possible
that he’s trying to help us, as he claims. Even if he does
talk in riddles and rhymes."
I do what I must; I do what’s allowed.
At least you’ll admit, I stand out in a crowd.
Score spun around, and saw that Oracle had simply
appeared, as he always did, without warning. He was
dressed completely in black, as usual, with a slightly
mocking smile on his face. They still didn’t know
much about him, except that he claimed he wasn’t
really real, and that he was trying to help them. On
the other hand, Shanara had believed he worked for
the Three Who Rule, which could make him an
enemy agent. And he’d also cheerfully betrayed each
of them at least once, while claiming it was for their
own good. He claimed that he was forced by the spell
that had created him to speak in rhymes all the time,
and that he couldn’t help giving them obscure comments
instead of direct help.
Oddly enough, that made some sort of sense to
Score. Though magic was everywhere in the Diadem,
it was strongest closer to the center and weakest at the
edges—where Earth was. Something had corrupted
the magic, though, and from time to time it wouldn’t
work properly. They’d almost been killed several times
when their magic had backfired without warning. If
Oracle had been created by magic, then he was probably
affected by this corruption, and unable to do what
he was supposed to do.
"Now what do you want?" Score grumbled. Every
time Oracle showed up, it usually meant trouble.
Your decision was wise to continue your quest
For you have reached the ultimate test.
More pages are here, more pages abound
And you shall not rest until they are found.
"Well," Helaine commented, "that’s a change.
Good news for once." She turned to Pixel. "That’s
your job, I imagine. You have the ruby."
They had discovered that their magical abilities were
intensified if they focused their minds through different
gemstones. Each one had a different property, and the
ruby enabled Pixel to locate the position of anything he
might want. Thanks to the goblins on their last world,
each of them now had four different gems. And Helaine
had the Book of Magic that explained how each jewel
could be used.
Oracle held up a hand.
Your quest continues as you meet with a stranger;
But first there will be, as always, a danger . . .
And he vanished, like a TV being turned off.
Score groaned. "That we needed to hear?" He
looked around, but everything seemed to be absolutely
peaceful. "Do you think he was kidding, just to get
a rise out of us?"
"If we assume that, we’ll be in big trouble," Helaine
replied. She now held her sword at the ready, and was
scanning the woods. "But I can’t see any trouble at
all."
"...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Book is definitrly worth anything you pay for it.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Book of Magic (Diadem: A Fantasy Mystery, No. 3) (Paperback)
Diadem : Book of Magic is an incredible adventure ride. All though this is true I suggest you read the first two books before this one. The first three books in this series are so intrictly wound that just to read one is impossible and would drive me crazy. This book (Diadem 3) was my favorite out of all the Diadem's because they have to unite together (and they really didn't like each other that much before) to save them selves. the thing I find most enjoyable about this book is Peel's (the Author) use of ancient myths like dragons, centaurs, wizards, and unicorns as characters on the many strange worlds. If you're considering ordering this book, do so but only if you love excitement, drama, mystery, and amazing fantasy.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Diadem Books,
By A Customer
This review is from: Book of Magic (Diadem: A Fantasy Mystery, No. 3) (Paperback)
Amazing. I have had my diadem set for 4 years, and I never tire of sitting on my couch and reading for yet another time, Diadem. John Peel writes with the feel and certaincy of an established writer, for that is who he is. The book is very, very good. Just a question, why is the fourth book so rare?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If I could, I'd give these books 100 stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Book of Magic (Diadem: A Fantasy Mystery, No. 3) (Paperback)
All the "Diadem" books are MUST READS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love the over-all plot and wonder how Peel thinks of all the wonderful stuff he puts in his books. The Helaine, Score, and Pixel have interesting traits & personalities. People that give this book under four stars are out of there mind! I LOVE JHON PEEL'S BOOKS. He MUST write more "Diadem" books!! If you liked these book you'll love "The Secret of Dragonhome!!
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First Sentence:
"Now, this is something else," said Score, awed at the scenery before him. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
three unicorns, mirror spell, dampening field, unicorn horn Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Book of Magic, Three Who Rule New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
"Now, this is something else," said Score, awed at the scenery before him. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
three unicorns, mirror spell, dampening field, unicorn horn Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Book of Magic, Three Who Rule New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 12
books:
See all 12 books this book cites
10
books
cite this book:
See all 10 books citing this book
- Book of Signs (Diadem: A Fantasy Mystery, No. 2) by John Peel in Front Matter
- Book of Names (Diadem: A Fantasy Mystery, No. 1) by John Peel in Front Matter
- Book of Earth (Diadem: A Fantasy Mystery, No. 5) by John Peel in Front Matter
- Book of Thunder (Diadem: A Fantasy Mystery, No. 4) by John Peel in Front Matter
- Book of Signs (Diadem Series) by John Peel in Front Matter
See all 12 books this book cites
- Firestorm (2099) by John Peel in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Revolution (2099, #4) by John Peel in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Meltdown (2099) by John Peel in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- in Front Matter
- Book of Oceans (Diadem Series) by John Peel in Front Matter
See all 10 books citing this book
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