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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Do you believe in magic?", June 29, 2003
He's a British teen wizard with glasses and a pet owl, suddenly approached by a stranger who tells him of his magical powers and future great destiny. Harry Potter? No, Timothy Hunter, a comic character that predated the Potter series; Hunter's adventures are darker and more mysterious. Now Timothy Hunter seemed like an ordinary boy, an average boy with a depressed father and a sprightly best friend. But that was until he ran into a strange man called John Constantine. Constantine reveals that Timothy is more than he appears -- he is a powerful mage, perhaps destined to be the most powerful in the world. And he's there to show Timothy the world of magic that he can choose -- if he dares. To show Timothy this, Constantine takes him to the beginning of time, through space to the United States, to the land of Faerie, to one of many possible futures in his own life. He meets Merlin, Baba Yaga, and the queen of Faerie herself. But there are evil forces that want Timothy dead, and will chase him to the end of the universe (literally) to make sure he ends up that way. Jablonski's novelization of the first "Book of Magic" is a competant one, neither excellent nor bad. If you've never read the comics, you'll still understand what's going on, and probably look forward to future adventures involving Timothy, Molly, Zatanna and the rest. Gaiman's dark, sometimes sinister brand of magic is well-translated into the novelization, and he includes a foreword on Jablonski's work. The writing style is pleasant, not very descriptive but gives some good insights to Tim's thoughts. Fortunately, she never goes off-the-wall or out-of-character. The simplicity of the writing wasn't always okay; I had trouble picturing some of the characters (the only real description of Titania is "beautiful" and "green"). The characterizations are pretty well-done; Timothy in particular is well fleshed-out. Fans of the "Books of Magic" comic series may not bother with "The Invitation," but it's definitely worth reading for both newcomers and fans.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
You will have to read more than one..., December 10, 2005
This was a book on top of a pile of books, "The Books of Magic #1: The Invitation." I could have said it was an inviting title (ouch), but in reality my eye was attracted to the name Neil Gaiman. I had read his book Anansi Boys: A Novel, and enjoyed it. What the heck, I thought!
Well, heck! This book was part Piers Anthony, part JK Rowling, and part CS Lewis, and none of the particularly good parts. To be fair, "The Invitation" is the first book in a continuing series (I think there are seven as of the date of this review) of stories written for that class of readers traditionally categorized as YA. Nevertheless, this one fell short of its potential, in part because it was incomplete. I had read none of Gaiman's comic books on this theme, and I suspect Jablonski had to write a novel that was true to this origin.
There was potential, however. It may be that the other books in this series make this one worth reading. "The Invitation" simply is not a stand-alone book. And that makes it a weak novel.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Before Harry Potter there was Timothy Hunter, May 19, 2003
This first book int the Books Of Magic series is a novelization of the original 4-issue Books of Magic series from DC Comics. Many believe that Harry Potter was based on Timothy Hunter (whose original name was Seeker). Timothy Hunter is a young English boy from a broken home (his parents had a car accident). He is somewhat of a nebish and where spectacles. But one day he is given the chance to learn magic, for it is his fate to possibly be the era's greatest wizard. He quickly gains an owl for a familiar and embarks on a series of journeys to learn about magic and whether he would walk its path. He begins by traveling to the past where he encounters a young Merlin. Then he explores the present-day world and meets a number of evil wizards who would like him dead. From there he travels the lands of Faerie where he meets Queen Titania and falls afoul of the Babba Yagga. Then he must go into the future. Here he sees some of white might come to pass, sees the end of everything, meets Death and survives another attempt on his life. Returning to the present, Timothy must decide if he is to follow the ways of magic or remain in the mundane world. This book does an adequate job of retelling the story, but despite the fact that novels can usually flesh out a comic book (more space available), this on is actually lacking much of the original story. Some of the characters in the original story do not even make an appearance here. Boston Brand (Deadman) supplied an wonderful bit of suspense and foreshadowing in the original, but here he is completely absent. The John Constantine section lacks the wonder and thrill of the original, although an explanation is given as to how Zatana made such a big blunder. Overall, not a bad book, but not as good as the original.
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