Digital Magic [Paperback]

Philippa Ballantine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 2008

The Fey are gone... and with them, magic. At least, that is how things seem at the conclusion of the award-nominated novel Chasing the Bard. ~ Lord what fools these mortals be. ~ Penherem is a quaint, sleepy English village where people go to escape the 21st Century. Hiding from the world of laptop computers, the Internet, and wireless communication, is Ella. A writer, now barren of ideas and drive, she resigns herself to a quiet life of solitude. Everything changes with the arrival of a shapeshifting thief. Suddenly, everyone begins to change--from the local librarian to the lady of the manor--revealing their true natures and dangerous secrets. Something in this sleepy English village is awakening... something that might be better left alone.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"From the outset of [Chasing the Bard] I was captured by the story and remained curious throughout reading. Ballantine has done an excellent job of describing and explaining the characters so that they really came alive for me and I had a clear picture in my head of what each looked like. It's an original story and I loved it!"
- Amazon.com

"From the outset of [Chasing the Bard] I was captured by the story and remained curious throughout reading. Ballantine has done an excellent job of describing and explaining the characters so that they really came alive for me and I had a clear picture in my head of what each looked like. It's an original story and I loved it!"
- Amazon.com
--Reviewer on Amazon.com Referencing Chasing the Bard

About the Author

New Zealand's Philippa Ballantine has always loved the fantasy genre, fostered by an early introduction to Lord of the Rings as a bedtime story. She has been writing her own novels since the age of thirteen and melds her love of history and fantasy together in her work. Her first novel Weaver's Web was e-published, where as her second Chasing the Bard, in which Shakespeare finds himself in his own midsummer nightmare was published in 2005.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Dragon Moon Press; 1st edition (July 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1896944884
• ISBN-13: 978-1896944883
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #455,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New Zealand author Philippa Ballantine, is a fantasy writer and podcaster.
Her novels Geist, Spectyr, Hunter and Fox and Phoenix Rising; a Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel (co-written with Tee Morris) span many speculative fiction genres.
Her works have won an Airship and a Sir Julius Vogel Award, and been in the Goodreads Top Science Fiction books of 2011.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful Sequel Surprise, August 6, 2008

By 

Evelyn Wolke "BRKyle" (Manassas, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Digital Magic (Paperback)

It's the late 21st century, and things aren't good. Advances in genetic engineering and neurosurgery have yielded plagues, eternal beauty and artificial longevity for the rich, and cyberpunk netunning avatars. Wars are fought for precious natural resources and small countries are suddenly bereft of protectors and must unleash nightmares to protect themselves. The world seems bent upon self-destruction, dying by its own foolish hands... and yet --

There is magic in the air.

In New Zealand, a child rescues her village from a murderous war robot with help from the Elder Folk -- for a price. In an England nearly covered with the sprawl of city, cybernet, and decay, an intrepid hacker and daring thief discover a new Art, a Digital Magic.

Phillippa Ballantine's sequel to her award-winning novel "Chasing the Bard" is unexpected, refreshing, surprising, and masterfully crafted as she weaves together many diverse threads into a stunning mixture of post-modern science fiction, high fantasy, and just plain fine writing.

Don't miss it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful cyberpunk fantasy, September 8, 2008

By 

Mario Camou Riveroll - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Digital Magic (Paperback)

If William Gibson suddenly decided to create a D&D-style universe something like Digital Magic might pop up, but it would definitely not be as good as "Digital Magic". In this book Pip Ballantine blends Cyberpunk and Fantasy so perfectly that you are left wondering why the two genres have been ever separated. The story grips you from the first page to the last. Whether you are a fan of Fantasy, of Cyberpunk or (as in my case) of both genres you will definitely enjoy this book.

Even though this is a sequel to Pip's previous book, Chasing the Bard, it is not required reading to enjoy "Digital Magic". However, it is also a great book and will fill in the backstory and increase your enjoyment of this book tremendously.

The only reason I don't give this book 6 stars is because Amazon's rating system only goes up to 5.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Wow!, August 6, 2008

By 

Michelle D. Tracey "mikitracey" (VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Digital Magic (Paperback)

I never thought anybody would top Neuromancer and Johnny Mnemonic, and especially not a Librarian from Wellington NZ. Ballantine drops us into a world that is just as dark as Gibson's but unlike Gibson, She allows us to hope. It's almost like she has dropped Spenser's Faery Queen, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Neuromancer and Johnny Mnemonic in a blender and created a giant Slushy of reading goodness.

Throughout the book, you are following two stories on opposite sides of the world, a world where, in order to protect itself, an entire country releases a virus into the water that will kill anyone not vaccinated against it. A world where the corps rule the world, and the only magic to be had is in the 'Line' a sort of full time full body internet. A world where the difference between the haves and the have nots is even greater than the world we live in now.

How these two stories finally intersect and the Magic that only Ballantine can bring to a world so dark will amaze you.

It is a must read. You don't have to have read Chasing the Bard, but then, the Bard has Shakespeare in it, so how can you pass it up. I know. Buy them Both!