Customer Reviews

The Magic And The Healing

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I agree with the other reviews - six years after receiving a copy of 'The Magic And The Healing' it is still one of my favorite books. Of course I'm biased, being a vet student - I like to see my profession put in such a good (and pretty darn accurate) light!

The beauty of "The Magic and the Healing" is in how author Nick O'Donohoe writes beyond his gimmick: that mythological creatures sometimes need medical care, a concept that seems so self-evident you wonder that it hasn't been written about before.

But protagonist B.J., a veterinary student, has medical problems of her own, which she hides from the other main characters, and that's the brilliance of O'Donohoe's work. By keeping B.J.'s difficulties private, the reader is granted a view into her introspection, rather than a series of lectures by others as to how she should cope. When B.J. finds herself in a new world that challenges everything she thought she knew about veterinary medicine -- after all, none of her patients have ever been able to talk back before -- she has no choice but to heal herself so that she can keep from hurting others. And the process is beautiful.

When I first read this book, I was in the sixth grade and had borrowed a friend's copy. I immediately bought my own, and right now, almost 10 years later, it still has a place of honor on my shelf. The binding is cracked, the pages are dog-eared, the cover, sadly, is bent -- as a young girl, I didn't realize that not all books stayed in print. It is truly an adventure that I willingly read again and again... and every once in awhile, I type "The Book of Strangeways" into my library's computer. Just to see if anything shows up. :)

O'Donohoe again shows that not all of TSR's current or former writers are hacks. Having enjoyed his Dragonlance stories for their humor content, I looked forward to this book. It surprised me for numerous reasons - its true originality, its realistic take on university life, medicine and life in general, its interesting (if somewhat one-dimensional) characters and its habit of pulling off a surprise on its readers occasionally. If you can track down a copy of this fine work, do so.

Not only does this book truly examine the lives of the animals presented (rather than leaving it at "griffins are vicious animals"), making them rounded, interesting species, it also examines the life of one very important veterinary student, and vet work in general. You truly feel for the characters, and I think that's part of the main draw. You want to come back again and again... you want to meet them, and you grow attached. It's very accurate information wise... and it also draws attention to a very real human disease. I first read this entire series, then insisted my mom read it, and she fell in love with it. Unfortunately... it doesn't end with the last (?) book.

I found all three books in a cardboard box in the librarian's office of unmarked books. Mrs. Zack liked me so much that she let me take as many books as i wished out of the library in middle school, even the ones that were not marked with a bar code yet. I spent one wonderful week readings these books (Magic and the Healing, Under the Healing Sing Crossroads), which I believe were the first urban fantasy books I ever read. I was addicted. For years I never saw one of these books again and I'm so glad to have found them online. If you are looking for an adventure. You've found it.

I have read this book more times than I can remember and I absolutely love it. I love the entire series although this is by far the best. It's a great combination of real life and a sort of "fairytale world". there is a sort of dream come true element combined with hardship and copeing with loss. The characters are very rich and well developed and it gives you a clear/wonderful picture of the fairytale world some of wish existed.

Even though I've never owned a copy of my own of this trilogy, I love it. It's just wonderfully done and I hope to find a copy of my own to buy soon so I don't have to run to the library every time I want to read it! It's definitely worth the search: the characters are believable the setting is well plot out.

The plot: BJ Vaughn's mother kills herself after finding out she is suffering from a genetic condition called Huntington's Chorea. BJ almost leaves the Veterinarian program she is close to graduating from but is asked to join a covert program of study that promises to be unusual and wonderful.

The other two books that follow are just as wonderful so get those too while your at it.

I first read this book as pre-veterinary student and have read it again and again, finding it more and more enjoyable as I advance in my veterinary education. I was and am delighted that the veterinary profession is featured in a work of fantasy fiction in such a realistic and positive fashion. I enjoy the 'scientific' approach of the students to the the various magical species they encounter, some very real ethical challanges (I am thinking specifically of the difficult labors of the mare, and later the centaur). I strongly recommend this book first to pre-vet student, vet students, and veterinarians, then to any reader of fine fantasy. This is truly a great read!

In his fantasy novel, "The Magic and the Healing," Nick O'Donohoe not only explores the physiology of the many creatures of the fantasy realm of Crossroads, but he also explores the human nature. Using realistic characters, both human and non-human, he makes us believe in Crossroads. There is yet hope for humans as people