Magic Mirror [Hardcover]

Orson Scott Card (Author), Nathan Pinnock (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1999

Orson Scott Card weaves a tale of a mythical familys upheaval, showing the consequences of misplaced hopes and what happens when people let themselves become disconnected from one another. Somewhere between medieval fantasy and contemporary fairy tale, a dark story turns into light. Ultimately, we see that is never too late to escape from a dream gone bad. This is truly a fable for our time.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Orson Scott Card is best known for the Ender series, of which Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. His newest books are Enchantment and Ender's Shadow.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publishers; 1st edition (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879058765
• ISBN-13: 978-0879058760
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 7.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,470,472 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Orson Scott Card is the bestselling author best known for the classic Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow and other novels in the Ender universe. Most recently, he was awarded the 2008 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in Young Adult literature, from the American Library Association. Card has written sixty-one books, assorted plays, comics, and essays and newspaper columns. His work has won multiple awards, including back-to-back wins of the Hugo and the Nebula Awards-the only author to have done so in consecutive years. His titles have also landed on 'best of' lists and been adopted by cities, universities and libraries for reading programs. The Ender novels have inspired a Marvel Comics series, a forthcoming video game from Chair Entertainment, and pre-production on a film version. A highly anticipated The Authorized Ender Companion, written by Jake Black, is also forthcoming.Card offers writing workshops from time to time and occasionally teaches writing and literature at universities.Orson Scott Card currently lives with his family in Greensboro, NC.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this book really makes you think!, October 19, 1999

By 

Amelia Roberts ([e-mail]) (oregon, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic Mirror (Hardcover)

I really love this book because even though it's quite short it teaches a lesson about not turning on people before you have more information. it's very well written, and quite cardesque, if you know what i mean.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good for a children's book, April 12, 2001

By 

Craig Childs (Cordova, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic Mirror (Hardcover)

I do not know what compels best-selling genre authors to write picture books for children, but many of them have done it, including James Herriot, Dean Koontz, Jeffrey Archer, and even Gabriel Marcia Marquez. As far as kids' books go, this one is pretty good. The story is simple, but the illustrations are unique, with every picture combining elements of medieval fantasies (castles, knights, dragons, abbots) and contemporary life (computers, scanners, office meetings). It is also interesting when the text says one thing, such as "Queen Heather mounted her steed", and the picture shows something different, like the Queen speeding off in a sports car. The subject matter is a bit mature; the pictures (more than the prose) imply acts of suicide and adultery. However, everything works out happily ever after in the end.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Cool illustrations, creepy message, February 16, 2005

By 

Sam X (Somerville, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic Mirror (Hardcover)

I was disturbed by this story. As far as I could tell, the message was: "Even if your husband ignores you and doesn't listen to your child when she says there's a problem, you should stay with him. Because when he's done with the really important stuff, like his job, he'll eventually come back to you. Oh, and kids who dress goth are unloving. They just need to discover the pretty pretty princess inside."

I did, however, love the illustrations. They're full of clever visual jokes merging modern and medieval images, like a guy being punished in the stocks...which is attached to a meter.