Customer Reviews

Magnus

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was my absolute favorite book by S. Brouwer (despite the goofy cover picture)! I read it in two days and lost a lot of sleep simply because I could not put the book down. It was worth it.

This book is actually a compilation of the 8-book series "Winds of Light," previous published separately, and tell the ongoing saga of Thomas, an orphan boy who believes it is his destiny to conquer and rule the small kingdom of Magnus. The book takes place in 1312-1314 in England, but travels to Europe and the Holy Land as well. Throughout his travels, Thomas learns about himself, his friends, God, power, society, knowledge, religion, and trust. The book keeps moving with constant conflicts internally and externally.

When you read this book, it is helpful to remember that it is a compilation of 8 books. Every once in a while the author goes back and recaps what just happened, and you know that this is where the books were joined together. However, I actually found this quite helpful in keeping the story straight in my head; after 550+ pages of material, the recaps keep the characters and numerous plot twists in order. Also, when you are finished with the book, make sure to read the historical notes in the back. The depth of Brouwer's research is mind-boggling!

Overall, I highly recommend this book. A great story, great characters, and great historical context make it a magnificent book.

I first borrowed this book from a friend 6 years ago. Like many of the excited readers below, I stayed up day and night (I didn't read quite as fast back then as I do now)to finish this monstrousity of good literature.
Brouwer strings his reader along well, combining great imaginative twists with believable explainations of everyone's favorite story; that of Merlin. The reader truly does not know what is going to happen until it does. I am eternally greatful that I did not learn of this book until it was put together in all its parts, because I might have been driven mad to see what happens next.
Happy hunting!

Also known as Wings of Dawn, Brouwer has written an all-around excellent book. I had gotten the children's versions years ago and always had questions where there were holes in the plot - this explains them all and will keep you riveted until the end.

An AMAZING read!! This book was first published as Magnus, but then re-released in 1999 as Wings of Dawn. I purchased WOD thinking it was a sequel, but alas, no such luck. But whether you read it as Magnus or Wings of Dawn, please READ IT!! You won't be able to put it down. Literally. You will take it with you wherever you go until you finish it. Let's hope you don't need to do any brain surgery or anything like that. You won't be able to concentrate. It really is one of the top five books I've ever read, and I've read thousands of books.

to be concise, i absolutely adore this book. it is still, even after all these years, in my top ten list.

however, i would recommend reading the seperate books first, because a HUGE plot twist, one that in the serise is strung along until the very last book, is given away in the first few pages of the story in it's novel form. this plot twist is the sort of thing that steals your breath with it's implications, and compels you to re-read the story to incorporate the revelation into what you thought you knew before that.

but eh, if you can't track down all the books, the single volume is still better than not reading it.

it truly is a masterpiece, and the opus of mr. brouwer's writings.

When my best friend suggested this book I thought she was nuts! However, after I read the first chapter I couldn't put it down! I stayed up 'till all hours of the night reading this fast-paced book! I was in such suspense over Thomas' ordeals! I would suggest this book to everyone.

This book is one of the best historic fiction I have ever read. I first resd it when I was eighteen and I have read it conuntles times since. The story starts with a public hanging and a resque by a young boy with a few tricks up his sleeves. From there the mystery and intrege never stop. You will find yourself up till the wee hours of the morning just trying to finish it. You will learn about the Druids, crusades, England in the middle ages and of Marko Polo's journy to China. The book has Christian influences but it is written in such a way that it will not afend any one. I hope that he will write another book as good as this one.

This book by Brouwer is the best book I have ever read. It was so gripping I found it hard to put down. It followed the life of a young knight that was faced with uncountable struggles. He didn't know who to trust and was circled by evil. Druids were trying to find an ancient secret that he had learned in a monastry when only a boy. This book is so deep and compelling I couldn't possibly explain it all. I highly recommend it.

Certainly were a lot of them in this story! I thought it was sort of like a "Lord of the Rings" without the creatures. The cover art does NOT match the story, so don't go by the image. I enjoyed the read, but I liked "Out of the Shadows" better.

At the beginning of this book Thomas was well on his way to being one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. He was very interesting and intriguing. His power of observation was outstanding and it made the book so interesting as you saw him quickly see through the deceptions that surrounded him.

However, as the book went on Thomas lost this cool judgment and became bitter and cynical. About three quarters of the way through the book part of the plot became a little old. There were too many times where he would start to trust his companions only to find a reason to not trust them. It was interesting the first few times it happened but after a while it was more annoying than anything.

The ending was well done. It wrapped things up nicely and Thomas started to swing back to becoming the character that he was at the beginning of the book. I am interested in reading the series as having the story played out through different books may change the dynamics of the plot and save the portion that was a little slow.

On another note, I love reading historical fiction but I find that quite often the focus of these books shift to a mushy romance in a historical setting. I was very pleased that was not the case with this story. The author obviously did a lot of research for this book and that alone made it an interesting read.

Overall it was an excellent book and I plan on reading it again. Despite the few flaws I found I would highly recommend reading it.