Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe [Library Binding]

James M. Ward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2008

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY.

--This text refers to an alternate Library Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hogwarts goes to sea in Ward's workmanlike fantasy debut. Setting off from the land of Arcania, 12- and 13-year-old aspiring wizards learn how to sail a vessel affixed to the back of a huge sea-dragon and to battle the nasty shape-changers of the enemy Maleen. At 16, the book's hero, Halcyon, is nearly an old man, though he gives no thought to age, while the skipper calls every member of the crew, male and female alike, his "men." There's no romance and the main action focuses on Halcyon's efforts to overcome the threats of a court-martial and an unknown villain whose weird identity is saved for the climax. Ward's eager if plodding midshipwizards are unlikely to unseat Harry Potter, but they do come across as appealing and credible young teens, the novel's obvious audience.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–Halcyon Blithe is descended from a line of successful, magic-wielding officers in the Arcanian navy. At 16, he grows into his own magical powers and enters the service to find a world filled with high expectations for him. His first assignment is that of Midshipwizard, a junior officer aboard the Sanguine, a speedy war vessel with decks and sails built onto the back of a sea dragon. Training sessions comprise a good half of the book. From fencing to feeding the dragon, they are designed to teach Blithe different aspects of life and warfare on the high seas. He displays an unusual level of natural abilities, but overconfidence and gaps in his experience make it difficult for him to perform as well as his superiors would like. While the sessions do carry on a little too long, they give readers a chance to meet the crew members. When it becomes clear that one of them is a saboteur, the situation is made all the more dangerous in battle with ships from the evil Maleen Empire. Although the novel is a fairly predictable fantasy adventure at its core, the nautical elements make it just different enough for readers a little bored with the typical fantasy to enjoy it.–Matthew L. Moffett, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 288 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439561419
• ISBN-13: 978-1439561416
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Concept, Fairly Good Execution..., September 5, 2005

By 

Edward Alexander Gerster "miamibooks" (South Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe (Hardcover)

James Ward has constructed some very interesting characters, and done a fair bit of world building in this novel of magic on the high seas. Magic works a bit differently here, with a bit of Newtonian cause and effect, and there are a good assortment of demons, giants, sprites and other assorted standard magical creatures. And setting the story in a Horatio Hornblower-like framework was frankly a stroke of brilliance. The problem comes in that the plot is a choppy grouping of chapters that take you through Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe's training in no particular order, with no foreshadowing of things to come, and little insight to his past. There is no clear beginning, middle and end -- but the reader does stay involved in wanting to find out what is still to come. The ending feels unresolved, probably to signal that further tales are to follow.A worthy novel, with a few structural problems, but still worth the read. Recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Flying at Half-Mast, April 11, 2006

By 

Ron Edison (Glen Ellyn, IL) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe (Hardcover)

Harry Potter meets the Royal Navy is the premise of this new fantasy. I found it shelved in science fiction/fantasy, but it will have strong appeal to younger readers. Given the overall tone of the writing, I suspect this may be its true market, though fans of historical sailing adventures will also be intrigued. My overall impression is more favorable than the comments that follow may seem to indicate. The concept is great, but the execution flags a bit.

Halcyon Blithe is a serviceable protagonist and the events of his first posting, encounters with the crew, etc. are well handled, if a bit clich?; a certain amount of clich? and stereotype are de rigueur in the sailing genre. However, nearly 180 of the 286 novel pages float by before there is any sign of a proper conflict. Most of this is spent orienting readers to everyday life on a sailing ship. Fans of Hornblower & company have been here before, but new readers to the genre may benefit. Blithe's fellow midshipmen are introduced all in one early scene--very promising characters all--but most names are forgotten by the time they play any significant role. As the enemy, the Maleen are rather iconic boogeymen, just so many ducks in a shooting gallery. I expect to see them developed further in sequels.

Ward does a fantastic job with the minutia of sailing and combat at sea. Readers familiar with the tactics and doctrines of Napoleonic naval warfare will appreciate this, but I felt the veneer of fantasy was far too thin. The doctrines of Arcana (British) and the enemy Maleen (French/Spanish) are blatantly obvious to fans of C. S. Forester, Dudley Pope, Patrick O'Brian, and Alexander Kent. I'd like to have seen more imagination at work here. Yet he goes overboard on imagination in the explanation of how the dragonships are designed. This seemed too glib and fanciful to suit me--biologically improbable and impractical.

Ther are nearly 10 pages of songs/sea shanties in the text. Yes, they really sang this sort of thing in days of old, but with no clue as to melody, the songs read as so much nautical blather. A little of this goes a long way--maybe one or two verses at most. Better yet, tie the lyrics into the story with foreshadowing or metaphor. I liked the Articles of War serving as chapter introductions. The chapter titles were a very nice touch--perfect for this type of novel and a practice sadly out of fashion.

Despite the flaws, what this book does well is prime younger readers and perhaps those not familiar with the Hornblower milieu, with a great deal of sailing lore, and ready them for further adventures.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adventure on the high seas!, October 29, 2006

By 

N. Burt "nikkles" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a great lover of fantasy and of adventure novels such as the Hornblower series. I read this book thinking it would be a great and original combination of these to genre . . . and I was correct. I really liked the story and characters in this book. The action kept a good pass and the author did not waste time explain parts of Halcyon's world that we really didn't need to know about. A fantstic concept and a really good read! I recommend it for people who love fantasy and dragons in particular and people who love old time adventure novels. You will not be disappointed.