Customer Reviews

The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After

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

 

 

Although I thoroughly enjoyed both of the earlier books in this series, I think I like this one best of all. I received it from Amazon yesterday and read it ALL, last night. It's quite skillfully written (even better than the earlier books), the characters are extremely likeable, and the story moves along nicely, with humor and interesting twists and turns.

For me, the characters are the most important part of a book. (If I don't like the characters, I won't bother with the book.) I really like the continuity of seeing characters I like in a series, and in this book, the continuation of the story of the main characters was completely satisfying (even more than in first two books, in which I wasn't all that fond of James). Also, minor characters I had liked reappeared (though briefly), and there was very little of the ones whom I really disliked. It was as satisfying to see this next part of the lives of the main characters as it is to hear what has happened to old friends when I see them again.

Cecilia and Kate are back again in The Mislaid Magician, Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer's third book involving these two fearless women living in regency England.

As with the other two books in the series (I'm not sure there is an actual series name for the Cecilia and Kate books), Wrede and Stevermer concocted this novel using the Letter Game, a writing exercise and the formula that worked for their first book, Sorcery and Cecilia.

The Mislaid Magician starts off slowly as it sets up the premise for the mystery that Kate, Cecilia and their spouses will be investigating and writing about to each other during the course of the book. In many ways you feel you are reading two seperate stories, with the plot lines coverging only at the end through a character that affects both story lines but only one of the cousins interacts with.

While I thoroughly enjoy every Patricia C. Wrede book I can get my hands on, I didn't find The Mislaid Magician as captivating as the first two Kate and Cecilia books. For one thing, this book introduces correspondence between Thomas and James as well as their wives. It took me a while to get used to the extra voices (plus, since it had been awhile since I read the first two books, I had to piece together who was married to who). While it was fun to have their perspectives and their wit, in many ways the authors would have been just fine with letters between Cecilia and Kate only.

One aspect of the Letter Game (which the authors observed in Sorcery and Cecilia and I'm assuming they have followed for the sequels) is that the authors are not allowed to discuss their plot ideas with each other. That aspect of the Letter Game, to me, really came out in The Mislaid Magician. It felt like the only thing tying the two stories together was the shared Mr. Scarlet - and even then, it wasn't much of a plot fuser. I had to reread the section to make sure I didn't miss anything, since I was confused as to how Kate's and Cecilia's situations worked together. My conclusion was: they really didn't. It felt like the authors were rushing and needed something to make the story unified.

But if you've read the other Kate and Cecilia stories (or you like Patricia C. Wrede), it's worth your time to read this book. If she and Stevermer continue with this series, I hope they make the next book about the children's adventures. I have a feeling Kate's and Cecilia's children would make for some great letter content!

With this book Wrede and Stevermer are back in form. Ten years after their honeymoon, and now with children of their own who are discovering magic, James and Cecy are asked to investigate a missing German magician. What they find is an ancient magic that is being manipulated in a way that could destroy the country.

This book, like the others in the series, is written as a series of letters. Some characters from the previous books appear in this one, but this is a whole new story. It is enjoyable, and while not quite as witty as the first book in the series, is still a much better read than the second book and its interesting to see how different, and how similar, everyone is now that they are all grown up. This book can be read as a stand alone novel, but you'll enjoy it much more if you've read the other books in the series first.

I will assume the reader has read Sorcery And Cecelia. If not, go out and do so right away.

The second book was a letdown in many ways, but this third book does better at capturing the spark that made the first one so fun. Part of this is that, as in the first one, the main characters are separated the entire time. All we see are letters they write to each other.

The problem is that the plot is weak. Very weak. The bad guys are silly and not directly threatening, their motivations are boring, and we never get the sense of mysterious evil that we have in the first book.

Also, the railroad thing was probably something that sounded like a good idea but, in the end, didn't really work. There's no real resolution of it, nor is it really important.

In fact, resolution is a problem all around, because everything gets resolved much to quickly and with not nearly enough direct input from the main characters.

All that being said, the characters feel real and likeable again. This would have been a great second book -- another look at some wonderful characters even though the plot doesn't really hold water. As a third book it's a little more disappointing, because I expect more plot from a third book.

My guess is that if there is a fourth book, it will be about the kids. At least, that's what it should be about!

It might be that I read the second two books in this series more sporadicly than the first and so I didn't fully grasp the plot, on the other hand I didn't read them as quickly because the plot did not fully grab me. If I could I would probably give it a 3.5 because I didn't find it all that memorable. the first book really made an impression which seems to have been fading ever so slightly with each consequential book.

Shifting from how the second book was written this is again in pure letter form, with additional missives from James and Thomas (I agree that they might be a bit excessive and that like in the second where we had more than one person narrating the same set of events it got slightly tedious at times).

Again like the second one Ithought it focused too much WAY WAY toomuch on the mechanics of the magic. Not only were James and Cecy bored to tears with ley lines and locomotives, so was I. Those poor characters their plot only got really interesting towards the very end when every one kept turning into dogs.

This might be the difference in the strengths of the authors, but I found the Kate and Thomas storyline much more interesting, it was rolicking and moving and less stagnent and technical than Cecy and James. (Ironic since Kate and Thomas stay at home while Cecy and James travel the country side)

They have been saddled with the care and keeping of all of Cecy and James' children--alot. In addition they find another child, the almost mute Drina. Thomas is still wonderfully Thomas and writes some of the funniest letters towards the end in regards to a certain dog. Georgy has a plot as well, which I found very amusing (she has a penchant for sappy poetry, how apropos)

Still a fun read but I wouldn't put off reading it too long after the first and second because things might get forgotten in the interim.

If you stopped with this series because the second one (A Grand Tour) didn't grab you, you should know that the third one is once again more naturally epistolary, and the book benefits from it.

I was especially amused by all the babysitting details. It stands to reason these people would have... interesting children.

The Mislaid Magician (2006) is the third Fantasy novel of the Cecy and Kate series, following The Grand Tour. In the ten years since the last magical adventure, Cecelia has birthed the nine year old twins, Arthur and Eleanor, four year old Diana and the baby Alexander. Katherine now has six year old Edward and baby Laurence. In 1828, their life seems to revolve around the nursery.

In this novel, James is called to London to meet with the new prime minister, the Duke of Wellington. While he is gone, Arthur detects a prowler on the grounds of Tangleford Hall and Cecy casts a Greater Cessation spell on him. She expects the intruder to be immobilized, but instead he creeps away, gaining more speed with greater distance.

James receives orders to investigate the disappearance of a Prussian railway surveyor-magician. He and Cecy will be leaving soon for Leeds to discover the whereabouts of Herr Magus Franz Wilhelm Schellen. Apparently the duke has not considered the uproar that would ensue with both parents leaving their children behind.

Naturally, Kate agrees to take the children into the Schofield household. She sends Thomas to meet with the Tarletons in London and take the children in hand for the trip back to Skeynes. While at the Bull and Mouth, Arthur sees the prowler in the stables and gives chase, only to lose contact due to an altercation with a stable boy.

After much too long a ride, Thomas finally arrives back home and lets lose the Tarleton children among his own. Since they are returning to a familiar estate, the children soon reestablish old connections. This time Arthur gets Thomas to teach him how to scry with a bowl of ink and the children start using this skill to play a new form of hide and seek.

In Leeds, James soon discovers traces of the surveyor-magician. He also runs into Daniel, the Duke of Waltham and errant husband of Georgy. The duke is staying with Ramsey and Adella Webb, who invite the Tarletons to the house party at Haliwar Tower.

Meanwhile, the Duchess of Waltham has appeared at Skeynes in a very despondent state, shedding tears on the carpets and furniture. Despite Kate's best efforts, Georgy refuses to discuss her problems. Only the children provide some relief from her vaporish mood; indeed, she is quite cheerful with the babies.

Arthur and Eleanor begin detailed mapping the grounds of Skeynes. Edward develops an interest in the household wards. Then another child joins the nursery and Diana becomes her devoted follower.

Like its predecessors, this story is a mystery with magical overtones. Naturally, Thomas is the best trained magician in the group, but Cecy is quite proficient. Kate knows fewer spells -- actually only three -- but she is very competent with those; in fact, she demonstrates great strength with those spells when her children are threatened. Then there are the twins, who develop surprising competency with scrying spells.

Highly recommended for Wrede & Stevermer fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of domestic crises, magical and mundane investigations, and political conspiracies in a historical milieu.

-Arthur W. Jordin

It's 1828, 10 years since the eventful honeymoon trip chronicled in The Grand Tour, and James and Cecy Tarleton and Thomas and Kate Schofield have settled down to a quiet and contented life in the country. The Tarletons have four children--twins Arthur and Eleanor, nine; Diana, four; and Alexander, an infant. The Schofields have two sons, Edward, six, and baby Laurence. Then the gentlemen's old commanding officer, the Duke of Wellington, recently created Prime Minister, gets in touch. A German magician/engineer, Herr Schellen, has mysteriously disappeared, and the Duke wants James to find him. Since James has no magical skills at all, Cecy must accompany him, which means that the four young Tarletons have to be parked with their "Aunt" Kate--whose sister, the beautiful and fashionable Georgina (now married to Daniel, the Duke of Waltham), has arrived without warning at the very start of the London Season. Then it turns out that several of the children have inherited the parental gift and are experimenting with magic themselves. While Kate tries to cope with this juvenile precocity and with her sister's moods--plus a mysterious prowler who seems immune to her attempts to bespell him--the Tarletons become entangled with a sinister brother and sister, the fittingly named Webbs, whose ancestral home is a nexus of the mysterious ley lines Herr Schellen was supposed to be investigating in connection with the new railroads now being lain across England. When Edward Schofield is inadvertantly kidnapped by what appears to be a female tinker (she isn't), Kate also finds herself responsible for a little girl who not only has a regal bearing suitable to a queen but refuses to talk to any adult. (If you've read any amount of English history you'll guess well ahead of time who Drina really is.) Comic transformations and a vividly described magical duel are among the high points of the tale, which, like its predecessors, is skilfully paced and wonderfully complex, yet in the end is neatly resolved, and also increases our understanding of the magic of this just-slightly-alternate world. With a copyright date of 2006 and the promise that the children will be put in charge of competent magical tutors, we may well look for yet another volume in the adventures of Kate, Cecy, and their families.

After the first two collaborations by these authors, I was looking forward to yet another adventure. While this book was all right, it missed out on being great. The plot was a little thin, and the characters tame in comparison to past attempts. In sum, worth a read but maybe not a purchase.

I loved _Sorcery and Cecelia_, but after the mediocre _The Grand Tour_, I almost didn't complete this trilogy. That would have been a shame, because _The Mislaid Magician_ is a delight.

The authors returned to an epistolary style. Our heroines, Cecy and Kate, are now in their late twenties. They are raising families with their husbands, first met in the first book of the series. All four "contribute" letters to the volume, which tells of the mysterious errand James is sent on (Cecy in tow) by Wellington, now prime minister. They traipse across the countryside, confinding in, as well as seeking advice and additional research from, Thomas and Kate, who are ensconced at home with all of the children.

The letters capture the characters' voices perfectly. Magic is explained very coherently. The antics of the children will be familiar to parents and siblings of mischievous kids everywhere. My only concern is that teens might be less engaged by the now much older central characters. Otherwise, this intelligent, fun, action-packed mystery is sure to delight.