Mouvar's Magic (Kelvin) [Mass Market Paperback]

Piers Anthony (Author), Robert Margroff (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kelvin | Publication Date: May 15, 1993

The mysterious prophecy that has shaped the life of Kelvin Knight Hackleberry and his family seems nearly to have run its course. The Two Kingdoms that were joined by Kelvin to form Kelvinia have now been united with three others, to make a great confederation under the rule of the young twin kings, Kildom and Kildee. Kelvin has earned some time to rest with his family. Charles and Merlain are now twenty years old, and so is Dragon Horace, their brother who is the Great King of all the land.

But the clouds of the last battle are gathering. The evil Professor DeVale and his witch servant Zady had been foiled in their attempt to destroy Kelvin by using his children--their evil plot has led to a stronger, more peaceful land under its rightful rulers. Now they will try one last time to pervert all that is good in the universe of the frames--and although the Prophecy of Mouvar has been accurate up to now, still there is a chance that evil will prevail.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this conclusion to the series begun four books ago with Dragon's Gold , the battle between the forces of evil, led by malignant witch Zady, and the forces of good, headed by benign witch Helbah, once again endangers the world of the Alliance, where magic works and dragons dwell. Kelvin, the middle-age son of John Knight, leader of 12 Earthmen who were accidentally translated to this frame years before, prepares finally to fulfill his destiny as the Roundear of Prophesy, who will save his world and people with the aid of weapons provided by the good magician Mouvar. As the war takes shape, the third generation learns to cope with adulthood; Kelvin's telepathic triplet children--Charles, Merlain and Dragon Horace--seek appropriate mates, while their father nearly succumbs to the charms of a now-youthful Zady. The Alliance wins the first battle with the aid of their old enemies, the orcslc correct , but Zady and Professor Devale have surprises in store for the heroes. The final volume in this rather pedestrian fantasy series stands alone--barely--but a reading of the three previous books will be helpful for readers who have any remaining interest.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Fifth and concluding volume of the series (most recently Orc's Opal) about Kelvin of Rud, the Roundear of Prophesy, and the magical tussle between the good (and mostly offstage) wizard Mouvar and the evil Professor Devale. The latter and his sidekick, the malignant witch Zady, will make one final attempt to destroy Kelvin and his allies, and prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy that will unite all the lands under one benevolent ruler. At first Zady seems to gain the upper hand, ensorcelling Kelvin, kidnapping various of Kelvin's telepathic children, bamboozling Kelvin's other offspring, the human-dragon Horace. But gradually, as the powerfully magical orcs perceive the threat and join the battle, a balance is struck. Finally, with the help of the three-headed chimera, Kelvin defeats Zady and Devale, and Mover pops up to tell Kelvin that the whole exercise was a sort of game between himself and Devale. Understandably, Kelvin is not thrilled at the news. Loads of improbable action, a frenetic pace, monsters and magics galore, and no claim to seriousness: precisely the formula that has succeeded throughout the series, and a satisfying finale for the fans. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (May 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812519825
• ISBN-13: 978-0812519822
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #937,538 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Piers Anthony is one of the world's most popular fantasy authors, and a New York Times bestseller twenty-one times over. His Xanth novels have been read and loved by millions of readers around the world, and he daily receives hundreds of letters from his devoted fans.In addition to the Xanth series, Anthony is the author of many other best-selling works. Piers Anthony lives in Inverness, Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What an awful ending., August 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mouvar's Magic (Kelvin) (Mass Market Paperback)

This series started out very good. The first book, especially, pulls you in and hooks you. But in each subsequent book, logic drifts further and further into the background, while plot convolutions and "surprises" (which usually counter "facts" laid out in previous books) take the fore. And do they all have to end with a deus ex machina? Please!

This was by far the worst, and fitting that being the worst and final book in the series, it has the worst and final ending of its own. The one star I am forced to give it, it does not deserve.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't read this book first, October 30, 2010

By 

Matthew S. Kronk - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mouvar's Magic (Kelvin) (Mass Market Paperback)

Warning, this is the fifth and concluding book of a series, don't read it first, lest you become enraged and confused!

The story of Kelvin of Rud plays out to its ending. The battles come faster, the magic grows stronger and the ultimate decision of who will win the day comes down to luck, magic, and perhaps a bit of something else.

Everything that has a beginning has an end. This one just isn't the best I've read. I was a bit disappointed by the way the ending explained things.
I get it, the clues were there throughout the series, but the payoff was, well... lacking something. I suppose this ending could be classified as "happy" but I'm not really sure that's how I'd classify it.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ASTOUNDING..., September 12, 2000

By 

Matt Morgan (Tokyo, JAPAN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mouvar's Magic (Kelvin) (Mass Market Paperback)

...ly bad! Wow! I am in awe. I had to give this book a 5-star rating simply because any aspiring author of Sciene-fiction or Fantasy should have access to a copy. It is a finely-crafted example of both what not to do when writing fiction, and how it is possible to achieve publication with no merit whatsoever! As mentioned elsewhere, the "deus ex machina" devices abound in this travesty, and lengthy descriptions detail the puppet-like nature of our "hero", and how he does not feel he deserves the appellation. Quite true, too. Who needs to be when you have boots and gauntlets that automatically react in the best possible fashion in the face of danger, and a gun that turns magic back at its nefarious caster? Oh, and all this "travelling to places you can see or remember just by thinking of it" guff...puh-lease! The preface mentions that the reader need not have perused the preceding books in the series. An accurate assertion, as refreshers are given ad nauseum...believe me - this was the first I had seen of the series, and I was well and truly sick of the constant reminders of things I had managed to grasp by the first or second time they were mentioned. It is hard to describe the nature of this book's plot woes...for one thing, the heroes are never really at risk. The only major casualties sustained by the Roundear and his cronies (ie. "goodies") are anonymous infantry and a distant non-allied city-state. We see a lot of Zady shouting "I'll get you!" and showing surprisingly good aim with avian excrement - surprising because she never hits any targets with anything more lethal. We see a lot of hints of incestuous admiration, and a wonderful piece of condescension so purulent that it singlehandedly made sense of the whole Political Correctness movement for me (it involves the warm fuzzy feeling one gets for a slightly retarded human child that is almost equal to the one we get for its normal counterpart). But maybe I was just in a bad mood by that stage and read too much into it. The ending, and especially Mouvar's explanation of the whys and wherefores of the struggle with Devale, was particularly rank in terms of plot and pseudo-philosophy. I was, quite seriously, putting down the book every page or so to stop for breath and clear my head. What more can I say - rush out and buy a copy now! Or better yet, borrow someone else's, because trust me - you DO NOT want to have paid to read this.