Customer Reviews

The NIGHT OF THE SOLSTICE

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The fact that this book is out of print is a crime. This is the first book L.J. Smith ever wrote and the best -- you get the benefit of her amazing writing style and wonderful plots without the required romance. (I know some people like the romance, but the lack of it adds to the suspense.) Four children are called upon to free a trapped sorceress and help stop a mad sorcerer from taking over earth. The sorcerer lives in another world which can only be entered through mirrors in the sorceress's home. Guided by the sorceress's familiar, a fox, they make several terrifying ventures into the other world while trying to deal with problems in their own world. The characterization in this book is the best that L.J. Smith has ever done, and the pace never lets up.

This book along with its sequel Heart of Valor are, in my opinion, one of the best L.J. Smith has written. It has the element of sorcery, fantasy and adventure that's just great. I loved all the characters, Janie and Elwyn being my favorites. When you read it, the world L.J. Smith describes comes alive almost and it feels you really Are Alys at times. My favorite scene is when Charles is in Elwyn's wood because she is just SUCH a nicompoop. Anyways, READ IT! i wish they would print it again with Heart Of Valor because i'm sure it would do very well. I wish L.J. Smith would write a sequel to Heart Of Valor however (also a great book) because... it feels like it needs one.

I enjoyed reading this book but you can tell it was really geared toward the younger readers. I really couldn't get attached to any of the characters except many Janie and Morgana. The vixen was a nice addition to the group too. The mirrors was a great part of the book and I enjoyed reading about the spells.

Night World series is a much better selection of reading material for older readers as myself, so maybe that's why I didn't enjoy Night of the Soltsice as much as I should have...

L. J. Smith is known mostly as the writer of several excellent series of "teen horror/romance" novels, beginning with the Vampire Diaries and continuing through the Night World series. But fans who haven't read THE NIGHT OF THE SOLSTICE are missing Smith at the top of her form. This may be her single best novel, and it's also one of the best young-adult fantasy yarns of its kind, bar none.

Smith starts with a familiar premise: kids discover spooky old house with magic in the woodwork. But this is the 1990s, and so our heroes and heroines have to cope with worried parents and the local police before the games are over.

What's really impressive are the confrontation scenes--no one, but no one, writes a better mix of sharp dialogue and magical pyrotechnics than Smith in high gear. This is not just in the league of Diane Duane and Patricia Wrede, it's up there with E. Nesbit, Edward Eager, and Susan Cooper at the very top of the genre.

It's hard to believe that Smith's publishers have let this book and its sequel go out of print. Don't let that stop you, though; find and read THE NIGHT OF THE SOLSTICE. You won't regret it.

Wow. This, of all L.J. Smith's books was the best for kids. I'd say 10+. It had a very different concept unlike all of the redundant books in the world. That's L.J. Smith's talent, giving readers something new. No cussing, no sex (very little romance), not gruesome at all. A great magical world that readers of all ages will enjoy. It really is an amazing book.

WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT:
Four siblings, three girls and a boy, all have stumbled into a world through mirrors in attempt to save the world by freeing a magician who can save our world. They have to defeat and outsmart evil magicians and creatures. There is even a little folklore in it. Over all, a good read.

Solstice is the first LJS book I ever read, and since then, so to speak, I've never turned back! LJS has style and plot in Solstice, and the clever humour will have you hooked!

I love L.J. Smith and i can't wait for her new book strange fate to come out. i think that they need to make all of her books available to get though. Keep writing about the night world.

The Night of the Solstice
By: Lisa Jane Smith
Reviewed by: T. Sun
Period 1

This story is about Alys, Charles, Janie, and Claudia who are trying to save their world from an evil sorcerer named Cadal Forge. They also have to save Morgana Shee because only she can prevent Cadel Forge from conquering the Stillworld, Earth. They embark in an adventure that takes them to the magical world of the Wildworld. They travel every night through the mirrors in Morgana's abandoned house. It takes them to the Wildworld version of that exact same house. They search every room they can open and run away from the sorcerei of the Society. In the end Janie figures out which room Morgana is held in and they free her. But they had to battle through the Society, Cadel Forge, and Thai Pendriel; she is a councilor of the Wildworld. In the end they send all the sorcerei who escaped into the Stillworld on the winter solstice back into the Wildworld, except Cadel Forge. He gets trapped in the mirrors. Every thing goes back to normal but all isn't too well, because Thai Pendriel stole Heart of Valor, a Forgotten Gem with incredible power. Morgana and the others will not worry about her right now. Morgana rewards each of the children with a gift. Alys gets a horse, Janie becomes Morgana's apprentice, Charles gets a sample of Kryptonite, and Claudia gets a charm that lets her talk to animals.
I liked this book because it's funny, has a lot of action, and is magical. There was plenty of fighting with magic, which I liked. For example: " She whirled back on the last words, and in her hands was the Gold Staff, dazzlingly bright. Out of the head of the staff shot a golden ball, which plummeted to the ground only to erupt upwards as a tree of living crystals, which grew with lightning speed. Needle-sharp branched burst our in all directions, transfixing sorcerei on every side." This quote describes a battle-taking place in Fell Andred in the Wildworld. Morgana is trying to stop Cadel Forge from entering the Stillworld. And she sort of failed at first, but in the end she traps him in the mirrors.
The only thing I disliked about The Night of the Solstice was that a Quislai (fairy) named Elwyn. She is Morgana's half sister. Morgana is only half Quislai while Elwyn is full. Elwyn's personality is very annoying and frustrating to understand. The reader, like me, can feel how the characters felt when they were trying to make Elwyn corporate with them. For example: " `Do you realize what Cadal Forge is Planning?' Elwyn pursed her bright lips. `Cadal Forge spoke rudely to me once.' She mused. Charles stared "Did he? Did he really?' `Perhaps I just dreamed it. Do you dream?' `Have you understood a single thing I've said?' `Of course I've understood a single thing you've said. You're Charles and you're not thirsty. But perhaps you'd care for something to eat?'" As you can see Charles isn't having a very easy conversation with Elwyn. He's very frustrated with her because she keeps changing the topic.
My favorite part of the book was when Alys, Janie, Charles, and Claudia found Morgana and the vixen. Then they battled the Society and Cadel Forge. I like this part because it has the most action and tension in it. It's is so much fun to visualize Morgana battling Cadel Forge and Thai Pendriel with magic while trying to protect the stillworlders (Alys, Janie, Charles, and Claudia). I am very content with the description of Morgana's stress as she tries to stop this madness

A briliant book, but not up to the same standards as the Vampire Diaries

From the author of The Vampire Diaries, are a pair of books about four siblings-Alys the responsible none, Janie the intelligent one, Charles the laid back one, and Claudia the baby of the family (and I don't mean crybaby)-who are called upon to help the sorceress Morgana Shee.

In the Night of the Solstice, they are called to service by a talking vixen to help Morgana Shee when she is taken captive. Morgana is the Guardian of the Mirrors, a passageway between the magical Wildworld and our non-magical world (called StillWorld). If she isn't back by the winter solstice, the passageway will open for anyone to get through and an evil sorcerer will be able to come to StillWorld where he intends to enslave and ruin civilization.

Unlike Smith's other books, this is not a love story (which I am glad for). There are a lot of things I really liked about this book, the writing in particular is pretty solid. The story flows really well and you can't help but find yourself engrossed. Some characters are more relate-able and three-dimensional than others (Alys and Janie are both very distinct and go through obvious growth while Charles and Claudia don't actually mature very much over the course of the book), but all are interesting enough to hold my attention.

The only thing lacking for me was some of the more in depth explanations about magic. It felt like there were things we should have learned but never did (like the rules of magic, how one goes about winning a staff, how WildWorld actually runs) and perhaps, if Smith ever intends to write another book, we will learn more. I can only hope she does because I really enjoyed it and would gladly read a third book.