Customer Reviews

A Plague of Sorcerers

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

 

 

For all those people who enjoy magical tales this would be a great read. A good story centering around a boy coming into his magical powers in a society run by wizards and sorcerers. The characters are sympathetic and the story line is consistent and well written. All in all a great story that will keep younger readers (and many older ones!) invoved to the end!

Though not the most gripping or imaginative tale of wizardry, "Plague of Sorcerers" is a nice read with some decidedly cute moments, nice twists, and a mystery that will keep readers guessing till the end.

In a country of wizards ruled by a council of wizards, a boy Jermyn wants to become one more than anything else. An orphan living with his Aunt Merry, he struggles to perform magic and can't even attract a familiar. When a feud between his aunt and the snobby weather-wizard Fulke ends in a vicious curse, Jermyn sends Fulke back to his home, and by doing so attracts an animal. Except it isn't the cat that was expected, but a skunk. Jermyn reluctantly accepts the skunk Delia as his familiar.

But the curse from Fulke has rendered Aunt Merry unable to do magic. She sends Jermyn to be apprenticed to the Theoretician Eschar, and for a while things seem to be working out fine. But then wizards begin to fall into strange magical comas, hideous weather threatens to destroy the city, and a malevolent Marquis from an anti-wizardry land seems to be connected to it all. Jermyn and Delia must uncover the truth about the magical plague before it's too late.

Jermyn is the classic "bright kid who just doesn't work well under normal circumstances." He has a lot of power, but it works under peculiar circumstances, usually under stress. Aunt Merry, Fulke, Eschar, and Eschar's pretty ward Meggan are a little less developed, but they are easily recognizable with individual personalities. Unusually endearing is Delia, with her baby-talk thoughts and willingness to spray anyone that she sees as being a threat to "Je'm'n."

The only problem, perhaps, is the pacing. Zambreno keeps pretty much the same pace throughout the book, regardless of the situation. She also needs to work a little on atmosphere. The descriptions are pretty average, while the humorous situations and dialogue are excellent. And, of course, her idea about a country that wizards emigrated to from a repressive homeland is brilliant. The mystery is twisted and well-written, with hints sprinkled through the book as to who the guilty party is, but readers probably won't guess who it is until the climax.

A nice, suspenseful story for fans of wizards and mystery. Now, if only they'd bring "Journeyman Wizard" back into print...

"A Plague of Sorcerers" is an easy and fun read. It is about boy who is supposed to become a sorcerer but has a skunk for a familiar. Shunned by the magical community he and his skunk play a crucial role in discovering the source of a magical plague.
A good and interesting book, though the mystery is hard to figure out it hasn't got an unreasonable conclusion. It has a good plot and is in parts humorus.

This book is about Jermyn Greves. Coming from a magical family he is waiting for his familiar to appear so he can start his magical training. Sometimes he doubts that he has magic at all, but his aunt is convinced that he does. So she isn't surprised when his familiar finally appears. What she is surprised about is what type of animal Jermyn's familiar is - a skunk!

I liked this book allot and I can't see why it got such low ratings. The plot makes sense, it has humor and good characters. Advice for 9-12 year olds who like fantasy: Read it.

A quick look at the jacket will tell you that this is a book about a not so skilled apprentice wizard with a skunk familiar. He is different from all of the other children and is picked on a bit because of it. That may seem cliched, and there isn't much here that hasn't been done before, but I still enjoyed it. Apprentice wizards are my favorite thing to read about, and A Plague of Sorcerers delivers. The author puts us right in the midst of the action and doesn't let up. There is no introductory section about what the country is called, what every type of wizard does, who rules, and what the town looks like. I love it. All of the characters are interesting, and the mystery is enjoyable. There are a few twists as well and I wasn't able to figure out the bad guy, so points for that. While I enjoyed those things, I did have some issues. I may not be a fan introductory details, but I do like plenty of information that pertains to the characters and the plot. I think there could have been a bit more explanation of the types of wizards and the way spells work. The main character's master would mention things that I didn't understand, and they were never explored in more detail. I understand that it has value to the student, but it seemed pointless to mention it in the grand scheme of things. The characters are also a bit flat, but I expected that since this is mostly a mystery. I had no other issues, but there isn't enough depth to this story to make it more than ok. As others have said, there is nothing really special about it. A Plague of Sorcerers is just a fun mystery to occupy a bit of time.

This has been my favorite book since I was twelve years old, and I continue to enjoy it every time I pick it up.

Jermyn Graves is young man facing decisions about his career as a wizard - and since he has not yet called a familiar, it doesn't look too good. His aunt, who has raised him, believes strongly in his talent and schemes to help Jermyn release his power and find a familiar. But when it happens, she isn't pleased; who ever heard of a skunk for a familiar? The story that ensues is filled with excitement and mystery (including spells gone wrong, magical curses, and a strange plague that threatens to consume their entire city.)

I think this is a well-crafted, page-turning story with very vivid characters and a highly imaginative world. This story, to me, is the original Harry Potter. A great read for anyone.

A story with great description, great story line, great everything!!!!!!!!!!

As the title says, this book is filled with cliches. From an unlikely boy hero to an unlikely familiar (a Skunk!) to Wizards taking apprentices like Blacksmiths, etc.

Its just all too familiar.

I will admit that I did not finish this book (it was too horrible) but what I did read was so-so.

The actual writing style of the author is great, but the plot stinks and the ideas are unoriginal. If you've read Jordan, Stanek, Goodkind, Tolkien, Brooks, etc, then I might recommend this book. But I would say only people that read every fantasy book on the market should read it.

this was an aweful book with just about no story line what so ever. I do NOT recommend this book for ANYONE!