Customer Reviews

Secret of the Sixth Magic: (#2)

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

 

 

A strong sequel to 'Master of Five Magics,' we return to Alodar's world with a different protagonist -- Jemidon, (failed) apprentice sorcerer.

I remember the frustration I felt with Jemidon as he tried casting spells over and over again, getting them technically perfect, but still messing up. Like Alodar, we follow a hero who fails and fails but never gives up or gives in. The sort of person I can truly identify with and respect.

The world building is excellent, as we are introduced to the sixth magic, that of meta-laws. This may be a stumbling block for less intellegent readers, but I loved it. Complex, logical, and self-consistant, Hardy writes part of the novel as the 'hi-tech' of magic. We even do world jumping.

The setting are memorable, and I can still feel the desperation behind Jemidon's efforts as he constantly reconfigures his focus-puzzle, trying to escape one of the many traps that catch him.

The plot kept taking new unexpected directions, typical of Hardy, and the narrative pacing is everything you could hope for. The dialogue isn't the modern witticisms or biting sarcasm, but that makes the novel into a good story instead of a wannabe television scriptline.

This novel has my stamp of quality and recommendations. If you are a logical mind, such as an engineering student or scientist who enjoys fantasy, you will consider this Lyndon Hardy's best work.

In his first book, the author not only detailed a heroic quest but also managed to apply great logic to the laws of magic.

With this book, the author takes his concept and expands on it, introducing "meta-laws" which govern the basic laws of magic.

In this tale, we're introduced to Jemidon, a young man with an unerring ability to fail in the simplest of spells in all of the arts. What he does posess, however, is a brilliant analytical mind that is excellent at solving puzzles. He puts this great mind to work when he realizes that the strange creature known as Melizar is slowly rendering each of the five branches of magic useless. So it is that Jemidon sets out to stop Melizar, and in doing so he learns about "meta-magic".

I would agree with one reviewer - in this novel the author gets a little heavy with his logical explanations and deductions, which can get a little confusing...the first time I read it as a kid, I didn't fully appreciate the novel. Now, I consider it a brilliant book.

Finally, the author once again shows how the smallest of things can have a great impact on the outcome of the quest!

I thoroughly recommend this novel to anyone :)

In this sequel to the Master of the Five Magics, you follow a blundering young man as he tries to understand why the five magics are failing. The antagonist in this book is dark and mysterious, and the whole time you are reading the book you want to more about him. If you have read the first book, then take the time to read this one. You will enjoy it as much.

This book has one thing that so many other fantasy books are lacking - SOLID RULES. There are hard and fast laws that govern the actions of magic, and Lyndon Hardy has quantified them, and gotten them down to the point where they're considered more like a craft akin to blacksmithing than anything else. So for anyone who's ever wondered what's the guiding principles behind WHY somebody can just have a fireball appear out of nowhere... this is the book for you.

When I first read the book, I rushed through it. That may have contributed to my confusion with it at first. However, within ten mintues or so of my finishing it, many of the details came clear. Despite it's confusing nature, I still felt the urge to keep reading it, though. It is a creative, well-thought out, well written work of fantasy fiction. I consider myself lucky to have it. I am reading it for a second time now at a more sedate pace and gleaning a better understanding of it. The only problem that I could see with the author is that the author should be a little less complicated at the beginning of the novel. It doens't always persuade a person to continue reading if the author does that. At times, it can be a real turn off. Still, a good book.

Lyndon Hardy wrote a wonderful trilogy
Master of the Five Magics
Secret of the Sixth Magic
Riddle of the Seven Realms

I highly recommend all three books and I hope someone out there will reprint them in hardcover editions! Hint Hint ;-)

I found a copy I had read years and years ago, so I re-read it last night ... Probably one of the best pieces of Fantasy fiction I've ever read. The theories were well worked out, and the main character was developed enough so that you actually cared about what happened to him.