The Seventh Mountain: Chronicles of a Magi [Paperback]

Gene Curtis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 11, 2006

"The Seventh Mountain by Gene Curtis is pure delight. Curtis wields a tremendous imagination and uses it to transport the reader to another world, where sword wielding Magi fight for good, evil lurks just out of sight and a young hero searches for his destiny. Sure to be compared to Harry Potter, but undeniably more compelling." - Jeremy Robinson, Barnes&Noble.com bestselling author of The Didymus Contingency -- A dream, surreal and frightening, begins the path of Mark Young's future; a path set long before he was even born. Fortunately, it's not a path he's doomed to walk alone. His course leads to true friends, fortune and a place where he learns to wield great power. This place is The Seventh Mountain, the place where Magi train. The Seventh Mountain conceals the direst legend known to man. Mark's fate lies within.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Imagine you're an ordinary twelve year-old boy. The next thing you know, you're in the Seventh Mountain, an academy where students are trained as warriors, practical jokes are not just tolerated but encouraged, and the game of choice is a massive, four team version of capture the flag on horseback. Mark is a Magi- called to join others like himself to battle the evil of Benrah.

From the Back Cover

The Seventh Mountain by Gene Curtis is pure delight. Curtis wields a tremendous imagination and uses it to transport the reader to another world, where sword wielding Magi fight for good, evil lurks just out of sight and a young hero searches for his destiny. Sure to be compared to Harry Potter, but undeniably more compelling. — Jeremy Robinson, Barnes&Noble.com best selling author of The Didymus Contingency

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com (March 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1411662822
• ISBN-13: 978-1411662827
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,780,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Until I was 18, I spent every summer except one (That one exception being spent on a shrimp trawler. That's something I'll never do again.) going back to my great grandparent's farm in North Carolina. I worked the fields for area farmers to gain a little extra money. Until I was 8 years old I did things like pick cucumbers and strawberries and was paid by the pound. I wasn't actually forced to do this, I just did what everyone else was doing and the adults thought it was cute. After that I learned to drive the tractors and was paid by the hour. My great grandfather was known as the best liar in four counties and I always loved to listen to his stories. I guess that's where I got the knack for story telling.

When I turned 22 I joined the police force and got married. Those were two of the best decisions I ever made. I retired as a police sergeant and moved to the country. I was pretty much fed-up with city life and moving to the gentle rolling countryside of western Virginia was something I had wanted to do for a long time. I missed the country life of my youth and in the city I couldn't have a campfire in my backyard. One needs a campfire in order to tell good stories.

During the long lonely nights on the police force I had tried to start several novels (in my mind), but they were absolutely atrocious. It wasn't until I moved to the country, where I could have a campfire, that I started studying how to write a really good story. Six years and many campfires later I succeeded in producing my first original full length novel. I called it The Seventh Mountain.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars At times a bit too much like Harry Potter, May 31, 2006

By 

J. Wahl (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Seventh Mountain: Chronicles of a Magi (Paperback)

Don't get me wrong, I liked and enjoyed (in my case) listening to the book, but it was at times annoying to realize how much the story was like Harry Potter. The basic story line and premise it almost exactly the same. For those of you who read both books, you probably understand what I mean, for those of you who only know Harry Potter, here's a comparison:

Magi = Wizards

The 7th Mountain (a school for Magi) = Hogwarts (a school for wizards)

tribes (each student is chosen for a tribe at the beginning of their first year) = houses (each student is chosen for a house at the beginning of their first year)

Mark Young & friends (the hero and his friends) = Harry Potter and friends (the hero and his friends)

Slone and his bullies = Draco and his bullies

Benra (a bad magi wanting to kill Mark) = Voldemort (a bad wizard wanting to kill Harry)

Flags (a sport played by magi) = Quidditch (a sport played by wizards)

Mr.Diefenderfer & Mrs. Shadowitz (the warmhearted intelligent heads of the school) = Albus Dumledore and Minerva McGonagall (the warmhearted intelligent heads of the school)

Harmoniuous Thorpe (the ill-humored and spiteful teacher) = Severus Snape (the ill-humored and spiteful teacher)

a moat with weird creatures in it = a lake with weird creatures in it

see what I mean? ;-)

Anyways, if you enjoyed Harry Potter you'd probably like this book too. But I wish the writer had proven a bit more imaginative.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Seventh Mountain by Gene Curtis is a story told well, May 17, 2011

By 

Patrick D. (Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Seventh Mountain (Chronicles of a Magi) (Kindle Edition)

The Seventh Mountain by Gene Curtis is a story told well. While there are similarities between Seventh Mountain and Harry Potter it is not so exact as to be distracting. The author does a very good job telling this story. The writing is well done and the plot is compelling. This is one book that you will enjoy until the last pages.

Any fan of the Harry Potter series would enjoy The Seventh Mountain. There is nothing inappropriate in the content making this book a good one for readers of all ages.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Start, December 15, 2006

By 

Galora_K (Central NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Seventh Mountain: Chronicles of a Magi (Paperback)

It intrigued me from the first and I have to say, it's a darned good story. I believe some people will say that it's a Christian Harry Potter knock off but I can't say I agree. True, at first I wondered if it was indeed a re-telling of a Harry Potter type tale with a Christian twist but as I got deeper into the book I found it was something quite different.

Curtis does a good job on the magic system in the Magi world, making it understandable and realistic. The setting of Seventh Mountain and it's surroundings is also very well developed. To be honest, the characters were a bit wooden at times and the dialog was awkward in places. I often felt that Mark understood concepts and acted far beyond the scope of his 12 years of age. Yet I was still engaged and my interest was held to the very last page.

There are enough questions in the book that you want to keep reading, want to find the answers. The bad guy is really bad and the good guys are really good. This work should appeal to a wide audience. It's young enough that a child will understand and enjoy it but it's got enough depth that an adult will enjoy their time reading it as well.

Bravo to Gene Curtis and well done on his first published novel. I look very forward to reading future installments of the Chronicles of a Magi series.