Customer Reviews

Shadowmagic

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I see I'm not alone here with the recent reviews. Probably like the others, John has put out the word that the sequel to this novel will be coming out soon, and that in itself is great news. But, it made me realize that I never gave any kind of review for the original, which was not available except by import when I got my copy. I'm glad to see that it's available on Amazon now.

This story is a fun and interesting twist on the hero's quest. A boy, Conner, grows up in our world, having never known that it is not truly his home...until that home comes through a portal to try and kill him. This leads Conner to return home with his father and the story races on from there. John brings a wry wit to his story telling that is fun and playful without being bitter. Is it Lord of the Rings? No, this definitely falls to the lighter side. But that's no knock. It is what it sets out to be, a fun adventure tale with characters that will draw you in and that you will enjoy getting to know. You would do yourself well to check it out.

His name is Conor and he is 18 years old. He has a girlfriend named Sally, who he likes quite a bit. He goes to high school and for the most part is fairly normal. His father, however, is a bit of an eccentric lunatic and has his son learning ancient Gallic and fencing from a young age. Everything changes the day that Conor and his father got attacked in their living room and were whisked away to Tir na Nog, the mystical land of the ancient Celts, where it turns out Conor's father is the usurped heir to the throne and everybody wants Conor dead because of some prophecy. Well, at least Conor gets to meet his mom!

The Pros: I think the best part of this story are the characters. They aren't overly complex, the story is quite light hearted, but they are likable and you care about them, quite a few of them actually. Conor in his travels in the magical land of Tir na Nog meets some interesting people, the Banshee, Fergul, the Imp, Ararat and lets not forget the girl, Essa, oh don't forget the girl. Even the villain in Shadow Magic is great and just like a villain should be, bad! The story and plot line are pretty basic, conor's father, the rightful king, has a brother, who is a bad bad man. He basically wants to kill everyone. Why, I'm not really sure to be honest, but the reason doesn't seem to be important because he carries out his plan with such single minded efficiency that the reason doesn't really seem to matter. You hate him and thats all you really need. Shadow Magic is fast too a quick read that leaves you satisfied but wanting more (what can I say its a complex emotion).

The Cons: The magic system is a mess. I know its based on gold but I still don't think it was explained very well. Luckily it isn't relied on as much as you might think so the confusion surrounding the magic isn't as important as it could be. Conor felt a little scattered, he's 18 with the maturity of a 14 year old and often acts like he was even younger than that. He could be annoying at times. That however, may not be a flaw in the writing because that could have been what the author was going for. The ending felt a little rushed to me as well. Conor makes some decisions at the end that I didn't really understand and therefore it felt forced. Those are my chief complaints

Overall: Shadow Magic is a light hearted thrill ride. Confusing at times yes, but at the same time, straight forward and engaging. You don't have to think alot in this book and some of the side elements like the humor and relationship development more than make up for any weaknesses. This fantasy is a bit off the beaten path and if you like stuff like that, you'll like Shadow Magic.

Collin Earl
Author of Harmonics: Rise of the Magician

This is just a fun, intelligent, frequently funny, occasionally tear-jerking, YA book. If you like young-ish fiction (which I have ever since my first meeting with Robert Heinlein's YA stuff) do yourself a favor and grab this one.

Plot/Storyline: 4 1/4 Stars

This novel grabs the reader from the beginning when a teenaged boy, a pretty average one named Conor, has his life disrupted when he and his father are captured and wake up in a dungeon. The explanation for this and and other aspects of Conor's life and lineage flesh out the rest of a fairly original fantasy novel.

Rarely did this story fail to hold complete attention as it follows Conor's adventures in this new land. There is always some new event or distaster occurring that needs to be worked through. Underlying all of that is the main plot of how Conor needs to save the land while everyone he meets wants to kill him.

I did think there could have been a little more description of certain portions, such as the runes. I had trouble picturing aspects that were not fully described.

I didn't feel that the reasoning behind why Conor's mother did not live with them all those years was detailed enough to explain it. The ending, while satisfying, was rather unbelievable.

Character Development: 2 Stars

Conor was eighteen years old in this novel, but acted fifteen and seemed to have the emotional immaturity of a twelve year old. At one point, when asked what he wants to drink, he immediately asks for beer. I just found it hard to believe that an eighteen year old would think of that first when thirsty, well, unless he was trying to show off and appear older. There were many events that any normal person would have questioned, but Conor just takes everything in stride.

I pictured his character quite often as the guy played by Mike Myer's in Wayne's World. Not only was that annoying, but it made it difficult to like Conor's character. He was too shallow for me to care.

Conor's parents were not developed well at all. There was no real empathy elicited for them as they were just flat.

Writing Style: 4 Stars

The writing style was excellent with terrific sentence flow. The descriptions, for the most part, were pretty vivid. The dialogue was fairly realistic, if you ignored the fact that the people were not speaking English. (I did try to ignore that as I just didn't feel that people would speak the same in such an archaic language. Many things would just not translate that well.)

Editing/Formatting: 4 1/2 Stars

There were some run-together words, such as "count of ten" appearing as "count often" each time. I thought there were misspellings, but upon further research, they were actually just the British spellings of words.

Rating: PG for Semi-Graphic Violence

In a world overcrowded with overly serious and over-stuffed High Fantasy, Shadowmagic is a glorious respite from all that.

Written in first-person, the tale of seventeen-year-old boy from Scranton that's pulled into a fantasy world is wonderfully written, complete with his modern sensibilities intact. He sees things in this world that we too would see. He's not ashamed, he's smart and adaptable.

Highly recommended for teens and adults!

This is an interesting story about an average young man, who has a disabled (though not really when you see what he can do) widower for a father, who finds out very early on that everything is not what it seems. He is not the average boy from Scranton, a senior graduating high school; he is a prince in a mythical land full of faeries, leprachans, imps, banshees, and magic. It's a great story to read to a child, for a young reader, or for any other avid reader who likes a good yarn.

I started this book listening to it as a podcast, as something to listen to while I commute to and from work. This podcast is one that is very entertaining and makes you want to listen though till the end just to see what happens. Though I loved listening to the author read his story, I was certain that reading it and letting my own imagination take over was the way to go, so I purchased the eBook for my Kindle.

I can't wait for The Price of Hazel & Oak, book 2, and hopefully that will come to Kindle as well.

First heard this book at Podiobooks.com for free and loved it. The story is full of adventure and keeps you interested from beginning to end. John Lenahan did very well with this his first novel and i can't wait for the story to continue in Prince of Hazel and Oak.

I loved this book. The author has succeeded in creating a great epic fantasy world while still injecting healthy doses of humor to the story

I found a copy of this via iTunes & couldn't help but get it. The premise of the book sounded pretty interesting. Conor thought he was an average 18 year old. All he really wants to do is have fun & go on dates, while trying to avoid his father's attempts to get him into college. It all changes when Conor meets an aunt he never knew he had. And she tries to kill him, claiming that it will save "The Land". From there, he discovers that his father isn't quite who he claims to be & that there's a world beyond the one he knows.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the lush descriptions & interesting characters. During the entire experience I couldn't help but wish that the book would last a little longer so I could see a little more of the land of Tir na Nog & all of the diverse magical creatures that existed within it.

The only main complaint I'd have is that some things seemed to be a little too rushed. Conor's dad & that person (trying not to give a spoiler) seemed to pick up where they left off without a hitch. While I know that they live for a very long time & 18 years wouldn't be much to them, it just didn't exactly ring true to me.

The book's author describes this as something for kids 12 & up, but younger kids can read & enjoy this book- I would just recommend that the parents read it first so they can ensure that it's ok for their kids. There's a lot of violence in it (all kick butt, but I know some parents object to it) & some adult (not that type!) situations such as death, murder & betrayal.

I've heard rumors of a sequel & I honestly hope that the rumors are true- Lenahan is a promising writer & I can't wait to read more from him!

I highly recommend this book. It is funny, adventurous, and exciting. I hope Mr. Lenahan continues the story with a second book!