Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Summonings: Books of Magic
 
See larger image
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Summonings: Books of Magic [Paperback]

John Ney Rieber (Author), Peter Gross (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Library Binding $28.95  
Paperback --  

Book Description

Timothy Hunter, age 13, may become one of the most powerful magicians of all time. But that's only one of his problems. In this trade paperback followup to the popular Neil Gaiman story, Tim must contend with a heartless sorcerer, tea in hell, a murderous Victorian cyborg, a whirlwind family reunion with an insanely jealous Faerie Queen and ... a first date.


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Timothy Hunter, age 13, may become one of the most powerful magicians of all time. But that's only one of his problems. In this trade paperback followup to the popular Neil Gaiman story, Tim must contend with a heartless sorcerer, tea in hell, a murderous Victorian cyborg, a whirlwind family reunion with an insanely jealous Faerie Queen and ... a first date.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Vertigo (May 1, 1996)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1563892650
  • ISBN-13: 978-1563892653
  • Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 0.5 x 10 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,182,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Authors

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Not my favourite in the series...but still good, April 24, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Summonings: Books of Magic (Paperback)
As the title says...but still an excellent book. The entire series and especially the best books in it really immerse you in the story lines and this does it exceptionally well. I really liked the development of the relationship with Molly and the fairie queen character was a classic. My advice: read it; if you haven't read any of the Books of Magic before its a great introduction, and if you have read some of the other books...its a great addition.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Imaginary friends and time travel, May 15, 2005
By 
Gagewyn (United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Summonings: Books of Magic (Paperback)
Summonings follows the story of Tim Hunter, a teenager who is destined to become the world's greatest magician. Young Tim Hunter is reminded of an imaginary friend he had as a child who was killed by someone or something. In an investigation into the imaginary friend's death he enters a world where all his childhood imaginings are now real. Simultaneously we follow grown up and increasingly pitiful Tim Hunter. He visits the past to kidnap the woman of his life while she still loves him and to raise himself to grow up to be him. (He has done this many times before and we see him inspecting a nursery full of girls.) Influencing his younger self is a daunting task for him since he has traded away his childhood memories in various battles with demons.

Those are the big plots that span the shorter stories. The small plots involve a magician (not grown up Tim, another magician) who tries to catch Tim with his pet/slave succubus and various characters from Victorian England who have crossed over into modern England via the land of fairy. The sucubus makes for an interesting character. At one point she lets her dinner, a live pigeon, fly free over the city and muses on her own lack of freedom. There are also parallels between her obvious position of slavery and the less obvious traps that other characters are stuck in.

The plots are twisting and complex. There was a previous book in the series, but starting in here is fine. I hadn't read it first and was not too disoriented. This book introduces the two plot lines that will carry on into the next book: Tim's future and using his childhood dreams to open new worlds now.

The graphics here are well done. They are realistic and printed in a limited array of colors. (Most pages look somewhat like the cover amazon shows, which should give you a better idea.) The layouts felt just a tad off for me. Often I read frames out of sequence and they just didn't flow right. Visually this book is fine but the real strength is the twisting plot lines and parallels between the different characters and stories.

Overall I recommend Summonings. It has a complex and involving plot that is self contained (to the series) so it is a good choice for people who are new to the genre as well as those who read lots of comics. This is one of the best story lines I have come across and the book does comics right. I also recommend this to libraries with one reservation for school libraries: All these stories take place against a backdrop of demonology and characters from fairy mythology make appearances. That could be controversial.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A minor, but decent, contribution., November 23, 2005
This review is from: Summonings: Books of Magic (Paperback)
John Ney Rieber, The Books of Magic: Summonings (DC Comics, 1996)

After the first story in the Books of Magic series was complete, Neil Gaiman vanished, leaving the series in the hands of writer John New Rieber. That is not entirely a bad thing, but it's not a great one, either.

While Summonings is still good reading, the gap in quality between the first collection and this one is noticeable. The stories here are far more unconnected, disjointed, and episodic than those in the first collection, with only Tim to hold them together as a coherent whole.

That said, if you look at this more as a series of vignettes designed to give a little insight into Tim's character, rather than as a complete story arc, you'll probably enjoy it more. *** ½
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews



Only search this product's reviews



What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject