The Ways of Magic (The Elven Ways, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Scott Ciencin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1996

Yearning to become an artist despite the commands of the lords, who determine everyone's trades, young Tom Keeper finds a chance to fulfill his dream when Aitan Anzelm visits his town and recognizes Tom's inborn talent for magic.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: Avon (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380779803
• ISBN-13: 978-0380779802
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,597,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Story of a teen with enough magic thrown in to make it fun, October 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ways of Magic (The Elven Ways, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

This story is truly something you can enjoy as you read it. There are many books about teens growing up, and quite a few of them are fantasy, but this book also involves the elements of magic and religion to make the story more varied and intricate. It really compels you to read the rest of the series.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Alternate Reality Earth, September 19, 2002

By 

Silmarwen (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Ways of Magic (The Elven Ways, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

...This book obviously has religious overtones, mainly Catholic, but gathered from other religions as well. The characters are quite simply drawn, but it is sometimes difficult to understand their motivation because the author drops us into the world with little or no explanations. If the reader is observant, they will pick up on little facts about famous people or events that happened in the past that will give them clues, but it is very important to pay attention or you will miss them. I found this part of the book fascinating and really enjoyed the little passing comments that the author made.

The reason I gave the book 3 stars is because I felt that the world was still a little confusing, even after I had read the book. I had a hard time empathizing with the characters. They went through terrible trials and had many tests of their faith and vision, but I felt like I was doing exactly what I was doing - ready a story about something that is never going to happen to someone who is never going to exist. The plot was very original and is quite different from most of the fantasy out there, but at times it was a little too complicated to follow when you added the different world, the vast company of characters, all the different kinds of magic and power there are in this world, not to mention having no idea geographically what is going on. It is good to have mystery and suspense, but there are too many unanswered questions for me. Perhaps they will be answered in the next book...

4.0 out of 5 stars A surprising twist on the world, February 11, 2008

By 

Gradient Vector Field (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ways of Magic (The Elven Ways, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I picked this book up at a used book store for about a dollar. It got lost on my bookshelf for a few years and I finally read it recently. It is certainly not what I expected. It's sort of a "coming of age" story, which I normally am not a very big fan of because I think it's an overdone concept in books. However, the world that is presented is VERY different, and that's what really impressed me.

I will admit that at first I had some misgivings about this book. The first twenty or so pages took me a long time to read because they seemed to go nowhere and have no real purpose. Once I got beyond this point the book really started to pick up. Maybe the tedium of this introductory section was so long because it is actually part of a trilogy. You really don't understand the full purpose of this introduction until you get much further in the book.

This book blends a lot of myths about religion together to create it's own universe as a plausible "truth", in terms of a fantasy realm of course. The essential premise is that angels have returned to the Earth and they are going through the process of combining their Heaven with our planet. It takes place far in the future after a great war has taken place and forced mankind backwards into a world similar to medieval times. Every now and again diggers will come upon ancient artifacts like revolvers and the ilk. Technologically speaking this world is in the dark ages though.

The story is about a boy who appears to be overly average and really wants to be an artist. However, like a good dictator, people are forbidden to do such things unless given special permission (angelic orders). This is obviously to keep mankind's knowledge at a bare minimum. Magical knowledge is also forbidden to the land, again, angelic orders. The boy works with his family in the "hotel" service, we're talking old inn style work; similar to what you find in Role Playing Games. Eventually something happens and the boy needs to leave and he embarks on a great journey with an angelic guide. It's an intriguing story in it's own right, however this book is probably the least original in the trilogy and you really get to see how wonderfully original this is as the story goes on. "Ways of Magic" is merely an introductory piece to a greater tale, but it moves the story along as needed to bring the boy's story into culmination of his full journey.

For fantasy lovers, this is a must read. However, if you found this book to be a little slow, you need to keep reading. It really begins to take off in the next book. For me, this book really pulled me in and I really wanted to read the next book. I definitely highly recommend this very original series.