Customer Reviews

Wizards at War (The Young Wizards, Book 8)

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4 star:		(7)
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I've been waiting for someone to review this book for a while now, but I broke down and bought it so maybe I'm going to have to start the ball rolling.

First of all, this is a series book so I'd better give a little background.

Nita Callahan hid in a library once when she was thirteen and found a special book there...a manual of wizardry. For the Powers that created life, the Powers that Be, sometimes enlist a little help in preserving and defending life against the Lone Power that brought entropy and death into the universe. And that is why there are wizards. Together, Nita and her fellow-wizard Kit Rodriguez passed the ordeal that made them wizards. Somehow, they've survived underwater adventures, the cataclysmic Ordeal of Nita's sister, Dairine, wizardry on assignment in Ireland, losing the fight for Nita's mother's life, the depths of grief, and dealing with the Power that almost destroyed the paradise Nita and Kit went on a vacation in.

No sooner do they get back to earth, though, then the local Seniors, Tom and Carl, stop by to drop the biggest bomb ever: something is splitting the universe apart at the seams, wizardry itself is failing, and Nita, Kit, and a few selected others are (for the time-being) in charge of keeping the Earth running! Now even the youngest and most powerful wizards have only a few weeks to find a fix for the problem. It's up to Nita, Kit, Dairine, and the new friends visiting the Callahans' house on exchange to scour the ends of the universe for the answers. They will follow any clue, risk any danger, and pay any price to beat the odds against them, because all of existence as they know it depends on it...

If there's another book in the series this reminds me most of, it's High Wizardry. And this book has all of what makes this series worth reading. A few highlights:

-Irish wizard Ronan Nolan reappears
-Carmela's mail-order package comes in very handy :)
-Dairine meets the parents
-Nita talks to wizardry itself and creates a new spell
-Ponch talks to a big, big bug
-Chocolate (Read it. You'll understand!)
-The Crossings invaded and taken
-Enchanted cell-phones and Wiz-pods
-Kit at a loss for words at least three or four different times, all for different reasons
and...
-The secret of the strange wizardry leakage at Kit's home is revealed...but only at a haunting price.

I laughed, I cried, and I loved it. Maybe you will too!

I'm a teen's mom. I've read the other books in this series as my teen son did. This book brings in characters from earlier books, so I would NOT recommend that this book be the first read in the series. This book, along with the earlier books involves ethics. This is all too rare in teen's choices in reading. Each wizard, sometime as a child, was offered an opportunity to take the Wizard's Oath, then submit to an ordeal. This is when a wizard has the most raw power available - untempered yet by experience and need for control. Adults are brought into the books as Senior Wizards, mentors for the children. It is a wonderful way of explaining why the children are asked to save or mend parts of the universe when adults cannot. In this book, the stakes are even higher. The adults forget their magic in an evolving crisis with the whole universe at stake. All young wizards, from earth and far away galaxies, as well as other species such as cats and whales get involved. Some of the characters that were important in earlier books are prepared to give their lives for this battle. Some do, some are transformed in some very interesting twists. As each book ended, I wondered how the author could top that book. And then, I was delighted by the next book written, as was true this time.

Just because there is 'magic' involved, this series has been compared with that of J. K. Rowling's <u>Harry Potter</u>. That is too simplistic a comparison (rather like comparing Bram Stoker's <u>Dracula</u> to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's <u>le Comte de Saint-Germain</u>).
Though both series have magic as a force extant in the real world, how it is used is completely different.
Ms Rowling's characters use it mostly as a convenience, while for Ms Duane's characters it is more of a tool to accomplish very difficult tasks that (hopefully) slow down the progression of entropy.
Big difference there.
I won't try to summarize this book, don't want to put in spoilers. It has more subplot than its predeccessors, with relationships between the various characters becoming more complex. The original Kit/Nita dynamic, while strong as ever, moves upstage a bit, making way for the newer, sometimes spiky combinations of Dairine/Roshaun, Kit/Ponch, Kit/Carmela, Ronan/'Michael', Carmela/Ronan, and Nita as reluctant, inadvertant sporadic 'foreteller' and Greek chorus.
There is the expected (at least for me) laugh-out-loud scenes that come without warning when Ms. Duane turns things on their ear, as well as the shivers-and-tears-in-the-eyes scenes that aren't necessarily sad. There is loss. There is joy. There is growth, and redemption, and surprise, and determination...and there is also more than a hint that there will be another story in this series.

Wizards at War (2005) is the eighth novel in the Young Wizards series, following Wizard's Holiday. In the previous volume, Nita, Kit and Ponch go on excursus to Alaalu and three other wizards -- Sker'ret the centipede, Filif the tree and Roshaun the humanoid King -- come to live in the Callahan basement. Dairine and her temporary house guests notice a little overpressure problem in the Sun and fix it. Meanwhile, Nita, Kit and Ponch discover a glitch in the Alaalid Choice and bring it to the attention of the only living wizard on Alaalu. Quelt modifies the conditions of the Choice and every Alaalid, living or dead, soon dematerializes and takes off for parts unknown.

In this novel, Nita, Kit and Ponch are again called upon to save the universe, this time from an intrusion of living dark matter -- the Pullulus -- that has caused spacetime to expand more rapidly. This effect is also adversely affecting the minds of everyone, especially those past latency, and older people everywhere are becoming more bellicose. Even worse, older wizards are losing their powers and are even forgetting their errantry.

Nita immediately suspects the Lone Power, but her Seniors point out that the Pullulus are hurting It as much as anyone else. Of course, Nita soon learns that It is using the dark matter as a diversion while searching for the embodiment of another Power equivalent to It, yet on the side of Light.

The young wizards transit to the Moon and discover old friends, including Darryl and Ronan. Then they transit beyond to find the source of this new threat. Dairine, Spot and Roshaun travel to the Motherboard to collect data. Nita, Kit, Ponch, Sker'ret and Filif travel to Crossings to throw the Lone Power off their trail, but find that normal traffic there has been disrupted; Sker'ret also discovers his ancestor's personality is abnormally changed.

Later Nita discovers an unexpected ally -- Carmela -- at Crossing. Carmela is *not* a wizard, but has some of the attributes, including fluency in Speech and a powerful weapon. Kit's reaction to his sister's presence is beyond shock; he makes like a motorboat: but . . . but . . . but.

This novel covers some familiar ground, but also takes the young wizards to Rashah, where the Lone Power has long ago won the Choice. Every native has an avatar of It within them and the King is totally dominated by Its avatar. Luckily, the King is not fully empowered or Nita and friends could have been foiled as soon as they reached the planet.

This reviewer has one technical quibble about the plot: physicists speculate that nonobservable mass -- i.e., dark matter -- adds to the gravitational attraction of the universe as a whole. Such additional mass would slow down the expansion of the universe and could eventually cause a contraction leading to the Big Crunch. This plot assumes the reverse. Still this series is fantasy, so herein some type of dark matter might cause increased expansion of the universe instead of a slowing or contraction.

The young wizards have continued to mature and this volume provides more growth opportunities. The Lone Power always makes Itself seem to be greater than It is and causes as much grief as possible. Actions of the Lone Power in this novel bring sorrow to some for the (temporary?) loss of relatives and friends.

Highly recommended to Duane fans and to anyone else who enjoys tales of magic in service to a greater good.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I love the Young Wizards series. It's probably my favorite series of all time. I stumbled upon it by accident and I am really glad that I did. I think that this one was the best so far.

It was long which is a plus. I always like long books a lot can happen in the pages. This one especially was filled with action and adventure and I loved it!

A lot of the events were totally unpredictable and when I read them I had to just sit there for a second asking if it really happened. Any fan of this series will love this one as well. I would definitly recommend this.

The young wizards series of books has had its ups and downs. With this book, the eighth in the series, Diane Duane has written a book to equal the first books in the series. Diane's story captured me from the beginning, and I was unable to put the book down as the story became faster and more urgent. This book is a must have for Diane Duane fans and those who have enjoyed other books in the young wizards series.

The universe is in trouble. Evil is threatening all races, and all wizards, in the form of the Pullulus. As evil's influence spreads, magic wanes, to the point where all Seniors will forget about magic. Once again Kit, Nita, Dairine, and their fellow wizards from across the world and the universe must fight evil so that good might prevail. Their fight takes them to the Crossings, where they learn that minions doing evil's work have captured the station. However, we know that nothing will keep our intrepid wizards down, and they move on to find a being that may hold the key to defeating the Pullulus and saving not only wizardry and mankind, but the universe as we know it.

As the wizards sojourn to distant worlds to find the clues that will lead them to the possible salvation of all, there are several shocking surprises will be revealed to readers who have read the previous books in the series. We have to remember that people and beings have made sacrifices throughout this series, and this book is no exception. Readers of this series will also meet friends from previous books in the series.

Diane Duane has written a book that is very fast paced and full of so many surprises that this series is fully re-invigorated. This book builds quite a bit on previous books, so I recommend reading "So You Want to Be a Wizard," "Deep Wizardry," "High Wizardry," "A Wizard Abroad," "A Wizard's Dilemma," "A Wizard Alone" and "A Wizard's Holiday" prior to reading this book. You may read this book without reading the previous books, but you will miss the relationships that this book relies upon. This book is a fantasy winner. Enjoy!

This is the eighth book in the "Young Wizards" series by Diane Duane. While it does stand on its own pretty easily, you'll definitely have a deeper understanding of the characters if you've read at least one previous book in the series.

The page count in each book has been growing steadily, and this book is longer than any previous book in the series by almost 100 pages. Despite the length, the pace keeps moving well. The overall story line is the same as the previous books: a battle between good and evil and the choice between freedom and slavery.

Ms. Duane's writing paints clear pictures of scenery, and the characters are lively with shared history and interpersonal relationships. I think this is the first Young Wizards book that made me cry, as an important character dies.

In summary, if you're new to the Series, you can read this volume or start at the beginning ... you won't be toooo lost if you start here, but you won't be getting the full experience either. If you've read some of the other books, definitely add this one to your collection.

Wizards at War is the eighth installment in Diane Duane's Young Wizards series. Weighing in at a hefty 560 pages, this book is not for the faint of heart. I don't recommend that you read it unless you've read the previous books in the series, because the author makes many references to previous books. However, if you are a fan of the series, you should run, not walk, to get yourself a copy of this book.

The Young Wizards series supposes that magic takes place behind the scenes on our world, and on the many other populated worlds in the universe. Only a very tiny percentage of people are chosen to be trained as wizards. These wizards have the responsibility of protecting (as much as possible) the people on their planets from evil forces. They use magical spells that are relatively scientific in nature, relying on the understanding of physical coordinates, and concrete and true descriptions of people and objects.

In Wizards at War, Nita and Kit (a pair of teenage wizard partners), along with their friends and relatives (especially Nita's wizard sister Dairine and Kit's non-wizard sister Carmela), are called upon to save not just the world, but the entire universe. Their mortal enemy, the Lone Power, has started sprinkling areas of space with Dark Matter. The Dark Matter is causing space to expand, which will over time lead to a breakdown in wizardry. If left unchecked, it will also have dangerous emotional consequences for the hearts and minds of non-wizards, and will eventually cause the end of everything.

The breakdown in wizardry starts to affect the adult wizards first, causing them to not even be able to remember that they are wizards, let alone use any magic. This leaves the young wizards in charge. They have to keep thing safe on their own planets, while trying to find the cause of the Dark Matter expansion, and eliminate it. Soon Nita, Kit, Dairine, and their friends from other worlds are on a quest for a secret weapon that the Powers That Be have promised can help. Kit's magical dog Ponch plays a key role in tracking down the secret weapon.

One fun thing about this book in is that because all of the young wizards from across the universe are called into action, Kit, Nita, and Dairine have the opportunity to re-visit a number of their old friends from previous books (especially Ronan from A Wizard Abroad and the three houseguests from Wizard's Holiday). Some of these visits are mere cameo appearances, while others are central to the plot. Dairine also re-visits the race of silicon creatures that she created in High Wizardry, and it's nice for the reader to see how they turned out.

Various feelings and tensions besides friendship come into play between the characters in this installment, heightening the emotional impact of the book considerably. One caveat: if you haven't read the other books recently, you may find some of the interactions with the secondary characters difficult to follow. As with the Harry Potter books, serious fans will want too re-read the previous books in the series before starting this one.

Beyond that, I don't want to give away too much and spoil the book for you. So I'll just say that the young wizards encounter dangerous and unprecedented situations. They have to reply on themselves, and on one another, displaying ingenuity, bravery, and loyalty. There are surprises, victories, tragedies, and grievous losses. Wizards at War made me laugh in places, and made my eyes tear up here and there, but it always kept me turning the pages. Fans of the series will not be disappointed. And if you're not a fan of the series yet, I recommend that you start at the beginning, and read the whole series in order. Here is the complete list:

1. So You Want to Be a Wizard
2. Deep Wizardry
3. High Wizardry
4. A Wizard Abroad
5. The Wizard's Dilemma
6. A Wizard Alone
7. Wizard's Holiday
8. Wizards at War

This is an excellent series, filled with a science-based approach to magic, and a very human-based set of relationships. Kids who like magic will enjoy them, but kids who prefer science, adventure, or comedy should enjoy them, too. I recommend, especially if younger kids are reading these books, that parents try to read them also. There are larger themes to be discussed, like the nature of good and evil, the meaning of life and death, sibling rivalry, and ways of communicating with people from different backgrounds (imagine, for example, offering a salad to a person who is a tree). And they're just plain fun, too. Nita and Kit are on my Cool Girls and Cool Boys of Children's Literature lists, of course.

This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on August 21, 2006.

Duane's young teenage wizards, Nita Callahan and Kit Rodriguez, are gradually developing into the foremost champions of the Powers That Be, having battled the Lone Power--Christianity's Devil--seven times in various settings. In this volume of their adventures they face their greatest challenge yet. "Dark matter"--the mysterious substance (if it is one) that scientists have been searching for for at least a century and are suddenly beginning to find in unexpected quantities--is creating a nasty kink in the Universe: wherever it appears, space is expanding thousands of times faster than it should. Owing to the semi-scientific nature of magic in Duane's reality, this means that magic itself is breaking down, and wizards of all species who are past "latency"--what humans call adolescence--are in danger of not only losing their powers but losing their belief that magic ever worked at all. This in turn will cause ethical changes and personality shifts to occur wholesale and matters of "the heart and spirit" to go by the board, and long before the planets and their suns are swallowed by the encroaching darkness, civilizations themselves will fall in ruins. The only chance for sentiency in general is the youngest, upcoming generation of wizards, including Nita and Kit, who must seek out "the Hesper"--a being or object that is capable of somehow reversing the process. And as it turns out, Kit's peculiarly gifted dog Ponch is the key to finding it. Helped by Nita's sister Dairine and her living computer Spot (a member of a species called "mobiles" whom Dairine more or less created while on her Ordeal), the young Irishman Ronan Nolan (first encountered in A Wizard Abroad) whose body is shared by the One's Champion, and three offworld wizard-visitors--Filif, a sentient tree; Roshaun, the heir to the throne of a planet ravaged by solar flares; and Sker'ret, a member of the family of intelligent centipedes who manage the worldgating facility used by wizards (and others) from the entire Local Group of galaxies--the trio set off through a succession of countless worlds in search of the one where the Hesper exists.

Although at first there's some doubt of the fact--"something different from [its] usual pattern of attack is going on"--it soon becomes clear that the Lone Power is once again up to its old tricks, but on what may be a vaster scale than ever. The key to defeating it lies in a species of intelligent bugs, the Yaldiv, who dominate the planet Rashav and are themselves, down to the last grub, living avatars of the Dark One. The Hesper, it turns out, is "a 'bright' version of the Lone Power," latent within one of them, who must be made aware of what it is and helped to come to its full power. A thrilling confrontation between the Power and Its young foes is only part of a multi-pronged attempt at fixing what's wrong, including a wild battle of blasters versus magic in the gating terminal and a mass resistance by Earth's young wizards against the dark matter bearing down on their Sun. As often happens in Duane's books, the quest is not without its casualties, emotional and physical, and Dairine particularly must face a tragedy that may outdo even her mother's recent death. This is not a leisurely read, but it's a compulsive one: even if you're not familiar with the parameters of the Young Wizards series (and this is definitely not the best book to begin it with, if only because of all the backstory you'll miss), you'll be sucked into the tension of the plot, which Duane manages to maintain for over 500 pages. The magic here is very technical, and nothing like that of Harry Potter, yet Potter fans may well find that Duane's books are a natural next step in their discovery of fantasy series with an epic sweep--and a certain allegorical feel best equalled in C. S. Lewis's Narnia. And the incorporation of science-fictional elements such as the many hundreds of other species that also know and use magic is a bonus that Duane handles with a skill no other author I know can manage. My one puzzlement is why, if (as at one point they do) the wizards of Earth are able to "[stop] a small southeast Asian 'bush war' from breaking out," they haven't also stopped other wars in the past. The author will have some distance to go in order to exceed what she's done here.

I have been a fan of the Young Wizard series for years, and believe this is the finest story so far. I would heartily reccommend this to anyone out there. It is far superior to that of "Harry Potter".