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Anonymous
Posted December 29, 2011
I Also Recommend:
Harry Potter in NYC!!
This well-written book takes place at a magical school set in New York City and is filled with lots of interesting twists and surprises. Time travel, ghosts, and confrontation are all to be found is the excellent debut. The book is paced perfectly, allowing you to sink into the world that Matt Posner has hand-crafted. True, there is a Harry Potter influence, but that is not a bad thing, as Mr. Posner gives Mrs. Rowling a veritable run for her money.
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Although I would definitely recommend this book, the only nitpick I have about the book is that the main character sounds and acts older than he really is and that some readers may not be on board with the whole Judaism thing (although it didn't bother me at all). Other than that, the writing is flawless, and the story is captivating. If the series continues at this quality, School of the Ages will become a story for the ages. Get it?
Joseph Seegitz
Author of the Hue Series -
Magicianofoz
Posted August 12, 2011
A Magical Review From A Magician's Point of View
When I was first given this book to read and review, I was a bit concerned about this being a Harry Potter clone, set in the urban environment of New York City. After all, when a series such as Harry Potter does so well, there are bound to be imitations, most of which fall far short of their goals. In addition, having read all 7 Harry Potter books, I felt that this book would have a lot of work to do in order to measure up.
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I'm pleased to say that the author has done a fine job of blending an urban setting with the intricacies of magic. and being a magician and 40+ year member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M. Ring 210), I can be very picky about that sort of thing.
I've only been to NYC once, so my knowledge of the NYC environment is a bit limited. Nonetheless, Mr. Posner has captured the spirit and essence of the city, along with the spirit and essence of magical legerdemain within that environment. I was quite surprised by the cultural diversity which was incorporated throughout the storyline. Usually, a story sticks with a single culture or society and tells the story through that culture or society. Mr. Posner has managed to capture that cultural aspect most expertly, all the while maintaining historical accuracy, which most authors do not.
His grasp of magical knowledge is also impressive, although I would have liked to have seen a little less emphasis on the mystical aspect and more emphasis on the hands-on, sleight-of-hand magic that I grew up with. I suppose it's just the magician in me that wishes for that style of magical authorship. Still though, Mr. Posner does very well in my mind in his portrayal of magic and mysticism.
Finally, as an author myself, I know all too well how difficult it can be to develop characters, have them interact and maintain consistency throughout a story as long as this one (I've always preferred shorter stories, at least up until I read the HP series). Mr. Posner gives us a fine look into the relationships between Simon Magnus (the hero) and his classmates, as well as developing a most unusual and intriguing style of writing. I welcome that as it gets old reading the same style of storytelling over and over. The nice thing here is that there is never a dull moment, the story never bogs down with too much detail or nonsense, and there is a great deal of action (some of it very dark and disturbing).
I was very pleased to have read this fine novel, which was sent to me by Mr. Posner. My only regret is that it is only available as an e-book or paperback. Being old and used to old ways, I've always preferred paper to electrons and I hope Mr. Posner considers publishing this novel as a hardback edition. -
I Want To Go To This School!
Right from the beginning I loved School of the Ages. It starts off quickly and then picks up speed. The characters are very well drawn and the story itself is terrific. One of the things that struck me the most was the weaving of Cabala and the Jewish tradition into the school, its faculty and the student body. That take on the world of magic was an unexpected surprise and a fascinating choice. The information offered as magic throughout the story always seems to have a solid basis in real life lessons, so that readers will come away with something in addition to just reading a great story. Very nicely done. Just to let you know, I'm not a kid anymore by a long shot, but as a life-long reader of fantasy and science fiction, I continue to read everything I can get my hands on without paying much attention to the age group a title belongs to. Often YA fantasy/sci/fi has some qualities of innocence that I find appealing. While I was reading this book, I was also reading another(adult) novel by a very well known fantasy author, and was quite pleasantly surprised to discover that Mr. Posner's work was far superior. I suppose that translates into the truth that a big media campaign does not make for a better author. I'm feeling pretty darned privileged to have discovered this work early on. The book is so much fun I feel that I can easily recommended it to anyone - and so I do. I only just now noticed that this is Volume 1! I will definitely be watching for the second installment.
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splatpunk
Posted April 2, 2011
A cool and nuanced YA book
I've always been a fan of philosophy, ancient history, culture, and magic/the fantasy genre -- all of these elements were very well mixed in "The Ghost in the Crystal." I was pleasantly surprised to come across mentions of "Alexander the Great" (one of my favorite historical figures; more familiar with non-fiction, than fiction works that make a reference to the famous conqueror)!
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What I really enjoyed and appreciated as a reader, was the historical accuracy of the traditions and cultural components mentioned in the book. I've rolled my eyes at TV shows before when such facts are inaccurate ["...it doesn't matter if you don't know that Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Indonesia" -- heard that one from an old episode of "The OC", LOL (KL is the capital of Malaysia)]...but Mr. Posner is certainly a lot more careful, educated, and discerning.
While aspects of the book reminded me of the Harry Potter series, I thought that setting the story in NYC was cool and refreshing. The writing style is concise too (I'm always thankful when an author doesn't take an unnecessary 100 pages to get from one plot point to another!).