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A review by jsegaloff
Mathsmagica: Tapestry of Shadows by Daniel Stefanov Georgiev
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is a tough one for me to assign starts to... I chose to give the stars as if this book were perfectly edited by an American or someone from the UK. English is not the primary language of this author, so I don't think stars should be taken for errors in grammar or mis-use of some words. I feel I need to mention it here though because I know that drives some readers absolutely insane! For example:
On page 121, ""Level Three Illumination Magic, Light's Embrace," Evie said three times in a roll." Did the author mean "in a row?" Is that a typo or a misuse of words? It kind-of works this way anyhow, so does it matter?
On p. 173, "I scouted the area to assimilate the situation." Did the author mean, "to assimilate TO the situation?" or maybe "to ASSESS the situation?"
These things happen throughout the book. If it bothers you, avoid this read.
Now that this part is out of the way, let's talk about the actual story. Yes, it is a "magic school" story but it is unique. There is definitely a darkness under the surface that is uncommon in the traditional YA-type magic school storyline. This is why it bothers me so much that the main characters often act VERY childish. At times, the things they say and the ways they behave make me think they are only nine or ten years old, and that is not the case. This was my reason for docking a star. It made the characters less believable.
The greatest part of the story, in my opinion, is that magic doesn't just materialize out of thin air. It is created by manipulating mathematical formulas. It gives a notion that maybe we can all achieve magic if we just figured out how to put those formulas together correctly! Though no words are NEEDED to cast magic, their use in the book helps the reader to identify the type of magic being used AND it helps the person casting the magic focus on the task.
Another really useful and cool part of this book was the little "from the archives" sections before each chapter (often accompanied by a sketch). In some books, these sections seem useless to me and I often skip them, but in this book they truly were part of the story and helped clarify what was happening in the story and why.
On page 121, ""Level Three Illumination Magic, Light's Embrace," Evie said three times in a roll." Did the author mean "in a row?" Is that a typo or a misuse of words? It kind-of works this way anyhow, so does it matter?
On p. 173, "I scouted the area to assimilate the situation." Did the author mean, "to assimilate TO the situation?" or maybe "to ASSESS the situation?"
These things happen throughout the book. If it bothers you, avoid this read.
Now that this part is out of the way, let's talk about the actual story. Yes, it is a "magic school" story but it is unique. There is definitely a darkness under the surface that is uncommon in the traditional YA-type magic school storyline. This is why it bothers me so much that the main characters often act VERY childish. At times, the things they say and the ways they behave make me think they are only nine or ten years old, and that is not the case. This was my reason for docking a star. It made the characters less believable.
The greatest part of the story, in my opinion, is that magic doesn't just materialize out of thin air. It is created by manipulating mathematical formulas. It gives a notion that maybe we can all achieve magic if we just figured out how to put those formulas together correctly! Though no words are NEEDED to cast magic, their use in the book helps the reader to identify the type of magic being used AND it helps the person casting the magic focus on the task.
Another really useful and cool part of this book was the little "from the archives" sections before each chapter (often accompanied by a sketch). In some books, these sections seem useless to me and I often skip them, but in this book they truly were part of the story and helped clarify what was happening in the story and why.