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Wizards at War (Young Wizards #8)

by Diane Duane (Goodreads Author)

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 2,350 ratings · 64 reviews

Nita and Kit return from their wizardly holiday, looking forward to getting back to their everyday routine. But there's trouble brewing. A strange darkness of the mind and heart is about to befall the older wizards of the world, stealing away their power. Soon, the young wizards of Earth and many other planets find themselves forced to defend wizards and nonwizards alike a...more

ebook, 560 pages

Published June 1st 2007 by Harcourt Children's Books (first published October 1st 2005)

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Feb 23, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-fantasy, ya

I hadn’t read any of Diane Duane’s Young Wizards novels in years, and then, while cleaning up for Christmas, I found book seven, which a friend had given me months before. I read it, then had to re-read books 1-6, and then re-read book seven. Then, while my husband was away, I ordered books eight and nine.

The thing I love about Duane’s series is that while it’s technically a young adult series, or even meant for kids younger than middle school, it’s deep enough to appeal to adults as well. (I fi...more I hadn’t read any of Diane Duane’s Young Wizards novels in years, and then, while cleaning up for Christmas, I found book seven, which a friend had given me months before. I read it, then had to re-read books 1-6, and then re-read book seven. Then, while my husband was away, I ordered books eight and nine.

The thing I love about Duane’s series is that while it’s technically a young adult series, or even meant for kids younger than middle school, it’s deep enough to appeal to adults as well. (I find, actually, that much of what is considered YA today is more interesting and provocative than the literature marketed as contemporary fiction or literary fiction for adults).

Kit and Nita, along with Nita’s sister Dairene, and some wizardly foreign (very foreign – not-of-this-earth) exchange students have grown up somewhat, and the stories now take place in a “now” that’s post-9/11, even though the timeline remains consistent within itself. (That’s confusing, I know, but basically it means that even if time outside the books has jumped years, the book that was written in 1988 is still a month before the book written in 1990, or whatever, but both are in whatever was “now” at the time of writing), so it’s nice to see them using current technology at home.

This book, however, with the expanding blackness, the adult wizards losing sight of their magic, etc., seems very much a post-modern fairy-tale, and the darkness in the book-world, while exaggerated, seems to fit perfectly with the tensions going on in reality. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Duane had worked in an “Occupy the Crossroads” plotline, except this was written a few years ago.

Even so, the stories continue to be gripping. Dairene’s maturation as a person is interesting to watch, and there are hints of changes to the dynamic between Kit and Nita.

Dog-lovers will appreciate both the sensitivity with which a certain character’s story is ended, and the humor that comes in an old joke.

Goes well with: macaroni and cheese. Trust me on this – it’s a book that requires comfort food.(less)

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Jun 05, 2011 Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As is often the case in Diane Duane's Young Wizards series, something big is going wrong. This time, however, it is not a single world that is being threatened. The entire universe is coming apart at the seams and in order to stop it, Nita, Kit, Dairine, and several side-characters from previous books have to go undercover on a planet that lives under the ironclad fist of the Lone Power itself. Worst of all, they can't tell anybody where they're going, not even those they trust the most.

This boo...more As is often the case in Diane Duane's Young Wizards series, something big is going wrong. This time, however, it is not a single world that is being threatened. The entire universe is coming apart at the seams and in order to stop it, Nita, Kit, Dairine, and several side-characters from previous books have to go undercover on a planet that lives under the ironclad fist of the Lone Power itself. Worst of all, they can't tell anybody where they're going, not even those they trust the most.

This book begins shortly after Wizard's Holiday. The three side-characters that visited the Callahan household are still present and are heavily involved in the main plot. It all begins when Senior Wizards Tom and Carl pay a visit to the Callahans and Kit to tell them some terrible news. Clouds of Dark Matter are expanding throughout the space between Galaxies, and will soon shroud the entire universe in darkness. Even worse than that, all of the adult Wizards are beginning to lose their power and even their memories. It will not be long before they forget about Wizardry completely. It's up to the kids to save the universe from from the Dark Matter before the universe tears itself apart.

Characters and plotlines from many previous books are at least peripherally involved in this one. This is not at all a good place to pick up the series, as it relies heavily on seven books' worth of backstory and characters. Those who have followed the series until now will be delighted to see the return of characters that haven't been seen for several books. Dairine and Roshaun visit the world where Dairine concluded her ordeal in High Wizardry. Ronan Nolan, from A Wizard Abroad, plays a fairly important part. The events of The Wizard's Dilemma are quite significant as well. It feels like this book is the one that ties up all of the unfinished plot threads, even the ones that were previously thought to be complete, while also laying some groundwork for the next book, A Wizard of Mars, as I discovered by re-reading it over the past few days.

All in all, it's a very satisfying read. It covers several different plotlines simultaneously, as the characters split up to scour the universe for a solution to the problem, and make some surprising discoveries along the way. It's a long book, longer than Wizard's Holiday by over a hundred pages, but I found it almost impossible to put down until I reached the end. The book's final act is powerful, as the separate characters converge on a final confrontation between the encroaching darkness and all of the Young Wizards left on Earth.(less)

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Nov 06, 2011 Emma Mcdonald rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, independent-reader, young-adult

This is the eighth book in the Young Wizards series. It continues the story of Nita, Kit, Ponch, and the other young wizards they've met on other worlds. If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend you start with the first book and work your way to this one. Diane continues her story without any kind of prologue. There are brief references to events in the earlier books without any kind of recap of the sequence of events. In this story Nita, Kit, and the crew (including Kit's older siste...more

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Jun 27, 2009 Scurra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

It's hard to say things about this one without spoiling it - especially as the completely unexpected resolution is genuinely heart-breaking but far more so if you don't know about it.

But there are some brilliantly unsettling bits quite apart from that. The scene with Tom and Nita is very effective, as are the equivalent ones on the alien planets, and the section in the Throne Room.

And not forgetting the enjoyably tense climax (which involves no less than three Deus ex Machina*) although she does...more

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Jul 19, 2010 Aviva rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who enjoys reading about magic, cats and young people :-)

I just rediscovered Diane Duane and in less than a week caught up with her Young Wizards series' books 6-8.

It's been several years (5?) since I read book #5, and yet as soon as I picked up #6, I fell right back in love with the characters. My library classifies this series as youth/juvenile fiction, but I apparently still identify well with teens and pre-teens because I was right there on the edge of my chair as I read them.

I will be forever grateful to the man who introduced me to Diane Duane...more

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Dec 17, 2008 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, ya

I have finally caught up with this series! I don't know if that's exciting or depressing.

This book is much longer than the other books in the series and, accordingly, deals with a much more complicated and detailed plot than in the beginning of the series. It takes place immediately after book 7 and contains most of the same "extras".

The interactions between the characters felt like I was watching something real - something unscripted. It captured my attention and didn't let go. Still a fast re...more

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Mar 02, 2012 Colleen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: re-read

Like pretty much every Young Wizards book, this book kept me hooked and got me to tear up. For all that, though, I feel like Duane's editors have let her a little off the leash in the last couple installations, because the plot's allowed to meander a little -- which conflicts a little oddly from the catastrophic atmosphere she otherwise handles ably in 'Wizards at War,' and makes it, at the slowest points, feel like 'Wizards on a Fetch Quest with a Deadline.' But even these slower spots are leav...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Jacqueline Brocker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy, teenage

Book 8 of the Young Wizards series, and Duane continues in her usual way - that is to say, very well indeed. Her sense of humour that pervades the books is wonderful, and works to build rapport and connection between the characters, which in turn makes it all the more wrenching when the inevitable sacrifices come at the end (I won't say who, for that would ruin the impact). In this adventure, Duane ups the stakes and thrusts the wizarding power entirely into the hands of young wizards as dark ma...more

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Jan 16, 2011 Vicki (The Wolf's Den) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, fantasy, young-adult, girl-power, the-wolfs-den-reviewed

If Dairine's computer's incessant chanting of 'Uh-oh' are any indication, there's about to be trouble.

When Tom and Carl ask to come over, Nita, Kit, Dairine and their guests hope it's just a normal house call. Maybe a little debrief of why there were suddenly no higher-ranking wizards around last week (during the events of Wizard's Holiday)? But surely nothing earth-shattering after all the work they just went through, right?

Wrong.

A malevolent blackness is pushing the universe apart, warping old...more

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Apr 26, 2010 Margaret rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-and-ya-fiction, fantasy-and-science-fiction, authors-cd

Wizards at War follows very directly on from Wizard's Holiday and brings in characters and threads from all of the books back to So You Want to Be a Wizard. When Nita and Kit return from their holiday, they find Nita's house still full of alien wizards, and they also find out wizardry is failing and the universe itself is threatened. The cameos from previous books could be on the self-indulgent side, but Duane handles them deftly enough to avoid that, and the story wraps up plot threads satisfyi...more

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Jul 15, 2009 Victoria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Possibly the most epic and whirlwind Young Wizards book yet.

The strange goings-on in the universe are coming to a head. Entropy seems to be forcing space to expand at a dangerous rate, and a weird dark entity is being spotted in the far reaches of the galaxy. The Lone Power is obviously up to something...but what?

Worst of all, the expansion is causing Senior wizards everywhere to lose their powers...and eventually their memories. Without their advice and experience, it literally is up to the "y...more

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Jul 21, 2009 Cindy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 999, teen, series, fantasy-children

Number 8 in the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane. Nita and Kit have to save the universe. Again.

If you haven't read the rest of the series, DO NOT start here. You will be so lost. And it has major spoilers for the previous books too. It does revisit a scene from High Wizardry, so that was fun, and it links closely with the previous book, Wizard's Holiday.

So without spoiling it in case you want to read the series and haven't yet, let me say that the universe is in a rather odd crisis. Dark mat...more

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Sep 12, 2010 Luann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, gr-authors, fantasy, 2010

Third time's the charm. This is at least the third time I've checked this out from the library. This time I finally finished it before returning it. The other times I would wait until the due date and then just return it because I hadn't started it or hadn't read more than a few pages. I really wanted to read it, but it felt so long and involved and I didn't have the time needed to devote to it. I know it's not a 1,000-page book or anything, but still quite long and not a book I wanted to rush t...more

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Jul 21, 2008 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, youth

Latest in the Young Wizards series is Wizards at War by Diane Duane.
Diane Duane was writing about boys and girls becoming wizards long before Harry Potter was ever envisioned. The premise is nothing less than every wizard is trying to stop the heat death of the universe. Yeah, pretty big stuff. I really love that the wizardry is all scientifically based (You want to go to the moon? Remember to bring air, heat and take into account the orbital velocities of the Earth and Moon, as well as the velo...more Latest in the Young Wizards series is Wizards at War by Diane Duane.
Diane Duane was writing about boys and girls becoming wizards long before Harry Potter was ever envisioned. The premise is nothing less than every wizard is trying to stop the heat death of the universe. Yeah, pretty big stuff. I really love that the wizardry is all scientifically based (You want to go to the moon? Remember to bring air, heat and take into account the orbital velocities of the Earth and Moon, as well as the velocity of the sun around the Milky Way, and the movement of the galaxy through the universe! Yeah, cool shit!)
Wow, these books just keep getting more and more painful! I thought Wizard's Dilemma was hard, this one was almost as awful. I suppose it says great things about an author if the book hits me with such emotional impact. I really didn't need the bittersweet fist the the stomach today, though.
Basic plot? Dark matter is suddenly appearing through the universe, stretching it apart faster, which is disrupting the rules on which matter works (gravity, magnetism, etc), which also disrupts Wizardry. Since you lose power as you age, only the youngest wizards, the babies at 8 or 9 through about 16 still even remember that Wizardry is real. Meaning the children have to save the universe, and they can't even turn to anyone for guidance.
Yeah, people think fantasy is always light? Everyone knows a kid. Imagine that kid using only his or her wits, bouncing all over the universe, quite literally facing down Death itself with only, perhaps, a few other kids for backup. I wouldn't want to think about Mad Annie doing that (though damn, that child could!)
It's a heavy ride, full of moments where you've got no idea how they'll get out of this, though even in the worst, our main characters are kids going through puberty, here. The dialogue is great. Well written dialogue is my favorite thing ever!
Definitely pick up the whole series for a read (I like them even more than Harry Potter), but be ready for an emotional hit harder than you're used to from books for young people. Duane pulls no punches.(less)

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May 05, 2008 Wayne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, juvenile

The eighth book in the Young Wizard's series. Once again Diane Duane has written a story wrapping wizardry, science, and religion into one storyline. When expanding dark matter threatens to destroy the universe itself Nita and Kit have to find a way to stop it. The problem is that the expanding dark matter is affecting the way wizardry works and causing all of the adult wizards to lose their power, and even forget that wizardry exists. Nita and Kit have a lot of help this time with a virtual Uni...more

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Jan 31, 2012 elissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: youngadult, my_00s_reads, sffantasy, sciencefiction

I have no idea why I didn't add this when it came out, and I don't remember a ton about it, but I do remember liking it a lot (as I do most of the Young Wizards books). As the title suggests, it's about a war on another planet, which is very much unlike a war on this planet. I had no idea until tonight that I missed a Young Wizards book in 2010, and that there's another one coming out in 2013. Yay!

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Jul 11, 2012 Jamie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I know this is a crazy series, but I read the first few books when I was young and I'm finally reading the rest after having found them again. These books are a bizarre mix of wizardry, science, and religious philosophy, but I like the crossing of the boundaries. The author is very creative, and by this point in the series I just had to laugh, since a baseball-hat-wearing Christmas tree, a purple centipede, a cosmic pig, and a godly dog are pretty weird if you just pick up the 8th book and read...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Christopher rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A little more action than before with actual loss of a character besides the protagonists' mother. My one complaint is that they seem to be aging at a really slow rate with anachronistic technology developments. I really wish I could see more adult relationships develop but the author seems to have that on a permanent freeze with no intention of even venturing there, which is a shame.

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May 28, 2012 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

This one just felt soooooo loooooonnnnng. Several times I had to check my iPod to see how much of the book was left. The part where they are in the cave, all together? And every single person has to has a one-on-one conversation with every other person? That was a lot of conversating. I don't know what could have been cut, really, since it was such a big story, but it felt like it should have been trimmed down *somewhere*.

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Jun 06, 2009 Karina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

This was the second time I read this book too. Somehow I thought there were more books in the series that I haven't read yet... It was good, but I remembered bits and parts, and overall it didn't seem as interesting. I'm also still not sure about the 'prophesies' at the beginning; I don't see how they apply. Usually it's much more explicit.

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Aug 09, 2011 Victoria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: best-books, young-adult

The Young Wizards series started (decades ago!) with a bang... and then they fizzled. But with these latest couple of volumes, I've fallen back in love with them.

Diane Duane's epic YA series has its weaknesses and inconsistencies - like timelines and the fact that she can't write YA romance for beans - but despite a few issues, this book was brilliant. If you put this series down midway through, I'd recommend picking them up again.

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Sep 02, 2010 Becca R.G. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love this series, and think that this book is one of the stronger ones in it (though the author seems to keep forgetting how young the characters are). One things that's annoying is the number of references to earlier books. I really need to go reread books 5 on in order, as it's been a while for some of them (oh, and book 3).

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Oct 28, 2011 David Salmi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was amazing. Diane put alot of thought into the plot and everything was put together nicely. Many times it looked like Good had lost but something happened. Even at the end it took 3 extraordinary acts to destroy the Lone Power. I love those kinds of books that keep you on the edge like that.

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May 11, 2011 Marissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi

This is the eighth book in the Young Wizards series, and it doesn't disappoint. Many old friends are back and the mission is more dangerous than ever. Everyone is going to have to work together, even Kit's crazy sister Carmela. It's an exciting journey through the universe in order to save the universe!

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Sep 05, 2007 Rhiannon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, fantasy

I very much loved the beginning of this book - Duane brings in a lot of half-forgotten characters and places and dropped plot threads and tries to give a cohesive picture of the wizarding world and I'm a real sucker for that sort of thing. Over all, this is, for me, the best of the books since book 3.

There are still some serious issues with pacing and the pseudo-Biblical parallels get kind of weird in parts. But I really liked how much this book felt like a change of pace - the books previous ha...more

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Jul 05, 2008 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: youngadult

The final book (or so I've heard) in Duane's Young Wizards Series. I'm rather sad about this. I've been reading these since I was the age of the protagonists, starting with the wonderful "So You Want to Be a Wizard", and in the last couple of books she's introduced some really amazing new characters. But this book was great, one of the best, really, with all the gang getting lots of time on the page: Nita, Kit, Dairine, Ponch, Carmela, Ronan, and the others we've come to love are all there, savi...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Brin McKay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 14, 2010 Daniel Echt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

These books were huge for me. Right up there with Diana Wynne Jones in terms of impact on my reading tastes and everything else. Definitely recommend the entire series.

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Apr 09, 2012 Grace rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

With the assistance of the visiting wizards from the previous books, the young wizards go to war to recover the older wizards powers and save the universe.

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Sep 03, 2012 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite

Wow- this one packs several emotional punches. Great story, fast read, lots of ethics and world-building concepts. Where were these books when I was a kid?!

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About Diane Duane

Diane Duane has been a writer of science fiction, fantasy, TV and film for more than thirty years.
Besides the 1980's creation of the Young Wizards fantasy series for which she's best known, the "Middle Kingdoms" epic fantasy series, and numerous stand-alone fantasy or science fiction novels, her career has included extensive work in the Star Trek TM universe, and many scripts for live-action and a...more

More about Diane Duane...

Books by Diane Duane

So You Want to Be a Wizard (Young Wizards, #1)

The Wizard's Dilemma (Young Wizards, #5)

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Quotes from Wizards at War

“How am I supposed to save the universe with all this noise?!” — 38 people liked it

“You do have the idea of being ‘just good friends?’”
He gave her a sideways look. “For so high and honorable an estate,” Roshaun said, “ ‘just’ seems a poor modifier to choose.” — 15 people liked it

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Wizards at War (Young Wizards #8)

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