Conjuror

Orion Chronicles #1

by John Barrowman, Carole E. Barrowman

Sixteen-year-old twins Matt and Em Calder are Animare: they can bring art to life, and travel in time through paintings. They work for Orion—the Animare MI5—protecting the secrecy of their order and investigating crimes committed by their own kind. It's dangerous work. But when they are sent to Edinburgh to find a teenage boy who can alter reality with his music, they are drawn into something more dangerous still. For this boy, Remy, is the Conjurer's Son. And he carries something that could change humanity forever.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Mystery, Science Fiction, Fiction, Time Travel, LGBT

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2016

About the author

John Barrowman was born in Scotland, and moved to Illinois when he was eight years old. He is bi-dialectal, doing much of his stage and acting work in his American accent, but speaking with family in his Scottish accent.

He moved back to Britain in 1989 when he was hired to play the lead in Anything Goes. He took on a number of West End roles, including the leads in Sunset Boulevard and Miss Saigon and a dramatic play entitled Rope, while working as a children's television presenter and came back to America briefly to work on short lived shows such as Central Park West and Titans. He then bounced around Broadway, West End and the LA Stage for a number of years before moving back to Britain permanently. He won the role of Captain Jack Harkness in the new Doctor Who series and went on to star as Captain Jack in its adult spin-off Torchwood.

John married Scott Gill, his partner of fifteen years, in December 2006.

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this ARC ebook from Netgalley, Trafalgar Square Publishing, and the authors in exchange for an honest review.

Twin siblings Matt and Em are Animare which are beings that create life through art and time traveling through paintings that have just joined Orion an MI6 organization sworn to protect the secrecy of Animare and bring in those who commit crimes which threatens their race. When they are assigned to bring in the teenage Conjuror who is a being that can bring things to life using music, they do so only to realize that they may be in too deep. Will they succeed in their mission? Read on and find out for yourself.

This was a pretty good read. This is my first ever read by John Barrowman and his sister Carol E. Barrowman. There's tons of action, great character and world building, fantastical elements and more. Fans of Fantasy, Paranormal, and YA books will enjoy checking this read out. Definitely check this book out when it officially releases in bookstores on July 1st.

[Tan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review originally posted at Pretty Pages Blog

This book was honestly one of the most disappointing reads I’ve had in awhile. The concept sounds fantastic – incredibly unique and fascinating, however, I had many issues with the execution of this novel, and ultimately I was left feeling thrown into the deep end 90 percent of the time. There were so many unanswered questions, and realistically a reader shouldn’t be left feeling confused for the entire book. This is just the beginning of my issues with this book, so read on if you would like to know all the things that hindered me from getting behind this book.

If you’ve not aware of what this book is about, here is the blurb as from the back cover of my ARC:

Sixteen-year-old twins Matt and Em Calder are Animare: they can bring art to life, and travel in time through paintings. They work for Orion – the Animare MI5 – protecting the secrecy of their order and investigating crimes committed by their own kind. It’s dangerous work. But when they are sent to Edinburgh to find a teenage boy who can alter reality with his music, they are drawn into something more dangerous still. For this boy, Remy, is the Conjurer’s Son. And he carries something that could change humanity for ever…

One of my biggest problems with this book is that the blurb made out that the story was going to be one thing, but then the book ended up being completely different. I know that blurbs are marketing tools used to help sell the book to a reader, but at the same time it should be somewhat of a reflection of what the book is about. To me, this blurb makes out that Matt and Em are to be the protagonists of this book – they are the first characters mentioned in this blurb after all. However, it took 85 pages for them to even make an appearance. Considering this was almost a third of the book, I would say this is pretty ridiculous. Secondly, Remy is described as being the Conjurer’s son – which is true. But Remy is also a conjurer, and this is something the reader knows about him from his introduction, so I kind of don’t understand why this blurb outlines this in an odd way. Anyways, basically the blurb just had me majorly disappointed because the book was completely different to what I was expecting, and way more underwhelming too.

This blurb is what really piqued my interest in this book. I mean, the concept of the story is fantastic – having the ability to bring art to life and travel in time through paintings is such a cool premise! I just kind of feel like the execution was poorly handled – the authors seemed to not want to develop this world or these abilities, as nothing was explained properly and I had no understanding of how anything worked. I have many examples of questions I had, so I apologise if this becomes a little long.

Firstly, if not for the definition of an Animare in the blurb, the reader would have no idea what one is. A definition is not provided until you’re well into the book, but what’s worse is that their abilities are also not outlined all that well. Animare’s appear to have the ability to communicate telepathically, but it’s not explained how or why they do. At first I thought this may have just been an ability the twins had because they are twins, but then it is made out that they can communicate telepathically with other Animare’s too. Just when I thought I had come to the conclusion that all Animare’s can do it, one of the twins calls it a “bad twin habit.” Next, a term that continued to be used throughout was ‘fading,’ but once again there was no explanation as to what this is. It required using paintings, and I came to believe that it meant being able to travel to other places through paintings – not through time, just places. Once again, there was no explanation so I have no idea if my interpretation is the correct one or not. Another ability that Animare’s have is that they can draw reality to life. Several things are drawn to life – sometimes a physical thing such as a key or a car, other times something like stairs would be drawn to provide access to somewhere they couldn’t originally get to. Another time they drew a Narnia like exit through the back of a wardrobe. But once again, there was no explanation to how this worked or to what extent it worked. Can anything be drawn into reality? How detailed do the drawings have to be? Does the drawing have to be on paper and with a pen? Do you have to draw to scale? How exactly does this work? I mean, right at the end of the book, one of the twins were drawing in someone’s mind, and I honestly had no idea what was going on. This could have been a really cool element, but it just left me feeling frustrated that no effort was put into developing these abilities. The final ability that was outlined in the blurb that Animare’s possess is the ability to travel in time through paintings – but this once again ended up being false. Only the twins have the ability to do this – no other Animare’s currently alive can do this. And once again it wasn’t explained as to why they could do this or the limitations to this ability. In fact, this isn’t really used all that much, but when it is it’s confusing like the rest of this book.

This brings me to Matt and Em themselves. Honestly, they were so flat! I felt like they had no personality, and the only things I really learnt about them asides from the Animare thing is that Matt is gay, and that Em broke up with her boyfriend at the start of the book. I have no idea what they like, or who they are as people, and even their conversations with each other seemed stilted and not at all how realistic conversations would go. Apparently they’re 16, but they kind of felt like they could have been younger than that because they really didn’t have much to them. And the worst part is that these two have special abilities outside of their Animare abilities – and once again this isn’t explained. Matt has some weird thing with his eyes that means he can’t be in bright light, and that he can see past events in time, somehow. Em can feel intense emotions from things that happened in the places she goes but back in time. I think they had more abilities too, but because none of it was explained I really didn’t care. I once again had a billion questions, but the forefront question was most definitely why are Matt and Em special snowflakes with these special abilities? How did they get them? Why do they have them? Is it a twin thing?

The twins weren’t the only characters who came across as flat. All of them did. And there were a lot of characters in this book – many whose names I couldn’t keep up with whilst reading let alone now that I’ve finished the book.

Remy, a conjuror, is probably who I would consider the next main character. Here’s what I learnt about him; he’s black, his family was living in Chicago, he likes to cry, his mother and aunt got killed, and then he somehow got to London besides being homeless and having no money? And the evil guys want him dead for some reason that really wasn’t explained that entirely well. I just didn’t care about him (or anyone else for that matter). Oh, and the other thing was that in Remy’s perspectives (and only his perspective), the writing would change from third person to first person every once and awhile. I don’t know if this got edited in the final copies, but it made absolutely no sense and was very jarring to suddenly switch.

I was going to write some more about the other characters in this book, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. They all were boring, non-memorable, and just flat. Even the bad guys didn’t have much going for them – partly because I had no idea what exactly their stance was to make them the bad guys, and partly because all they did was show up with some flies here and there. Bam, that’s all.

If I had to find a positive about the book, I would say that the writing in general was adequate – it wasn’t anything spectacular, but it had some nice descriptions here and there. I also couldn’t tell which of the authors wrote which, so synergy wise their writing was compatible. But although the writing wasn’t the worse, some very important writing features were all over the place.
I think what was the most frustrating thing about the writing was that rather than keep it to the twins and Remy, the authors decided to write in the perspective of other character’s too – even when they didn’t really add to the plot and then didn’t appear either ever again, or until the very end of the book. I think they just complicated matters by trying to achieve too much. One perspective that was in the book was a maximum two pages and of a character who wasn’t even a side character, she just witnessed something and contemplated calling the police. She never turned up again, we never found out if she contacted the police, we never found out the relevance of including her. And it was just boring. We also got the perspective of an Indian cop, Lakshmi, who clearly had some weird connection to the characters that was continuously hinted at but never explained. Then she disappeared and only turned up again in the last seven pages. I just honestly feel like the authors could have left out a whole bunch of these perspectives.

The other thing that was off was the pacing and the emotion of the writing. In terms of pacing, for the most part it was fine but it was also inconsistent. There would be times where a chapter would end and the next chapter would suddenly be a random flashback that you wouldn’t realise was a flashback until a good page or so into it, or it would jump to something that had never been mentioned before and you had no idea why they were doing it. At one stage, the last page of a chapter mentioned how they needed to get Remy’s guitar bag, and then the first page of the next chapter they suddenly have the bag with no explanation. So yeah, inconsistent pacing. As for the emotions, I like it when books make me feel anxious, and anticipation whilst reading. I want to feel what the characters are feeling, because I have a much more enjoyable reading experience and I tend to enjoy the book more. But I felt nothing in this book – not a single emotion, and I just wish they had catered to this in a better way. Even in the ending chapters where some stuff was going down, I just felt like it was anticlimactic, poorly explained, and a little boring.

Another issue I had was with the beginning of the book. The first 30 or so pages are set in the past following characters you don’t know, and has things happening that do not make sense. It is very jarring to be thrown into a book like that with no explanation. And then suddenly you have the next section, which is about 50 pages in Remy’s perspective, and you’re hoping to get answers to the first section but nothing. Just more questions as to what is going on. I honestly don’t understand why they chose to start the book off like this – you need to ease a reader into the story, not just toss them in and expect them to know everything.

And my final issue I’ve briefly touched on throughout this review but I’m going to go into slightly more detail about it now. The world building in this novel sucked majorly. There were so many things mentioned throughout that the reader just had to accept as plausible. I needed to know the details of this world, and I needed that information to help me better understand what this story was trying to achieve. I feel like there were some unnecessary things mentioned, but mostly I just felt like the authors didn’t answer any questions, or give detail to anything. Here’s a list of some things that I’ve been left with answers about.

• When Remy or the twins would use their abilities a lot, it seemed to effect them physically. Remy would get nosebleeds and headaches when he overexerted himself. My question was why does this happen? And how long do they have to wait between using their powers for this to not be an issue? Does this happen to everyone? Etc.
• Matt’s eyes do this weird thing and it’s really not explained in the slightest. So basically what the hell is up with his eyes? Why did this happen to him? Has this happened to anyone else before? Etc.
• So famous artists throughout time are Animare. Does this mean that every artist ever is an Animare? What makes an artist an Animare? Why these artists? How did being an Animare influence their art? Etc.
• There’s a ceremony that occurs between an Animare and a guardian that links them together and that all have to complete. So Matt chooses not to go through with his, and Em agrees to not go through hers to support Matt, and in return they’re sent to Scotland to work for Orion. Firstly, what exactly does the guardian do? Are they an Animare? Why do they have to do this ceremony? If everyone has to do it, and no one has ever willingly chosen against it, what are the repercussions for Matt and Em? It appears that being sent to Orion was a punishment, but what would they have been doing if they had gone through with the ceremony?
• How did Remy get from Chicago to London with no money?
• At one stage something called ‘The Book of Revelation’ is mentioned and then the chapter ends. It seems like it was supposed to be super dramatic, but I have no idea what this book is and then it wasn’t mentioned again. So what exactly is this book of revelation?
• Can they fade/time travel through any painting, or only specific paintings? Are there rules involved? Does the painting they travel through have to be in a gallery, or could it be hanging in someone’s house?
• When communicating telepathically, does both parties have to be conscious?
• What exactly just happened? (As I don’t want to spoil, this is in reference to the last few chapters).
• What exactly was Lakshmi’s role in all this? What was the point in including her when she was barely in the story?

The list goes on and on, but I think I’ve made my point; the world building was lacking.

Since reading this, I’ve discovered that there is a trilogy that has been released prior that features Matt and Em, but I was not aware of that going into this story. I guess I’m wondering if perhaps I wouldn’t have had so many issues with this book if I had read this original trilogy? Like, is Conjuror supposed to be a spin-off series? I really don’t know.

Overall, Conjuror was hard work, and unfortunately I give it 1.5 stars out of 5. It was a book that I really had to try hard to complete, and ultimately I had way too many issues with to have enjoyed it. I don’t like giving out low ratings, but I really can’t justify a higher rating when so much was left unexplained. Perhaps it just wasn’t my cup of tea as the few ratings I have seen for this book are all 3 or higher, and perhaps you will really enjoy this book if you pick it up.

I also want to say a big thank you to Harper Collins Australia for sending me an ARC of this book for review in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate it, even if I didn’t end up particularly enjoying this book.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw "John Barrowman", I clicked request. Then I read the description. It's a book by John Barrowman (and Carole E. Barrowman, his big sister, with whom I didn't realize he's written several books before besides his memoirs – where have I been?)

Honestly, and I truly mean no offense to anyone, I'm getting really tired of opening up a book's description and seeing "Janie was sixteen" and "At sixteen, Mary knew she was special" and "On Jackie's sixteenth birthday her life changed" and so on. I suppose the window for a Young Adult audience is pretty narrow, but there are so many sixteen year olds out there… In Conjuror, the three main characters are seventeen. Point to the Barrowmans. (She said sarcastically.)

That being said, I enjoyed the three young protagonists. Conjuror Remy is the first on the scene, a young man who has only just discovered his abilities to mold reality with music, fleeing from the horrific murders of his mother and aunt to try to fulfill the mission his mother was never able to see through. Unfortunately, his youth and inexperience combine with the sad reality of prejudice, and his general appearance along with his necessary actions to send him on the run again, and his disappearance into a statue of Shakespeare draws the attention of Orion, "the Animare MI5". As a conjuror can use music, animares use art to create and travel, and twins Matt and Em Calder are young prodigies sent through a painting to assess the situation. Unfortunately, it turns into a great deal more than an assessment, and soon all three kids are in deep trouble.

While I credit the Barrowmans for an excellent job at putting the story over, I do with there had been just a smidge more exposition. In addition to bringing to life what they draw, he animares enter paintings, interact with the subjects, discover that instruments are being stolen from the subjects, and leave a man (a rather surprising man) prisoner in one artwork; they are described as stepping out into museums brushing flakes of paint off their clothing, and that made me shudder a little. The idea of paint being carried away from something like a Vermeer is a terrible one; I'd have loved a little more reassurance that there's no damage to paintings used in this way. And I'd have loved to have learned whether that prisoner would ever be visible in the painting; whether the missing instruments left blank spots in the paintings (plain canvas or underpainting, or spaces where the background was visible, as if the objects had never been included at all?), and a few other details of the system of magic. No, a lot more details. Apparently the twins were featured in earlier books – which explains a lot, hopefully.

There are some very effective – by which I mean really gross – horror scenes throughout, and the villain of the story is effectively alarming. Setting is nicely done, from Remy's home in New Orleans (New Orleans?) to Edinborough. The characterization for the three kids in the middle of it all is nicely done. I enjoyed the casual knowledge of art (and, unsurprisingly, music) that allowed that system of magic. I did not enjoy the occasional not-so-subtle glimpse of what I take to be authorial opinion ("'That’s terrible,’ said Em. ‘The Church has done a lot of nasty stuff.'").

But I absolutely loved the Doctor Who reference(s).

I look forward to more.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.

[Moni2506 · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Conjuror“ ist ein Fantasy-Roman, den John Barrowman zusammen mit seiner großen Schwester Carole Barrowman geschrieben hat. Dies ist der erste Teil einer Trilogie, die die Geschichte von Rémy Dupree erzählt und uns in die Welt der Conjuror entführt, die mit Musik die Realität verändern können.

Rémy kann durch Musik zaubern. Schon immer war er anders als die anderen Jugendlichen in seinem Alter. Sein Leben ändert sich drastisch als seine Mutter und seine Tante vor seinen Augen ermordet werden. Rémy kann fliehen und landet in London. Hier erhofft er sich Antworten auf all seine Fragen zu finden, denn das Einzige was seine Mutter ihm hinterlassen hat, ist eine Harmonika, ein goldener Anhänger und ein Notizbuch. In London trifft er auf Matt und Em, Zwillinge, die durch Gemälde reisen können und Dinge, die sie zeichnen zum Leben erwecken können. Gemeinsam werden sie in eine Sache hineingezogen, die weit größer ist als der Mord an Rémys Familie und die die ganze Welt bedroht.

Dies ist ein Buch, dass ich lesen wollte, weil ich John Barrowman als Schauspieler sehr mag und es mich einfach interessiert hat, was für ein Buch er schreibt und ob es mir gefallen würde. Allein vom Klappentext her, hätte ich das Buch wahrscheinlich nicht gekauft.
Die Fantasie in dem Buch hat mir auf jeden Fall sehr gut gefallen. Wir befinden uns weitestgehend in der realen Welt, aber es gibt Menschen, die mit Instrumenten und ihrer Stimme (Conjuror) zaubern können oder Menschen, die durch Bilder reisen können sowie ihre Zeichnungen zum Leben (Animare) erwecken können. Es gibt noch weitere Fähigkeiten, aber an dieser Stelle möchte ich nicht zu viel verraten. Ich mag es, wenn sich Magie in die reale Welt einfügt. Ich empfinde es dann als natürlicher und kann mir die Dinge auch besser vorstellen.
Der Schreibstil lässt sich gut lesen, der Wortschatz war mir als Nicht-Muttersprachler aber teilweise zu schwierig. Für einen absoluten Englisch-Leseanfänger würde ich das Buch daher nicht empfehlen.
Am Anfang hat mich die Geschichte auch sehr verwirrt, da diese sehr sprunghaft erzählt wird. Das Springen zwischen den verschiedenen Jahrhunderten ging noch, aber als wir zu Rémys Geschichte kommen, springt man immer wieder zwischen 4 Jahre vorher und heute hin und her. Teilweise habe ich erst nach dem Kapitel gecheckt, dass das Kapitel eine Rückblende war. Ab kurz vor der Hälfte wird die Geschichte aber kontinuierlich erzählt und dann konnte ich der Geschichte auch gut folgen und habe die Welt der Conjuror und Animare auch besser verstanden.
Zum Ende hin wurde die Geschichte sehr spannend und ich konnte das Buch kaum aus der Hand legen. Das Ende des ersten Teiles kam dennoch ein wenig abrupt. Es war mir fast ein bisschen zu einfach, wie sich Rémy und die beiden Animare Em und Matt dann retten konnten. Auf der anderen Seite ist es wiederum auch ganz gut. Das Ende ist nicht ein totaler Cliffhanger, ist aber dennoch offen genug, um die weiteren Teile der Reihe interessant zu finden.
Wer zart besaitet ist, dem würde ich das Buch auch nicht unbedingt empfehlen. Es ist zwar nicht das ganze Buch über so, einige Stellen sind aber dennoch recht gruselig und irgendwie eklig und haben mir ein nicht so tolles Kopfkino beschert.
Die Personen im Buch waren mir sympathisch und ich habe gerne ihre Geschichten verfolgt. Rémy ist ein Jugendlicher, der zu wenig über seine besonderen Fähigkeiten und Geschichte weiß. Matt und Em sind Zwillinge, die mehr auf ihre Rolle vorbereitet wurden. Sie gehören einem Geheimbund an und kennen auch weitere Zauberer ihrer Art. Die enge Beziehung der beiden zueinander fand ich sehr schön. Zu den beiden Protagonisten gibt es auch noch eine weitere Reihe – Die Hollow Earth-Trilogie.

Fazit: Insgesamt eine interessante und auch spannende Geschichte, die mit Fantasy aufwartet, die sich natürlich in die reale Welt einfügt und die ich ungefähr ab einem Alter von 14-16 empfehlen würde, da auch einige etwas gruselige Elemente vorhanden sind. Leider ist das Buch bisher nur auf englisch erschienen. Absoluten Englisch-Leseanfängern würde ich das Buch aufgrund des teilweise schwierigen Wortschatzes eher nicht empfehlen. Von mir gibt es hierfür 3,5 Sterne.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was amazing! I loved the style and the concept of all their different powers. The only reason it is a 4 star is because all the different perspectives could get confusing especially if the character was new. I loved it though can't wait to read the next one!

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became aware of this book whilst browsing in my local library, due to John Barrowman's connection to Doctor Who I instantly had to borrow it.

A great past pace adventure, with a few Who references thrown in. I practically liked the London setting and would certainly recommend this book to any Who fans.

[Melenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

The first half of this book was all over the place and I had trouble following it, but once it found its stride it was well worth it. I can't wait for the next one!

[Carmen (TheReadingTrashQueen) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazingly good. It reminds me of Stravaganza- not that it's alike, but at the same time they share similarities, and I love both so yay!
Who the Moor was was a bit predictable, I was pretty sure from the moment the Professor was introduced, but it didn't take anything from the story for me.
Very curious to see what will happen next!

[Sharon Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conjuror is is the first book in the Orion Chronicles by John and Carole E. Barrowman. I did not know that this book, and subsequent series, is a spin off of a previous trilogy starring Em and Matt Calder called Hollow Earth. While I still understood the story and could enjoy the read regardless, I think that those that have already read the earlier series will get much more out of these read than those of us that are coming in cold.

Sixteen-year-old twins Matt and Em Calder are Animare: they can bring art to life, and travel in time through paintings. They work for Orion - the Animare MI5 - protecting the secrecy of their order and investigating crimes committed by their own kind. It's dangerous work. But when they are sent to Edinburgh to find a teenage boy who can alter reality with his music, they are drawn into something more dangerous still. For this boy, Remy, is the Conjurer's Son. And he carries something that could change humanity for ever.

Conjuror is a book with a wonderful idea, but I had trouble getting lost in the story and connecting to the characters, particularly in the beginning. There were many references to things that must have happened in the Hollow Earth series with Em and Matt which left me floundering a little. I did enjoy Remy's character, and the way they all came together. I also liked that once I figured out who everyone was, most characters are multidimensional, even some of the characters that did not really need to be fully fleshed out to play their part. The world building and how the Animare worked were very well done, and once the book hit its stride it was a nice fantasy read. There was a lot going on, which I expect will be expanded on in they rest of the series, but at times it just felt like a little too many characters and story arcs in play all at once.

Conjuror is a book that I had trouble getting into. I will admit to picking it up based solely on the author, because I love him. However, while it was a good book I was not as wowed as I had hoped to be, most likely because of high hopes and not having read the previous series.

[JoLee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conjuror was such a pleasant surprise. I thought this book was a really fun ride.

Siblings John Barrowman and Carole E. Barrowman are the co-authors of a number of books. Conjuror is about people who can create magic with art. Remy can do magic with music, and twins Matt and Em can create magic with their drawings.

I admit, the art was a major draw for me. Matt and Em can travel through paintings, and they can make drawings that come to life. There's a bit of a time travel element here too because several figures from the past travel through paintings to the present. Some of these travelers are famous artists. Ah, now you see how this book hit some of my sweet spots.

Remy is on the run from some very dangerous (and disgusting) historical figures. Remy has some of the pieces of the puzzle, and Matt and Em have some of the pieces of the puzzle. They finally meet up and things get very interesting.

I did have a few quibbles. The book is kind of disjointed. That is partly intentional (the book is told in 5 parts), but there were also some moments where it felt like something had been skipped. I decided to just roll with it, and I still really enjoyed the story. Also, Matt and Em are the main characters in a middle-grade trilogy written by John and Carole Barrowman. I've never read that trilogy, and so part 2 of Conjuror was a little unclear to me. You won't have that problem if you've read their other books, but, as Conjuror is not intended to be a direct sequel, a little more backstory would have been helpful for newbies.

I finished this book last night, and then I spent some time exploring how I could get my hands on the second book. I want to follow the trail of the stolen musical instruments.

[Claudia Lindner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a big fantasy reader general, but I had already read the Hollow Earth series, and loved the idea of arts brought in as superpowers. And Conjuror goes a step further. The twins Em and Matt have grown up, now they are 16/17 and they meet their age-mate Rémy. The celtic-based world of the Animare meets the Conjuror who is from the American south, with its sombre history of slave trade and secret powers of the enslaved Africans being kidnapped to America. It is an intelligent novel of history, arts and music entangled in a mystery about a powerful group of people whose unique powers may be the only things to save the world from the rise of evil, but who may have been obliterated.
While the twins and Rémy deal with mysteries of the past, with historical characters they are at the same time very much based in present time's world and deal with things as other teenagers do - this is no big deal in the book, it is presented with the most obviousness. And that is noteworthy - this is the kind of novel I would have loved as a teenager, too. And it doesn't lack a sense of humour and irony as well.
As it has been in the Hollow Earth series, again, for an art lover, it is fun to read how paintings, their history and the artists of different eras are so much in the centre of the story and the mystery. "Conjuror" now adds the world of music, its power and magic to the story!
So while this is a great read for a teenage audience of course, if you are an adult reader interested in well-plotted fantasy and characters as well as arts and music - you should read this!

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great fantasy novel! I am not a fantasy fan in general, but I had already read the Hollow Earth series, and loved the idea of arts brought in as superpowers. And Conjuror goes a step further! The twins Em and Matt have grown up, now they are 16/17 and they meet their age-mate Rémy. The celtic-based world of the Animare meets the Conjuror who is from the American south, with its sombre history of slave trade and secret powers of the enslaved Africans being kidnapped to America. It is intelligently written by the authors, a novel of history, arts and music entangled in a mystery about a powerful group of people whose unique powers may be the only things to save the world from the rise of evil, but who may have been obliterated. What I especially like, is while the twins and Rémy deal with mysteries of the past, with historical characters they are at the same time very much based in present time's world and deal with things as other teenagers do and they do - this is no big deal in the book, it is presented with the most obviousness. And that is noteworthy - this is the kind of novel I would have loved as a teenager, too. And it doesn't lack a sense of humour and irony as well, So while this is a great read for a teenage audience of course, if you are an adult reader interested in well-plotted fantasy and characters - you should read this as well!

[Gen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd never heard of this before and mainly picked it up because it's written by John Barrowman (and I did enjoy the little wibbly wobbly timey wimey Doctor Who reference). The story and characters were interesting enough but the writing was a bit all over the place. It jumped around a lot and was a bit hard to follow at times. There were a few characters that were made out to be more significant than they actually were so maybe they appear in the sequels or in Hollow Earth but otherwise I don't get what the point of that was. At some points the writing style didn't seem to suit the genre of the book, like it was trying to be more sophisticated than most YA fantasy is. I'm not sure if this book would have made more sense if I'd read Hollow Earth? I'll probably read the sequels and Hollow Earth if I come across them but I'm not in a mad hurry.

[Karen Broughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say I enjoyed the Conjuror. I am kind of a little surprised by some of the negative reviews I've just glanced at, the outline of the story i thought was intriguing, I like stories that don't follow the popular theme of what ever is in at the moment. Am guessing it's going to be at least a trilogy which will explain why there are so many unanswered questions (I personally didn't find it a problem as am patient enough to read the answers when they are revealed later) otherwise there would be no point to writing a sequel. I liked the three main characters, Emma, Matt and Remy as well as the Moor. I am now eagerly awaiting getting my hands on the second book to see where the next instalment takes us.

[Michelle Bibliovino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently this book is the first in an off-shoot series from John and Carole Barrowman’s Hollow Earth series, which I’ve not read. But I definitely enjoyed it without having that background. The magic system is set up there as artists who can draw into reality, and in this series you can also use music to create. The use of art as a magical medium is a wonderful concept. Traveling through paintings seems like the way to go!

I wish the characters had a little more depth, but it’s possible I just missed out on their arc from earlier books. Remy is given quite a bit more time, but I felt the book was a bit rushed on general, especially at the climax. Perhaps the rest of the series lengthens the plot line.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've adored John Barrowman ever since I first watched the new Doctor Who and Torchwood, so I'd been meaning to check out his and his sister's forays into YA fantasy fiction for a long time. Conjuror is an intriguing and imaginative series opener, mixing action and adventure with fascinating powers and characters I'm very much looking forward to seeing more of. I wasn't aware when I picked this book up that this series was related to the Barrowman siblings' earlier Hollow Earth trilogy (the first book of which I've had lying around for quite some time but haven't yet managed to squeeze into my reading schedule), but I'll be sure to move that one up on my reading list now.

[Tia Sherwell · Rating 1 out of 5]

In theory this seems like a good book. Think again. This book is one of the most confusing, and frustrating books I have ever read. Why you ask? Well, nothing is explained, you are just dropped into the deep end and have to work out the story for yourself. This book needed more explanation, justification, storytelling, and world building to be a better book for me.
I was so tempted to just stop reading this book, but I persevered with the hope that it would get better, and surprise - it didn’t. I am definitely not going to be reading the rest of this series.
Please note that if you did enjoy this book, then good on you, just for me it was a no!

[Julie Garner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Barrowman siblings make a great writing team! I love it!
Conjuror introduces us to a world where there are people with the ability to create things out of drawings, or in special cases, sing things into existence. This makes them special and makes them needed for some nefarious schemes.
Great adventure story for both boys and girls - encourages them to use their imagination, to think creatively and to stop and use their brains when they are caught in tough situations. I'm looking forward to reading Nephilim.

[Sharon Benham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

I really wasn't sure what to expect. When I started reading it I assumed it was a children's book. It soon became apparent that it wasn't. More YA if anything.

I got a bit muddled at first with all the characters, but I think that's just me.

I must admit I struggled a bit in the beginning and wasn't sure I going to like it. But by the end I just didn't want to put it down.

The chapters are short which I like.

It was real page turner.

I look forward to reading the next one in the series.

[Lucy Takeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love music and Renaissance times. I am fond of powerful kids. Folks that can walk in and out of painting: great idea!
The novel had numerous interesting concepts. It felt rushed to me; I didn’t know enough about the characters to feel a close emotional connection.
Remy has connections to power through music. A mysterious man appears in his apartment and threatens the entire family. He learns about numerous other folk with special powers and a very twisted personal history. Good, not great.

[BRT · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little hard to follow at first because it's like two separate storylines that don't seem to match. Each story has interesting qualities and could easily be developed into their own series. Then they merge together quite well and the story gets really intriguing. Unfortunately, it then ends on a cliffhanger. Follow several young teens as they deal with their supernatural abilities to create & travel using music & art and do battle against a deliciously evil group known as Camarillo.

[mezzogal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok. Feels a bit disjointed, like too many story arcs going on for too long without coming together. You definitely need to have read the Hollow Earth trilogy before this. Then again, I have read Hollow Earth and I'm still confused. I really wish they'd just stuck with Remy and the music thing rather than shoehorning it into the art/Animare world.

[Natty Dianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was such an interesting and unique concept for a book which sadly fell a little flat for me. I felt that I was missing crucial information about the characters and the world they live in and just couldn't invest emotionally in this story. Put simply I just didn't care - disappointed with this book

[Martin Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have previously read one of the Barrowman siblings Hollow Earth series and was impressed by the sheer invention involved. Now this first book of the Orion Chronicles takes it to a whole new level.

I liked the in joke of "The Professor", a helpful character who describes time as being "wibbly wobbly" Who could that possibly be?

[Marla Blanchette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read. The characters are amazing. The perspective of a black man was well written. The growth of the Calder twins was well done. The subject of American slavery was written about in a real, not romanticized way. Like the Hollow Earth series, this series has a lot of classic art and music written into the story. It's both educational and entertaining.

[Charmaine Ohl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read as a standalone story or if you have read any or all of Matt & Ems adventures. Easy flowing read with some references to male genitalia in the story (something to keep in mind for age of readers not crass references just passing references). Loved the idea behind Remys character and enjoyed the whole thing.

[Claire Gardener · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some very interesting concepts. However, what really let it down is that although it was the first in a trilogy, it was based on another set of books. This was also the first in a set of books, so the story didn’t finish!
:(

[Yuiko · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess it was the writing style cause I was so bored with it from the first page this is one book I didn't finish past page 17 I just couldn't give it any more time.i feel bad but it's true.im sure other people will like it but I didn't.

[Andreea Balogh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because John Barrowman signed the second one for me on a book signing session last year and I wanted to be able to read it.
I didn't really liked it. And the second one seemed even worse from the first pages. He's a great actor, though.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book enjoyable but difficult to get into at first. It took me about 100 pages to start understanding what the story was even about, which is why I am giving it three stars. As for the characters: I like them and am going to read the second book.