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Schooled in Magic #10
Past Tense
Their past is not what they think it is...
Thrown back in time after the spells binding Whitehall School together nearly collapsed, Emily finds herself in the days of Lord Whitehall. But everything she knows about the past is a lie. The Whitehall Commune is in hiding from a great and terrible foe, while some of the legendary founders bicker like children and others call on deadly and untrustworthy entities with agendas of their own.
Desperately seeking a way back to her own time, her mere presence a boon and a curse to established history, Emily is drawn into a conflict against both rogue wizards and a mysterious force intent on exterminating all magicians before the future school can take shape. But as deadly powers converge on the castle, her time is running out...
...And, deep beneath Old Whitehall, something dark and dangerous is about to be born.
Note: Discounted for a limited time as consideration for those readers who have been patiently awaiting publication of this book.
Thrown back in time after the spells binding Whitehall School together nearly collapsed, Emily finds herself in the days of Lord Whitehall. But everything she knows about the past is a lie. The Whitehall Commune is in hiding from a great and terrible foe, while some of the legendary founders bicker like children and others call on deadly and untrustworthy entities with agendas of their own.
Desperately seeking a way back to her own time, her mere presence a boon and a curse to established history, Emily is drawn into a conflict against both rogue wizards and a mysterious force intent on exterminating all magicians before the future school can take shape. But as deadly powers converge on the castle, her time is running out...
...And, deep beneath Old Whitehall, something dark and dangerous is about to be born.
Note: Discounted for a limited time as consideration for those readers who have been patiently awaiting publication of this book.
369 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 20, 2016
314 people are currently reading
359 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
March 11, 2023
Which came first?, August 7, 2016
Verified Purchase
This review is from: Past Tense (Schooled in Magic Book 10) (Kindle Edition)
This volume concludes the story which began in book 9. We see more detail of how Emily saved Whitehaven. There are two Emily's. A present Emily and a past/future Emily. The story is told from the viewpoint of the time traveling Emily who helps Lord Whitehaven defeat the demon masters and establish the school. Throughout she worries about what is and is not meant to happen. No word on who or what means things to happen or not happen. Mr. Nuttall's handling of religion in this series continues to be weak. Even so, his exploration of time travel conundrums is entertaining. If you are one who wants a series to eventually end, this volume is a good conclusion to the previous 9 books even if Nuttall writes more.
Verified Purchase
This review is from: Past Tense (Schooled in Magic Book 10) (Kindle Edition)
This volume concludes the story which began in book 9. We see more detail of how Emily saved Whitehaven. There are two Emily's. A present Emily and a past/future Emily. The story is told from the viewpoint of the time traveling Emily who helps Lord Whitehaven defeat the demon masters and establish the school. Throughout she worries about what is and is not meant to happen. No word on who or what means things to happen or not happen. Mr. Nuttall's handling of religion in this series continues to be weak. Even so, his exploration of time travel conundrums is entertaining. If you are one who wants a series to eventually end, this volume is a good conclusion to the previous 9 books even if Nuttall writes more.
July 24, 2016
After reading this book, all I could say was WOW!!!.
This is definitely the most entrancing book in the series, every book in this series just keeps surpassing its predecessor. The storyline of Emily being in the past was written carefully and so well constructed that I was fully immersed in it. The thing about Christopher Nuttall's books is that from the very first pages, it grabs your attention unwilling to let go and this book is no different.
Things I loved about Past Tense.
- Time Travel. It was very entertaining to read the well weaved plot, It was pulled off perfectly with every single detail in place.
- Magic. As usual I thoroughly enjoyed the vivid description of magic in this book, I could clearly have a picture of every magical act performed in my mind.
- The Writing. I am always amazed by the way Christopher Nuttall's books capture my attention. I always find myself unable to do anything else but read his book until the very end and that is exactly what happened again.
- Action and Adventure. This book is an endless entertaining ride of adventure and non stop action with a little bit of mystery. Without spoiling it, I assure that Emily has some adventures that are quite interesting.
- Monsters. YES!!! I especially love this series because of the monsters in it and Past Tense doesn't fail to deliver. From weird magic sucking spider thingies to equally weird demons this makes me really obsessed with this book.
- Everything Else. Every single word, detail and simply everything else in this book makes it an awesome ride.
If you haven't got this series, I am advising you to jump on the wagon.
This is definitely the most entrancing book in the series, every book in this series just keeps surpassing its predecessor. The storyline of Emily being in the past was written carefully and so well constructed that I was fully immersed in it. The thing about Christopher Nuttall's books is that from the very first pages, it grabs your attention unwilling to let go and this book is no different.
Things I loved about Past Tense.
- Time Travel. It was very entertaining to read the well weaved plot, It was pulled off perfectly with every single detail in place.
- Magic. As usual I thoroughly enjoyed the vivid description of magic in this book, I could clearly have a picture of every magical act performed in my mind.
- The Writing. I am always amazed by the way Christopher Nuttall's books capture my attention. I always find myself unable to do anything else but read his book until the very end and that is exactly what happened again.
- Action and Adventure. This book is an endless entertaining ride of adventure and non stop action with a little bit of mystery. Without spoiling it, I assure that Emily has some adventures that are quite interesting.
- Monsters. YES!!! I especially love this series because of the monsters in it and Past Tense doesn't fail to deliver. From weird magic sucking spider thingies to equally weird demons this makes me really obsessed with this book.
- Everything Else. Every single word, detail and simply everything else in this book makes it an awesome ride.
If you haven't got this series, I am advising you to jump on the wagon.
December 31, 2016
I was actually somewhat hesitant concerning this book. I generally despise time travel in books, movies and TV-shows. It generally ruins the story and worse, is often used as a shortcut to cover up holes in the story. I am happy to write that I was totally wrong. This book is definitely one of the rare books that I rate at 10 out of 10 stars.
As was hinted already in the cliffhanger at the end of the previous book Emily has, somehow, been transported back in time to the age of Lord Whitehall himself. As I wrote above I am wary of time travel but in this book it was really a genial move. It allowed the author to create a new fresh environment for the story and yet keep some of familiar surroundings.
Emily is still at Whitehall even though it is not, yet, a school. At the beginning of the book Emily has no idea what world changing events she is about to bring about. There are plenty of elements in the story that took me quite buy surprise although once the path had been set (and having read the previous book) the ending was somewhat less of a surprise.
I really liked that the book felt “new” in that Emily had to again explore a new environment that was much different from the Whitehall she knew. As an additional little twist the magicians in this time are vastly powerful just like the rumors told but she also discovers that they are equally vastly unskilled in that they lack the technique and vaste their magic using brute force instead of skill. Something that gives Emily the upper hand on most occasions. Naturally she manages to get herself into more than a few troublesome spots despite this.
As usual the writing, the characters and the story that Mr. Nuttall put together was very, very good. I have to confess that I read the entire book in one day since I simply could not put it down. Something that wrecked havoc with my original plans to do some cleaning and other work in my apartment. Well…c’est la vie!
As was hinted already in the cliffhanger at the end of the previous book Emily has, somehow, been transported back in time to the age of Lord Whitehall himself. As I wrote above I am wary of time travel but in this book it was really a genial move. It allowed the author to create a new fresh environment for the story and yet keep some of familiar surroundings.
Emily is still at Whitehall even though it is not, yet, a school. At the beginning of the book Emily has no idea what world changing events she is about to bring about. There are plenty of elements in the story that took me quite buy surprise although once the path had been set (and having read the previous book) the ending was somewhat less of a surprise.
I really liked that the book felt “new” in that Emily had to again explore a new environment that was much different from the Whitehall she knew. As an additional little twist the magicians in this time are vastly powerful just like the rumors told but she also discovers that they are equally vastly unskilled in that they lack the technique and vaste their magic using brute force instead of skill. Something that gives Emily the upper hand on most occasions. Naturally she manages to get herself into more than a few troublesome spots despite this.
As usual the writing, the characters and the story that Mr. Nuttall put together was very, very good. I have to confess that I read the entire book in one day since I simply could not put it down. Something that wrecked havoc with my original plans to do some cleaning and other work in my apartment. Well…c’est la vie!
July 25, 2016
Mister Nuttall, this is one of the best book you wrote. The events in book 10 seamlessly click with those of book 9. Emily, I can feel she truly grown up in what happened. Now I hope nothing is gonna bite her in the ass, the cliffhanger kinda make want to hate you though. I need my next fix, damn.
July 28, 2016
The best of the "Schooled in Magic" series yet, in my opinion. I will admit I am a sucker for time-travel books, and Emily's ability to think through the implications of her fall into the distant past, and to work out the clues she has as to how to regain her own time is, frankly, a relief. I thought Emily's behaviour was more consistent in this book than in some of the others (sometimes I have felt she veered wildly between heedlessness and over-caution, and also sometimes she seems scarily strong while at others she seems surprisingly weak ... but I didn't feel that way in this volume.)
I would recommend that any reader at least start with the book just before this one (Infinite Regress), and for preference begin at the beginning of the whole series. All the same, I would recommend this book, and this series. On the whole, they are most enjoyable, and raise many intriguing questions (just what does happen when different systems of knowledge collide?)
I would recommend that any reader at least start with the book just before this one (Infinite Regress), and for preference begin at the beginning of the whole series. All the same, I would recommend this book, and this series. On the whole, they are most enjoyable, and raise many intriguing questions (just what does happen when different systems of knowledge collide?)
July 30, 2016
My favorite book so far in this series!
The step-into-the-past-and-back-to-the-future details made my head spin. In a good way. I really enjoyed the author's view of how magic had evolved in the Nameless World from the time of Whitehall until present day. So fun!
The step-into-the-past-and-back-to-the-future details made my head spin. In a good way. I really enjoyed the author's view of how magic had evolved in the Nameless World from the time of Whitehall until present day. So fun!
November 25, 2017
In Book Ten Past Tense, Emily suddenly finds herself thrown one thousand years into the Nameless World's past and given a front-row view to Whitehall's founding! Dr. Locke would be so jealous!
Emily arrives just as Lord Whitehall and his friends are first attempting to tame Whitehall's nexus point.
Emily finds that in Lord Whitehall's time women were not only not taught magic but it was widely believed that magic is a curse for women, leaving them unable to bear children.
Emily also finds that Lord Whitehall and his contemporaries have a much more brute force approach to magic, rather than the "use only as much magic as you really need" attitude regarding spells in Emily's own time.
Needless to say, Lord Whitehall and his friends were not prepared to meet a Whitehall Fifth Year sorceress-in-training, whose magical skills Emily desperately tries to downplay or hide because her training had been so advanced compared to the training available in the past!
Emily's chief problem, of course, is she's stranded 1,000 years in the past without a return ticket to her own time unless, of course, she can come up with one on her own!
Even worse, she knows she knows that she dare not damage the timeline. Was she supposed to be here? What if she DID get back and the world she knew (with Caleb and her other friends) was no longer there?
Emily had read a number of Whitehall history books during her years at Whitehall. Unfortunately, she's meeting people not included in the official histories or people barely mentioned. She is aware, of course, of her reputation as the Necromancer's Bane and how many tales about her were wildly inaccurate or had only a few crumbs of truth to them.
Another highly satisfying Schooled in Magic series read!
Emily arrives just as Lord Whitehall and his friends are first attempting to tame Whitehall's nexus point.
Emily finds that in Lord Whitehall's time women were not only not taught magic but it was widely believed that magic is a curse for women, leaving them unable to bear children.
Emily also finds that Lord Whitehall and his contemporaries have a much more brute force approach to magic, rather than the "use only as much magic as you really need" attitude regarding spells in Emily's own time.
Needless to say, Lord Whitehall and his friends were not prepared to meet a Whitehall Fifth Year sorceress-in-training, whose magical skills Emily desperately tries to downplay or hide because her training had been so advanced compared to the training available in the past!
Emily's chief problem, of course, is she's stranded 1,000 years in the past without a return ticket to her own time unless, of course, she can come up with one on her own!
Even worse, she knows she knows that she dare not damage the timeline. Was she supposed to be here? What if she DID get back and the world she knew (with Caleb and her other friends) was no longer there?
Emily had read a number of Whitehall history books during her years at Whitehall. Unfortunately, she's meeting people not included in the official histories or people barely mentioned. She is aware, of course, of her reputation as the Necromancer's Bane and how many tales about her were wildly inaccurate or had only a few crumbs of truth to them.
Another highly satisfying Schooled in Magic series read!
January 25, 2025
Time travel stories are always difficult to do well, but Nuttall has done a good job with this one.
Following the disaster that was barely averted in the previous volume, Emily finds herself thrown back in time to before the start of Whitehall as a school and we get to see something of the world the "present" day evolved from.
There is good character development for Emily and the people she meets in the past are done well, with complex personalities and interesting conflicts.
The past of the world provides an interesting contrast to the main timeline of the series, and we get to see how many of the major features of the school came about,
The twists by which the time traveling is resolved are well crafted, and the resolution of the story is done fairly well, though it seemed to me that Nuttall had decided first to end the series and then to extend it, with the result that the last paragraph or so was rather awkward.
This book and the series in general are recommended to anyone who likes magic school stories.
Following the disaster that was barely averted in the previous volume, Emily finds herself thrown back in time to before the start of Whitehall as a school and we get to see something of the world the "present" day evolved from.
There is good character development for Emily and the people she meets in the past are done well, with complex personalities and interesting conflicts.
The past of the world provides an interesting contrast to the main timeline of the series, and we get to see how many of the major features of the school came about,
The twists by which the time traveling is resolved are well crafted, and the resolution of the story is done fairly well, though it seemed to me that Nuttall had decided first to end the series and then to extend it, with the result that the last paragraph or so was rather awkward.
This book and the series in general are recommended to anyone who likes magic school stories.
January 18, 2018
18.1.2018 - 5*
Série se poslední díly s další a další knihou jednoduše překonává. Past Tense je neuvěřitelně pečlivě spletený příběh, který logicky a překvapivě dobře navazuje... na vše.
Detaily, které do sebe krásně zapadly, odkazy a otázky, které se vyřešily. Dobrá práce. Možná ne mistrovská a místy lehce zjednodušená, ale spojené s poutavými charaktery, dobrým pozadím a dějem a tempem a atmosférou, které mě stáhly sebou (což by při dokonalé práci nejspíše nebylo možné), je to plný počet. ^^
Série se poslední díly s další a další knihou jednoduše překonává. Past Tense je neuvěřitelně pečlivě spletený příběh, který logicky a překvapivě dobře navazuje... na vše.
Detaily, které do sebe krásně zapadly, odkazy a otázky, které se vyřešily. Dobrá práce. Možná ne mistrovská a místy lehce zjednodušená, ale spojené s poutavými charaktery, dobrým pozadím a dějem a tempem a atmosférou, které mě stáhly sebou (což by při dokonalé práci nejspíše nebylo možné), je to plný počet. ^^
February 12, 2018
The best of the "Schooled in Magic" series yet, in my opinion. I will admit I am a sucker for time-travel books, and Emily's ability to think through the implications of her fall into the distant past, and to work out the clues she has as to how to regain her own time is, frankly, a relief. I thought Emily's behaviour was more consistent in this book than in some of the others (sometimes I have felt she veered wildly between heedlessness and over-caution, and also sometimes she seems scarily strong while at others she seems surprisingly weak ... but I didn't feel that way in this volume.)
March 20, 2018
Okay, so this is the first book that I am okay with giving a 4-star rating. I did not find any real plagiarism from other books or at least nothing out of the ordinary. I did/do like this series but have some major hang-ups on the taking of others ideas and writing them in your own book as if they are your own. With that said I can't help but like the story and the characters and will more than likely finish this series.
May 6, 2023
A direct continuation from the events of the previous book this is fairly linear and, while interesting, not particularly gripping.
There is an enjoyable hook at the end I wasn't expecting but on the whole, time travelers will time travel.
Not sure if this can just be skipped or if it will be referenced in future books. I wouldn't skip it it just in case but it's not the best in the series.
There is an enjoyable hook at the end I wasn't expecting but on the whole, time travelers will time travel.
Not sure if this can just be skipped or if it will be referenced in future books. I wouldn't skip it it just in case but it's not the best in the series.
June 27, 2024
Time travel in books is usually never done well, but this is the first one that I found that was done so well. At first I wasn't so sure about this one but as the story went along I enjoyed it even more so. This is one that could of been even longer or a couple of books long for this story arch in learning more about the past of Whitehall and the school. This will be up there as one of my favorites so far for the series. Highly recommend this series.
June 27, 2017
Stock time travel where past and future depends on the observer. What makes this book charming is the difference between the romanticized history vs. the fact. So many fantasy novels have the overpowered characters in the past when magic was at its peak. The assumption that the past was overpowered is neatly shattered.
October 14, 2017
Now this book explains a few things and gives you reasons for some of the things that happened to Emily in previous books. Sure does explain a thing of too. Was not expecting that ending though. So there has only ever been 1 mimic. No wonder it always looked at Emily with hate.. For its first victim to be that guy is a surprise but at least he didn't live long.
December 15, 2017
This book expands the lore of the history of the Nameless World a great deal. It still leaves a lot of questions unanswered and kind of introduces new questions, but that's all part of the journey. It's another great read by Nuttall.
March 8, 2020
Christopher Nuttall's books are really helping me meet my Goodread's reading challenge target - I just can't put them down. Normally I will not pick up a time travel book but as I am loving this series I made an exception and I am glad I did. Loved the book and love the series - on to the net
February 20, 2023
Can't put it down.
I am now starting the 11th book in the series. I have never before read so many in a single stretch. I expect I will read till the end without moving to something else. Even then probably be disappointed there isn't more.
I am now starting the 11th book in the series. I have never before read so many in a single stretch. I expect I will read till the end without moving to something else. Even then probably be disappointed there isn't more.
July 27, 2017
Enjoyable book, turned out some of my predictions were quite off the mark, and some less so. I'm impressed with the speed this guy is writing, which is always nice with series you enjoy
November 23, 2017
Carry on writing
Well written. Characters likeable and interesting. Story line great. Please continue writing ,I'll continue reading. Emily is a great character.
Well written. Characters likeable and interesting. Story line great. Please continue writing ,I'll continue reading. Emily is a great character.
November 24, 2017
Another great book
Well thought out and keeps you interested in our heroine - and looking forward to the next book in the series.
Well thought out and keeps you interested in our heroine - and looking forward to the next book in the series.
December 20, 2017
Another well-done entry in this highly absorbing series.
April 24, 2019
What!
This series is getting better and better, i just couldn't put this one down, just hope that it continues forever.
This series is getting better and better, i just couldn't put this one down, just hope that it continues forever.
May 18, 2018
Intricate and interesting.
June 27, 2018
And this is the book where this series become one of my all time favorite.
November 10, 2018
The absolute best book of the series.
December 12, 2018
Fun read
This was definitely another great addition to the series that I thoroughly enjoyed. I am looking forward to book 11.
This was definitely another great addition to the series that I thoroughly enjoyed. I am looking forward to book 11.
August 12, 2019
One of the best time travel stories I've read.
April 6, 2020
Well written, good character interactions, and an interesting plot premise.
June 13, 2020
Who needs a TARDIS to time travel, not Emily.
This book sets a few nuggets in place that I ca see coming to haunt Emily in future books, I can't wait.
Another great read.
This book sets a few nuggets in place that I ca see coming to haunt Emily in future books, I can't wait.
Another great read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews