In this series of adventures Catweazle, a time traveling magician from the eleventh century, turns up in a stately home, which he turns upside down in his search for the signs of the Zodiac with which to complete his magic flying spell.
Richard Michael "Kip" Carpenter (14 August 1929 – 26 February 2012) was an English screenwriter, author, and actor who created a number of British television series, including Robin of Sherwood and Catweazle.
This is a worthy successor to the first one. You can tell they had a look at what worked in terms of plot and humour from the first series and made good use of that.
There's a more cohesive over-arching plot and the ridiculous situations and misunderstandings are very clever.
The only downside is the ending. Even my son thought it was a let-down. A case of the writers not knowing what to do and coming up with something totally lame.
Catweazle, the magician, escapes a Norman dungeon by traveling through time 900 years forward to modern England. Here Catweazle befriends a young student, Cedric. Cedric is obsessed with finding the lost treasure of Lord Alfred rumored to be hidden somewhere on his family's estate. Together, they embark on a quest to discover the thirteen signs of the Zodiac and give Catweazle the magic power to fly.
The book is OK but the real magic is in the TV version. All time classic. Really I'd give the book 3 stars but the TV series 10 stars out of 5. To be honest, the book just cannot compare to the TV show.
This is an entertaining book and a great introduction of children who are interested in fantasy and humor. I liked the overall plot of the novel, Catweazle trying again to get home, and enjoyed the self contained episode presented in each chapter. A fun book that is great to lighten your mood.
Carpenter brought Catweazle back for a repetitive sequel that does everything the first book does but in a not-so-interesting way. Unlike "Catweazle," this novel does feel childish and simplistic in the age old tradition of young adult books. It's a nice idea to bring back such a delightful character, but it's really pointless if the work doesn't give us anything fresh or new.