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The Revenge of Magic
(The Revenge of Magic #1)
by
When long-dead magical creatures are discovered all around the world, each buried with a book of magic, only children can unlock the dangerous power of the books in this start to a thrilling new series from the author of the New York Times bestselling Story Thieves!
Thirteen years ago, books of magic were discovered in various sites around the world alongside the bones of d ...more
Thirteen years ago, books of magic were discovered in various sites around the world alongside the bones of d ...more
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Start your review of The Revenge of Magic (The Revenge of Magic, #1)
my first reread needs to be put on hold because other books (and homework) got in the way ;-;
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WOW.
WOWOWOOWOWOWOWOWOOW.
I REALLY NEED THE NEXT ONE. LIKE, NOW.
My rating was originally gonna be 4 stars but that—THAT ENDING. FRICK.
Wowwwww.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOLY S H O O T THE COVER FOR THE SECOND BOOK IS IN MAH BOI JAMES'S WEBSITE
AHHHH IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL
I'M EVEN MORE HYPE I CAN'T WAIT 6 WEEKS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WOW.
WOWOWOOWOWOWOWOWOOW.
I REALLY NEED THE NEXT ONE. LIKE, NOW.
My rating was originally gonna be 4 stars but that—THAT ENDING. FRICK.
Wowwwww.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOLY S H O O T THE COVER FOR THE SECOND BOOK IS IN MAH BOI JAMES'S WEBSITE
AHHHH IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL
I'M EVEN MORE HYPE I CAN'T WAIT 6 WEEKS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When long-dead magical creatures are discovered all around the world, each buried with...more
After tearing through James Riley's delightful and oft-hilarious Story Thieves and Half Upon A Time books, I was super-excited to see that he had a third series starting up and got a copy of the Revenge of Magic from the library ASAP. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to its predecessors for me. My biggest problem with the story was that it felt very VERY rote. The story twists and the character arcs practically wrote themselves and the adult characters were all boringly stereotypical. I wi
...more
YES YES YES YES YES
The Revenge of Magic by James Riley, 400 pages. Aladdin (Simon), 2019. $18.
Language: G(0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (some danger, some fighting)
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Fort and his father are visiting the Lincoln Memorial when terrible forces attack and a giant hand drags his father into the underground. After six months of living in a funk, Fort gets an invitation to a very special school – a government-run school to learn magic from books th ...more
Language: G(0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (some danger, some fighting)
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Fort and his father are visiting the Lincoln Memorial when terrible forces attack and a giant hand drags his father into the underground. After six months of living in a funk, Fort gets an invitation to a very special school – a government-run school to learn magic from books th ...more
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
This book is filled with action and adventure right from the very start, and I flew through it! The story follows Fort, who witnesses his father’s death when a giant claw reaches up through the ground and pulls him under. When he’s offered the chance to learn magic and get revenge on those responsible, he jumps at it. But he soon discovers that things aren’t as simple as they seem and there are lots of people at his ne ...more
This book is filled with action and adventure right from the very start, and I flew through it! The story follows Fort, who witnesses his father’s death when a giant claw reaches up through the ground and pulls him under. When he’s offered the chance to learn magic and get revenge on those responsible, he jumps at it. But he soon discovers that things aren’t as simple as they seem and there are lots of people at his ne ...more
4.5/5
Super great read!! Loved the world building, the magic system, and the plot overall. It was so action packed!!!! I need to get my hands on the next one STAT.
Super great read!! Loved the world building, the magic system, and the plot overall. It was so action packed!!!! I need to get my hands on the next one STAT.
The Revenge of Magic was a fast paced, captivating, action packed read that I couldn't put down for more than 10 mintues.
I can't wait to start The Last Dragon ...more
I can't wait to start The Last Dragon ...more
It’s been six months since the attack on Washington, D.C. Six months since Forsythe “Fort” Fitzgerald’s world was turned upside down when a giant creature comes up from the ground and destroys many of the monuments there, killing his father in the process. In that time, one thought has kept Fort moving forward – the desire for revenge.
One day, Fort is surprised to be visited by the representatives of a school for magic. Thirteen years ago, four magic books were found and only those born after th ...more
One day, Fort is surprised to be visited by the representatives of a school for magic. Thirteen years ago, four magic books were found and only those born after th ...more
I wanted to like this more than I did. There were a couple of problems that got in the way for me.
1. There was too much yelling. I listened to the audiobook, and the reader was actually yelling and the editor failed to equalize it, leading to a very jarring experience. But every time the reader yelled, it was because the text explicitly stated that the main character was doing so. I may not have noticed it without the audiobook, but it was literally the way the main character responded to anythi ...more
1. There was too much yelling. I listened to the audiobook, and the reader was actually yelling and the editor failed to equalize it, leading to a very jarring experience. But every time the reader yelled, it was because the text explicitly stated that the main character was doing so. I may not have noticed it without the audiobook, but it was literally the way the main character responded to anythi ...more
I received this e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
The Revenge of Magic is the latest series from author James Riley. Twelve-year-old Forsythe, or Fort, is visiting the Lincoln Memorial with his father when the unimaginable happens! Monsters the size of dinosaurs erupt from the earth. Fort hears a girl’s voice in his head telling him to run but he resists, refusing to leave without his father. Fort’s father is dragged underground by one of the enormous creatures and Fort is co ...more
The Revenge of Magic is the latest series from author James Riley. Twelve-year-old Forsythe, or Fort, is visiting the Lincoln Memorial with his father when the unimaginable happens! Monsters the size of dinosaurs erupt from the earth. Fort hears a girl’s voice in his head telling him to run but he resists, refusing to leave without his father. Fort’s father is dragged underground by one of the enormous creatures and Fort is co ...more
A resounding MEH. This is a mish mash of SF and fantasy. There are alien critters invading the earth. But the only way to fight them is with magical books of power that can only be read by kids which all appeared the same day as the alien critters. Our hero is uniquely angry at the critters for grabbing his father before they disappeared. Anyway, there's a school for kids with nascent magical powers where our hero winds up. Then it turns out the aliens gave us magic back in the day and then took
...more
Monsters, magic, mystery... what else does a reader require? possibly some believability. Too far-fetched, too anti-government, too full of stereotypes. Also, a not-unexpected start to a new series, so an unsatisfactory ending.
Y'all I actually can't wait for this 😁😁
...more
it was very good, sometimes it was harder to remember what happened before because so much hapened throughout the book. it also ended on a cliffhanger so i guess i'll have to read the next one.😊
...more
Fantasy novels remain perennially popular among young readers as well as older readers. I have a special fondness for them myself. At the same time, I've read enough of them that sometimes the plot lines tend to overlap and even blend. It's always refreshing to come across a book that that is creatively different in terms of plot and characters. James Riley's new The Revenge of Magic combines flawed characters with a refreshingly different plot line. I'm more than eager to see where the story go
...more
Thirteen years ago, on a day now known as Discover Day, the bones of magical creatures guarding magical books were discovered. Six months ago a horrific monster emerged from the ground and attacked Washington, DC, killing Fort’s father. Now Fort finds himself a student at a very top-secret school run by Dr. Oppenheimer. At this school, kids born after Discovery Day are taught to harness the magic found within the strange books. Fort soon learns that magic is more complicated than he thought and
...more
This is a great start to a new middle grade fantasy series!
At first, I thought I could predict what would happen in this book. It reminded me of Rick Riordan stories, where there is a big event that happens to the main character, causing them to find their mysterious powers. However, I couldn’t have predicted the rest of the story!
This story was so exciting. There was a lot more to the story than what happened in this book. There were events leading up to the monster attack at the beginning of t ...more
At first, I thought I could predict what would happen in this book. It reminded me of Rick Riordan stories, where there is a big event that happens to the main character, causing them to find their mysterious powers. However, I couldn’t have predicted the rest of the story!
This story was so exciting. There was a lot more to the story than what happened in this book. There were events leading up to the monster attack at the beginning of t ...more
Right from the start, the story grabs you by the heart and doesn't let go.
What happens when the world we know is shaken to its core? What happens when we push people too far? They fight back for all their worth. They avenge those that were unjustly taken. They try to resist the darkness of revenge that is creeping into their soul like a thief in the night...but how long they can hold out, remains to be seen. Seriously, there is SO MUCH TO LOVE here, and it's just the beginning! Oh and I don't bl ...more
What happens when the world we know is shaken to its core? What happens when we push people too far? They fight back for all their worth. They avenge those that were unjustly taken. They try to resist the darkness of revenge that is creeping into their soul like a thief in the night...but how long they can hold out, remains to be seen. Seriously, there is SO MUCH TO LOVE here, and it's just the beginning! Oh and I don't bl ...more
This was somewhat reminiscent of the Percy Jackson series without quite the humor of Rick Riordan. I did enjoy it and will continue reading the series. My favorite character had to be Cyrus of the Clairvoyant Skill. He seemed to be more fully developed than some of the others. My one gripe is with the printing using different fonts. I understand why it was done but found it distracting.
December 18-19, 2019
Needed a quick read while I sit on a waiting list for so many books that will likely be the ones to welcome me into 2020.
That being said The Revenge of Magic being a J novel was still super fun.
If Harry Potter, The Lightning Thief and all the other YAs joined together.
They get sorted into groups based on affinity. There's a trio of bullies a la Malfoy and friends. There's a secret school (not camp) for people who are chosen to focus on these powers. They accept students a ...more
Needed a quick read while I sit on a waiting list for so many books that will likely be the ones to welcome me into 2020.
That being said The Revenge of Magic being a J novel was still super fun.
If Harry Potter, The Lightning Thief and all the other YAs joined together.
They get sorted into groups based on affinity. There's a trio of bullies a la Malfoy and friends. There's a secret school (not camp) for people who are chosen to focus on these powers. They accept students a ...more
I had read Story Thieves by this author before and didn’t really enjoy it, but I kept seeing this book so I decided to try reading it, and it was actually pretty good.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
You can find my full review on my blog, The Writerly Way, here.
James Riley came up in my quest to read more middle grade, since we have his Story Thieves series, and that’s pretty popular among our young readers. What I didn’t realize is that he’s working on a new series … which is this one. You saw that coming, right?
The Revenge of Magic starts an action-packed, fast-paced adventure series. Pro: Magic exists. Con: Only children can use it. Oh, and there’s a giant beast attacking Washington, ...more
James Riley came up in my quest to read more middle grade, since we have his Story Thieves series, and that’s pretty popular among our young readers. What I didn’t realize is that he’s working on a new series … which is this one. You saw that coming, right?
The Revenge of Magic starts an action-packed, fast-paced adventure series. Pro: Magic exists. Con: Only children can use it. Oh, and there’s a giant beast attacking Washington, ...more
Fort Fitzgerald has nobody in the world except his dad – well, there's an aunt, I suppose, but she's barely out of college – and then, one day while they're visiting the Lincoln Memorial together in Washington, D.C., Fort watches helplessly while a monstrous hand claws its way out of the earth, snatches his father and drags him back underground. It turns out to have been one of two simultaneous attacks in the D.C. area – the other destroying the National Security Agency building – but Fort's dad
...more
This first book was an instant HIT with my 15-year-old son. As he put it, "action all the time, Mom." This is unusually high praise from him. He devoured it over the Christmas break and got a goodly start on the second book, as well, before school started and reading for fun came to a screeching halt, replaced by the Honors English assigned-novel for the quarter (snooze).
Fort's on a trip to The Mall in Washington, D.C. with his Dad when horrific creatures break out of the ground next to the Wash ...more
Fort's on a trip to The Mall in Washington, D.C. with his Dad when horrific creatures break out of the ground next to the Wash ...more
My name is Fort, and I lost my father six months ago. We were visiting Washington D.C. when a huge creature erupted from the earth and pulled him back underground. I was devastated and despondent until I met Dr. Opp. I learned that four books were excavated thirteen years ago, and they can train children to perform magic. Those born on Discovery Day are the most powerful, so I'm not sure why Dr. Opp has invited me to his top-secret school. However, this opportunity has broken me out of my funk a
...more
Fort is in DC with his dad when something attacks from underground, plowing through the Lincoln Monument and the reflecting pond and when Fort tries to help some people, he is told forcefully to run. But he fights back because his Dad is still in the Lincoln Monument, trying to help people - and the thing that rose up from underground grabs his Dad and takes him away.
Fast forward six months and Fort is now living with his young aunt who is trying her best to help him but Fort is stuck in the la ...more
Fast forward six months and Fort is now living with his young aunt who is trying her best to help him but Fort is stuck in the la ...more
I received an electronic ARC from Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing through NetGalley.
I've enjoyed Riley's other series and feel his writing has taken a more mature tone in this one. This is clearly for middle school level readers rather than elementary.
A secret magic school exists to stop the "old ones" from returning and destroying humanity. It came about after odd excavation sites turned up dragons with human riders holding books of magic. The scientists discovered that only children b ...more
I've enjoyed Riley's other series and feel his writing has taken a more mature tone in this one. This is clearly for middle school level readers rather than elementary.
A secret magic school exists to stop the "old ones" from returning and destroying humanity. It came about after odd excavation sites turned up dragons with human riders holding books of magic. The scientists discovered that only children b ...more
This wasn’t anything like I was expecting. It was not terrible by any means, but I found myself rolling my eyes at a lot of the things that happened in this (because of how predictable they were).
The main character was extremely annoying. I know he was only like 12 or 13 for the entirety of this first book, but he CONSTANTLY kept jumping to conclusions and yelling at characters every chance he got.
On top of that, the “magic school” aspect of this did not feel like a magic school at all. Sure, i ...more
The main character was extremely annoying. I know he was only like 12 or 13 for the entirety of this first book, but he CONSTANTLY kept jumping to conclusions and yelling at characters every chance he got.
On top of that, the “magic school” aspect of this did not feel like a magic school at all. Sure, i ...more
James Riley is in a unique category in my house. Somehow, a couple of years ago when I was reading the Story Thieves series to my son, he got in his head that all James Riley books need to be read together. At the time of writing this review, he is 11 years old and a fairly good reader, yet he didn't read this book, despite the fact that I had purchased it the day it came out and it sat in our bookshelf for months.
So finally I got around the reading it to him, and he really enjoyed it. My son b ...more
So finally I got around the reading it to him, and he really enjoyed it. My son b ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Fantasy Mid-Grade Book about magic taught to kids from an ancient book in order to combat monsters emerging from the ground. [s] | 4 | 16 | Apr 09, 2020 09:18PM |
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“I’m afraid that’s all the time I have,” Colonel Charles said. “I’ll update with further information as the situation warrants.” He walked off to more reporters shouting out questions, and Fort muted the television again, not sure why he’d even bothered. Six months later, and they still wouldn’t say who’d done it, or why. Not to mention that all anyone could think about was if and when another attack was coming.”
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