A Plague of Sorcerers

Jermyn Graves #1

by Mary Frances Zambreno

When a magic plague begins to take its toll of the wizards in the Empire, Jermyn, a newly-apprenticed wizard, and Delia, his skunk familiar, must find a way to stop it

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Mystery, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Wizards, Childrens

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1991

About the author

A lifelong resident of Oak Park, Illinois, Mary Frances Zambreno decided to become a writer at the age of twelve, when she first realized that writers were just people with a good supply of paper and a desire to tell stories. Along the way to becoming a writer, she earned a doctorate in medieval literature, learned to read six languages (including English), and discovered that she enjoyed teaching almost as much as she enjoyed writing. Currently, she teaches a wide variety of courses at Elmhurst College, in Elmhurst, Illinois.

She became one of the first Writers of the Future contest winners with her story, “A Way Out” (collected in Invisible Pleasures), and her subsequent short fiction quickly became a staple in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s and Jane Yolen’s anthologies. Her stories have appeared in numerous genre magazines and anthologies, but certainly not frequently enough to satisfy her many fans. She even wrote a review column for American Fantasy magazine. Her young adult fantasy novel, A Plague of Sorcerers, was named to the ALA’s list of Best Books for Young Adults in 1992; its sequel, Journeyman Wizard, was a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age in 1994. She has written two other YA fantasy adventures.

Reviews

[Salvatora Mistry]

Brilliant!!!!!!!

[Jon]

A quick reread from my childhood. Just as fun as I remembered. When I was a kid, I wanted a skunk just like Dee. Jermyn is such a relatable character, and his master and aunt both feel fleshed out as well. My largest takeaway though is just how lived in the world feels. Somethings get mentioned without explanation, setting up a larger environment. Definitely worth the revisit!

[Jake]

A very favorite from when I was a kid! I really loved the mystery to it and felt connected to the young, out of place wizard.

[Ithlilian]

A quick look at the jacket will tell you that this is a book about a not so skilled apprentice wizard with a skunk familiar. He is different from all of the other children and is picked on a bit because of it. That may seem cliched, and there isn't much here that hasn't been done before, but I still enjoyed it. Apprentice wizards are my favorite thing to read about, and A Plague of Sorcerers delivers. The author puts us right in the midst of the action and doesn't let up. There is no introductory section about what the country is called, what every type of wizard does, who rules, and what the town looks like. I love it. All of the characters are interesting, and the mystery is enjoyable. There are a few twists as well and I wasn't able to figure out the bad guy, so points for that. While I enjoyed those things, I did have some issues. I may not be a fan introductory details, but I do like plenty of information that pertains to the characters and the plot. I think there could have been a bit more explanation of the types of wizards and the way spells work. The main character's master would mention things that I didn't understand, and they were never explored in more detail. I understand that it has value to the student, but it seemed pointless to mention it in the grand scheme of things. The characters are also a bit flat, but I expected that since this is mostly a mystery. I had no other issues, but there isn't enough depth to this story to make it more than ok. As others have said, there is nothing really special about it. A Plague of Sorcerers is just a fun mystery to occupy a bit of time.

[Gaelyn]

This book was entertaining and fun in some ways, but I went into it with high expectations that were not met. One problem I experienced was that this book was trying to be too many things. It is a mystery, as the title suggests, but the mystery does not take charge of the plot until halfway through the book. Besides being a mystery, this was also a tale of growing up and a fantasy story, but I felt there wasn't enough world-building to give the fantasy world volume and believability. I wanted to know more about the society and other countries, and these aspects were important to the mystery and were only developed as far as needed to be for the mystery's purpose. The character himself did grow, so that aspect of the story was alright, but I found the character a little bland, but being an everyman type character had its advantages. All in all, this is an entertaining book for a middle-school-aged audience who has interest in mystery and magic. It's worth a read if you like that kind of genre.

[Randi]

Ok, so THIS is the long-lost book I read while volunteering at Broward County Library way back in the 90s. Finally found it!
That said, I've re-read it and it is funny and smart and the twist was an actual twist! I didn't get it until the main character revealed it (he's one smart cookie). Part of the reason I didn't recognize it (I think) is that the cover art is completely different from what I'd seen on the book I'd read. However, the local library here had the same cover art as the book I'd originally found. Excellent, no?
This book is definitely for younger readers (I'd say around the elementary to middle school range), but it's a fun light read for anyone. The sequel is on my holds list so I'll finally find out how that one is/how the story ends!!

[Aelvana]

I had read the sequel to this a long time ago without realizing that it was book two, so I was excited to finally find the first book in the library. These are magical mysteries, and while the magical end holds up very well, the mystery needs a bit of work. I was loving the book until I found out whodunit, and then I was scratching my head and wondering how that was supposed to fit with the rest of the novel. It really is a surprise ending, because it shouldn't have been possible without a lot more work to set it up. Despite that, I love seeing Jermyn finding his familiar, getting used to her, fighting with his aunt about it, and discovering exactly what area his own power falls under. Read as a fantasy, it's quite enjoyable. Recommended.

[Steven]

A Plague of Sorcerers crosses medieval fantasy with Sherlock Holmes without finding the strengths of either genre. The wizard fantasy starts our promising, but never develops, while the mystery is too by the numbers. The writing at times feels clunky as the the author tries to sustain tension, but instead aggravates the reader by withholding information. In the end, the plot kept me turning pages, but left me disappointed.

[EAL]

I checked this book out on a whim and was not disappointed. Jermyn and Delia were awesome. I kept oscillating between liking and disliking Aunt Merry. Most of all, I want to read more from the author - what a fascinating magic system! The titular plague's resolution was unexpectedly dark, and I did not know whether to class Meggan/Malory as a victim or not. I felt that the book's ending petered out disappointingly, but the preceding story was enough to excuse it.

[Katy]

This was a suprisingly charming read for me. I picked up the book at the library with low expectations, but I had a curiousity about what having a skunk familiar would be like. A Plague of Sorcerers grabbed my interest right away. I found the characters of Jeremey and his skunk familiar, Delia, to be delightful! Great story, great characters! My only regret was that Journeyman Wizard was the only other book about Jeremy and Delia.

[Cindy]

Jermyn is an apprentice wizard, studying under his aunt. But he's having trouble controlling his power. So she finds him a new master. Then most of the magic users in the city start becoming ill. Jermyn's aunt is one of the first. He knows someone must be behind the illness and decides to figure out who.

I really enjoyed this book. Jermyn was a very sympathetic character. fun read.

[Lorrie]

It went by fairly quickly, but I think that is because it is meant for young adults. That being said, I liked the story a lot and I liked the main character because he was interesting and different. This was a pleasant read for me and I enjoyed it.

[Jessica]

I love this story. This is one of my fallbacks when I don't know what to read next.

[Becca]

(8/9/10) This book was a lot of fun and I hope the author has written more.

[Annette]

Cute book. There was more to the main character than I realized. I hope he learns how to control all his power.