Everyone in the islands of O’Ceea has a magical ability:
whatever they imagine can be brought into existence. Whoever
becomes a master over these powers is granted the title of
magician and is given fame, power, riches, and glory. This
volume of books follows the journey of a group of kids as they
strive to rise to the top and become members of the Magician’s
Workshop.
Layauna desperately wants to create beautiful things with her
magical powers, but all she can seem to do is make horrible,
savage monsters. For years she has tried to hide her creations,
but when her power is at last discovered by a great magician,
she realizes that what she’s tried to hide might actually be of
tremendous value.
Kai just wants to use his powers to have fun and play with his
friends. Unfortunately, nearly everyone on his island sees him
as a bad influence, so he’s forced to meet them in secret. When
one of the creatures they create gets out of control and starts
flinging fireballs at their town, Kai is tempted to believe that
he is as nefarious as people say. However, his prospects change
when two mysterious visitors arrive, praising his ability and
making extraordinary promises about his future.
Follow the adventures of Kai, Layauna, and a boatload of other
characters as they struggle to grow up well in this fantastical
world.
The Magician's Workshop dumps you straight into a pile of
characters living in their crazy island world where everyone can
work magic. And as the characters go about life projecting magic
images, flavors and smells, the authors slowly start to
introduce some of the difficulties that come in such a
fantastical world. What do you think? Would you bother eating
real fruit if you could eat something that tasted like fruit
instead?
This is such a wonderful book for adults and young adults alike.
Even if you are a fully mature adult you will read this and love
this novel. I was so excited to move onto book two after
finishing this.
5 stars
Book two
In Volume Two, the Festival of Stars has finally arrived, and
the Color Ceremony is about to commence. As children from all
over the islands gather to stand before a puller, one question
remains: who will have a Color, and who will be found void?
Rejoin your favorite characters as they step forward and receive
a label that will have the power to dramatically alter the
course of their lives forever.
Book Two definitely does not disappoint at all. It continues with
old characters but expands on the magical realm we are reading
about. Beautifully well written.
showed their characters with universal feelings common in us
all. I could relate to situations and difficulties these
characters were experiencing even though their characters were
living in a land and time of magic and projections. Going to
such a special place and being part of these lives "magically"
gives us insight into lives so different than ours....yet inside
each individual are the same feelings as young people today
feel. As I felt in Volume I, a wonderful reading experience to
be read not only alone but to share with others.
The Master Magician turns up with words of encouragement along
the lines of color, no color, it doesn't matter, but to accept
all anyway. This comes across as a surprise and a rather new
concept to everyone who think that the ultimate goal is to be
found with color and then to train to get into the magician's
workshop. No-one seems to know or understand the hardships that
it entails or even those that follow this kind of dream.
Now that everyone has found out their place (it feels harsh to
write it this way, but I cannot think of another way of
articulating this), it's time to move further, to train, to find
new goals and to deal with the next stage of life. The authors
slowly emphasize the importance of two characters, Kai and
Layauna, and the story slowly shifts focus with more of the
later chapters written from their points of view. Coming out
with the kind of colors they have, it will give us a sense that
the tests that life will throw at these two will be harder and
that they will need all the help and support from their friends
and family.
I absolutely adore this author and I cannot wait to read more
from him.
5 stars
The first glimmering Chris Hansen had that there was far more to
reality than he had ever imagined occurred six days after his
ninth birthday.
“Christopher!” cried a wise, old sage. “Life is full of deep
magic. Miraculous things happen all the time and all around us,
if you know where to look for them.”
Full of expectation and childlike optimism, Chris began
searching for this magic, prepared to be surprised and amazed by
it. And he was: he found Wonder! Now he’s chosen to write
stories about it.
