Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J FICTION AVI | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | J MYSTERY AVI | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Valley Library (Lakeland) | J FICTION AVI | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
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Summary
Summary
Newbery Medalist and master storyteller Avi returns to Scholastic with a tantalizing prequel to his bestselling medieval mystery MIDNIGHT MAGIC.
A plot to overthrow King Claudio is brewing in the Kingdom of Pergamontio. Scholarly Mangus the magician -- along with his street-smart and faithful new servant boy, Fabrizio -- have been marked as easy scapegoats for the traitor lurking within the king's court. Together, these two unlikely partners must gather clues to solve the mystery and prove their innocence before the stroke of midnight. . . or face death!
Intricate plotting, surprise twists, and lively prose make for another suspenseful page-turner that stands alone or sets the stage for MIDNIGHT MAGIC!
Author Notes
Avi was born in 1937, in the city of New York and raised in Brooklyn. He began his writing career as a playwright, and didn't start writing childrens books until he had kids of his own.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Readers are returned to the Renaissance city of Pergamontio in this funny, lightweight mystery, set before the events of Avi's Midnight Magic, with 10-year-old Fabrizio having just begun serving Mangus the Magician. When hundreds of neatly printed handbills proclaiming "The kingdom needs a strong ruler! Establish true authority! Do not fear a change!" mysteriously appear, the superstitious King Claudio and his pompous "Primo Magistrato" DeLaBina believe it's the devil's work (Claudio and DeLaBina have "been successful in keeping Pergamontio free of all modern ideas, technologies, and heresies"). Mangus is accused of creating the fliers with black magic, and is placed under arrest and threatened with death. But when DeLaBina is murdered, it's up to the Sancho Panza-like Fabrizio and his new friend, the printer's devil Maria, to discover which of Pergamontio's scheming nobles is responsible for all of the skullduggery. Combining action, silliness and enough step-by-step explanations to help readers figure out the mystery, this enjoyable historical tale should appeal to the author's many younger fans and send them off to read-or reread-Midnight Magic. Ages 8-12. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Avi's Midnight Magic (1999) told the story of the magician Mangus and his servant, Fabrizio, as they get embroiled in a mystery surrounding a ghost in the king's palace. This prequel returns readers to the Renaissance Italy of that book and the outset of Mangus and Fabrizio's relationship. The cantankerous and philosophical Mangus has little use for the illiterate boy, who will do anything to gain his approval and hopefully learn his master's craft, which Fabrizio believes is real magic despite Mangus' repeated claims to be simply an illusionist. When pamphlets call for the king to be overthrown, the two are drawn into a tangled political struggle between the magic-fearing king, his scheming son, and a devilish advisor. The role of the newly invented printing press provides a nice is-it-technology-or-is-it-magic element to the snarl of intrigue. Although seasoned mystery readers might wince at some of the conveniences that twist the plot, the creepy atmosphere is spot-on, and Avi assuredly keeps the suspense simmering right through to the end.--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2009 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-In the Renaissance kingdom of Pergamontio, Italy, young servant Fabrizio's master, a stage magician, is charged with plotting treason against the king and dealing with demons. Fabrizio knows he must help clear Mangus's name to avoid once again living on the streets and to convince the magician to take him on as an apprentice. The plot is thick, however, and Fabrizio bumbles along until he finally comes up with a plan worthy of a magician. Avi weaves in the introduction of the printing press, the belief in magic as an evil source of power, and the rarity of reading as a skill without ever making them seem like lessons. Fabrizio, because he lacks education, believes that magic is real, an understanding that gets both him and his master into more trouble. His bumbling makes it feel as though the story is pushing him along, rather than Fabrizio himself driving the narrative. Eventually, though, he learns enough about himself, and about the illusion of magic, to come through with glowing colors. An intelligent girl who is a "printer's devil" provides an excellent counterpoint to Fabrizio's worldview. The novel should appeal to reluctant readers, as the writing style is easy enough to follow despite the historical concepts.-Alana Abbott, James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Avi returns to Renaissance Pergamontio for another round of murder and political intrigue, set two years before the events of Midnight Magic (1999). Taking with a grain of salt the claims of his new master, stage magician Mangus, that there is no such thing as magic, ten-year-old exstreet orphan Fabrizio finds himself swept up in a murderous royal power struggle that results in them both being framed, thrown into prison and threatened with execution. On the way to an elaborate climactic trick set in a candle-lit, bone-strewn crypt, Fabrizio meets contending aristocrats with murky motives, a young "devil" (a printer's devil, as it turns out), a genial executioner and other colorful characters. The plot never takes a break, rushing from encounter to encounter in true audience-pleasing style; the intrigue unfolds naturally without bogging down the main event. The denouement is as contrived as can be, but readers will be glued to this suspenseful, headlong caper from first page to last. (Adventure. 10-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
