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The Rite of Wands Mackenzie Flohr 9781946006431 Books

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The Rite of Wands Mackenzie Flohr 9781946006431 Books

This is a good read for MG and YA readers. I found the story intriguing and full of both mystery and fantasy that serves as a real page-turner. We see the events progress, mainly through the eyes of two similarly aged warlocks Mierta and Orlynd, and how they come to fill their roles in this realm.

I liked the jumping between the POV of the two characters, and although there seemed to be sporadic leaps back and forth between places and time, I was able to follow along quite well without any feelings of disconnect. The author also does a wonderful job supplying the reader with the pronunciations of spells, and with Orlynd's Celtic dialect. You can tell she really put forth a lot of time and effort into the creation of this work.

One thing that I think needs improving however, is the fact that there were specific actions or behaviors of some of the characters that seemed off to me. There were a few moments when a main character performed an action that seemed unlikely of him because the information or knowledge that he had of a situation should have prompted him to act differently. I don't want to get into details for the sake of preventing spoilers, so I'll leave it there. But I did notice a few instances like this that caused either an inconsistency or a slight plot hole.

One thing that I think is very promising: I noticed, especially in Part II of this book, when the main characters who were teens in Part I are now adults. There seems to have been events in the gap of time between Parts I and II that may have changed these characters for the better or the worse, but we're unsure as they show signs of both cruelty and kindness (except for Orlynd, who seems steady and unchanging in morals and loyalty throughout), so it's difficult to tell who are the protagonists and the antagonists. At first this bothered me as I felt character development was inconsistent, but the more I reflected on the reading, I got the sense that the author intended to develop this theme that not everything is as it seems, which is very clever and unique if played out right. Perhaps that there is much that has happened in the twenty-four year gap between Part I and Part II, that will be later explained in future novels. I have a feeling that, when we read the series as a whole, we'll look back on those instances in this first book and go, "Aha! Now I get it! You tricky author who tormented me so! All this time I thought...but it turns out that... How wicked of you...but oh, so brilliant! Well played, ma'am!" The ability to cause long, drawn out surprises for the readers is what I call true storytelling talent, so I'd keep a close lookout for the upcoming books in this series!

All in all, this appears to be an excellent start to a new YA fantasy series, with solid writing skills and promising character dynamics, and I am anxious to see how it all progresses. Looking forward to being kept on my toes!


Tags : The Rite of Wands [Mackenzie Flohr] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <em>One boy…one Rite… And a world of deadly secrets that could change the course of history—forever </em> And so begins the tale of Mierta McKinnon. When a horrible fate reveals itself during his Rite of Wands ceremony,Mackenzie Flohr,The Rite of Wands,BHC Press,1946006432,FICTION Fantasy Action & Adventure,Fiction : Fantasy - Epic,FictionFantasy - Epic,fantasy; young adult; ya; adventure; magic; magical; action; warlock; sword & sorcery; teen; literature & fiction; coming of age; wizard; wizardry; quest

The Rite of Wands Mackenzie Flohr 9781946006431 Books Reviews

The premise of this story is very interesting. Young warlocks go through a Rite of Wands when they reach puberty. This rite shows some scenes from the past, present, and future to see if the candidates are worthy of a wand. We meet young Meirta, who is given a vision of himself trying to find a cure for the plague that is rampaging through the country but in the vision he fails and succumbs to the disease.
We are also introduced to another young warlock, Orlynd whose talent is seeing the future but when he tries to warn the king that someone may try to murder him the king dismisses the vision and gets poisoned.
The story started out strong but then there was a time span and I felt like I missed out on some important events. Some were added as flashbacks but some are still mysteries that I hope we'll find out about in later installments. Great young adult reading.
This was a interesting read. The story is told in alternating points of view. Although it takes a few chapters to start feeling the plot, it eventually works out. I appreciate the authors vision and detail in creating a world where the reader can feel wrapped in.

The dialect of one of the characters was hard to follow. I understand the authors attempt at keeping true, but, my son lost interest quickly, because of this. I, however, trekked through as it grew on me.

Overall this story is well written, and I do recommend it to prolific fantasy readers, especially those who enjoy magic and wands!

Looking forward to the next!
Fantasy is not my usual cup of tea but I bought it for a change of pace, and I'm glad I did. It was a very entertaining, imaginative, and creative piece of work. The author used alternate POV's at the start of each chapter with flashbacks of events that leapfrog back and forth to the future which I found quite interesting. I thought it would be difficult to follow but not at all--it made the story more enjoyable. The book is a magical tale of warlocks, spells, kings, queens, and a realistic view of how empires, kingdoms of the world fall; murder, deceit, deception, poisoning-- trust no one. If you like mystery, intrigue, and fantasy, this book is for you. I gave it 5 big stars.
Mackenzie Flohr has created a beautiful world of magical kingdoms in which ambition and conspiracy work to undermine the rightful order and overthrow the rule of the rightful king.

The story is populated by beautifully complex characters, among whom Mierta McKinnon and Orlynd O'Brien take the lead roles. Very few of the characters are transparent at all, so the story keeps on developing interest and intrigue as it progresses. The very fact that Mierta is so complicated and driven a character draws the reader into his thoughts and aspirations, and engages one deeply in the events of the story as they unfold.

It would be too simplistic to say that this is a story of a battle between good and evil. It may be so, but there are nuances and shades of truth and revelation, and of injustice and vindication, that obscure some elements of the characters and of the story so that the reader is never really able to foresee or predict what is yet to come. In this story, the only thing that is sure is that anything could happen.

The story finished at a logical point of resolution, although I really didn't want it to. A number of questions, both incidental and central to the story, remain to be answered in future books. I'm very keen for the next book!

All in all, this is shaping up to be the series I have been waiting for since I finished reading Harry Potter the seventh time over. It's not more of the same - the world, the characters and the problems they face are very different, but The Rite Of Wands does capture the imagination in the same fantastic, magical way.
This is a good read for MG and YA readers. I found the story intriguing and full of both mystery and fantasy that serves as a real page-turner. We see the events progress, mainly through the eyes of two similarly aged warlocks Mierta and Orlynd, and how they come to fill their roles in this realm.

I liked the jumping between the POV of the two characters, and although there seemed to be sporadic leaps back and forth between places and time, I was able to follow along quite well without any feelings of disconnect. The author also does a wonderful job supplying the reader with the pronunciations of spells, and with Orlynd's Celtic dialect. You can tell she really put forth a lot of time and effort into the creation of this work.

One thing that I think needs improving however, is the fact that there were specific actions or behaviors of some of the characters that seemed off to me. There were a few moments when a main character performed an action that seemed unlikely of him because the information or knowledge that he had of a situation should have prompted him to act differently. I don't want to get into details for the sake of preventing spoilers, so I'll leave it there. But I did notice a few instances like this that caused either an inconsistency or a slight plot hole.

One thing that I think is very promising I noticed, especially in Part II of this book, when the main characters who were teens in Part I are now adults. There seems to have been events in the gap of time between Parts I and II that may have changed these characters for the better or the worse, but we're unsure as they show signs of both cruelty and kindness (except for Orlynd, who seems steady and unchanging in morals and loyalty throughout), so it's difficult to tell who are the protagonists and the antagonists. At first this bothered me as I felt character development was inconsistent, but the more I reflected on the reading, I got the sense that the author intended to develop this theme that not everything is as it seems, which is very clever and unique if played out right. Perhaps that there is much that has happened in the twenty-four year gap between Part I and Part II, that will be later explained in future novels. I have a feeling that, when we read the series as a whole, we'll look back on those instances in this first book and go, "Aha! Now I get it! You tricky author who tormented me so! All this time I thought...but it turns out that... How wicked of you...but oh, so brilliant! Well played, ma'am!" The ability to cause long, drawn out surprises for the readers is what I call true storytelling talent, so I'd keep a close lookout for the upcoming books in this series!

All in all, this appears to be an excellent start to a new YA fantasy series, with solid writing skills and promising character dynamics, and I am anxious to see how it all progresses. Looking forward to being kept on my toes!