Esiste una scuola di magia, il Magisterium, dove va a studiare chi scopre di avere capacità magiche. Il protagonista, Callum Hunt, che da bambino è stato l'unico sopravvissuto ad una delle stragi compiute da un mago malvagio, nello scorso libro era stato ammesso al Magisterium e aveva stretto una forte amicizia con i suoi due compagni Aaron e Tamara. In "Il guanto di rame" Callum dovrà affrontare le conseguenze della scoperta fatta alla fine del libro precedente, mettendo alla prova il suo rapporto con il padre e gli amici e imbarcandosi in una missione rischiosissima.
Le autrici hanno detto di aver voluto costruire una storia basandosi sugli stereotipi del fantasy. Già dal primo libro mi era parso che la storia prendesse spunto soprattutto da Harry Potter. C'erano vari indizi: il protagonista unico sopravvissuto ad una strage commessa da un mago malvagio, la scuola di magia, la coppia di amici composta da un ragazzo e una ragazza, e in questo volume anche la fuga da casa e il viaggio in macchina. Nonostante le somiglianze però, le autrici riescono a differenziare personaggi e ambientazioni abbastanza da rendere i romanzi interessanti anche per i fan della saga della Rowling, e anzi, ribaltano le aspettative con dei colpi di scena davvero geniali. Questo secondo volume si differenzia ancora di più, e la trama decolla partendo dallo spettacolare finale della prima saga. Anche se la vicenda ha una conclusione, si ha l'impressione che il secondo sia un libro di passaggio e che il meglio debba ancora venire. Non vedo l'ora di leggere il terzo!
Anche in questo secondo capitolo la scrittura è di buon livello, i personaggi sono ben caratterizzati e funzionano, ma soprattutto la storia è davvero avvincente.
Ancora una volta (ma con più cognizione di causa, visto che ormai siamo al secondo libro) consiglio questa saga ai fan di Harry Potter, a chi ama le due autrici, agli appassionati di urban fantasy (soprattutto scolastici), ma anche a chi non avesse mai letto niente del genere e soprattutto ai dodici- tredicenni di oggi che hanno l'occasione di seguire una saga che cresce con loro come per noi è stata quella di Harry Potter.
"Magisterium" is an urban fantasy series written by Holly Black (best known for "The Spiderwick Chronicles" trilogy and "Ironside") and Cassandra Clare (best known for the "Shadowhunters" series). "The Iron Trial", the first book of what will be a pentalogy was realeased in 2014 (you can find my review here).
There is a school of magic, the Magisterium, in which people who discover to have magical abilities goes to study. The protagonist, Callum Hunt, who as a child was the only survivor of one of the massacres committed by an evil wizard, in the last book was admitted to the Magisterium, and had formed a strong friendship with his two schoolmates Aaron and Tamara. In "The copper Gauntlet" Callum faces the consequences of the discovery made at the end of the previous book, endangering his relationship with his father and friends and embarking on a risky mission.
The authors said they wanted to build a story based on fantasy stereotypes. From the first book I guessed that the story took its main inspiration from Harry Potter. There were several clues: the protagonist is the only survivor of a massacre committed by an evil wizard, the school of magic, the pair of friends consisting of a boy and a girl, and in this volume also the running away from home and the travel by car. Despite the similarities, however, the authors were able to differentiate the characters and environments enough to make these novels interesting even for fans of Rowling's saga, and indeed, overturned the expectations with some really clever twists. This second volume differs even more, and the plot takes off starting from the spectacular ending of the first series. Although the story has a conclusion, I had the impression that the second is a transition book and that the best is yet to come. I'm looking forward to reading the third!
The writing is good, the characters are well characterized and work, but above all the story is really compelling in this second chapter too.
Once again (but with more knowledge of the facts, now that I read the second book) I recommend this saga to Harry Potter fans, to people who love the two authors, urban fantasy (especially set in schools) but also who had never read anything like this and especially to today's twelve-thirteen year olds who have the opportunity to follow a saga that grows up with them as Harry Potter was for us.
There is a school of magic, the Magisterium, in which people who discover to have magical abilities goes to study. The protagonist, Callum Hunt, who as a child was the only survivor of one of the massacres committed by an evil wizard, in the last book was admitted to the Magisterium, and had formed a strong friendship with his two schoolmates Aaron and Tamara. In "The copper Gauntlet" Callum faces the consequences of the discovery made at the end of the previous book, endangering his relationship with his father and friends and embarking on a risky mission.
The authors said they wanted to build a story based on fantasy stereotypes. From the first book I guessed that the story took its main inspiration from Harry Potter. There were several clues: the protagonist is the only survivor of a massacre committed by an evil wizard, the school of magic, the pair of friends consisting of a boy and a girl, and in this volume also the running away from home and the travel by car. Despite the similarities, however, the authors were able to differentiate the characters and environments enough to make these novels interesting even for fans of Rowling's saga, and indeed, overturned the expectations with some really clever twists. This second volume differs even more, and the plot takes off starting from the spectacular ending of the first series. Although the story has a conclusion, I had the impression that the second is a transition book and that the best is yet to come. I'm looking forward to reading the third!
The writing is good, the characters are well characterized and work, but above all the story is really compelling in this second chapter too.
Once again (but with more knowledge of the facts, now that I read the second book) I recommend this saga to Harry Potter fans, to people who love the two authors, urban fantasy (especially set in schools) but also who had never read anything like this and especially to today's twelve-thirteen year olds who have the opportunity to follow a saga that grows up with them as Harry Potter was for us.
1 commento:
I really need to read this series...
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