Magic is in the air!
With the imminent release of the the 8th Harry Potter Book, the Cursed Child play getting ready for the first show and Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them almost in cinemas, it is turning out to be a truly magical year. Harry Potter has wowed fans, converted non-readers into avid readers and ignited the imaginations of children and adults all over the world. J. K. Rowling has changed the world of the written word forever with characters that have ingratiated themselves into the consciousness of every muggle and wizard alike.
Once the series had come to an end people craved something to move on to, with the same degrees of friendship and loyalty, the vast accessible and inviting world that J. K. Rowling takes us to, the magic, the splendour...
What follows is a list of some of the many books and series that come close to ticking all those boxes…
This series follows the adventures of Percy Jackson, a half-blood child who discovers his Greek god ancestry and sets out on a quest to reach the gates of the underworld to prevent a catastrophic war.
Set in a parallel universe this story follows Lyra as she journeys to the Arctic in search of her missing friend, and her imprisoned uncle who has been conducting experiments with a mysterious substance called “dust”.
Eragon is a young farm boy who finds a mysterious stone which later turns out to be a dragon egg. The dragon Saphira hatches from the egg, but the evil King Galbatorix wants the dragon for himself and will stop at nothing to capture them. Eragon and Saphira flee to find the Varden, a group of rebels who want to bring King Galbatorix’s reign to an end.
Fletcher is a blacksmith’s apprentice who one day discovers that he has the ability to summon demons from another world. He then travels to Adept Military Academy where he trains to be a battle-mage alongside gifted others just like him.
Richard Mayhew is an every-man who one day stumbles upon a girl named Door bleeding on the sidewalk. From there his life is changed forever. Thrust into a shadow world that exists in an underground labyrinth of sewer canals under the streets of London, Richard is joined by Hunter and the Marquis of Carabas to help Door find the assassins who killed her family.
This book begins the Kingkiller Chronicles. A scribe is saved by Kote, who is later revealed to be Kvothe, a young boy who has grown up to be the most famous magician in the world, also a master swordsman who is rumoured to have killed a king. The scribe then asks to record Kvothe’s story, to which he consents and thus begins the absorbing and gritty chronicles that have pleased many fans of fantasy.
Set in an alternative history, two magicians emerge when nineteenth century England thought magic had long since died out. Mr Norrell becomes a celebrity overnight when he reveals his powers. Then he meets another practising magician, the young Jonathan Strange and together they aid in the war against France. But Jonathan Strange is lured to the darker forms of magic and their relationship becomes strained.
Quentin Coldwater is a precocious young man who discovers magic is real and is invited to attend a college of magic in upstate New York where he receives an education in modern sorcery. Magic doesn’t bring him happiness but after graduation he sets out on a journey that may just fulfill his desire for adventure.
Magic is everywhere, if you just look hard enough. The magic is in the content of these books but also in the stories and journeys, taking us to worlds different but similar to our own, where we meet characters who we can relate to and experience the discoveries alongside them.
Books are magic in themselves because they help us explore the world, entertain and enlighten us, and give us lasting friendships along the way.
Craig McLearie
Senior Bookseller, Windsor
If you want a spell of literary magic as listed above, click here to visit our website to click and collect any of these titles in your local store!
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