High Wizardry (Young Wizards, Book 3) (original 1990; edition 2001)

Well, I enjoyed this book more than the last one - and the younger sister Dairine's storyline just took a quantum leap (pun intended). I'll probably go on with this series eventually but for now I think I'll read some other things. ( )

see http://www.sfsite.com/09b/yw112.htm ( )

Nita's little sister Dairine becomes a wizard, copies the new family computer, and starts jumping around the Solar System, all in one day.

The story moves between Dairine testing her new powers and Kit and Nita chasing after her. Dairine was portrayed as a precocious brat in previous books, but now we get to see deeper into her character and also (as usual) meet exciting new characters as well.

This is the first of the New Millennium Editions that I actually found somewhat better than the original. The updated technology and a few dialogue tweaks really help the story flow.

This is the one where Dairine, Nina's kid sister, becomes a wizard and goes tearing off round the galaxy. It has some wonderful, wonderful moments - when Dairine thinks she is being so clever, but is actually talking to the alien's luggage, the creation of sentience and life on the silicone planet, and the final battle. ( )

This third installment in Duane's Young Wizards series was, I have to say, not quite as enjoyable for me as the first two. I think that a lot of what distanced from me from the novel is that, for the first time, this one felt dated. The story was, I am sure, cutting edge for the early 1990s and is chock-full of pop culture and computer/technology references... and that is the problem. Instead of being absorbed into universal themes as in the previous books, the reader is frequently jarred by the outmoded computer details. Not enough time has passed to make such details quaint or "period", so the effect isn't great.

In addition, instead of focusing on Nita and Kit, our two young magical heroes from the first books, this volume adds Nita's younger sister Dairine in a major way. Dairine is a little more difficult to relate to, and becomes even more so as the book progresses, but I don't wish to give anything away, so I will skip the details.

Even with these issues, this is still a fun novel and one that is definitely worth reading to the end; it is in the last quarter of the book that Duane's usual rich, universal themes finally come into play in a major way and some interesting things happen in that eternal battle between... well, you know.

So, while not the best of the series, in my opinion, High Wizardry is still a pleasant read.

A third book in Duane's wizard series, this one features a new addition to the wizarding family: Nita's little sister, Dairine. Dairine has been envious of her sister's new skills since she learned about them; as a voracious devourer of knowledge, she was incensed to learn that a whole field of discovery, the biggest one of all, was unavailable to her. Lucky for her, the wizard world chooses her, but not through a book in the library, like with Nita. No, Dairine unwittingly uploads her manual on a special computer after carelessly taking the oath from her sister's book. Being a huge Star Wars fan, her Ordeal takes her to far regions of space, past even where her inventive mind has imagined before.

This book is the shortest in the series thus far, but since I haven't read them for a while, I didn't mind. It was like a quick refresher to her fictional world. Her integration of computer technology and wizardry was clever, and a new approach to magic fantasy that I had never read before. Yes, much of the technology is already outdated by now, but it was a fresh approach to a genre that can easily become cliched. I also liked watching Dairine mature on her Ordeal. She transforms from a selfish and manipulative child (even if she did have her reasons) into a more open and sympathetic person. Still a child, Dairine had positive growth. The story was a very quick read for me, both because of the short content and because of a fast-flowing narrative pace.

My only disappointment was how quickly the novel flashed past some amazing outer space scenes. The intergalactic travel hub, for instance, was fascinating. We did spend some time here, as Dairine was chased by aliens and Nita and Kit later investigated her whereabouts, but with the wealth of aliens and novelties present in this location, I though significantly more narrative space should have been dedicated to it. I wouldn't have minded seeing Dairine have smaller adventures on some of the planets she flashed to. Yes, yes, this actually would have made the novel a lot longer, and I was just writing that I enjoyed the short length. I'm being contradictory, I know. I wanted to see more galaxies developed, but I was happy with a quick read, so in the end, I was satisfied even if I felt the book had potential left undeveloped. I enjoyed my foray in to the lives of these young wizards, and am again interested in reading more. Which is a good thing, since I received the fourth book as a gift (prompting me to dig out and read this third one) and I plan on plunging straight ahead to the next book in the series. ( )

Nita's little sister Dairine becomes a wizard, steals the new family computer, and starts jumping around the Solar System all in one day.

The story moves between Dairine testing her new powers and Kit and Nita chasing after her. Dairine was portrayed as a precocious brat in previous books, but now we get to see deeper into her character and also (as usual) meet exciting new additions to the cast.

This was actually the first book in the series that I ever read. It was confusing (I recommend starting with book 1) but I liked it enough to seek out the rest of the series and I'm glad I did. ( )

I have to say that the introduction of Nita's sister into the Wizardy world was partially expected, but still highly entertaining. Talk about how much someone can be capable of doing if they don't know they shouldn't be able to do it!

I must admit that it was a little strange to be almost at the end of the book and not remember that Dairine is the youngest wizard in the series. She certainly acted/ spoke like a much more mature person but perhaps that had to do with her above-average intellect. At any rate, the situations she got herself into were definitely unique as was her way of solving her problems.

I also began to see some small similarities between this series and the Pendragon books (although these were obviously written much earlier): The whole idea of children battling a "Lone Power" whose only desire is to corrupt people/ civilizations.

An enjoyable and entertaining read. ( )

Being a young wizard is hard enough when you're battling to fight death and chaos at every turn, but when your little sister decides to sneak off to Mars you know it's the start of something bad. Will our two young heros be able to save little sister or will the Lone Power succeed in his plot to ruin everything? ( )

Although the scientific element forms a strong background to the magic in the previous two books, this one takes a large step from fantasy towards science fiction. It starts as a merry romp about a precocious kid sister, but picks up the theme of moral decision on a grand scale. The author manages to keep her light touch and creative imagination intact, even while loading spadefuls of philosophical theology into the reader's lap. Again the tale invites comparison with Philip Pullman (though not a match for The Golden Compass in style or inventiveness)... except that Duane clearly takes a positive angle on the Christian cosmological myths. Imagine if C. S. Lewis had written Perelandra not for adults, but for the young audience of his Narnia tales, and done so with the benefit of several more decades of astronomical discovery. Enjoyable and thought-provoking. MB 21-iii-2008 ( )

Summary: When Nita told her family that she was a wizard, she knew there'd be some problems. What she didn't expect was that her bratty young sister Dairine would find her wizarding manual and take the Oath as well - and become a much more powerful wizard than either Nita or Kit. Dari's Ordeal takes her far from home - on the order of several-trillion-light-years-type far - and pits her eleven-year-old brain against one of the eternal Powers... the Destroyer of Light himself.

Review: A quick read (took me about four hours), and a pretty good action/adventure type story, with some nice descriptive writing thrown in. Unfortunately, this series has yet to really grab and hold my attention, and this book's got some sci-fi elements mixed in with the fantasy that were probably pretty cool when it was first published, but 18 years later just make it seem dated to the point of being laughable. I mean... controlling wizard's magic using DOS prompts and MBASIC programs on an Apple IIIc with 800kb of storage? Really? The final conflict is interesting, and involves most of the really nice writing, but it gets a little metaphysical for all of the space travel and computer-geek stuff that came before it, and there's not enough denouement to wrap things up satisfactorily in my mind. Also, although this is clearly meant to be Dari's book, it suffers a little for pushing Kit and Nita into supporting roles - they're more sympathetic characters, and (I think) more interesting to read.

Recommendation: Not a terrible way to pass the afternoon, but it hasn't aged particularly well, and it's not something that's likely to leave more than a passing impression. ( )

Nita and Kit find wizardry handbooks (the books are only visible/available to pre-wizards). They take the oath of wizardry and embark on adventures to help others and to heal the rift caused by the Lost One/Lone Power. In Deep Wizardry Nita and Kit are called to help the undersea community in a healing song to quiet the bound power. Too late they realize that the cost of this wizardry might be more than they thought...and there is no easy way out. During the ordeal Nita must tell her parents and sister about her powers and job. In High Wizardry, Nita's little sister receives a software version of the handbook and starts out on her journey without assistance or full understanding of what the risks and responsibilities are. Her journeywoman task is not clear to her but Nita and Kit rush to help her by direct assistance or by distracting the tricky evil.

I don't really like these books but I can't say why. Meanwhile, I have three more of the series in the pile. Maybe I can figure out what I don't like by the time I finish them.

http://rivkat.livejournal.com/159647.html#cutid1 ( )

http://www.lonelymountain.net/books/dec03.html#duanehw ( )

When Nita’s 10 year old sister Dareen discovers she’s a wizard – her manual is a new laptop computer – Nita and Kit have to go after her to keep her from getting in too much trouble. Again, Duane has written an excellent book with shades of the book of Genesis. ( )

Nita's younger sister, Dairine, has always been precocious -- and now she's become one of the youngest and most powerful wizards out there. Now she's gone off half-cocked into the universe, and it's up to Kit and Nita to track her down before the Lone Power does.
In some ways this book was slightly dated; Dairine's Wizard's Manual takes the form of a computer, and a lot of the computer stuff is clearly primitive. Other than that, though, it's a great story. ( )