The Wizards of Once

Xar is a prince of the Wizards clan who shames his family by not being able to produce magic and for general disobedience and shenanigans. Wish is a princess of the Warriors clan who shames her family by being weakly and more interested in forbidden enchantments than learning how to fight. On one fateful evening, these two outcast children meet each other and despite coming from warring clans, they find they have similar goals in mind.

This was a fun and entertaining read. The length of the volume might scare some kids off, but it actually reads quickly as it has good pacing and a number of illustrations that fill out the pages. The characterizations are well done, with each character popping off the page with their interesting show more personalities and quirks. There are quite a number of characters thrown at the reader in the opening chapters, but it is actually quite easy to distinguish them all, so it's not too bad that a lot of names show up right at the beginning.

Although the tone is different, I could see this book appealing to fans of the Harry Potter series. Obviously there is magic as well as the idea of different magical (and non-magical) species being opposed to one another, only to find out that the "other" isn't as bad as advertised (for the most part). Without being heavy-handed, this book manages to teach some moral lessons. However, it does suffer from a lack of diversity -- all of the humanoid characters appear to be Caucasian.

On the whole, this book was compelling enough that I'm interested in reading the follow-up title. show less

This book was fun. Just fun.

Xar was annoying, narcissistic and self-absorbed throughout the whole book, especially in the beginning. He boasts about being the ‘boy of destiny’ and I laughed when he found out that someone else was this ‘boy of destiny’. However, he had his moments where he showed he was a good at heart, which made me like him. Like when he could not kill Wish, begged his father to punish him instead of his animals and sprites, when he said “Obey me” in the finale and when he straight up jumped on top of a witch.

Wish was sweet and thoughtful and exactly the opposite of Xar, which I liked. They complement eachother well. I also found it endearing how much Wish cares for her mother. Her mother is basically a show more scary ice queen who keeps magic creatures prisoner and keeps a room full of severed heads but Wish loves her anyway. Their reunion at the end of the book was full of mixed feelings. Wish is ecstatic that her mother smiled at her once, which I think is pretty sad.

They both share traits with Hiccup. Xar is clever and tricksy and cheats himself out of the most dangerous situations. Wish is optimistic and not that heroic, but ends up being a great hero nonetheless.

Caliburn is the mentor figure that has to keep the royal kid out of trouble, which is a difficult task with Xar. Somewhere in the book the narrator said his feathers were falling out from stress and anxiety.
Bodkin, Wish’s assistant bodyguard was a nice guy, but his fainting and falling asleep threw me off. It made no sense to me. I felt very sorry for him and Caliburn for having to put up with the disobedience of Wish and Xar.
Wish and Xar’s parents were both scary and dimensional. They were good nor evil (although Sychorax borders on evil) and the last chapter about Encanzo made me like him. He does care a lot for Xar.
The spoon and Crusher the giant became instant favourites. They’re adorable.

Like the [b:How to Train Your Dragon|352262|How to Train Your Dragon (How to Train Your Dragon, #1)|Cressida Cowell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614042924l/352262._SY75_.jpg|1484561] books there is a narrator who gives warnings, advice and sonetimes sassy commentary. He or she is still unknown, but I wanted to share my thoughts.
1- It could be an elderly Wish or Xar, like the elderly Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon. It would make sense, because they know in detail what happened. Because the narrator also knows exactly what happened when Xar and Wish were not together, it could also be both of them. My one complaint is that it would be a little repetitive.
2- Caliburn the wise raven. Caliburn seems like the storytelling kind to me. And there must be a reason why he is on the cover, his role in the story is not that big.
3- There could be a huge plot twist where it turns out to be the spoon or something. I for one hope it is the spoon.

The plot was easy to follow and after a short introduction of Xar ans Wish every action called for a reaction, pushing the plot foreward. We get to see both Xar and Wish’s home and the story is evenly spread over the two heroes. What I found funny is that Wish stole the show when they were in Wizard camp and Xar was the true hero in the Warrior fort.
What I loved the most was the amount of little motifs spread throughout the book. To name a few: I will rescue you, because that is what a leader does, You have to listen to stories, for stories always mean something and I wish, I wish, I WISH . And my personal favourite: You need to be thought a lesson, and that is what a prison is for

The book ends with a little cliffhanger that makes room for many sequels. (I won’t spoil how.) Over all I felt like this was not really the end and I’m not a big fan of that. Either end with a rounded story or with a clear cliffhanger. But I am eager to read the next story, although I wonder how Xar and Wish will meet eachother again. show less

In a long-ago England when the forests were still dark and dangerous and full of magic, the wizards were the Hatfields and the iron-wielding warriors were the McCoys. Zar is a wizard prince without magic; Wish is a warrior princess with a magical pet spoon. They stumble into each other in the forest, get tangled up with really evil and supposedly extinct witches, and all sorts of heck breaks loose.

A fun story with interesting characters, but the very best part is the narration by David Tennant. Fabulously funny and deliciously creepy in turn and where it counts; he could read the tax form instruction booklet and I'd be seduced into applying for a job with the IRS.

Cressida Cowell is back, and her latest effort is thoroughly enjoyable. It’s sure to entice a wide range of young readers as well as many young at heart. Here there be magic and humor, adventure and danger, and more than one quotable passage. Thematically, it treads similar territory as How to Train Your Dragons: there are the traditional enemies who maybe don’t need to be enemies after all and who, at the least, need to ally to overcome a greater threat. The children are capable, if flawed, and the adults are certainly keeping their secrets. Xar is delightfully (or, alternatively, fretfully) incorrigible in his arrogance and mischief, while Wish is lacking in confidence but certainly clever. Aspiring body guard Bodkin is also show more charmingly brave if perhaps a tad inept. Neither Xar nor Wish fit in entirely with their respective tribes, and all three protagonists struggle to live up to their parents expectations. There’s a lot for children to relate to here and broad appeal across genders.

This was a book that left me smiling and ready for the next adventure. I, for one, cannot wait to see where the story leads!

ARC provided by NetGalley. show less

Xar is a thirteen-year-old Wizard and annoyed that his Magic hasn't come in yet, which is even more embarrassing considering he's the son of Encanzo the Enchanter, King of the Wizards. Determined to best his brother in the upcoming spelling competition he ventures into the territory of the Wizards' mortal enemies, the Warriors, to catch himself a Witch and use its Magic.

Wish is the daughter of Queen Sychorax, the Warrior Queen, and one night she leaves the safety of the fort to look for her pet spoon (it's enchanted) in the Badwoods, accompanied by Assistant Bodyguard Bodkin. But they are not alone in the forest ...

Children aged 9 to 11 (and their parents) will love this wildly imaginative tale of adventure set in Britain's Iron Age, show more filled with engaging characters (human, sprite, giant and animal) as well as danger, magic, friendship, loyalty and courage, and a gentle humour. The author's wonderful hand-drawn illustrations (as in her How to Train Your Dragon series) add much value to the story being told and will engage children who may feel intimidated to read a book of nearly 400 pages on their own; they needn't worry as the captivating story and a big font, along with the drawings, make the pages fly by.

I loved the characters of Xar and Wish, so very different from each other but at the same time both outsiders in their respective societies, slowly becoming friends and teaming up to defeat an ancient evil; however, I suspect that among the magic creatures it will be the sprites that capture children's hearts, in particular eager little Squeezjoos.

This is the start of a new series and I will definitely be on board for the sequels. Recommended.

(This review was written for Amazon's Vine programme.) show less

This is fun! Written in that slightly trendy way for children, with lots of pictures and big fonts and a clear and knowing authorial voice, it is about the battle between Wizards and Warriors, particularly the story of a young cocky Wizard who unfortunately has no magic, and a young Warrior who unexpectedly does. It has a very cute supporting cast of magic spoons and hairy fairies, is gently amusing, and even though it is clearly a set up for the rest of the series stands well on its own as well.

2.5 stars. Not quite what I expected, but there’s a bit that I saw coming. It’s a cheeky little story about a boy and a girl who trip their way into coming of age. Lots of poor decisions made with questionable intentions. There are good choices too, but those aren’t really the ones pushing the story along.

It might be a bit unfair to Xar and Wish that I paused my listening of the Two Towers to pick this book up - coming from a deep dive into humanity and the ages-long fight between good and evil makes this story look like a wisp of a work with no heart at all in comparison. There is a bit of heart, loyalty, bravery when it counts the most; but there are plenty of the things that bother me about modern kids’ books. For one thing, show more do you have to point out the lesson you’re hoping the kids will pick up? Do we as adults actually think kids pick these things up, or do they perhaps gag a little bit like we do when it’s spelled out so obviously? Also, if you’re going to have all these rules and spelled out lessons, it would be good to actually have them walked out. Now, I realize that this is a series of at least 4 books, so maybe things will work their way out, but to have a boy who personally sees the terrible result of messing with witches decide at the end of this part of the story that a witch’s dark magic is better than no magic? It’s pretty obvious it’s going to lead to more trouble, but would it happen in the first place? Aren’t there other ways to bring about conflict? There is a vengeful King Witch wandering around, after all. show less