Tittle: The Last Magicien
Author: Lisa Maxwell
Hardcover, 500 pages
Published July 18th 2017
by Simon Pulse
Original Title
The Last Magician
ISBN 1481432079
(ISBN13: 9781481432078)
In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives. Esta is a talented thief, and she’s been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta’s training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future. But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.
*This review is only based on my strong opinion of the book and not influenced by the love/hate of the author* Genres: fiction, young adult fiction, fantasy fiction. First Thought The front and back cover was very eye-catching and it picked my curiosity right from the beginning. A big reason why I decided to purchase this novel was for the reason that it was an anticipated book that most YA fans were recommended. Overall I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into once starting this book. “Locks didn’t change on a whim or because of the weather, and there wasn’t a lock yet made that could hide its secrets from her.” Strengths The plot of the book was breathtaking and the twists were keeping me on the edge of my seat. It was interesting to get the perspective of each character on what they thought about each other and the goal of getting “the book”. For a time travelling novel, I find that the author did an amazing job explaining every aspect of the time frame, characters, and what was happening; therefore it wouldn’t make the reader confused. Weakness It’s was only when I hit 150 pages that I finally got into the book (I almost gave up on the novel). I was finding the book very confusing at the beginning with all the jumping around between characters and time frames. This novel is literally a monster with 500 pages (like excuse me what?) at least 100 pages could have been easily taken out to make the storyline faster. Personal Thought I would recommend the author to stop at a second book and not create a long series, as her time frame is dragging to the point. Once I passed 150 pages the book was very addicting and the story base was hard to stay away. I also believe that this book was way too long and should have been cut to around 350-400 pages. Conclusion The Last Magician is getting 3.5 stars for the reason that the beginning and past of this novel was just OK and did not at all hooked me from the start. The main reason I liked the book was the intense plot, and the fact that the characters are evolving and thriving for their own personal goals.
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