Magickeepers: The Eternal Hourglass

Friday, May 8, 2009

Magickeepers: The Eternal Hourglass left me wanting more.

Magickeepers is not a mystery novel. It is a fantasy written by a favorite author.

I was caught up in the book's powerful, visual language. When the massive Akhal-Teke horse Maslow vaults automobiles and races across the Nevada desert kicking up sand, we ride with the children on his back. Except they aren't children. Nicholai and Isabella are growing up, coming of age, learning about evil, becoming part of the eternal fight to keep the world from being overtaken by the Shadowkeepers.

At one point Theo tells Nick, "Each magician must find his words on his own. Must give his own voice to the magic within."

We are all part of where we came from. If we are faithful to our heritage, we transform that heritage and take it into the future. Children coming of age are caught between.

So many stories of children facing evil are cast as fantasies. Those fantasies, the good ones like this one, A Wrinkle in Time, and Harry Potter, are compelling.

My honest response to Magickeepers is that this book is the beginning of a story filled with promise.