What do you think?
Rate this book
The Books of Magic #3
The Books of Magic, Volume 3: Reckonings
Timothy Hunter was an average teenager until he learned that he is destined to become the greatest magician in the world. Forced to juggle the trials of adolescence with the unpredictable forces of magic, Tim must also contend with those who seek to destroy him.
190 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1997
2 people are currently reading
463 people want to read
About the author
John Ney Rieber
306 books23 followersJohn Ney Rieber is an American comic book writer. He has written for the comics The Books of Magic, Captain America, G.I. Joe and Tomb Raider.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
December 26, 2022
The Books of Magic possibility of greatness, hinted at and building to this point, is finally realized.
The first book in the collection is a charming character study of Tim and Gwen and Tim’s dad. The second part of the book, a six book series (singles #15 - 20) is called Playgrounds and this was the story for which I’ve been waiting.
Playgrounds finds Tim and Molly going to Hell, we are also introduced to little faerie friends, demons, time travel and a fallen angel. Writer John Key Reiber and illustrators Peter Snejbjerg, Peter Gross, John Ridgway team up on this very cool underground title that is now firing on all cylinders for some imaginative fantasy that is told with style and verve.
This is like the wizarding world for the poor kids who could not get into Hogwarts.
I’m off to read the next collection.
The first book in the collection is a charming character study of Tim and Gwen and Tim’s dad. The second part of the book, a six book series (singles #15 - 20) is called Playgrounds and this was the story for which I’ve been waiting.
Playgrounds finds Tim and Molly going to Hell, we are also introduced to little faerie friends, demons, time travel and a fallen angel. Writer John Key Reiber and illustrators Peter Snejbjerg, Peter Gross, John Ridgway team up on this very cool underground title that is now firing on all cylinders for some imaginative fantasy that is told with style and verve.
This is like the wizarding world for the poor kids who could not get into Hogwarts.
I’m off to read the next collection.
April 17, 2019
It’s so easy to get swept up into Tim Hunter’s world where childhood make-believe creatures are real, Hellfire priests are reborn as steampunk automatons, your future self is as repulsive, and pitiful as he is powerful, evil Barney like lizards can abduct your first girlfriend and take her to Hell. We learn a lot more about Molly as her relationship with Tim grows deeper yet more complicated. Fortunately, and I wouldn’t have settled for anything less, she is just as capable and developed a character as Tim, with her own connections to magic. While episodic, there is enough unity between sub plots to remain engrossed. I appreciated the trappings of fairy tale tropes used to fetter Tim and Molly and the ways in which they were dismantled. Furthermore, the loose ends of certain characters make room for their stories to intertwine with Tim’s later on.
July 16, 2012
“Reckonings” is book three in the BOOKS OF MAGIC series, but it really should have been called “Playgrounds”, because six of its seven-issue run is taken up by one story.
The first issue, “What Fire Leaves Us” picks up some time after the events of “Summonings”, with Tim Hunter writing in his diary, waiting for his father to come home from the hospital after being burned by Martyn in the previous book. Gwendolyn (who used to work for Reverend Slaggingham) is staying with Tim, taking care of him and the house. It’s a very short chapter in which small things happen that will come into play later. The important thing in Book Three is “Playgrounds”.
Spanning issues 15-20 of the original series, it tells the story of Tim taking his girlfriend Molly to the field where he used to play as a child and where all of his imaginary friends now live (introduced in the last volume’s short interlude story, “The Lot”). The tiny tree-beings Tanger and Crimple come out to play with Tim and Molly, but Molly eventually wonders what’s beyond this field?
Tanger and Crimple warn her not to stray too far. After all, this is TIM’S place, and she’s not Tim, so it’s hard telling what else is out there, but it’s best to not get its attention whatever it is, especially for someone who’s not Tim. But Molly goes anyway. Where she winds up is in Hell, captured and sent there by demons disguised as pink dinosaurs, taken to be the student of Miss Vuall, an evil headmistress who is going to teach Molly how to be a proper lady even if it kills Crimple, whom she prunes a little off of every time Molly disobeys.
Tim and Tanger head into Hell to get Molly back, but are separated and Tim goes on a bit of a journey of self-discovery as he learns to better control his magic--somewhat--as well as gaining some understanding of just how different his life is going to be from the people he loves.
Meanwhile, in 2013, adult Tim is under the influence of his demonic sidekick Barbatos, who keeps Tim lulled with trickery and brainwashing. Until one day when adult Tim finds a magic stone that breaks the spell and sends him on a quest of revenge against his former “master”, which leads him to a pawnshop where the owner is revealed to be a dragon--and the dragon invites adult Tim to join the brotherhood and become a dragon as well, an invitation which Tim accepts.
The “Reckonings” storyline goes a long way in resolving most of the plot threads Tim has been facing since the series began (not all, of course; we’ve still the issue of his true parentage to deal with, so there’s at least one still out there). Writer John Ney Rieber is definitely getting more into the fairy tale aspects of Tim’s world, but spinning it all so it is absolutely uniquely Tim Hunter’s world.
Tim has shown a lot of growth over these 20 issues, but still isn’t doing a ton of magic, nor does he seem the least bit interested in exploring and understanding his powers. I think this might be what put me off the first time I read the series; I was expecting with a title like THE BOOKS OF MAGIC, there’d be a lot of magic being used, but instead what I got was a lot of fairies and demons instead. I didn’t understand at the time that Rieber’s main goal was to show Tim as a real person with common adolescent problems--who just happens to also be a magician. Also, with stories as complex as these Rieber is telling, with the various plot threads and subplots and the vast array of characters, not to mention the immense stage on which this drama is set, reading it 24 pages a month (in addition to all the other monthly titles I was reading back then), it’s not always easy to keep track of what happened from issue to issue. Reading the series in its collected form is a great help in not only understanding the series, but enjoying it, which I’m very much doing.
The Peters, Gross and Snejbjerg, are splitting the art with three issues each, and series newcomer John Ridgeway tackling the epilogue. I think I’m beginning to favor Peter Gross, especially in the “Boys Will Be Boys” issue. His pencils are tight and clean, with a lot of detail, everything set off perfectly by Sherilyn van Valkenburgh’s colors.
I still have four more Books of Magic to go, and considering how much has gone down in these first 20 issues, I can only imagine how much more potential the last 30 issues hold. I know it’s going to be quite a ride, but I’m looking forward to it with great anticipation. I’ve never read a Harry Potter book, but I just can’t believe they are any more exciting or entertaining than Tim Hunter’s exploits.
The first issue, “What Fire Leaves Us” picks up some time after the events of “Summonings”, with Tim Hunter writing in his diary, waiting for his father to come home from the hospital after being burned by Martyn in the previous book. Gwendolyn (who used to work for Reverend Slaggingham) is staying with Tim, taking care of him and the house. It’s a very short chapter in which small things happen that will come into play later. The important thing in Book Three is “Playgrounds”.
Spanning issues 15-20 of the original series, it tells the story of Tim taking his girlfriend Molly to the field where he used to play as a child and where all of his imaginary friends now live (introduced in the last volume’s short interlude story, “The Lot”). The tiny tree-beings Tanger and Crimple come out to play with Tim and Molly, but Molly eventually wonders what’s beyond this field?
Tanger and Crimple warn her not to stray too far. After all, this is TIM’S place, and she’s not Tim, so it’s hard telling what else is out there, but it’s best to not get its attention whatever it is, especially for someone who’s not Tim. But Molly goes anyway. Where she winds up is in Hell, captured and sent there by demons disguised as pink dinosaurs, taken to be the student of Miss Vuall, an evil headmistress who is going to teach Molly how to be a proper lady even if it kills Crimple, whom she prunes a little off of every time Molly disobeys.
Tim and Tanger head into Hell to get Molly back, but are separated and Tim goes on a bit of a journey of self-discovery as he learns to better control his magic--somewhat--as well as gaining some understanding of just how different his life is going to be from the people he loves.
Meanwhile, in 2013, adult Tim is under the influence of his demonic sidekick Barbatos, who keeps Tim lulled with trickery and brainwashing. Until one day when adult Tim finds a magic stone that breaks the spell and sends him on a quest of revenge against his former “master”, which leads him to a pawnshop where the owner is revealed to be a dragon--and the dragon invites adult Tim to join the brotherhood and become a dragon as well, an invitation which Tim accepts.
The “Reckonings” storyline goes a long way in resolving most of the plot threads Tim has been facing since the series began (not all, of course; we’ve still the issue of his true parentage to deal with, so there’s at least one still out there). Writer John Ney Rieber is definitely getting more into the fairy tale aspects of Tim’s world, but spinning it all so it is absolutely uniquely Tim Hunter’s world.
Tim has shown a lot of growth over these 20 issues, but still isn’t doing a ton of magic, nor does he seem the least bit interested in exploring and understanding his powers. I think this might be what put me off the first time I read the series; I was expecting with a title like THE BOOKS OF MAGIC, there’d be a lot of magic being used, but instead what I got was a lot of fairies and demons instead. I didn’t understand at the time that Rieber’s main goal was to show Tim as a real person with common adolescent problems--who just happens to also be a magician. Also, with stories as complex as these Rieber is telling, with the various plot threads and subplots and the vast array of characters, not to mention the immense stage on which this drama is set, reading it 24 pages a month (in addition to all the other monthly titles I was reading back then), it’s not always easy to keep track of what happened from issue to issue. Reading the series in its collected form is a great help in not only understanding the series, but enjoying it, which I’m very much doing.
The Peters, Gross and Snejbjerg, are splitting the art with three issues each, and series newcomer John Ridgeway tackling the epilogue. I think I’m beginning to favor Peter Gross, especially in the “Boys Will Be Boys” issue. His pencils are tight and clean, with a lot of detail, everything set off perfectly by Sherilyn van Valkenburgh’s colors.
I still have four more Books of Magic to go, and considering how much has gone down in these first 20 issues, I can only imagine how much more potential the last 30 issues hold. I know it’s going to be quite a ride, but I’m looking forward to it with great anticipation. I’ve never read a Harry Potter book, but I just can’t believe they are any more exciting or entertaining than Tim Hunter’s exploits.
January 26, 2021
What Fires Leaves Us (BoM #14). A nice bookend to Summonings, a great character piece for Tim, Tim's Dad, and Gwen, and a great example of how a small act can create a large change [5/5].
Playgrounds (BoM #15-20). This is certainly the story where Rieber lets his imagination go wild. So we get a trip to hell, Sir Tim as a Dragon, purple dinosaur things, and much more. It's at alternative times weird, wacky, and bizarre. We get an interesting Tim and Molly plot, and some interesting Sir Tim resolution, and it's all around a fun story, though not as touching as some of its predecessors [4+/5].
Playgrounds (BoM #15-20). This is certainly the story where Rieber lets his imagination go wild. So we get a trip to hell, Sir Tim as a Dragon, purple dinosaur things, and much more. It's at alternative times weird, wacky, and bizarre. We get an interesting Tim and Molly plot, and some interesting Sir Tim resolution, and it's all around a fun story, though not as touching as some of its predecessors [4+/5].
August 25, 2022
The author seems more comfortable in this volume, though he really seems to shine in side stories, as opposed to the direct storyline. This volume closes the running storyline with future Tim, and really I feel more closure here than anticipation for the next volume. I'm looking forward to a clean slate and I believe the author was as well.
February 14, 2023
Books of Magic continues to be highly entertaining.
This time Tim has to go to Hell, or get through hell, to save Molly. But Molly isn't just going to sit back and let the hellish creatures run shit. She's going to push through and try to save herself. This leads to some really crazy, weird, and fun adventures with Tim trying to make his way through trials and such, including his own internal thoughts, to do so. We also get a bit more of Tim from the future, and things are shaping up to be interesting when that Tim meets our Tim.
Overall, weird and fun. Hell isn't dark and brooding, but more twisty and turny, and I'm all for it. A 4 out of 5.
This time Tim has to go to Hell, or get through hell, to save Molly. But Molly isn't just going to sit back and let the hellish creatures run shit. She's going to push through and try to save herself. This leads to some really crazy, weird, and fun adventures with Tim trying to make his way through trials and such, including his own internal thoughts, to do so. We also get a bit more of Tim from the future, and things are shaping up to be interesting when that Tim meets our Tim.
Overall, weird and fun. Hell isn't dark and brooding, but more twisty and turny, and I'm all for it. A 4 out of 5.
April 19, 2015
Warning: SPOILER ALERT!
Grown-up, Magus, Sir Timothy lost his Molly in the previous volume. Barbatos, his demon says they should make another Molly. The recipe for this isn't spelled out explicitly, but it involves kidnapping Khara and Kiki, plus thirteen year old Molly to blackmail both Araquel and Young Tim respectively.
Tim, together with his golem Happy, and the woodsprite Tanger go to hell in search of Molly and Crimple. In hell, Tim suffers a minor Identity Crisis, while earthwise, Sir Timothy joins The August Society Of The Remedial Scale, and in line with his "Prideful, Self-absorbed, Avaricious, reclusive" personality, becomes a Dragon.
Barbatos, meanwhile has created a line of 'Happy Crisps' each bag complete with a illusory, self-destructive lifestyle meant to rid humanity of 'contentment'.
Tim manages to rescue Molly and Crimple. They kiss and it's so powerful that it changes the landscape of hell. Corny, right? Anyhow, Araquel storms into hell ready to decapitate Barbatos, Sir Timothy, now a dragon gatecrashes hell also, which is unfortunate coz Barbatos looks them in a book of fairytales and although the demons plans about Happy Crisps are thwarted, by trapping Sir Timothy, Tim, Molly, Araquel, Tanger and Crimple, he has the perfect ingredients to manipulate mankind, the only way we have truly been manipulated, through stories...
Pay special attention to Issue #18.
Grown-up, Magus, Sir Timothy lost his Molly in the previous volume. Barbatos, his demon says they should make another Molly. The recipe for this isn't spelled out explicitly, but it involves kidnapping Khara and Kiki, plus thirteen year old Molly to blackmail both Araquel and Young Tim respectively.
Tim, together with his golem Happy, and the woodsprite Tanger go to hell in search of Molly and Crimple. In hell, Tim suffers a minor Identity Crisis, while earthwise, Sir Timothy joins The August Society Of The Remedial Scale, and in line with his "Prideful, Self-absorbed, Avaricious, reclusive" personality, becomes a Dragon.
Barbatos, meanwhile has created a line of 'Happy Crisps' each bag complete with a illusory, self-destructive lifestyle meant to rid humanity of 'contentment'.
Tim manages to rescue Molly and Crimple. They kiss and it's so powerful that it changes the landscape of hell. Corny, right? Anyhow, Araquel storms into hell ready to decapitate Barbatos, Sir Timothy, now a dragon gatecrashes hell also, which is unfortunate coz Barbatos looks them in a book of fairytales and although the demons plans about Happy Crisps are thwarted, by trapping Sir Timothy, Tim, Molly, Araquel, Tanger and Crimple, he has the perfect ingredients to manipulate mankind, the only way we have truly been manipulated, through stories...
Pay special attention to Issue #18.
June 22, 2020
In this volume of the Books of Magic, Timothy Hunter meets many magicians of the past. While he is about, his life is threatened repeatedly as those who have seen his potential try to kill the young man before he becomes powerful.
July 15, 2020
Really liked this one, less dark than the first volume, more action and Barbaros is great! I'm not sure how much if any collaboration there was between Rieber and Gaiman, if any, but this really feels like I'm reading Gaiman, which is a huge compliment as far as I'm concerned.
February 11, 2023
This volume was great! The series is developing Timothy much more. I feel him finally figuring himself out. Molly is awesome! She is a strong force and a powerful woman. I am looking forward to the rest of this series. I think this volume turned a corner and really got stronger.
November 9, 2018
I love this book, have a beautiful history
August 19, 2019
Read to this one now and really enjoying it. I love writing style and everything Describe in this book.
March 5, 2022
I always want these books to be so much better than they actually are. I'm always looking for that Gaiman magic and it just isn't there. I might try one more in the series and then I'm done.
November 22, 2022
Such an interesting premise Choices mean something.
July 26, 2019
Really great ideas but had to start skimming after two-thirds.
September 28, 2018
This book is pretty good.
December 9, 2020
Sandman flawlessly creates a continuity by first stitching together short stories and introducing you to seemingly unrelated characters.
Hellblazer creates a continuity by unfolding one character's history a chapter at a time, establishing patterns of behavior, setting up expectations and occasionally shattering them. Hellblazer is not quite as successful as Sandman, partially because it has a series of creators, and significantly more story to tell.
Books Of Magic tries to build story upon story, creating a denser world. It wants to be a faerie story, a magic story, a DC Universe story, a coming of age story, a story about neurosies, a romance, a story about fathers and sons, and it it only succeeds in being any of those things on the surface.
This volume reads like an inferior version of Mike Carey's The Unwritten, Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity. It actually predates that book by about twenty years, but it hits several of the same notes. But here Books Of Magic sounds like a clunky, but well-conceived album recorded on someone's home 8-track recorder. One that was in dire need of repair. It's charming and fun to experience but it's not great. The ideas are all here but they're fleshed out clumsily, and the story feels too scattered. Where as Unwritten is incredibly focused and polished.
The romance feels awkward and insincere. The rules of magic in the universe are never adhered to. The gun that shows up in the second act is never fired. The foreshadowing is never delivered on.
I can't recommend this series, particularly this volume, to someone who loves the Sandman/Hellblazer/Swamp Thing Universe that this story exists in. It feels like a Much Lesser Sandman side story. Not terrible, but just not up to the standards of the other series it intersects with.
Hellblazer creates a continuity by unfolding one character's history a chapter at a time, establishing patterns of behavior, setting up expectations and occasionally shattering them. Hellblazer is not quite as successful as Sandman, partially because it has a series of creators, and significantly more story to tell.
Books Of Magic tries to build story upon story, creating a denser world. It wants to be a faerie story, a magic story, a DC Universe story, a coming of age story, a story about neurosies, a romance, a story about fathers and sons, and it it only succeeds in being any of those things on the surface.
This volume reads like an inferior version of Mike Carey's The Unwritten, Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity. It actually predates that book by about twenty years, but it hits several of the same notes. But here Books Of Magic sounds like a clunky, but well-conceived album recorded on someone's home 8-track recorder. One that was in dire need of repair. It's charming and fun to experience but it's not great. The ideas are all here but they're fleshed out clumsily, and the story feels too scattered. Where as Unwritten is incredibly focused and polished.
The romance feels awkward and insincere. The rules of magic in the universe are never adhered to. The gun that shows up in the second act is never fired. The foreshadowing is never delivered on.
I can't recommend this series, particularly this volume, to someone who loves the Sandman/Hellblazer/Swamp Thing Universe that this story exists in. It feels like a Much Lesser Sandman side story. Not terrible, but just not up to the standards of the other series it intersects with.
September 11, 2015
Timothy Hunter is a 13-year-old boy with the possibility of becoming the world’s greatest magician–as long as he can survive his first date. Well, that and his alcoholic, guilt-ridden father. Well, not really father, kind of like a foster father, because his real father was Tam Lin (of the legend), and his mother is the Faerie Queen. Not to mention his future self, and a bunch of demons from hell that look suspiciously like Barney the Dinosaur. Confused yet? As the classic TV show Soap used to say, if you aren’t, you will be.
Comics are somewhat similar to soap operas, and that’s not knocking either genre. I loved The Edge of Night when I was 16-17, because it combined a cast of characters that you could look forward to following with very mysterious plots (murder, blackmail, etc.) I would have loved to have been able to see Dark Shadows, which I only encountered as a Gold Key comic in my youth.
“The Books of Magic” and Timothy Hunter were created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton, and they share some affinity with both men’s other work, although Reiber is quickly establishing his own voice. Perhaps it is similar to the Sandman stories written by other writers in the recent HarperPrism anthology co-edited by Gaiman and Ed Gorman?
Part of the reason I like this series is because I recall daydreams around the age of 13 where I was a powerful magician, similar to Timothy, and it is interesting to see my daydreams committed to page in text and pictures. For people without my strong sense of nostalgia, the humor and style of The Books of Magic raises it above much of the other graphic novels published today (although nothing comes close to Jeff Smith’s Bone, which is a 1990s Pogo, and will likely be considered as much a classic in the comic field as Watchmen if Smith can keep up the quality).
Comics are somewhat similar to soap operas, and that’s not knocking either genre. I loved The Edge of Night when I was 16-17, because it combined a cast of characters that you could look forward to following with very mysterious plots (murder, blackmail, etc.) I would have loved to have been able to see Dark Shadows, which I only encountered as a Gold Key comic in my youth.
“The Books of Magic” and Timothy Hunter were created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton, and they share some affinity with both men’s other work, although Reiber is quickly establishing his own voice. Perhaps it is similar to the Sandman stories written by other writers in the recent HarperPrism anthology co-edited by Gaiman and Ed Gorman?
Part of the reason I like this series is because I recall daydreams around the age of 13 where I was a powerful magician, similar to Timothy, and it is interesting to see my daydreams committed to page in text and pictures. For people without my strong sense of nostalgia, the humor and style of The Books of Magic raises it above much of the other graphic novels published today (although nothing comes close to Jeff Smith’s Bone, which is a 1990s Pogo, and will likely be considered as much a classic in the comic field as Watchmen if Smith can keep up the quality).
April 23, 2014
Timothy and Molly decide to get all up in each other business while trapped in hell and a bunch of other random stories that somehow work to move the series forward. Looking forward to checking out what’s in store next for everyone's favorite fledgling magician.
May 10, 2023
The Books of Magic, Volume 3: Reckonings (The Books of Magic #3) by John Ney Rieber – Timothy Hunter facing down magical forces still manages to make growing up seem to be the hardest job in his wild world! Happy Reading!
February 6, 2008
Tim Hunter and his girlfriend become lost in faery -- and also in Hell. Very good, with a wicked sense of humor as well.
September 1, 2009
A good fun read combining myth and teenage romance.
January 18, 2014
Solid, if meandering, volume. Great illustrations for the storybook portions.
December 3, 2013
3.5 stars
January 1, 2014
This continues to be somewhat confusing but thoroughly enjoyable
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews