The Center of the Circle

Servants of Ark #2

by Jonathan Wylie

An evil wind blows across the Kingdom of Ark. A powerful sorcerer named Alzedo has rallied the forces of darkness and threatens to unleash a whirlpool of destruction upon the land. Only a conclave of the most powerful wizards can thwart his plans - but King Mark is powerless to convince his people of the coming danger. As a murderous fog paralyzes the island, an ancient prophecy decrees that the fate of the kingdom will depend on Mark's son, the young prince Luke. Following in his father's footsteps, Luke must go to the center of the circle of evil - to rescue his people from a dark enchantment and challenge the greatest enemy Ark has ever known.

Genres: Fantasy, Novels, Epic Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

281 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Jonathan Wylie is the pseudonym of Mark and Julia Smith, a married couple who live and work in Norfolk. Having met while they were both working for a major London publishing house, they sparked each other into creative life, and began writing as a team a few months after setting up home together. They have been writing full time since 1991. The pen-name they have used most recently is Julia Gray, author of Ice Mage, Fire Music, Isle of the Dead and the popular 'Guardian' Cycle.

Reviews

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I thought the first book in this trilogy was rather extraordinarily bad, in this sequel, the team-that-is-Jonathan-Wylie is back in stride. While certainly not exceptional literature, this is a perfectly acceptable fantasy adventure.
In the island nation of Ark, it's a generation later. The evil sorceress Amarino was defeated by King Mark, but now her daughters are coming of age, and a long-term plan of evil magic may come to fruition. It's Prince Luke's turn to save the land... but he seems to have fallen in love with one of Amarino's daughters...
Nothing too deep or challenging here, and a lot of the plot elements could be better thought-out or explained, but an entertaining-enough book.

[Kevin Pimbblet · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up. This, the second entry in the trilogy, is stronger than the first and introduces the reader to the next generation of the cast, heroes and helpers alike. A fog is drawing in all around the restored monarchy and Ark and the characters face off against new and old challenges alike. The first two thirds of the book are very well executed and genuinely show off some strong fantasy characteristics and tropes, some unique to the author. The last third is arguably not quite as strong, but still very enjoyable. I consider it such a shame that fans of the fantasy genre have not come across this trilogy (or authorship team) more frequently as even though I read it decades ago, it remains solid fantasy even if I confess a soft spot for it.

[Massimo Penazzi · Rating 2 out of 5]

un buon fantasy. Il solito fantasy.

[David Sarkies · Rating 1 out of 5]

Once again this is a book that I read a long time ago, do not remember all that much about, and have no interest in reading again. Okay, some people probably would suggest that I don't write anything about it then, or even rate it, but then if I have read it I would probably add it, and rate it, and the rating wouldn't change. At least if I write about it I can explain why I gave the rating that I gave it.
Anyway, in response to the above, it almost seems that unless I am a better writer than Wylie then I have no business commenting on any of his books, but I guess those people are just a little upset that I don't like a book that they particularly enjoy. I guess it might be similar to not being allowed to make a comment on this painting:



which happened to be painted by this guy:

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and unless you were the guy who painted this painting:



which happens to be this guy:



(I just had to put that particular painting into a commentary), which, in my opinion is ridiculous, they you cannot say anything about it. Mind you, there are other Picasso paintings that I wanted to put up, such as this one:



or this one:



but unless I put spoilers up to hide the fact that they are somewhat on the rude side, I might get in trouble (as I have done – putting up spoiler tags, not getting into trouble).
Anyway, I guess by saying that I cannot comment on a book, or at least give a bad review about a book unless I am the guy who wrote the story about him:



or him:



sort of defeats the purpose of actually writing a review or commenting on a book. Anyway, I guess I have successfully written absolutely nothing about this book, but at least I have got Picasso out of my system.

[Federica Leva · Rating 3 out of 5]

L'elenco delle debolezze di questo ciclo è lungo: originalità povera, stile trasandato, umorismo non sempre brillante, ecc..., eppure, nonostante questo, le storie si sorreggono, in parte appoggiandosi alla trama, che stuzzica la curiosità del lettore, in parte alla struttura, veloce, coinvolgente, scenografica. I tre libri sono concatenati temporalmente fra loro, ma narrano di vicende a sé stanti, di facile abbordaggio anche per un lettore che ignori quel che è stato raccontato in precedenza. Sullo sfondo narrativo s'intrecciano, in tutti e tre i capitoli, i lacci di misteriose profezie che guidano i protagonisti nell'incessante lotta contro il perfido mago Alzedo, l'oscura creatura dell'occulto che brama d'impossessarsi d'ogni isola abitata del mondo immaginario creato dagli autori. Protagonista del primo libro è Mark, terzo figlio d'un re assassinato da una figlia di Alzedo; scortato dal suo buffo famiglio, il gatto Longfur, e dalla Principessa Fontaine, sarà lui a dover affrontare la bella Amarino e liberare l'isola dall'usurpatore. Divenuto re, inaugura il secondo libro, dove cede lo scettro d'attore principale al figlio Luke, e alla bella Jiulia, figlia di Alzedo e innamorata del giovane principe. Nel romanzo conclusivo, sin dalle prime pagine emergono due nuove - e gradevoli - figure, la coraggiosa Maga Yve e il suo simpatico amico, il drago semitrasparente, Dolcezza. Saranno loro, assieme alla piccola figlia di un mago, a giocare un ruolo essenziale nell'ultima partita contro la morte. E il lieto fine, questa volta, non sarà scontato... 6 ½

[Myles Harrold · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are fun from a nostalgia point of view for me. I read them when I was in high-school and loved them. They are pretty good still after so many years. The first book in this series was a little more complete than this book. I enjoyed the use of a new set of characters in the same world as the first book, with an evil presence only hinted at in the first book. The writing is easy, fluid and enjoyable. The characters are not too deep except for a few of the main characters.

[Grianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molto carino, al contrario del precedente la storia mi ha avvinto sin dalle prime pagine, e praticamente non ho smesso mai di leggere.
Julia e i suoi compagni sono personaggi ben riusciti, ed è stato davvero piacevole trascorrere del tempo in loro compagnia.
Un'avventura brillante e leggera, senza troppo impegno, un ottimo passatempo.

[Zeal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book.

[Mavis Hewitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleased to say it continued to fulfil the promise of the first book .