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The Magus Family Chronicles #1
Haunted Tree
Times were hard for Marc: Too much cold, not enough food and a once good friend had turned against him. Then his life grew even more complicated as magic invaded his world. Little did he know that discovering the Haunted Tree would change him in ways he could not imagine. Under the tutelage of the mysterious wizard Oren, Marc, and his lifelong friend, Valeria, found themselves on the path to learning the greatest secret of magic. But this journey would come at a price. Together they struggle to not only discover and fulfill their destinies, but to also survive the evil that wants them dead, all within the shadow of the Haunted Tree.
362 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 12, 2016
A creative tale of hardship in a mysterious past. Marc and his village struggle to survive after an endless winter has fallen on the land. When times are particularly hard, Marc ventures near the Forbidden Vale, a murky wood that houses rumors of death. An accident forces Marc to become sensitive to the magic all around, drawing the attention of the powerful wizard that protects the village. Regardless of his intentions, Marc grows in strength, as a man...and a magician.
The setting is Roman-esque England, with hints of Robin Hood and a dash of Merlin and Chiron! It's a little slow to start, but I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Marc and the wizard Oren; the story seems to really hit its stride when the tutelage begins. Marc grows as a wizard, as a leader, and as a man, swearing to find his father's killer, and giving in to his feelings for his friend Valeria. It reminded me of a blend of The Once and Future King and The Clan of the Cave Bear.
If you enjoy high fantasy in a classical setting, you may enjoy this fantastical survival tale.
The setting is Roman-esque England, with hints of Robin Hood and a dash of Merlin and Chiron! It's a little slow to start, but I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Marc and the wizard Oren; the story seems to really hit its stride when the tutelage begins. Marc grows as a wizard, as a leader, and as a man, swearing to find his father's killer, and giving in to his feelings for his friend Valeria. It reminded me of a blend of The Once and Future King and The Clan of the Cave Bear.
If you enjoy high fantasy in a classical setting, you may enjoy this fantastical survival tale.
July 21, 2016
Wow.
The author said it was different than most stories like it and it was, yet it was also, I don't know how to say it but to use the work "comfortable". Like other reviewers said, the characters are real to me. Marc and Valeria are like friends to me now. I enjoyed Haunted Tree very much and can't wait for the next book.
I do have to admit I rated it 5 stars when only halfway through reading it, but that tells how much I was liking it by then. Now that I'm done, I stand by my rating. Also, I was given a free copy upon the understanding I would give an honest review of the book. I guess I got lucky. The first book I chose to review was great!
The author said it was different than most stories like it and it was, yet it was also, I don't know how to say it but to use the work "comfortable". Like other reviewers said, the characters are real to me. Marc and Valeria are like friends to me now. I enjoyed Haunted Tree very much and can't wait for the next book.
I do have to admit I rated it 5 stars when only halfway through reading it, but that tells how much I was liking it by then. Now that I'm done, I stand by my rating. Also, I was given a free copy upon the understanding I would give an honest review of the book. I guess I got lucky. The first book I chose to review was great!
August 16, 2016
The setting is medieval Britain, but that's the extent of any historical content. Marc, the main character, is blessed with magic, and apprentices to the local wizard. There is a romance obvious from the beginning to everyone except Marc. Several characters are developed in good detail, and several grow significantly in the course of the plot.
The magic system is not well defined, but is apparently an collection of paranormal powers granted by God. Christianity is assumed throughout, but will no discussion of doctrine. Magic comes pretty easily to Marc and his girlfriend, with none of the traditional blockages of the fantasy genre.
I didn't care for the way the final battle dragged out. The author had to counter Marc's overwhelming power by giving him psychological barriers to finishing off the bad guys. But it all worked out in the end. There was no cliff-hanger, but there is obvious room for sequels, which I will read when they are published.
The magic system is not well defined, but is apparently an collection of paranormal powers granted by God. Christianity is assumed throughout, but will no discussion of doctrine. Magic comes pretty easily to Marc and his girlfriend, with none of the traditional blockages of the fantasy genre.
I didn't care for the way the final battle dragged out. The author had to counter Marc's overwhelming power by giving him psychological barriers to finishing off the bad guys. But it all worked out in the end. There was no cliff-hanger, but there is obvious room for sequels, which I will read when they are published.
November 27, 2015
Several weeks ago a friend of mine loaned me her copy of Haunted Tree (on her Kindle), telling me I'd like it. I usually don't care for historical fantasy, preferring modern fantasy, or I guess it's called Urban Fantasy. Anyway, I initially started reading it to make her happy and was quickly surprised to learn she was right. Turns out I really like it. Most of the "historic" fantasy I've read (or tried to!) is loaded down with political scheming, power plays and such and when there is too much of that, I lose interest. Haunted Tree has little of that, presenting a clear and clean story. I'm buying a print copy of the book as soon as it's available.
June 3, 2015
A Christian Blockbuster; Haunted Tree
It's a brave soul who ventures into the realm of fantasy, magic and faith. Scott Scheller has walked the fine blade of remaining true to Biblical principals while being true to the wealth of magic in post Roman Brititania. A coming of age tale with great amounts of conflict, courage and love the lives of Marc, Valeria and Oren the Wise struggle against the forces of darkness. Be warned its a page turner that will be hard to put down once you have opened it up!
It's a brave soul who ventures into the realm of fantasy, magic and faith. Scott Scheller has walked the fine blade of remaining true to Biblical principals while being true to the wealth of magic in post Roman Brititania. A coming of age tale with great amounts of conflict, courage and love the lives of Marc, Valeria and Oren the Wise struggle against the forces of darkness. Be warned its a page turner that will be hard to put down once you have opened it up!
April 9, 2015
Very Entertaining Read, More Please
I feel honored to be able to be at the beginning of what is no doubt going to be an exciting ride. What Scott has provided in the Haunted Tree is a rich vibrant world of the Magus family. Rich in character development, exciting action, and a very pleasant view of "magic". Can't wait for Book 2!
I feel honored to be able to be at the beginning of what is no doubt going to be an exciting ride. What Scott has provided in the Haunted Tree is a rich vibrant world of the Magus family. Rich in character development, exciting action, and a very pleasant view of "magic". Can't wait for Book 2!
May 1, 2015
I loved the way the characters where developed in this story. I don't want to give too much away, but by the title you can already see that a haunted tree plays an important part. Wizards and magic about in this story, which combines alternate history and fantasy adventure. A great read to escape into.
May 5, 2016
This is an intriguing coming of age book that readers of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games will thoroughly enjoy. The book held my interest as I wanted to see what would happen to Marc and Valeria as their world changed and their relationship evolved. This was a very creative and imaginative story.
August 6, 2015
A really good book with a long time line not unlike the lord of the rings the story is set in 19teent century round about 1850
***** five star rating from me
***** five star rating from me
August 14, 2015
Great! Can't wait for more!
August 27, 2015
a really good book about the secrets of wizardry are passed through one family member to another
February 5, 2016
Briefly: Plot is good but executed ok-ish; a nice tale but heavily christian, sounded like catechism. Characters are so and so, especially the main female who felt like a romantic tool for Marc.
Now the long version. The language is good, evocative but not pompous, fluid and well-honed. Good job to the author. The action scenes are brief and reasonable, mostly, and the tension is good. The pacing could be improved, tension goes down too often for too long.
What really put me off is the Christian theme so explicit. When characters continuously say "God bless you", "God bless me", "Thank God for that", while living in a kind of apocalyptic context, that seems absolutely unrealistic to me. That's when the worst gets out of people, and they might plead forgiveness to God or Gods but with fear, resentment, desperation: not with overflowing gratefulness.
Those kind of expressions are put as common sayings, yes, but are also present in the introspective bits of all main characters. It sounds to me like the author's belief system got too involved in the tale, at the expense of internal coherence.
There is also another thing that needs work: character development.
Marc is too scared/afraid of magic, unreasonably so since he greatly respects the wizard Oren. Now, either he shouldn't be so afraid, or he should not respect Oren so much. There needs to be a reconciliation between these two, but I didn't see it. Yes, later this changes under Oren's tutelage, but I find the "premise" unrealistic.
Valeria is a bit stereotyped, and she kind of acts like Marc's support only. She dearly loves him, she helps him out, she quench his fears. She's a mother-wife before being even romantically involved with him. I prefer strong, well characterised women in my fiction.
To conclude, I think the author has potential and the next novels will probably be stronger. However, I doubt I'll be buying the sequel of this. Not my cup of tea.
Now the long version. The language is good, evocative but not pompous, fluid and well-honed. Good job to the author. The action scenes are brief and reasonable, mostly, and the tension is good. The pacing could be improved, tension goes down too often for too long.
What really put me off is the Christian theme so explicit. When characters continuously say "God bless you", "God bless me", "Thank God for that", while living in a kind of apocalyptic context, that seems absolutely unrealistic to me. That's when the worst gets out of people, and they might plead forgiveness to God or Gods but with fear, resentment, desperation: not with overflowing gratefulness.
Those kind of expressions are put as common sayings, yes, but are also present in the introspective bits of all main characters. It sounds to me like the author's belief system got too involved in the tale, at the expense of internal coherence.
There is also another thing that needs work: character development.
Marc is too scared/afraid of magic, unreasonably so since he greatly respects the wizard Oren. Now, either he shouldn't be so afraid, or he should not respect Oren so much. There needs to be a reconciliation between these two, but I didn't see it. Yes, later this changes under Oren's tutelage, but I find the "premise" unrealistic.
Valeria is a bit stereotyped, and she kind of acts like Marc's support only. She dearly loves him, she helps him out, she quench his fears. She's a mother-wife before being even romantically involved with him. I prefer strong, well characterised women in my fiction.
To conclude, I think the author has potential and the next novels will probably be stronger. However, I doubt I'll be buying the sequel of this. Not my cup of tea.
April 3, 2015
Adventure begins to unfold for young Marc when he first finds the haunted tree. Its power both draws him and frightens him. He learns that he, too, has powers of his own.
Recovering from the Ice Age, Britannia emerges to reconstruct and survive. Food is sparse and rival tribes many. An evil king plots to take over and Marc will cross the path of the king’s lackeys all too soon.
The Wizard Oren brings Marc and his friend Valeria into the world of magic teaching them skills and secrets. While Marc discovers his path in life, he and Valeria realize there’s a different kind of magic growing between them, but first there’s a kingdom to defend and Marc may not survive the battle.
It is obvious Mr. Scheller has taken years to hone his craft. Haunted Tree is heart stopping and a resounding page turner, yet there’s a well thought out plot and underlying meaning to the story. The characters are carefully developed and the descriptive prose holds the reader’s attention far beyond the last page. Well done.
Recovering from the Ice Age, Britannia emerges to reconstruct and survive. Food is sparse and rival tribes many. An evil king plots to take over and Marc will cross the path of the king’s lackeys all too soon.
The Wizard Oren brings Marc and his friend Valeria into the world of magic teaching them skills and secrets. While Marc discovers his path in life, he and Valeria realize there’s a different kind of magic growing between them, but first there’s a kingdom to defend and Marc may not survive the battle.
It is obvious Mr. Scheller has taken years to hone his craft. Haunted Tree is heart stopping and a resounding page turner, yet there’s a well thought out plot and underlying meaning to the story. The characters are carefully developed and the descriptive prose holds the reader’s attention far beyond the last page. Well done.
November 13, 2016
Intriguing story of magic, love and friendship
It may seem I took a while to read the book. It did not. My children read it as well. This is definitely a story for ALL ages! The story has meaning, and magic is seen as a gift from God. Well explained in religious terms. Loved the characters. I could feel their emotions, and the magic....! It was like a movie in my head o(*^▽^*)o
The story is full of excitement, and you find yourself drawn into a beautiful world of fantasy. Mark and Valeria's friendship slowly developed into a beautiful romance. With the conflicts in the kingdom and new king, the novel keeps you on the edge. Well written!! Left us expecting more after last page. Both my children loved the magic mystery, the action and adventure in the book. I loved the beautiful romance that developed between main characters and the suspense and mystery of the powers held by the tree and Mark.
Definitely a book to keep in your library, and one you'd never get tired of. I had figured out how to borrow from Amazon Prime. Had to purchase it. A must read book!!
It may seem I took a while to read the book. It did not. My children read it as well. This is definitely a story for ALL ages! The story has meaning, and magic is seen as a gift from God. Well explained in religious terms. Loved the characters. I could feel their emotions, and the magic....! It was like a movie in my head o(*^▽^*)o
The story is full of excitement, and you find yourself drawn into a beautiful world of fantasy. Mark and Valeria's friendship slowly developed into a beautiful romance. With the conflicts in the kingdom and new king, the novel keeps you on the edge. Well written!! Left us expecting more after last page. Both my children loved the magic mystery, the action and adventure in the book. I loved the beautiful romance that developed between main characters and the suspense and mystery of the powers held by the tree and Mark.
Definitely a book to keep in your library, and one you'd never get tired of. I had figured out how to borrow from Amazon Prime. Had to purchase it. A must read book!!
September 13, 2016
Haunted Tree was definitely a different type of read. I won't give away any spoilers, read it for yourself! As I came across a wonderful opportunity to read this great book and write a review for it, I took the chance. Luckily for me, I had a friend who already read the book and let me borrow it. First of all, this book is wonderfully written for all age of readers where you can feel the emotions and magic. As I always picture what is going on in the books I read, I was able to see a beautiful visual of this story. As a person who is not religious, I do not tend to read many books inquired with religion. This book has a lot of religion in it but it did not bother me too much. I am very excited to read the next second book and other books from this author.
June 17, 2015
This book is difficult to get into, but once you get into it, you'll be glad you did. It is a book full of cliffhangers and excitement. The two main characters grow as the story unfolds. The reader will be told The Secret of Magic later in the book. The author explains magic in Christian terms. He also gives magic limitations. The magic is quite well defined and the adventures they have with it are awesome.
July 17, 2016
One of the better books i have read in recent times, The story surprised me and offered up more then i thought it would. Will definitely be chomping at the bit in anticipation for the rest of the series to come out.
Only thing that makes me unhappy is the Author doesn't have more books to read!
Highly recommend everyone take a look at this book.
Only thing that makes me unhappy is the Author doesn't have more books to read!
Highly recommend everyone take a look at this book.
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September 7, 2016Read for #SPFBO
May 21, 2017
Well, this is the first two star review I've ever given...I had begun this book after finishing a tremendous series, and making two other attempts to begin a book, only to reject them, decided to move forward with this one. The beginning intrigued me and I went with it. The main thing that struck me when I finished is, what about this tree? We never really understand what it's power is or where it comes from...it just sort of leaves you hanging. I began by enjoying the three main characters, and wanted to see where they would end up, however, the syrupy sweetness of Marc and Valeria was simply too unbelievable to me...I mean really, a horney teen boy isn't going to move forward with a MORE than willing partner, because of "god"...the almighty? He's a WIZARD!..they all are wizards, who believe in the Lord, in a really big way. It was a tad confusing to me to say the least, because it's a super huge part of this story. I admit, this is not my preferred kind of reading..so those of you who worship or feel as the characters did will obviously not be bothered by this constant, constant, reference. However, this is supposed to be a historically driven story as well...??? Not to my knowledge, seriously, not much going on with that end either. I wanted to read this and enjoy it, was dying to have something good to read and I found myself waiting for the end. That's harsh and I'm truly sorry for offending, this is not my nature as a reviewer...but it's simply the truth.
March 1, 2017
Although I'd say that the title is misleading, the fantasy Scheller has created here is a beautifully drawn world which blends magic and religion in a seamless fashion, in a story that's somewhat reminiscent of Le Guin's Wizard of Earthsea, but with a focus on family and some romance added into the mix. For me, the story felt somewhat tame and it took me some time to get engaged, but I do think that's due in large part to the title, as I was expecting something darker, perhaps even verging on a ghost story or horror.
All told, I really enjoyed this, and it's also nice to read a series beginning that does have some closure at the end, but where the questions left for the next book aren't so large as to take away the satisfaction that can come with a solid ending. I will say that the last portion of the book was somewhat predictable, but because the characters were so engaging and there were some unexpected details/twists, I never lost interest.
Certainly, I'll probably end up looking up the follow-up, and I'd recommend this one to interested readers.
All told, I really enjoyed this, and it's also nice to read a series beginning that does have some closure at the end, but where the questions left for the next book aren't so large as to take away the satisfaction that can come with a solid ending. I will say that the last portion of the book was somewhat predictable, but because the characters were so engaging and there were some unexpected details/twists, I never lost interest.
Certainly, I'll probably end up looking up the follow-up, and I'd recommend this one to interested readers.
March 25, 2017
I'm not good at reviews, so I rarely try to put my thoughts about a book into written words and thereby embarrass myself. However the author, Scott, liked my rating of his book, a measly 3-stars, and now I feel bad.
I really liked Haunted Tree.
In fact I think I more or less read it in one sitting. - The characters are very likeable (and for me at least, relatable)
The reason for my 3-stars is that while I liked the book, there was a few places where I could tell that it's one of his first works(The first published as far as I know) - There was a few times when the dialogue between characters felt awkward and forced.
I feel that Haunted Tree is a good start to a world that has plenty of potential, and I'm excited to see what kind of world building Scott has in store for us.
English is not my native language so you'll have to excuse me if my "review" is a bit short and if there's any grammar or spelling mistakes.
I really liked Haunted Tree.
In fact I think I more or less read it in one sitting. - The characters are very likeable (and for me at least, relatable)
The reason for my 3-stars is that while I liked the book, there was a few places where I could tell that it's one of his first works(The first published as far as I know) - There was a few times when the dialogue between characters felt awkward and forced.
I feel that Haunted Tree is a good start to a world that has plenty of potential, and I'm excited to see what kind of world building Scott has in store for us.
English is not my native language so you'll have to excuse me if my "review" is a bit short and if there's any grammar or spelling mistakes.
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