The Books of Magic: Bindings

The Books of Magic #2

by Carla Jablonski, Neil Gaiman (Introduction)

Timothy Hunter is just like any other thirteen-year-old boy in London . . . except for the tiny fact that he might be the most powerful magician of his time. An enigmatic man named Tamlin has decided that Tim is the key to saving the dying world of Faerie. But exactly how Tim is supposed to do that -- and who Tamlin really is -- remains to be seen. . . .

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Comics, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Magic

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

Carla Jablonski is the author and editor of dozens of best-selling books for teenage and middle-grade readers. She grew up in New York City, where she attended public schools and the Bronx High School of Science. She has a BA in anthropology from Vassar College and an MA from NYU's Gallatin School, an interdisciplinary program for which she combined playwriting, the history of gender issues in 19th Century Circus, and arts administration. "I wanted to write the play, contextualize the play, and learn how to produce the play for my degree," she explains. "I think I may have been the happiest graduate student at NYU -- I SO loved working toward my thesis."

While still in graduate school she supported herself as the editor of The Hardy Boys Mysteries. "When I interviewed for the job they asked me if I'd ever read the Hardy Boys as a kid. 'No way,' I scoffed. 'Those are BOY books! It was Nancy Drew for me!' Luckily my future boss had a sense of humor. She hired me after I promised I'd read the books if I got the job."

She has participated in the renowned Breadloaf Writers' Conference as well as Zoetrope's All-Story highly competitive writing workshop held at Francis Ford Coppella's resort in Belize. She has taught writing for the children's market, as well as "cold-reading" skills for teachers as part of Project:Read. Several of her books have been selected as part of the Accelerated Reader's program.

She continues to work freelance as an editor for publishers and for private clients, even as she writes novels and creates new series. She also has another career (and identity!) as a playwright, an actress, and a trapeze performer. "I try to keep the worlds separate," she explains about her multiple identities. "The different work I do has different audiences, so I want to keep them apart. But they're all me -- they're all ways of expressing what I'm thinking and feeling -- just in different mediums."

Reviews

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Faerie is slowly dying from a mysterious wasting disease. Tim Hunter, the new and as-yet-untrained magician, may be the only one who can save it.

But could Timothy Hunter, who briefly visited the realm of the Fair Folk, be the child of the prophecy?" pg 2

You don't have to read the previous entry in the series about Timothy to understand this stand-alone story. Carla Jablonski does a good job recapping what has gone on before.

"Throughout all the journeys, it seemed like there were always people trying to kill him or take his magic." pg 12

My beef with this book is, even though she uses Neil Gaiman's characters, she doesn't write with the magic of Gaiman.

The plot is incredibly straight-forward, the bad guys are sadly predictable and it just doesn't sparkle.

Even Tamlin, the man who went to Faerie long ago and fell in love with its Queen, isn't as complex as I wish he would be.

Tamlin knew that to the Fair Folk, as something was, it always would be. Nothing ever changed. The ability to see reality and to change was man's magic. My magic, Tamlin thought." pg 42

It's not her fault. Jablonski has written a thoughtful young adult novel about reality not always being what it appears to be and explaining some of Tim's origins.

She's just not Neil Gaiman. There's nothing wrong with that, but if you're going to write someone's characters, you need to embody who they are.

Now that he was in a real-life fairy tale, complete with its own monster, he realized how unlikely those stories really were." pg 111

Read this entry in the series if you're a completionist. Otherwise, may I recommend The Sleeper and the Spindle.

[Kandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was slightly better than the first installment, but when the nicest thing you can say is that it's a quick read, that's not great. The writing style has improved, hence the three, instead of two stars, but the story has not.

[Dony Grayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adaptación a novela de una de las historias de los Libros de la Magia.

[Tiffany Spencer]

Books of Magic Bindings
During gym class, Tim absentmindedly plays football and tries not to be noticed by Molly and his teammates. His mind wanders from the game to the events of the last book. A month has gone by and disappointingly nothing else has happened. Even his yo-yo-turned-bird is gone. After getting trampled, he decides enough is enough and runs home. On the way home, he considers telling Molly but probably couldn’t find the words. Tim has left his keys in his clothes and his dad has to let him in. From his room, Tim hears his dad defending him when the school calls (thinking he’s been in a fight). Mr. Hunter then sends Tim out to play. His fathers noticed he’s become a recluse. A strange man in front of him diverts his attention to the sky where he sees a bird. Then he’s been pursued. Tim is trapped in a net by two men. Then he feels a knife to his throat by another man. But apparently they aren’t together. The two men with the net mention a “She”. The other man says he’ll help him if he gives him his name, but Tim refuses. This seems to satisfy the man. The man picks him up, sends the other men home, tells the other men “she” isn’t there, and vanishes with Tim.

The man says Tim can ask him three questions. The first one Tim asks if what the man wants with him. He answers he wants to see what he’s made of. Tim asks why. The man says because he wants to make Farierie alive again and he might be the key to healing it. Tim’s third question is what is the man’s name? He says Tamlin. (They’re in Faerie). Only it’s not the Faerie Tim had once been to. It’s a desert. The man dares Tim to curse him now that he knows his name. Instead, Tim insults him for feeling sorry for himself. Tamlin smacks Tim across the face, but Tim doesn’t react. He’s impressed by his fearlessness and gives him some advice to keep some of his truths to himself. He then removes the amulet around his neck and gives it to him (after resurring him he’s not a fae and it doesn’t come with a price or any expectations). He tells him it an opening stone but what it opens is up to him. Then Tamlin vanishes. Tim chases after him but all he sees is his clothes and knife. He looks up and sees a bird overhead.

Tamlin is called to the Queen. He thinks about how he’s the only one that can see past the fae’s illusion. (They still see the lands through an enchantment). So he wakes her up and gives her a gift of the “truth”. Since she won’t take the branch he offers, he throws the branch at her feet. A storm rolls in. Then storm though reveals what Faery has become. Realizing it’s the branch. She kicks it away. She vows that she will tell him why he did this before she kills him. Tamlin then flies to Timothy’s window, perches on his window, and then observes him (asking himself what he can do to *wake* him, what he’s had to fight for, and what he knows of love and fear.

It’s not long before Timothy encounters the bird again while out walking. He tells it to get lost and it flies away. He regrets it and runs after it. Tamlin reverts back to his human form. Tamlin is naked so he has to get some clothes from a homeless man. In exchange, the man wants to get warm (It’s snowing heavily). Tamlin pushes Tim to try to make the snow disappear. Tamlin teaches him to manipulate the space between the crystals so that there’s a bubble around the homeless man. The man then offers Tamlin accessories (a hat, a gauntlet, and a gun). Timothy again asks why he’s come and again Tamlin tells him he needs his help. He tells him because there was a separation between his world and Faerie, Faerie is now withering. Then Amadin appears (a fairy). He tells Tamlin the Queen would take pleasure in his company. He insists that he come with him to Tamlin. Amadon begins to chock Timothy. The message is clear. Come with him or else. Tamlin has no choice but to agree. Tamlin tells him to make the most of his time in this world. He also tells him power resides in little things. They both vanish. The homeless man tells Tim not to worry about his father whose always getting into trouble. r. Tim is left in the snow stunned.

He goes to Molly’s house and tells her what he found out. Molly wants to know how he knows but he said Long story. She asks how had he even known it was true. She suggests talking to his dad. Tim goes home and starts to rummage through some things. His dad catches him. Tim sees a piece of paper that shows his mom was pregnant with him before they got married. Mr. Hunter confesses that he didn’t think his mom would have married him if she wouldn’t have thought the baby was his. So did his mother make him believe the child was his? He examines the key he got from Titania and the amulet from Talin. He thinks about what Tamlin told him that magic answers need. Then thinks he needs to know answers.

Titania confronts Tamlin She thinks he’s caused the destruction, but he points out he’s just opened her eyes to what happened when she divided Faerie from the human world. If she wants it back she has to open up the portal again. Titania confesses that she closed the portal out of jealousy for what happened between him and *that woman* but since she’s tried to open it back but to no avail. Tamlin says then they must find a new home.

Tim finds himself in the courtyard of a mansion with the ground littered with bones. There’s a wall in front of him and he attempts to climb it. The top gets further and further. Someone tells him he can never get to the top. The man tells him to come down and they can begin their lesson. Tim says he’d rather not, but the man not deterred appears on the wall and starts to tell him a story about paradoxes. Tim eventually falls (refusing the man) and the man is there with him. The man informs him that this is Faerie. The wall was an illusion. The man tries to get his name to enter in the mastery registry. He tells him his name is Jack Bone and the man realizes and compliments him on how clever he is. He then proposes a game. He asks what the stakes are. He suggests he can tell him who his father is if he can best him at his game. If he loses he’ll accept his tutorledge. Tim realizes then he’ll eat him. The man says yes but he won’t care. He’ll consume his magic first. Then his soul will be empty. Tim agrees. He leads Tim into the museum which is full of amazing (but dead) creatures. Tim asks how he can do this but the man says he’s done it to simplify the world. He tells the man he’s changed his mind but the man says he can’t turn back. Tim says he wants to change the beat. He wants to know the man’s name so he can destroy him. The man says he’ll give him both names. He then leaves the room and says he’ll be back.

Meanwhile, Tamlin passes through the lands and sees how all of them are dying. He thinks about his past and how he meet Titania and how she brought him to Faerie and what Faerit taught him. He vows to find the source of Faerie’s destruction. Tim wanders the house (which is a maze). He finds a secret passageway which leads to a tunnel. The first branch just leads to the main room where Toothy is. The second branch has a lot of hiding places and Tim finds a room that seems like a good prospect. There’s atrunk that he considers hiding in but discovers it’s a trap. He realizes the whole house could be full of traps. He tugs one of the knives out that sprung at him into the wall. It won’t budge. He tells himself to just concentrate on the game. The flute playing of the man has now stopped. Tim then finds another tunnel. At the end of the tunnel is light, but at the end of it is a drop. At the end, he notices below the body of a little girl who possibly jumped to her death. Tim vows to beat the man for himself and the girl. Then he tries to find another hiding spot. He thinks maybe hiding isn’t the answer. He finds another door but unlike the others, it’s locked.

Titania’s key works and he finds himself in a library. In the room are more amazing animals. Tim’s attention is captured by a unicorn. As he moves closer, he realizes he’s stepping on the page of a book with the illustration of a unicorn. He realizes that this page (and other pages) have all been torn from a book. On the remaining page of the book is a manticore (a creature with an appetite for humans). A man then sneaks up on Tim. Then they get into about the man ripping out the pages of the creatures he’s found aren’t useful to him. The man bores with him. He said he sought him out for company but he’s no longer interested. He says he’ll be back later to continue the game. He’s about to leave but Tim calls him back. He tries to play into dumb kid angle and asks the man to tell him more about the unicorn. Then the man starts to talk about how influential the unicorn was to him being who he is. Then he tells a story about how he discovered the unicorn was a hoax after he experimented on one. Tim goes off on him and sends him away. How he’ll probably be displayed next to the Unicorn.

As Tim is holding the illustration and thinking maybe he should set it on fire, the man appears again. Now as a manticore. He attacks him and they struggle. Tim’s magic brings the unicorn to life and it spears the beast through the heart. Tamlin sees that the land is being restored. Again he vows to find who could be behind it. Tim and the Unicorn find a doorway and see the realm is being restored all around him. Tamlin finds Tim and the Unicorn and realizes that he used the stone to open a door to Faerie and that he really is his son. So, he goes to Tim. Tim tells him about defeating the manticore. Ta,lin wants to know if it scratched or bruised him but Tim doesn’t recall. He also doesn’t recall what he was going to ask him. Tamlin discovers a long, deep, scratch and wants to know how long ago it happened. But then he blacks out after seeing the woman at the end of the Universe.

He asks her who she is. She tells him she’s Death but she tells him he’s not the one dying. But he is close to it. There’s manticore venom in his system. She asks him why he’s there but he really doesn’t know how to begin to talk about his father. Tamlin turns Tim into a feather and takes her to Titania. He tells her what happened and asks her to heal him. She tells him that’s just the nature of humans but she’ll build a monument in his honor. Death and Tim talk about why he wants to find out why its so important to find out who his father is. She gives him a lesson between heredity and identity. Titania tries to persuade him to give up on Tim and his grieving ritual, but he brushes her attempts to comfort him with the thoughts of their “reunited love”. But Tamlin brushes her off and reminds her that not long ago he was just an animal to her.
Tamlin finds a trunk and a letter. The next thing he knows he blacks out again. Tamlin finds his way to Death. She tells him Tim will be fine. He’s sacrificed his own life. He knows Titania will blame him but he also knows Tim can handle it. Tim comes to and realizes what Tamlin did and then he cries for both fathers. He clutches the stone and falls asleep. When he wakes up he’s back home. Molly calls and asks what happened. He tells her it’s true. Then he opens the envelope Death had. Inside it is seeds. He hangs up with Molly and walks outside. He goes to the cemetery and goes to his mother’s mound. He says he wishes she could tell him how all this happen. But he’s still him and nothing changes that. He plants the seeds by the mound and says goodbye. On the way home, he wonders what he’s planted. And what impact it will have on him that his father sacrificed himself. He then asks himself who he is. He wonders if his father was Tamlin then what his real last name is. Then decides that he’s tired of all the questions and thinks instead about how he saved a whole world,

My Thoughts
This wasn’t bad for a shorter story. Although it was kind of like Harry finally finding out he had family and then by Order of the Phoenix Sirus is dead. There really wasn’t time for us to feel anything about Tamlin being Timothy’s father because it wasn’t developed. It’s really bad when books do this with characters. It was touching that Tamlin died for his son but I really wish their relationship would have lasted more than just one book. Like Timothy, I also wish the mother was still around so we can get some more of the background story. I even want to know *how* she died. Did Tatiana kill her? That wouldn’t surprise me at all. I’m not sure where this will go now and who’ll help Timothy figure out who he is and how to use his magic, but I’m interested in finding out.

Rating: 6

[Tommy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy buen libro, interesante y entretenido. Me gustó mucho, lo leí en una semana!!

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the first book in the series, quick read. Shorter story

[PurplyCookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life is rough if you're a teenage wizard. No, not Harry Potter -- Timothy Hunter, a bespectacled young wizard who predates the present wizardmania. The second of Jablonski's novelizations (of Neil Gaiman's graphic novel of the same title) is a pleasant enough adaptation, although of course nobody can match Gaiman's way of storytelling.

The land of Faerie is dying. The falconer Tamlin (who can turn into a bird), onetime lover of Queen Titania, seeks to bring it back to life, but the haughty queen won't listen to him. Faerie has been disconnected from the mortal world, and now it's withering away. From her own admission, Queen Titania herself has undone the bindings she has placed between their world and ours but there is something else blocking it.

After another meeting with Tamlin, and a homeless man named Kenny, Timothy is faced with a new mystery. Who is his father, really? Is it the man he always thought was his father or is it the falconer? Looking for answers, Timothy finds himself back in Faerie in an even more desolate spot. Now, the future greatest magician of the world quickly finds himself the plaything of a strange man/creature who wants to play with him and then eat him. To save Faerie, will Timothy die?

"Bindings" takes the story Gaiman created in the first "The Books of Magic" and uses it as a springboard. There are new characters, a new tone, a faster pace, and the start of an overhanging story arc about Faerie, Titania and Tim's mysterious past. Things suddenly get a whole lot more complex. It is with this novelization that I finally understood Rieber's story.

This novelization lacks much of what made the Rieber's spin-off comic story work. Jablonski has left out many elements: ones that show Timothy's cleverness, ones that build the sinister nature of Timothy's captor, even the desolation facing Faerie. While in the original, Timothy definitely does not have the key to the worlds with him, in this version he uses it to help overcome his captor.


Book Details:

Title The Books of Magic #2: Bindings
Author Carla Jablonski (Introduction by Neil Gaiman)
Reviewed By Purplycookie

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank goodness this was a short book, because I didn't follow a lot of what was happening. It was paced well, the writing was decent, and characters developed decently. But the plot was confusing. I had some questions that didn't get addressed in the story - mainly focused on the manticore and how he "bound" the land of Faerie.
Because of this, I'm teetering on the fence as to whether or not I'm going to continue with this series.

[Juan M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este segundo libro, aunque tiene sus vueltas interesantes, lo vi más flojo que el anterior. En este Tim sigue preguntándose sobre la Magia (no diré mucho, no quiero tirar spoilers del anterior). A pesar de todo es llevado a la Tierra de las Hadas, donde algo no está bien. Varias aventuras y peligros lo esperan allí. Un libro como para pasar el tiempo, bueno para la edad a la cual se dirige.

[Vojtěch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dílek do skládanky hezky zapadl. I když si už nepamatuji úplně všechno, tak něco mi v té hlavě zůstalo. Ono ani není moc možné se v této sérii ztratit, díky její jednoduchosti. Mě osobně to přijde tak trochu jako Harry Potter, ale líbí se mi to. Zvlášť, když je to podle motivu Neila Gaimana :)

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bindings, by Carla Jablonski, Neil Gaiman – This coming of age story is full of cool characters! Happy Reading!

[Jenny Burridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is an acceptable novelization of the graphic novel, without taking advantage of the things a novel can do that a graphic novel can't.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I missed some of the characters from the first novel, but this was a good story. It wouldn't let me go, even when I got a new book to dive into. I had to finish the book and it was fun.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The land of Faerie is dying and a teenage wizard is needed to save the day. A quick read, but the storytelling was not great. This was a forgettable book in an unmemorable series.