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The Magnificent 12 #3
The Key
Sometimes one hero isn't enough – sometimes you need a full dozen. Mack’s search for his dazzling dozen continues in the third instalment of this hilarious, action-packed fantasy series by the New York Times bestselling author of GONE.
Time is short for Mack MacAvoy! He has less than 30 days to round up the rest of the magnifica and defeat the Pale Queen and her evil daughter Risky.
It seems that the only way to do this is to learn the magical language of Vargran, and to do THAT they must travel to Europe to find the Key – an ancient engraved stone that will unlock its power.
But can Mack, Jarrah, Xiao, Dietmar and Stephan locate the invisible castle of William “Blisterthong” MacGuffin, who guards the Key?
And will The Key hold the power to save the world?
The Magnificent 12: The Key is another fast-paced episode in bestselling Michael Grant’s hysterical fantasy adventure.
Time is short for Mack MacAvoy! He has less than 30 days to round up the rest of the magnifica and defeat the Pale Queen and her evil daughter Risky.
It seems that the only way to do this is to learn the magical language of Vargran, and to do THAT they must travel to Europe to find the Key – an ancient engraved stone that will unlock its power.
But can Mack, Jarrah, Xiao, Dietmar and Stephan locate the invisible castle of William “Blisterthong” MacGuffin, who guards the Key?
And will The Key hold the power to save the world?
The Magnificent 12: The Key is another fast-paced episode in bestselling Michael Grant’s hysterical fantasy adventure.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
18 people are currently reading
702 people want to read
About the author
Michael Grant
75 books11.3k followersCo-author with Katherine Applegate of Ocean City, Making Out, Summer, Animorphs, Everworld, Remnants, Eve and Adam.
Pseudonymous coauthor with KA of Christy (the TV spin-off books), Sweet Valley Twins, Girl Talk and various Disney spin-offs.
Pseudonymous author of Barf-O-Rama.
Author of Gone, BZRK, The Magnificent 12, Messenger of Fear, Front Lines, Monster and A Sudden Death in Cyprus.
AKA Michael Robinson (restaurant reviews and newspaper features).
AKA Michael Reynolds (legal name) political media producer. (Team Blue).
Pseudonymous coauthor with KA of Christy (the TV spin-off books), Sweet Valley Twins, Girl Talk and various Disney spin-offs.
Pseudonymous author of Barf-O-Rama.
Author of Gone, BZRK, The Magnificent 12, Messenger of Fear, Front Lines, Monster and A Sudden Death in Cyprus.
AKA Michael Robinson (restaurant reviews and newspaper features).
AKA Michael Reynolds (legal name) political media producer. (Team Blue).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
June 11, 2019
4 stars
Another wonderful book in this series. Mr. Grant proves once again how well he can relate to middle grade readers and adults alike.
Mack and his assembled section of the 12 get into more trouble, meet more villains and travel a lot to find the remaining members that will form the Magnificent 12. But can he do it before the Queen is loosed upon humanity again to destroy and plunder the world? And with the Queens' daughter, Risky, on the group's trail, there is always danger lurking very near.
Another wonderful book in this series. Mr. Grant proves once again how well he can relate to middle grade readers and adults alike.
Mack and his assembled section of the 12 get into more trouble, meet more villains and travel a lot to find the remaining members that will form the Magnificent 12. But can he do it before the Queen is loosed upon humanity again to destroy and plunder the world? And with the Queens' daughter, Risky, on the group's trail, there is always danger lurking very near.
October 1, 2012
Mack is still trying to assemble the Magnificent 12 when he finds himself captured by a thousand-year-old bad guy in a hidden castle. Needless to say, things are not going to well for Mack. Luckily though, he's not alone and a few Vargran words might help him and the other Magnifica escape and join up with a few more with the Enlightened Puissance. First though, they must find the other half of the key. The key will help them defeat the pale queen...unless they can't get all of the Magnifica recruited. Danger awaits them and they will have to learn to all work together in order to defeat the villains and get to the Pale Queen in order to save the world.
From the very first sentence in this installment, you are swept into a dangerous situation. Mack is on the cusp between life and imminent death. Just because he's the hero, doesn't mean he's immortal. We find the Magnifica in Scotland this time, working to get the second half of the key that will help them stop the Pale Queen. We also see a lot of Mack's golem in this book. He's stuck at home and Risky goes to visit him. Risky isn't a very nice person, so this isn't necessarily a very nice visit. Risky stops by to lay down some evil groundwork so that she may use the golem for her own devices. Mack has a lot on his plate though and can't be bothered to figure out what's going on with his golem. He's too busy trying not to get himself or any of the Magnifica (and Stefan) killed. This proves to be trickier than they originally thought though, because lots of people don't want to see them succeed and all their enemies come to find them.
Again this book was quite humorous. I loved all the footnotes. I'm a huge fan of books that use footnotes in both serious or comical ways. There was a bit of technology name-dropping in this novel. Twitter, iPhone, YouTube, Google+ etc... which seemed a bit unnecessary. Seems like it could have been mostly avoided by saying cell phone, social networks and maybe just using YouTube. I don't know, I just feel like it dates the book a bit. Every now and then I come across a book that uses MySpace and I just giggle at the outdatedness(Cause nobody uses MySpace anymore. Not even Rachel.).
This was a great installment in the series though. We get to see more of the golem's life which is interesting. There's also more villains and past villains that all come out to see what havoc they can wreak. I'm a little confused on where a couple of the evil-doers got to at the end of the book. They were coming to fight and then... disappeared it seems. There seemed to be no more mention of them. If you're reading this series, make sure you pick this one up. It's just as good as the last ones and will make you crave more of the Magnificent 12.
First Line:
"'Let me out of here, you crazy old man!' Mack cried."
Favorite Line:
"If you think about it, talking to a sea serpent whose very existence is in doubt is not an easy proposition."
Read more: http://www.areadingnook.com/#ixzz285n...
From the very first sentence in this installment, you are swept into a dangerous situation. Mack is on the cusp between life and imminent death. Just because he's the hero, doesn't mean he's immortal. We find the Magnifica in Scotland this time, working to get the second half of the key that will help them stop the Pale Queen. We also see a lot of Mack's golem in this book. He's stuck at home and Risky goes to visit him. Risky isn't a very nice person, so this isn't necessarily a very nice visit. Risky stops by to lay down some evil groundwork so that she may use the golem for her own devices. Mack has a lot on his plate though and can't be bothered to figure out what's going on with his golem. He's too busy trying not to get himself or any of the Magnifica (and Stefan) killed. This proves to be trickier than they originally thought though, because lots of people don't want to see them succeed and all their enemies come to find them.
Again this book was quite humorous. I loved all the footnotes. I'm a huge fan of books that use footnotes in both serious or comical ways. There was a bit of technology name-dropping in this novel. Twitter, iPhone, YouTube, Google+ etc... which seemed a bit unnecessary. Seems like it could have been mostly avoided by saying cell phone, social networks and maybe just using YouTube. I don't know, I just feel like it dates the book a bit. Every now and then I come across a book that uses MySpace and I just giggle at the outdatedness(Cause nobody uses MySpace anymore. Not even Rachel.).
This was a great installment in the series though. We get to see more of the golem's life which is interesting. There's also more villains and past villains that all come out to see what havoc they can wreak. I'm a little confused on where a couple of the evil-doers got to at the end of the book. They were coming to fight and then... disappeared it seems. There seemed to be no more mention of them. If you're reading this series, make sure you pick this one up. It's just as good as the last ones and will make you crave more of the Magnificent 12.
First Line:
"'Let me out of here, you crazy old man!' Mack cried."
Favorite Line:
"If you think about it, talking to a sea serpent whose very existence is in doubt is not an easy proposition."
Read more: http://www.areadingnook.com/#ixzz285n...
October 17, 2012
This continues to be an entertaining series for young teens. Mack is still trying to round up all 12 members of the Magnifica in an attempt to save the world from the Pale Queen. His golem, who looks like Mack but has the brains of, well, um, mud, continues to stand in for Mack at home and school. The golem becomes a bigger player in this story--sometimes a whole lot bigger--which is enjoyable. As the story opens Mack is about the be flung from a catapult into the wall of a Scottish castle on the shores of Loch Ness. But as the story quickly points out, killing off the hero is not how these books go, so there are plenty more madcap adventures on the way, including battling Nessie and walking on water in the Seine. (You don't even want to know what they do to the Eiffel tower.) One of the things I like the most is Grant's constant asides to the reader, which have are clever. Looking forward to the fourth, and supposedly final, installment.
August 19, 2012
The Magnificent 12 never disappoints! From the first book to the latest, The Key, Michael Grant will have kids on the floor laughing and holding their sides. The story is an unlikely hero, Mack who is visited by an old man in the boy's room at school and asked to save the world by finding the other eleven Magnifica and fight the evil queen and her scary insect looking daughter- Risky. Mack leaves behind a text messaging clay golem in his place at home and takes off around the world to find the other kids and keep one step ahead of the evil queen. It is funny and moves quickly, perfect for those reluctant readers who need constant action.
October 27, 2012
The Magnificent 12 picks back up after a somewhat rocky (in my opinion) second book. This is a series I'm sticking with even though I don't think I've heard anyone else talking about it. A strange occurrence for what appears to be a fairly successful series thus far.
In The Key, the kids need to learn a magical language rather quickly, while Mack's golem still tried to navigate school in Mack's absence. The plot continues to be fairly straightforward, and operates mostly as a fun, simple diversion rather than world-changing events, and that's more than okay.
In The Key, the kids need to learn a magical language rather quickly, while Mack's golem still tried to navigate school in Mack's absence. The plot continues to be fairly straightforward, and operates mostly as a fun, simple diversion rather than world-changing events, and that's more than okay.
August 28, 2012
This is a wonderful, new novel from the author of the "Gone" series. This book will entertain all ages, as it has a very savvy sense of humor. If you are intrigued by stories of fantastic and magical factors, this book is right on point. Mack MacAvoy and Magnifica travel to Europe an must learn a magical language. For intense fans of fantasy, that plot beginning in itself is a huge draw. Of course, adventures ensue and it would spoil the book to mention all the details. This book is an excellent read and comes highly recommended.
December 15, 2016
"It’s possible to be very brave some of the time. And pants-wetting scared another time. That’s the reality of it. The same person can run away in blind terror one moment, then turn suddenly and face certain death with unearthly determination. Humans are strange that way."
September 29, 2012
Another part in the fun adventure that is the Magnificent 12.
Also kudos to Michael for briefly mentioning his own Animorphs books within the story.
Also kudos to Michael for briefly mentioning his own Animorphs books within the story.
June 27, 2017
Seria un 3.9 porque el final me gusto mucho.
Vamos por el ultimo de esta saga.
Vamos por el ultimo de esta saga.
August 27, 2019
It's Very funny. I'm serious.
May 5, 2023
3.5 rounded up to 4*'s for this one.
I think I figured out after this book what I have an issue with in this series. The descriptions, while told in a pretty good way, are just too short. It's like you're set up for a scene that is going to be really cool, and then it's magnificently told for a small amount of time. The novelty of Scotland and Paris was pretty good. The budding "romance" of a few of the characters is kind of interesting.
I would say that I just wish I didn't feel rushed through the book. I want more of what is being told in the story, to get more excited, to get more invested, to get more sense of emotion, but I can't quite get there because of the rush.
The beginning of the book felt very average, I would say filler is a good word. When they got to Paris, they basically encountered 3 boss fights and then the story ended. I rounded up this time instead of down because while being not incredible, it did get better at the end. It was still funny and interesting enough. I liked the fights, they were lacking a bit, but overall pretty good.
The discovery of the magnifica at this point seems quite unoriginal. Most likely because there is only one more book and an assembly needs to happen to "win." So discovery seems not as important, more just the characters happen to be in the way at some crazy moment.
But it was pretty good. Not as lacking as the 1st in the series, and not nearly as good as the 2nd. I will hope for a concrete and well described end to the series in the 4th book.
I think I figured out after this book what I have an issue with in this series. The descriptions, while told in a pretty good way, are just too short. It's like you're set up for a scene that is going to be really cool, and then it's magnificently told for a small amount of time. The novelty of Scotland and Paris was pretty good. The budding "romance" of a few of the characters is kind of interesting.
I would say that I just wish I didn't feel rushed through the book. I want more of what is being told in the story, to get more excited, to get more invested, to get more sense of emotion, but I can't quite get there because of the rush.
The beginning of the book felt very average, I would say filler is a good word. When they got to Paris, they basically encountered 3 boss fights and then the story ended. I rounded up this time instead of down because while being not incredible, it did get better at the end. It was still funny and interesting enough. I liked the fights, they were lacking a bit, but overall pretty good.
The discovery of the magnifica at this point seems quite unoriginal. Most likely because there is only one more book and an assembly needs to happen to "win." So discovery seems not as important, more just the characters happen to be in the way at some crazy moment.
But it was pretty good. Not as lacking as the 1st in the series, and not nearly as good as the 2nd. I will hope for a concrete and well described end to the series in the 4th book.
July 16, 2022
Just as fantastic as books #1 and #2.
January 14, 2024
These books are wacky and fun. I liked the bit where they turned Nessie into a duck.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2018
The Key is the third book in the magnificent 12 series, I have not read the first two, so; I can't compare it with any of the other books in the series. The book has a sequel, but I don't plan on reading it because I did not really love the book. I think that's because I am a little too old for it, I would recommend this book to someone who is 9-12 years old and likes action, adventure, fantasy, mystery and thriller books. The book could have had a better beginning, I mean the first part of chapter one was okay, however I did not enjoy the next few chapters a lot. I think the writing was more for children than for a teen who wanted a real novel which actually told a story. Its not that Michael Grant is a bad writer, a lot of other books from him are amazing and definitely enjoyable and I plan on reading them in the future. The book also has a touch of humor which was some of the only things I enjoyed, besides I also liked the bits of action and the little bit of suspense too.
In conclusion I do not recommend this if you are looking for romance, suspense, dystopian or totally magical and "change the way you think books". I personally read it in one sitting but as I said, the book is more for pre-teens and you can read it during summer only if you would like to but I would not hand this book over to someone and tell them they HAVE to read this book; instead I would say they CAN read the book.
PS: I am so sorry if you loved the book! I wish that I felt the same way about it as you do, but unfortunately I don't and its just my opinion on it.
In conclusion I do not recommend this if you are looking for romance, suspense, dystopian or totally magical and "change the way you think books". I personally read it in one sitting but as I said, the book is more for pre-teens and you can read it during summer only if you would like to but I would not hand this book over to someone and tell them they HAVE to read this book; instead I would say they CAN read the book.
PS: I am so sorry if you loved the book! I wish that I felt the same way about it as you do, but unfortunately I don't and its just my opinion on it.
June 22, 2015
OK. So apparently it has been a while since I read books 1&2 because I found myself pretty lost through a good portion of it. Like "What on earth is going on here and why does it matter?" lost.
That said ... I kept reading. Locations. I mean, who doesn't love a good Scottish Castle or Parisian catacomb or tower?
The throw away "asides" were my favorite. Here are a few. I read it on a Kindle via Overdrive READ so I don't have page numbers.
"It sounds as if a goat is being tortured!"
"It sounds like all the pain in existence since the dawn of time!" Jarrah said.
"It sounds like the cry of a newborn demon ready to destroy all peace and love!" Dietmer said. "But I believe it is merely a bagpipe.
"Yes, it is today," the golem replied. In fact it was always today. It was never yesterday or tomorrow, it was always today. The golem had noticed this.
Was it good to worry constantly? Or should he pick a time and place and worry really hard, then stop?"
"Mais c'est bizarre, ca." Which means, "that's a little odd."
(In the book that c in ca has a little comma underneath it. I'm sure it's a French accent of some sort, I just don't know how to reproduce it here on Goodreads.)
That said ... I kept reading. Locations. I mean, who doesn't love a good Scottish Castle or Parisian catacomb or tower?
The throw away "asides" were my favorite. Here are a few. I read it on a Kindle via Overdrive READ so I don't have page numbers.
"It sounds as if a goat is being tortured!"
"It sounds like all the pain in existence since the dawn of time!" Jarrah said.
"It sounds like the cry of a newborn demon ready to destroy all peace and love!" Dietmer said. "But I believe it is merely a bagpipe.
"Yes, it is today," the golem replied. In fact it was always today. It was never yesterday or tomorrow, it was always today. The golem had noticed this.
Was it good to worry constantly? Or should he pick a time and place and worry really hard, then stop?"
"Mais c'est bizarre, ca." Which means, "that's a little odd."
(In the book that c in ca has a little comma underneath it. I'm sure it's a French accent of some sort, I just don't know how to reproduce it here on Goodreads.)
February 20, 2015
You should read this series of books in order; use the search box in the top left corner to see my reviews of the first two. I'm still trying to figure out why I like this series. The humor is silly. Paddy Nine-Iron, an old assassin, moves too slowly to kill anyone and can't catch his breath to finish sentences. The golem takes everything literally; he grows unusually large when Mack says he's a big boy. However, I enjoy the adventure of Mack traveling the world to form the Magnificent 12, and the author includes action throughout the plot. There are battles with trolls, giants, dragons, and other creatures, and Mack almost dies many times. If you don't mind silly humor, you will enjoy this book.
February 21, 2014
PG for gore and violence.
Do you have two very opposite personalities, Michael Grant? Because the Magnificent series (first off, let me mention how magnificent they are) is just a bunch of ridiculously humorous nonsense that happens to follow the grammatical and literary rules of the world, and somehow fits together to make a fun plot with incredibly (un)realistic characters.
However, the Gone series... not so fun/family-friendly/nonsensical/ha-ha-that-was-funny-now-my-sides-are-hurting.
Despite these vast differences in writing, I absolutely love everything you've written (that I've read), and I do not think you should ever, ever stop.
Do you have two very opposite personalities, Michael Grant? Because the Magnificent series (first off, let me mention how magnificent they are) is just a bunch of ridiculously humorous nonsense that happens to follow the grammatical and literary rules of the world, and somehow fits together to make a fun plot with incredibly (un)realistic characters.
However, the Gone series... not so fun/family-friendly/nonsensical/ha-ha-that-was-funny-now-my-sides-are-hurting.
Despite these vast differences in writing, I absolutely love everything you've written (that I've read), and I do not think you should ever, ever stop.
November 14, 2012
The setting is Paris, France and Scotland. The characters are Mack, Dietmar, Jarrah, Xiao, Stefan, Charlie, and Rodriguez. These people are the Magnificent 7 (soon they will be called the Magnificent 12). All of them except for Stefan have the enlightened puissance. The enlightened puissance is a really, really powerful imagination. It helps them believe in monsters. If they don't they would be dead meat!! Stefan doesn't have it. He is more like a body guard to Mack. The Magnificent 7 are trying to defeat the Pale Queen and her shape shifting daughter, Risky (her real name is Ezekial).
April 23, 2013
The author hooks readers from the first line of the book with the protagonist in peril. He then, ahem, leaves Mack dangling, and describes how things progressed to this point. Mack MacAvoy is one of the Magnifica, and he has only a few weeks left to find the rest of these special children and come up with a plan to defeat Princess Risky. While the adventure and exotic settings are plenty of fun, what makes this one exceptionally appealing is the humor threaded through its pages. Many of them will make readers laugh out loud. While not necessarily my cup of tea since I didn't feel as though I knew all the characters, it will have great appeal for young readers.
December 27, 2014
It seems like these books just get progressively better. This book had some great fight scenes and I really liked the parts about the golem, they didn't distract from the story at all. (The stories of Grimluk and Paddy "Nine Iron" Trout did this a lot more in the previous books.) It was good to see him more as a character than as just a joke in between the other parts of the story.
December 7, 2012
This was a good book. It is the further adventures of the Magnificant 12, of which at this time there are only four members. During this book, more members are added. The golem turns into the destroyer, but Camaro saves him.
November 14, 2012
Mack and his new friends continue to fill the ranks of the Magnificent Twelve, and Mack's golem starts to come into his own. I love that golem. The Key is every bit as awesome as the first two in the series.
November 19, 2012
Each book in this series gets a little funnier, a little wittier, and more enjoyable. (I think I actually reviewed #1 as 2 stairs and #2 as 3 stars). I love the footnotes and the author's voice in this one.
Want to read
June 28, 2012Harper
Aug 2012
Ask Jenny
Aug 2012
Ask Jenny
November 11, 2014
I love this book!!!! I am so excited for the next one!
February 10, 2023
Excellent books!!!
October 30, 2012
I still love this quirky series. The humor is dry yet wacky, and the self-conscious use of fantasy tropes, like a villian names MacGuffin, is great.
November 19, 2012
Good but slow
Read
October 3, 2013I think that this was a good book, because I like fantasy/adventure books. That's why I recomend this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews