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Diadem Worlds of Magic #3
Book of Magic
In the third book, the young magic-users travel to Dondar, a beautiful land of purple skies and blue grass. It is also home to Garonath, the unfriendly wizard of forms. With help from their unicorn friends, they fight his magical monsters, but they soon fall into the hands of Sarman, the evil magician who wants to rule the Diadem . . . and needs their souls to accomplish his despicable mission! But the ultimate battle lies ahead when they must face the Triad and discover what the mysterious Diadem rulers have been planning all along.
208 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1997
5 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
About the author
John Peel
419 books166 followersJohn Peel is the author of Doctor Who books and comic strips. Notably, he wrote the first original Doctor Who novel, Timewyrm: Genesys, to launch the Virgin New Adventures line. In the early 1990s he was commissioned by Target Books to write novelisations of several key Terry Nation Dalek stories of the 1960s after the rights were finally worked out. He later wrote several more original Daleks novels.
He has the distinction of being one of only three authors credited on a Target novelisation who had not either written a story for the TV series or been a part of the production team (the others were Nigel Robinson and Alison Bingeman).
Outside of Doctor Who, Peel has also written novels for the Star Trek franchise. Under the pseudonym "John Vincent", he wrote novelisations based upon episodes of the 1990s TV series James Bond Jr..
He has the distinction of being one of only three authors credited on a Target novelisation who had not either written a story for the TV series or been a part of the production team (the others were Nigel Robinson and Alison Bingeman).
Outside of Doctor Who, Peel has also written novels for the Star Trek franchise. Under the pseudonym "John Vincent", he wrote novelisations based upon episodes of the 1990s TV series James Bond Jr..
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 28, 2018
This book is in two parts. It starts off briefly on the world of Dondar. A world of Unicorns!! But yet again, no one trusts magicians. Or in this case, any human which magicians being worse. Although I have to wonder, is Pixel human? Or just humanoid? Hmm.. But the shadows from the first book are back and play a darker role than ever before. Oracle was my favorite in this book. I was interesting to have the truth revealed in the second half and how the teens reacted to what they learn. I wanted more from the villians in this one. I am seeing a trend for weak villians. And when I say that I dont' mean in power but their very character creation seems to be lacking . Only flaw I can find.
March 31, 2017
I loved this book. I like how the unicorns save them, and how they kinda become friendly with the unicorns. I hate how Nova is scared to death of the dragon thing and how she freezes and is almost killed. I like how Pixel relaxes a little and how he loves the unicorns. I like how in the end, when Pixel, Score, and Helaine are about to become crispies, the unicorns come to save them. I like how the unicorns trusted the three of them to give them one of the unicorn horns.
August 27, 2009
It was a good book. I read it b4 and I liked it and today I went to the library and got it AGAIN.
February 18, 2010
Diadem #3: Book of Magic, by John Peel
Now on Dondar, a planet very close to the inner Diadem, Score, Helaine, and Pixel know that they are close to the end of their journey. Soon they will find out why they are being trained as weapons and herded to the center of the Diadem.
On Dondar, they encounter the ultimate of fantasy creatures: unicorns. The unicorns are extremely distrusting of humans, since most magic users want them just for their horns, but the trio manages to gain the trust of the unicorn herd.
The first half of the book is taken up with defeating Dondar's warlord magician, and the second half focuses on the shadowy enemy mentioned in the first two books of the series. Score, Helaine, and Pixel finally learn who they are, why they were sent from their home worlds, and who has left them the various puzzles they've found in their travels.
The ending of this first adventure is a little anticlimactic, as the battle doesn't live up to it being foreshadowed for three books, but it's a satisfactory resolution. Peel ends this book on another cliffhanger, as he sends the trio on a new adventure with their newest friends, the unicorns.
4/5.
Now on Dondar, a planet very close to the inner Diadem, Score, Helaine, and Pixel know that they are close to the end of their journey. Soon they will find out why they are being trained as weapons and herded to the center of the Diadem.
On Dondar, they encounter the ultimate of fantasy creatures: unicorns. The unicorns are extremely distrusting of humans, since most magic users want them just for their horns, but the trio manages to gain the trust of the unicorn herd.
The first half of the book is taken up with defeating Dondar's warlord magician, and the second half focuses on the shadowy enemy mentioned in the first two books of the series. Score, Helaine, and Pixel finally learn who they are, why they were sent from their home worlds, and who has left them the various puzzles they've found in their travels.
The ending of this first adventure is a little anticlimactic, as the battle doesn't live up to it being foreshadowed for three books, but it's a satisfactory resolution. Peel ends this book on another cliffhanger, as he sends the trio on a new adventure with their newest friends, the unicorns.
4/5.
April 10, 2013
really good
July 3, 2015
I have finished it! It was interesting finally reading the first three books. A friend of mine had loaned me books 4 and on but didn't own the first three.
I enjoyed it. ^_^
I enjoyed it. ^_^
October 18, 2015
It's an interesting idea, but a bit short on details. If you're looking for a quick read, this is it.
February 7, 2024
Somewhat surprisingly, this third Diadem novel wraps up the major plot arc that's been driving the action thus far, and from what I can recall, things are pretty episodic from here on out. One wonders if the series was originally planned as a simple trilogy, though author John Peel would ultimately go on to write another nine sequels after this.
Like the first entry, this title feels overly busy, as if it could have benefited from stretching its story out over additional pages or even multiple volumes. We initially find our heroes on a new planet, Dondar, where they befriend a trio of unicorns and face a repetitive and easily-vanquished string of elemental constructs (a flaming being that they rob of air, a watery giant that they turn into mud and then bake with their own fireballs, and so on). At this point, the magical threats don't register as particularly challenging, and even the wizard who's been sending out these avatars falls without much of a fight once they reach his stronghold.
The back half of the book is significantly better, and would have earned four stars from me if I were rating it independently. At the central nexus of the universe, the teenagers finally meet the gloating arch-villain who's been drawing them onwards this whole time, getting answers to some of the mysteries that have accompanied their strange interdimensional journey. He proves a much worthier foe for them, and even after he's defeated, a further twist pulls the rug out from under us again with revelations about the children's connection to the tyrannical previous rulers of the Diadem. It sets up some great hero moments for the young magic-users, and also works to rehabilitate their guide Oracle, who turns out to be a rather fun character once he's been freed from the curse that kept him speaking in unhelpful rhyming couplets until now.
That final sequence clarifies and dismisses the bizarre riddles the protagonists have been encountering all along too, which have never really worked for me as a reader. For some reason we'll continue to see similar codes and rebuses for a while yet after this -- either Peel or his publishers erroneously thought they were fun, I suppose -- but they thankfully do become less frequent before dropping off entirely.
The tale concludes with the three friends returning to Dondar, but only for a sudden cliffhanger that the elder unicorn is in unspecified danger. It's kind of a silly way to end the present adventure... which is yet another reason I wouldn't rate the novel as a whole too highly, despite rather enjoying its dramatic climax.
[Content warning for fatphobia.]
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Like the first entry, this title feels overly busy, as if it could have benefited from stretching its story out over additional pages or even multiple volumes. We initially find our heroes on a new planet, Dondar, where they befriend a trio of unicorns and face a repetitive and easily-vanquished string of elemental constructs (a flaming being that they rob of air, a watery giant that they turn into mud and then bake with their own fireballs, and so on). At this point, the magical threats don't register as particularly challenging, and even the wizard who's been sending out these avatars falls without much of a fight once they reach his stronghold.
The back half of the book is significantly better, and would have earned four stars from me if I were rating it independently. At the central nexus of the universe, the teenagers finally meet the gloating arch-villain who's been drawing them onwards this whole time, getting answers to some of the mysteries that have accompanied their strange interdimensional journey. He proves a much worthier foe for them, and even after he's defeated, a further twist pulls the rug out from under us again with revelations about the children's connection to the tyrannical previous rulers of the Diadem. It sets up some great hero moments for the young magic-users, and also works to rehabilitate their guide Oracle, who turns out to be a rather fun character once he's been freed from the curse that kept him speaking in unhelpful rhyming couplets until now.
That final sequence clarifies and dismisses the bizarre riddles the protagonists have been encountering all along too, which have never really worked for me as a reader. For some reason we'll continue to see similar codes and rebuses for a while yet after this -- either Peel or his publishers erroneously thought they were fun, I suppose -- but they thankfully do become less frequent before dropping off entirely.
The tale concludes with the three friends returning to Dondar, but only for a sudden cliffhanger that the elder unicorn is in unspecified danger. It's kind of a silly way to end the present adventure... which is yet another reason I wouldn't rate the novel as a whole too highly, despite rather enjoying its dramatic climax.
[Content warning for fatphobia.]
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6...
--Or click here to browse through all my reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
June 23, 2015
The pacing in this book is better than the first two books as far as consistency goes, but I continue to have issues with various worldbuilding elements and consistency there.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews