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Dark Forces #2
Magic Show
When Chris inherits a sorcerer's ancient book of spells and starts practicing the dark spells, he doesn't realize the danger he faces as he enters the world of black magic.
- GenresHorrorYoung AdultFiction
135 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 26, 2018
Chris Hansen, an amateur high school magician, inherits a book of spells and other paraphernalia when his mentor, Hans Brenner, is killed accidentally in a confrontation with three high school thugs. At first it is all gobbledy-gook to him, until Hans starts appearing from beyond the grave! Soon, Chris is mastering the black arts, scaring his girlfriend Lucy, and unwittingly becoming a pawn in Hans' revenge.
Enjoyable 80s horror story, in which its only real fault is that it's too short to properly develop the characters or get into the meat of the story. The revenge aspect is unfortunately glossed over, but there is some fun in seeing Chris getting sucked into the seductive powers of black magic, despite the consequences of his actions. This was aimed at pre-teens and teens back in the early 80s, so it's very, very tame now, but still fast-paced and fun. I've liked the "Dark Forces" books I've read so far. I also want to get the "Twilight" books (NOT the vampire series), which was also a horror series in the 80s.
Enjoyable 80s horror story, in which its only real fault is that it's too short to properly develop the characters or get into the meat of the story. The revenge aspect is unfortunately glossed over, but there is some fun in seeing Chris getting sucked into the seductive powers of black magic, despite the consequences of his actions. This was aimed at pre-teens and teens back in the early 80s, so it's very, very tame now, but still fast-paced and fun. I've liked the "Dark Forces" books I've read so far. I also want to get the "Twilight" books (NOT the vampire series), which was also a horror series in the 80s.
May 6, 2011
My least favorite of the three that I wrote. This one was written at the insistence of Lorraine Bruck (aka "Laurie Bridges"), my agent's wife. — Paul Alexander Zink
January 20, 2009
I read all of the books in this teen horror series over and over in junior high and high school. I'm sure if I read them now I would find them hideous (in the bad way), but because I loved them so much then, I'm giving them all five stars!
February 22, 2011
Totally creeped me out as a kid.
March 27, 2015
I liked the book but I just couldn't give it 3 stars, maybe I would give it 2.75 stars if possible.
I used to read this series along with Twilight back in the early 90's, even then most of the books were nearly a decade old. Some of them would scare the bejesus out of me, and there are quite a few that do to this day, such as The Game and The Doll.
Magic show was not one of the bejesus books. It was a bit too kindergarten to be scary. There isn't much else to say about it, nobody really did anything and the characters were not overly developed.
I used to read this series along with Twilight back in the early 90's, even then most of the books were nearly a decade old. Some of them would scare the bejesus out of me, and there are quite a few that do to this day, such as The Game and The Doll.
Magic show was not one of the bejesus books. It was a bit too kindergarten to be scary. There isn't much else to say about it, nobody really did anything and the characters were not overly developed.
August 19, 2020
Found a very badly beat up copy of this one for cheap, so I gave it a go thinking it would be fun. Well, I now know that I didn't miss out on not getting to read this one as a kid. To start, I didn't know any high school teens in the 1980's that acted like the characters. "Let's get down to the candy shop so Mr. Brenner can teach me magic tricks!"... Is this set in the 80's or the 50's? As a kid I read "The Game" along with a few others and loved it. Good thing I skipped this one in the series. Really dumb ending and I know my 10 year old self would of been mad.
April 25, 2024
A magician/candy shop owner dies and leaves all his cool ancient magic texts and things to our protag, an aspiring magician in training. Our protag leans into his newly acquired skills, drawing pentagrams on his parents’ floor and messing with the dark arts while the candy shop owner’s spirit lightly guides him.
My favorite part is when he immediately tries to manifest a television, but it doesn’t even show up immediately. It just…shows up in an ad, deeply discounted, due to the store burning down (his fault).
All that work and they still had to pay for the tv.
But I digress.
It’s The Monkey’s Paw but with a LOT more work involved. His desire for more, more, MORE eventually gets the better of him and he realizes the candy shop owner was actually pretty EVIL, and maybe he shouldn’t be performing these spells.
But not before he almost gets a group of rowdy boys literally roasted, floating in the air above a fire during his final magic act.
A little sus that the teacher acquired the texts and proclaimed he was part of a group made up of good magicians. I was a little confused about whether or not it was ending on an ambiguous note—I wish it had felt more ominous in that way
My favorite part is when he immediately tries to manifest a television, but it doesn’t even show up immediately. It just…shows up in an ad, deeply discounted, due to the store burning down (his fault).
All that work and they still had to pay for the tv.
But I digress.
It’s The Monkey’s Paw but with a LOT more work involved. His desire for more, more, MORE eventually gets the better of him and he realizes the candy shop owner was actually pretty EVIL, and maybe he shouldn’t be performing these spells.
But not before he almost gets a group of rowdy boys literally roasted, floating in the air above a fire during his final magic act.
A little sus that the teacher acquired the texts and proclaimed he was part of a group made up of good magicians. I was a little confused about whether or not it was ending on an ambiguous note—I wish it had felt more ominous in that way
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2022
A good entry in the Dark Forces series. I enjoyed reading.
July 10, 2023
Look, I know getting revenge on the people who kill your elderly friend seems wise, but be careful when you find that secret magic book.
September 10, 2015
Another quick teen read. Minor horror story with good warnings for staying away from darkness and dark magic. Still fun, and enjoyable if looking for something fun and not too complicated.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews