A Uniquely Portable Magic

by Felix Alexander

“The adventure begins with your imagination.”

Here’s the long and short of it. Well, the short version first:

As descendants of a secret order charged with protecting libraries and story tellers, Jaiden and Anjali Medina journey into story realm to find the mythical kings lest the Lord of Forgetfulness erases all legends, myths and stories from the memory of the world.

Not enough for you?

Okay, well, it’s the day after the Day of the Dead. Jaiden and Anjali Medina wonder why Papa never arrives to pick them up for visitation. Under the impression he is running late they go to the library for Story Time Tuesday and expect to meet him later. Nothing goes according to plan when the Storyteller learns of Papa’s absence.

Jaiden and Anjali discover Papa is a member of the Order of the Scribes, a secret organization that has existed since the time of the Assyrian kings to protect the world’s first great library. The Order has fallen and the Lord of Forgetfulness has returned with the intention of erasing the memory of stories from the world.

Now Jaiden and Anjali have until sunrise—in the mortal realm—to find the mythical kings—in the story realm—and lead them into battle against a great darkness before its shadow crosses the veil between realms. To succeed they must apply everything Papa has taught them about mythology and legend, and most importantly they must learn to use the their imagination. For it is in the power of their imagination where they find the beauty and magic only found in books.

269 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 28, 2019

About the author

Felix Alexander (1976-Present) is a Mexican-born, American-raised novelist and poet of Spanish, Mexican, and Puerto Rican descent.

Acclaimed by readers for his poetic prose, his indie releases include:

* Dear Love: Diary of a Man's Desire, a collection of love letters and poems (Forever Poetic series #1)
* The Romantic: A Love Story (Forever Poetic series #2)
* Romantic Musings (Forever Poetic series #3)
* The Book of Danielle (Forever Poetic series #4)
* Shadows of Time: The Amulet of Alamin
* The Secret of Heaven (Book 1 of the Aiden Leonardo Series)
* The Secret of Scripture (Book 2 of the Aiden Leonardo Series)
* The Secret of God's Banker (Book 3 of the Aiden Leonardo series)
* The Last Valentine (A Labyrinth of Love Letters novel)
* The Last Love Letter (A Labyrinth of Love Letters novel, book 2)
* Her Punishment (Her Erotic Endeavors series #1)
* Her Awakening (Her Erotic Endeavors series #2)
* Her Seduction (Her Erotic Endeavors series #3)
*Her Passion (Her Erotic Endeavors series #4)
* A Uniquely Portable Magic, An Order of the Scribes adventure
* Love Letters to Lora (a short story)
*Cupid’s Up to Something

Being third-generation military, after a grandfather and two uncles who served in the Korean War and Vietnam War, respectively, Alexander is proud of his U.S. Army service and grateful for his experience.

After his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army, he embarked on the long and arduous journey of a writer. Having made a name for himself while serving his country, he vowed to himself and his fellow soldiers that he would answer his true calling.

He currently lives in Chicago, IL—to be closer to his children—a son and daughter.

In the evenings, he journeys through the portals of his extensive personal library. When he returns, he immerses himself in his writing and pursues the scent of his muse.

Reviews

[Ashley (Tiny Navajo Reads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Thank you to Felix Alexander for this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Meh....that's really all I can think when I think of this book. Jaiden and Anjali Medina and the Mythical Kings feels a lot like Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson, Magnus Chase, and Kane Chronicles. That's not a bad thing; if anything, that is a good thing. What makes this book so "meh" is that it's told so quickly and jumps around so much, and there is just so much description and exposition, not in a good way.

When you read a book, you want to be transported to the settings in that book and enjoy the adventure along with the main characters. This is not what happened, what happened was an explanation of every thing. There was very little dialogue, what dialogue there was felt very generic and cliched. Everything was told, rather than shown. You want to see what's happening in a book, through what the author writes. You don't want to be told what is happening...that makes it a very boring and very easy read for you.

Jaiden and Anjali have very little background given to them. I'm not invested in these characters, if anything, I'm more invested in the side characters that they meet along the way. They were also given a lot of ability with very little explaination as to how they actually got it. They know how to sword fight perfectly, they can do gymnastics and free running with very little practice before hand, they can leap talk buildings and convince fantastical kings to change their ways. These kids are perfect in the most boring sense of the world.

While Jaiden and Anjali Medina and the Mythical Kings has a lot of potential to be the next Rick Riordan story, it falls far short of that expectation. Excellent premise, failed execution.

[Hannah Stoffield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Synopsis

Jaiden and Anjali's father has disappeared the day after the Day of the Dead. Thinking that their father was just running late, the siblings head to the library. Once someone hears about their father's disappearance, they discover their father is a member of a secret group called the Order of the Scribes. The Order of the Scribes has existed since the first library in history was constructed. To find their father, they must remember everything he has taught them about mythology and legends in order to find the Mythical Kings.

My Thoughts

I did enjoy this book very much. I would've enjoyed it more if I was younger. Being in my late teens, middle grade books don't really appeal to me as they used to. Though, this does not affect my views of this book.

I thought the book had a very interesting concept, but at times the text was a little too chaotic. There was too much going on at once.

I loved the idea and the plot line.

I wish there was more character development and a little more depth to the characters themselves. All we know is that their father went missing and they have to find them. There wasn't really a backstory to build off of.

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I hoped to.

[Joy Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The is the start of a book series about the Order of Scribes, a secret group of those who want to preserve folklore, myth, and legend from being destroyed by the Lord of Forgetfulness. The Order has been around since the earliest days of written history to record and protect the stories we tell to teach us of honor, truth, mystery, and wisdom. This story centers around Anjali and Jaiden Medina whose dad seems to be running late to pick them up and the day after the Day of the Dead. Their father is always drilling them in history, mythology, and myth as well as reminding them to use their imaginations to solve problems. When dad is running late, the siblings head to the library to wait and for Story Time Tuesday. The librarian regretfully informs them that their father is missing and is in danger from the Lord of Forgetfulness. At this point Jaiden and Anjali head to the land of fairy to begin their hunt for their father.

Both children are brave and creative and well trained by their dad to take on this task. The children learn they must summon the Mythical Kings to help them with the fight ahead. In the course of the journey the siblings are separated and end up meeting Sin-Sin the jinn, Gilgamesh, the Sphinx, and many more friends and foes as they hunt for their dad.

This series is intended for upper level middle schools students and so the pacing and depth of world and character building is appropriate for that age level. The pace is quick and switches between the siblings after they become separated from one another. Although some behaviors are repetitive in description, there is much to like here for a young reader. There is a fair bit of history and mythology packed into the book and many young readers will learn new things about stories or people who they may have heard about before. There is also magic, fighting, silliness, and courage. In sum, I think this book will be a pleasure for kids in the target range and the author has created enough of a world to place more stories and characters in it. Recommended!

[Margo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, clean story, with lots of references to history, mythology, and legends throughout. One of the main characters was a young boy who spoke almost entirely in stereotypical pre-teen phrases, which I thought got a bit old, but younger readers might find amusing. Sin-Sin the Jinn only answers questions with questions when he is first introduced, but later he stops doing that, which seems inconsistent, but didn't ruin the story for me, and younger readers probably wouldn't even notice. The book is a fairly short read. I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

[Kerstin Vollbrecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mythology, legend and a hint to several well known fiction stories are the essence of this book. The author combines the ancient histories and mythologies in a quote confuse way, where the characters are all working together in order to help Jaden and Anjali to accomplish their mission to save the libraries and their contents from destruction by the hands of the Lord of Forgetfulness. Well, it's a adventurous story, but as it kind puff a replication of what already exists, it's not very original or imaginative. The events are well described, but sometimes here are some minor inconsistencies found, which in no way handicap the understanding of the events. The characters are well described, but all in all it has been a very flat read, without much of a developing tension.