Wild Magic

Animalians Hall #1

by Thomas K. Carpenter

There are many ways to die at the Hundred Halls.

Pax Nygard has spent her childhood at the world's most dangerous zoo, and has a psychic fox named Kali as her companion, so she should be well prepared for the challenges that await her at the Animalians Hall. But when mysterious deaths at the local zoo and a dangerous rival create issues, she realizes it's the two legged kind of creature for which she lacks the skills to interact. If she can't learn to navigate the intricacies of human drama, while mastering the skills the hall teaches, then it will be her final year—in school and life.

Genres: Fantasy

261 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 12, 2020

About the author

Thomas K. Carpenter is a full time contemporary fantasy author with over 70 independently published titles. His bestselling, multi-series universe, The Hundred Halls, has over 43 books and counting. His stories focus on fantastic families, magical academies, and epic adventures. All the books can be found at major retailers and directly from the author at https://thomaskcarpenter.com/.

You can sign up for his newsletter at https://www.subscribepage.com/trialso...
When he is not writing, he enjoys playing turn-based strategy games and MTG, skiing, hiking, traveling, and chilling on the couch with his wife and their little dog, Merlin, at home in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.

Reviews

[Gypsy Madden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Thomas Carpenter’s previous Hundred Hall books, this book covers one year in a particular Hall of the foremost magical university in the United States. This time we’re spotlighting on Animalians, the school division that specializes in the care and treatment of magical animals. The story is influenced rather obviously by Harry Potter and The Magicians by Lev Grossman. From Harry Potter, it is inspired by Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures classes. Pax is much akin to Harry himself as in, her parents care little for her and demoralize her at every chance they get, much like the Dursleys. She gains a group of two friends while at the school, like the partnership of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. She also has a rival from a rich, influential family, much like Draco Malfoy. The complicated fingering while performing spells was borrowed from The Magicians, and I even spied a certain scene with some small dragons that happened quite like a certain scene with arctic foxes from The Magicians (which was just as uncomfortable to read in this as it was in The Magicians). Overall, I liked this book. Pax is a nearly perfect character, and very Hermione with all of her knowledge of the animals, down to every single detail, but she does have her failings, like her spell work, and she did pity herself a lot for not having a happy home, and not having the money that other people did, and being rather anti-social because she just didn’t seem to find them as interesting as animals. I did love her relationship with Kali, and her need to try to heal and help all the animals around. I also loved her relationship with Logan. It made him one of the more interesting characters (as compared to her friends who felt a bit threadbare in terms of character roundness). I know he was pretty much a Draco clone, but looked like he might have some further dimension to him as he tried to defend his actions rather than just sneer as Draco would have. And he did actually look like he felt remorse and that some things went further than he had intended. I’m actually hoping for a possible romance between him and Pax as the characters grow during the books. (Granted, I’m one of those who kind of wanted to see a romance between Draco and Hermione since it would have added just so much to his character and shown character growth as he understands the world better around him. But I can’t always get what I want). I was rather disappointed that after the rivalry with Logan played out, he abruptly got dropped from the story as not important. I loved all of her teachers, including the one who sounded like a nod to Steve Irwin, though the having to choose a specialty house, again very Harry Potter. I did love all of the moments with the animals. There were times when I had wished certain creatures had been described better since I was having trouble visualizing based on just the name of the creature. I did love Edgar the octopus and I really hope we get to see more of him. In all, this was a fun book, definitely for fans of Harry Potter who love all of Hagrid’s animals.

[Ana ★ Tesserell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit awkward there's an animal named for a drug - which also dubs as an infectious disease...
Mistake number 2: ANY girl knows blood goes away with cold water, not hot 🤦🏻‍♀️
3. Pet on lap in the plane???? And food from home is not allowed either in airports
4. It's mentioned before that despite the Trials changing every year, it's forbidden to discuss them and yet Esmeralda told Pax all about them
5. Another typical American logic error: "the pain was worth [the good thing]"
6. We haven't moved past the point of obvious love interest caused by juicy lips / sculptured abs aka a random physical attribute is what determines if a complete stranger is forever-soulmate material because what is personality
7. Will the ochre ever stop?
8. Mistaking the Romanian Vlad for a pet name of Russian Vladimir

The positives: Discovering each new protagonist's life. It takes some creativity and makes you curious for more. There is a big parallel between Pax's and Aurie and Pi's character arcs, but as a lesser Hall, the dangers are directly smaller.
Would be nice if at some point the protagonists cross paths. Would also be nice if we entered the post dead Invictus era at some point. Still bitter Pi and Radoslav didn't end up together

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new series in the Hundred Halls ambiance has started with this, the first book about the Animalian Hall, a series which I have long been waiting for, and which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Pax is a girl who comes from a troubled background, hated by her parents and always put down by them but beloved by her baba who encourages her to attempt the Merlin Trials and sponsors her to get there. Pax is fearless and tends to get into a lot of trouble because of her spontaneous nature as she travels with her companion Kali, her pretend silver fox who is more than she seems at first glance. Pax meets Logan an old enemy from back home, who is out to make her life at the halls as difficult as possible, but she also makes friends with Liam and Janelle who stick by her no matter what. They take the trials together and it is only her courage and resourcefulness which sees them all accepted at the halls. Even though she does not take credit for her brave act which saves lives, Pax is just happy to finally be in Invictus, the magical city which took her breath away upon arrival. The year at the hall is full of adventure, as they get to interact with some fantastic magical creatures, but it is not without its challenges. Pax’s teachers find her approach challenging, but she proves to be a very good student, who tackles challenges as they arise in her own unorthodox way. She excels when working with animals as she herself admits that she is not good with people but animals she understands. Her caring nature though comes through, when she proves herself to be a champion for both animals and friends. I loved this exciting first book and am looking forward to reading further into the series, so bring on year 2 and let the fun continue!

[Lcr · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting new Hundred Halls series.

There is nothing I can say about this book that will do it justice. Pax and Kali are both delightful and intriguing and their story is interesting as well as complex. The Hundred Halls is exactly what you expect and if you are new to this world then prepare for an adventure..
This is a wonderful book and I read it in one go as I couldn't put it down. I definitely recommend this book. Thomas K Carpenter is a very talented author who brings his books alive and draws you into his world.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild Magic by Thomas K Carpenter is Book 1 in the Animalians Hall series. The world building and storyline are wonderfully developed. Animalians Hall is in the magical university specializing in the care and treatment of magical animals. The characters and creatures are interesting. Pax, Kali, Logan, and classmates have unique adventures waiting for them during this first year. This is a fast paced, action filled, easy to read fantasy world filled with twists/turns and marvelous creatures. Looking forward to next in series.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

The start of another good Hundred Halls series

I really enjoyed this book. It really opens up the world of Invictus, adding lots of new magical beasts to the books. And I really liked Pax. I'm a sucker for a character that is convinced they're evil. The other characters are also well drawn. And while the stakes are raised and a massive conflict ensues, even the scenes where the characters are just going to classes are interesting.

[Quilting Tangent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting new hall!
Pax and her classmates have some unique adventures in their first year, where they meet all sorts of magical animals. Interesting characters in this story, that has twists and turns that will keep you guessing. Some slow spots. There are a lot of adventures that could happen in this hall, looking forward to the series.

[MICHAEL J THIEMAN JR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another awesome entry!

Easily my favorite series of books. The hundred halls is an ingenious world filled with awesome and intriguing characters. All your favorite fantasies are historical fact and you never know if the protagonist is a descendant of some mythical hero or just a regular every body. Please read!

[sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a pleasure

Always a pleasure to sink my teeth into another Hundred Halls book, and if it’s not too much to ask, I would be THRILLED if the author wrote a series at every single one of them. The universe and people he created are so special and unique every time. I’m really not sure how Thomas Carpenter isn’t a household name by now.

[Stuart Macmartin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well done magic-school-tropes story. Charming. Even the Xanth-magician-like trials that are standard for this series (at least of the ones I’ve read so far) are growing on me despite the inherent silliness that they make no sense from the school’s point of view, which I noted in the first of these I read. But the author keeps me reading, so sure, I’ll read more.

[MystiqueLaLynx]

If you've read his other earlier works about the 100 halls - this is a good addition to the series. While I personally didn't enjoy the beginning of the 100 halls - (Trials of magic) it was a bit simple and had a lot of standard teen tropes that I didn't like even as a teen.
I found this one similar but better - maybe because I love stories about animals and magic.

[Georgia Tumbleweed McNabb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Start to the Series

I enjoyed this story so far and might be interested enough to continue this series.
I enjoyed this world, but would have like more depth of it. The characters in this are relatively young (18 and older), but this is magical school if you pass the entrance tests.

[Liza Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow such an epic adventure with loads of action, intrigue, amazing animals! I really loved reading this book. If you enjoy the supernatural with loads of adventure and relatable characters you should read this book! I can't wait for book 2!

[Paula Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book!

What an awesome start to what I'm sure will be an awesome series. Janelle and Liam are the perfect heroes. I can't wait to see what happens next! Keep churning out the awesome stories, Tom!

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great start of a Hundred Halls series featuring the Animalians Hall which means lots of magical animals.
Loved the animal companion of Pax.
The plot moving along just great, I didn't want to stop reading, I wanted to know what's going on next.
Another great school adventure

[Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was nice enough but not really exciting. I’m probably not the right target audience either.