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Magic Time #3
Ghostlands
The Barnes & Noble Review
Magic Time: Ghostlands, the third and concluding volume of Marc Scott Zicree's Magic Time trilogy, is a post-apocalyptic epic comparable to Stephen King's The Stand. It follows visionary Cal Griffin and his misfit band of followers as they travel across a much-transformed America where machinery no longer runs and the surviving populace are slowly being mutated into nightmarish "post-humans" with terrifying powers.
Magic Time: Ghostlands, the third and concluding volume of Marc Scott Zicree's Magic Time trilogy, is a post-apocalyptic epic comparable to Stephen King's The Stand. It follows visionary Cal Griffin and his misfit band of followers as they travel across a much-transformed America where machinery no longer runs and the surviving populace are slowly being mutated into nightmarish "post-humans" with terrifying powers.
On a quixotic mission to find his abducted sister and somehow defeat the mysterious Source, a secret government project that inexplicably stopped all technology and for all practical purposes destroyed modern civilization, Griffin is joined on his quest by a group of unlikely protagonists. Colleen Brooks, a mechanic turned warrior; expatriate Russian doctor Viktor Lysenko; bipolar mystic Herman Goldman; and federal agent Larry Shango. All want to defeat the Source for their own personal reasons; but will this army of outcasts be able to destroy a godlike entity that grows stronger by the hour?
With masterful characterization, nonstop action, and a fascinating plot that seamlessly intertwines science fiction, fantasy, and horror, Zicree's Magic Time trilogy (Magic Time, coauthored by Barbara Hambly, and Magic Time: Angelfire, coauthored by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff) should definitely be high up on the reading lists of anyone who is a fan of post-apocalyptic classics like Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's Lucifer's Hammer and Robert R. McCammon's Swan Song. Paul Goat Allen
Audio CD
First published May 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 30, 2025
It took me almost 20 years to finish this trilogy and I can honestly say that the wait was not worth it. The concept for the books is great. It's an exciting premise. But everything about this reeks of the intent to make this into visual media. This book reads like a pitch for a new TV show, and I mean that in a derogatory way. When I read a book, I want to read the story. I don't want to feel like I'm just the product someone is trying to sell a producer. Like "Hey, look at all these idiots that read it! It would be a great show!"
I wanted desperately to like this. And frankly, throughout this I was like okay, book 1 was weak and book 2 was terrible but I'm enjoying book 3. I really thought, this is a solid 4 star book, until I started really seeing the threads. It's okay to be inspired by Stephen King's The Stand, but this was more like someone rewrote The Stand from memory and they weren't that good at remembering things accurately. There was the addition of characters that felt like they were only there to provide the token "magical nonwhite" character. The plot seemed to drag out. King managed to put it all in one book, why couldn't Zicree? Is it because he didn't actually provide anything for these books except the editing and because of that, we have significant and detrimental changes in tone from book to book? Probably. This just lacked enough everywhere to make it a subpar post-apocalyptic series.
It also had an open-ended ending that is insultingly weak.
I wanted desperately to like this. And frankly, throughout this I was like okay, book 1 was weak and book 2 was terrible but I'm enjoying book 3. I really thought, this is a solid 4 star book, until I started really seeing the threads. It's okay to be inspired by Stephen King's The Stand, but this was more like someone rewrote The Stand from memory and they weren't that good at remembering things accurately. There was the addition of characters that felt like they were only there to provide the token "magical nonwhite" character. The plot seemed to drag out. King managed to put it all in one book, why couldn't Zicree? Is it because he didn't actually provide anything for these books except the editing and because of that, we have significant and detrimental changes in tone from book to book? Probably. This just lacked enough everywhere to make it a subpar post-apocalyptic series.
It also had an open-ended ending that is insultingly weak.
September 6, 2026
Maybe cut down on the poisonous fungi?
And stop smoking banana peels.
Both are natural, but so are arsenic and cyanide.
The first book in this series, Magic Time, took a great, if not original idea, what if electronics and gunpowder stop working?
Chaos, of course, but how?
Unfourtunately, it quickly turned into a sort of computer game, with violence for the sake of violence, and horror for the sake of horror. Because there is magic instead, the bad kind...
The reason given is that Science is Evil, and people wanting Power are Evil. As long as they are not on "Our Side", of course...
Tiresome, but I thought that I would have a look at the rest of the series. I had never heard of the co-Authouress, and the description and the sample convinced me that it was just another RPG Quest story.
But Robert Charles Wilson is a good writer. The first two parts are very much better than Magic Time. There is logic and reason, even a slight attempt to explain the "Science".
After that I guess Mr Wilson jumped ship...
The third part is just like the first book. Violence, hatred (not really explained), and horror. Altered Mind States.
The last 20% prove why hallucinogens and psychedelic drugs are bad for you. They give you nightmares, like the ending, and they make you dangerous for other people to be around, even if they love you.
Don't blame other people for your own bad choices.
There are hints of a sequel. Thank goodness, there isn't one.
And stop smoking banana peels.
Both are natural, but so are arsenic and cyanide.
The first book in this series, Magic Time, took a great, if not original idea, what if electronics and gunpowder stop working?
Chaos, of course, but how?
Unfourtunately, it quickly turned into a sort of computer game, with violence for the sake of violence, and horror for the sake of horror. Because there is magic instead, the bad kind...
The reason given is that Science is Evil, and people wanting Power are Evil. As long as they are not on "Our Side", of course...
Tiresome, but I thought that I would have a look at the rest of the series. I had never heard of the co-Authouress, and the description and the sample convinced me that it was just another RPG Quest story.
But Robert Charles Wilson is a good writer. The first two parts are very much better than Magic Time. There is logic and reason, even a slight attempt to explain the "Science".
After that I guess Mr Wilson jumped ship...
The third part is just like the first book. Violence, hatred (not really explained), and horror. Altered Mind States.
The last 20% prove why hallucinogens and psychedelic drugs are bad for you. They give you nightmares, like the ending, and they make you dangerous for other people to be around, even if they love you.
Don't blame other people for your own bad choices.
There are hints of a sequel. Thank goodness, there isn't one.
December 8, 2021
Steven King knockoff
Had to check and make sure King did not write this book. Even a few of Kings stock lines in the book. If memory serves they were headed to Colorado in the King version
Had to check and make sure King did not write this book. Even a few of Kings stock lines in the book. If memory serves they were headed to Colorado in the King version
April 13, 2018
I know it was based on an idea for a TV show, but it would have been nice to have a finite ending. Plus, this one lacked on the energy and action the previous two had.
March 14, 2016
The story concept is great but overall the book drove me crazy.
The description says the book is nonstop action... This is a lie unless you consider constant flashbacks and constant internal philosophical thoughts nonstop action. I'm fairly confident that if you removed the seemingly endless 'what it means to be human' and 'what it means to love' parts you could cut this book down to a quarter of its size.
This book felt more like I was reading a philosophy essay pretending to be an action adventure. If you're into that then that's great but I felt like I was being hit over the head with it.
The description says the book is nonstop action... This is a lie unless you consider constant flashbacks and constant internal philosophical thoughts nonstop action. I'm fairly confident that if you removed the seemingly endless 'what it means to be human' and 'what it means to love' parts you could cut this book down to a quarter of its size.
This book felt more like I was reading a philosophy essay pretending to be an action adventure. If you're into that then that's great but I felt like I was being hit over the head with it.
November 21, 2008
This ended up being a fun trilogy. It has its moments of cliched fantasy tropes and it has its moments of pure fun. It's a quest story with a nice troop of characters. Characters evolve and change, face problems, face the brink, and lots happens. There are a few moments when the story drags a bit, but for the most part it's fairly well-paced and pretty enjoyable.
Also, any character in a story that can reference Star Trek and Blade Runner is awesome.
Also, any character in a story that can reference Star Trek and Blade Runner is awesome.
October 28, 2010
Fun/Inventive post apocryphal story of the loss of tech and the rise of magic, similar to the Shadow Run role playing game that game out in the late 80s. (except Shadow Run kept tech as well).
The payoff in the end was a bit of a let down for me. The buildup was great but the payoff didn't live up to expectations. Great series overall.
The payoff in the end was a bit of a let down for me. The buildup was great but the payoff didn't live up to expectations. Great series overall.
December 2, 2008
Kind of "simple" in some ways, yet still well done and enjoyable. As I've said about other books in this style, it's not going to change how you view the genre, there are no mind-bending twists or what-have-you...but it's also not going to detract from your overall opinion of it either.
February 1, 2010
I love characters and endings like this, well almost. I like total wrap up and this leaves it wide open for episodes and continued interpretation. But I like the character development and the, to me, unexpected resolution.
March 31, 2010
After following the trails leading to the Source, what changed the world forever, a small band of travelers must work to save the remaining pieces of humanity from being consumed by the all-hungry Source.
February 13, 2015
Very readable trilogy - one step behind great but I am glad I have read it. Maybe if Barbara Hambly had continued to the end her writing and characterization would have raised it another half star to the 5 star level. Overall a good series and very worth reading
March 23, 2009
Best of the three books in the series, great ending. Detail and imagery was amazing. When Zicree described 'The Source' I could just SEE it!
May 21, 2009
Was a good ending for the series.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews