High Wizardry

by Diane Duane Narrated by Christina Moore

Overview

As young wizards, Nita and her friend, Kit, share magic spells and spectacular adventures. Twice, they have successfully thwarted a dark power called the Lone One. Each victory has protected the universe against its paralyzing force-for a while. But now Darine, Nita's 10-year-old sister, has found her wizard's manual. With the help of a laptop computer, Darine has not only absorbed the book's wisdom, she has become a powerful wizard herself. Setting off on a jaunt to distant galaxies, Darine doesn't realize she is headed toward a confrontation with the Lone One. Can Nita and Kit find her in time to help? Children love Diane Duane's works for their fast-paced combination of sorcery and suspense. She adds wonderful technological twists to this third book in her Wizardry series, and narrator Christina Moore's voice adds just the right touch of magic.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

``Duane is tops in the high adventure business,'' said PW in praise of this ``rollicking yarn'' about the escapades of teenage wizards Nita and Kit. Ages 10-14. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Duane is tops in the high adventure business. . . . This rollicking yarn will delight readers."

Kirkus Reviews

Enormous fun.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-- In this sequel to So You Want to Be a Wizard (1983) and Deep Wizardry (1985, both Delacorte), Duane takes her young wizards, Nita and Kit, into the farthest reaches of space. Nita's younger sister, Dairine, plunges impetuously into wizardry, propelled not by the manual Nita and Kit found so convenient, but by a computer. An experienced hacker at age 11, Dairine discovers that her family's new computer comes equipped with a software wizard's manual that enables it to copy itself, shrink to pocket size, and transport Dairine across the universe. Alternate chapters follow rescue efforts by Nita and Kit. Reunited on a distant planet, the three children, together with beings Dairine and the computer have created, confront the Lone One, the biblical Lucifer, over nothing less than the salvation of the universe. Audacious in theme as L'Engle's time trilogy (Farrar), Duane's story is a homage to the science fiction of the 1950s, particularly Heinlein. The imaginative BEMs (Bug Eyed Monsters) are drawn from this tradition, as is one of the best scenes in the book, a chase through a spaceport crowded with alien lifeforms. Although the plot keeps readers guessing, the narrative flow is interrupted by chunks of undigested information about computers and astronomy. Duane's vision never rises above the pop Jungian theology of the Star Wars films, to which she constantly refers. Recommended where readers have enjoyed the earlier books. --Margaret A. Chang, Buxton School, Williamstown, MA

JUN/JUL 01 - AudioFile

HIGH WIZARDRY is the third book in a fantasy series that involves our world, space, and alternate universes. The plots tend to get very technical with scientific jargon--in this case, computer technology--which makes them far easier to listen to than to read. This story focuses on Darine, a 10-year-old new to wizardry and the necessary spells, but a genius with--and without--computers. Christina Moore's narration imbues Darine with intelligence, impatience, and arrogance. Lacking the emotional maturity and wisdom of the older children and adults, she is a child who holds herself apart from others. Darine's sister Nita and her friend Kit, along with the parents and others they meet, are easily distinguished by tone and accent. Moore's vocal flexibility truly shines through as she gives a distinct voice and personality to each of the computer robots Darine creates--within the clipped, modulated speech pattern typical of all mechanical voices. W.L.S. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170702138
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	02/24/2008
Series:	Young Wizards , #3
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

Passwords

Nita went white with shock at the sight of Dairine. Dairine didn't care. "You're going to tell me everything," she said, and ran down the beach to distract her parents just long enough for Nita and Kit-also just changed back from a whale-to get back into their bathing suits. And after the noisy, angry scene with their parents that followed, after the house was quiet, Dairine went to Nita's room, where Kit was waiting, too, and let them tell her the whole story.

Wizard's manuals, oaths, wizardry, spells, quests, terrible dangers beyond the world, great powers that moved unseen and unsuspected beneath the surface of everyday existence and every now and then broke surface-Dairine was ecstatic. It was all there, everything she had longed for. And if they could have it, she could have it too. . . .

Dairine saw their faces fall and felt the soft laughter of the world starting behind her back again. You couldn't have this magic unless you were offered it by the Powers that controlled it. Yes, sometimes it ran in families, but there was no guarantee that it would ever pass to you. . . .

At that point Dairine began to shut their words out. She promised to keep their secret for the time being and to cover for them the best she could. But inside she was all one great frustrated cry of rage: Why them-why them and not me! Days later, when the cry ebbed, the frustration gave way to blunt, stubborn determination. I'll have it. I will.

Copyright © 1990 by Diane Duane

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to the following address:

Permissions Department, Harcourt, Inc.,
6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887

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