Midnight Magic

by Avi Narrated by Jeff Woodman

Overview

On a stormy night in the Kingdom of Pergamontio, an insistent knocking brings Fabrizio, the servant boy, to the door. Outside stands a solider summoning Fabrizio's master, Mangus the Magician, to the king's castle. Because Mangus has been under house arrest for confessing to be a magician, he cannot imagine why the king is calling for him.

But magic is exactly what the king needs. He wants Mangus to free his daughter from the torment of a terrifying ghost. Mangus's life will depend on his success.

Editorial Reviews

Horn Book Magazine

What better place for some midnight magic than a dank, medieval castle replete with hidden doorways, secret passages, and a daunting spiral staircase? In the summer of 1491 a servant boy named Fabrizio and his master, a retired magician, are urgently summond to this castello in the Italian kingdom of Pergamontio. Young princess Teresina has witnessed a frightening apparition, which she claims is the ghost of her murdered brother. While Mangu the Magician attempts to solve the mysery through reason and deduction, his twelve-year-old servant roams the castle halls, where he eventually sees the ghost himself. Fabrizio, who is not above using a little sleight-of-hand to secure an advantage, befriends Teresina and learns that the ten-year-old princess will soon be betrothed to her father's adviser, Cont Scarazoni. Although Teresina shows Fabrizio the secret chambers of the castle, she does not share all the secrets she knows. Indeed, most of the characters in the novel withhold information from one another, and Fabrizio is left in the dark both literally and figuratively when, at the book's climax, he must race through the castle's pitch-black corridors and help Mangus conjure up an illusion that may save the monarchy. Readers who can get past the misleadingly romantic cover illustration will discover an old-fashioned story that emphasizes plot over characterization. Brave orphan boys, feisty princesses, and villainous royal advisers are all familiar, timeworn roles, and the character never emerge as unique individuals here a flaw further magnified by their arch, often melodramatic dialogue. However, Avi uses some literary sleight-of-hand to make the pages fly with intrigue and action.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Taut and suspenseful, this vivid mystery set in an imaginary kingdom of Renaissance Italy is vintage Avi. The story starts with a bang as an unmarked coach arrives one stormy night at the home of Mangus the magician, who is under house arrest for his knowledge of the dark arts. Mangus, as readers quickly learn, is no wizard but a former entertainer, and he in fact scoffs at the notion of magic. He protests vigorously when he is summoned to the castle (along with his 12-year-old servant, Fabrizio) and ordered to help free the princess from her visions of a terrifying ghost. All is not as it seems, however, as the pair discover a court intrigue involving a missing prince, a murder, hidden passageways and the king's Machiavellian adviser, Count Scarazoni. Weaving in the age-old clash between superstition and reason, Avi creates a sort of 15th-century Holmes and Watson in the characters of Mangus and Fabrizio, who continually trade aphorisms (" `Fabrizio, if you buy with ignorance, you will be paid with the same coin.' `But, Master, you know what people say, False gold often buys more than iron' "). With snappy dialogue, nonstop action and lavishly embroidered period backdrops, this will please Avi's fans and may well win over some new ones. Ages 10-14. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

From the Publisher

Praise for Midnight Magic:

* "With snappy dialogue, nonstop action and lavishly embroidered period backdrops, this will please Avi's fans and may well win over some new ones."— Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The pages fly with intrigue and action." — The Horn Book

Praise for Murder at Midnight:

"Readers will be glued to this suspenseful, headlong caper from first page to last." — Kirkus Reviews

"The suspense simmer[s] right through to the end." — Booklist

FEBRUARY 2011 - AudioFile

In the kingdom of Pergamontio, in days of yore, a servant boy named Fabrizio tries to help his master, Magnus the Magician, figure out royal intrigues that could lead to death for both boy and old man. Will the boy's headstrong choices doom them both—or solve the mystery of the haunted castello? Newbery Medal winner Avi gives us another absorbing adventure, and Jeff Woodman is in top form. He provides listeners intimate access to voices young, old, male, female, and, perhaps, even ghostly. In this tale of magic versus reason, Woodman casts a spell, drawing listeners down twisting stairs lit by flickering candle sconces, revealing his characters at every turn. M.M.C. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171262747
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2010
Series:	Midnight Magic Series , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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