The Magi - Kevin M. Turner

Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages:  432
Source:  Copy received from author in exchange for my honest review
Genre:  Middle Grade/Young Adult Fantasy

From Goodreads:
Thirteen-year-old Elijah Hawk has never heard of the Magi. He doesn't know about the secret power they have. He has never been to Savenridge, the Magi city hidden deep inside the northern forests. Most of all, Elijah is unaware of the dangers hunting him, in search for something he has. After one terrifying night, however, all of that changes! 

On a quest to solve the murder of his parents, Elijah stumbles upon the land of the Magi. Learning their secrets and training with their power is the least of his problems. In order to find out why his parents were killed, Elijah learns that he must confront the dangers that are hunting him. What's more terrifying is learning that stumbling upon this new world of the Magi may not have been an accident after all.


My Thoughts:
Kevin Turner is an extremely accomplished writer.  When I started out reading The Magi I was drawn to the fact that Elijah Hawk reminded me of Harry Potter.  Harry's parents were killed by his enemy and Harry didn't understand at first that he was special and there was a "plan" for his life.  Such is the life of Elijah Hawk. He awakes with a feeling that something in his house is wrong and he needs to get out, escape.  He does so and runs into his father in the yard.  His dad tells him to run and to know that there is a plan.  That is the last time he sees any of his family alive.  Elijah is sent to live with his uncle until his uncle is "supposedly" arrested, and the creepy detective who originally questioned him about his parent's and sister's death comes for him.  He is delivered to Saint Phillip's Academy in Canada.  He is befriended by Roddick, one of his teachers.  Essentially he is rescued from there, along with his roommate Samuel.  They are taken to Savenridge where a group of Magi live.  Elijah fits right in.  He learns that the Maliphists are after him.  Now all he needs to do is stay alive and find out why they want him dead.


I'm not sure I could really tell you how much I enjoyed this book.  I enjoyed it enough to write the name and author on the board at school and told all of my students that if they had an e-reader they needed to purchase this book.  If they didn't own an e-reader they needed to order the book as soon as possible.  This is going to be one of those books that is hard to wait for the sequels.  


Kevin Turner is someone I admire for several reasons.  Like me, he is a middle school English teacher.  I am a published author.  I know we should never compare our writing to another and I won't.  We write different genres.  However, I am striving to create the type of story and voice that flows as well as Kevin's.  His writing is pure magic.  I was there in Savenridge  with Elijah.  I was in the Maliphist's prison with Elijah.  I could visualize the characters and the landscape.  I could feel the power.  The most intriguing part was the science.  When Elijah began to study the elements I realized I'd never really thought about the properties of water and how it reacted.  It was a refreshing story to read and one I will tell everyone about.

About the Author:
The Magi is Kevin’s first novel, but he has been writing since he could hold a pen. He is in the middle of the next installment of The Magi Series. Kevin is a middle school English teacher and a professor of philosophy and education. He currently lives in California with his wife and daughter and two dogs.



Where you can find him:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/themagiseries
Facebook: http://facebook.com/themagiseries
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/kevinmturner
His blog: http://themagiseriers.blogspot.com