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mamap's review against another edition
3.0
more like a 3.8 star rating. very surreal. multiple characters who's lives intertwine. pretty good until the end whens shapeless stones become hidden magical creature and the king changes his ways and they all live happily ever after. really? a very safe book.
stephenmeansme's review against another edition
3.0
Not so McKillippy until the climax, which is very McKillippy. And I saw why she did it that way, and I get it, but I don't know if I like the result as much. Fuller review to follow.
zwyrdish's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the story, it carried me along. I felt that the ending was a bit too pat, considering the complexity of the situation.
nickibuzzbuzz's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
louloureadsbooks's review against another edition
No.
This one is not a winner, winner, McKillip dinner for me.
Started out well. Veered off. Too many different strands and nothing really happening.
It's not bad. But I can no longer keep listening in the hope that the next corner will get more exciting and pick up. It doesn't, it just moves to someone else's story and never allows you to get stuck in to anything.
Also, I've got tired of the princess being so totally wet with her aunt.
I like Elver, I like Brendan. All the characters are fine but there are too many different stories and it's diluted.
Does it all come together at the end, is magic freed in Numis, does Valeran get some sense knocked into him? Does Yar free himself? Does Arneth stand up for what he wants? Do the women in the story ever get heard? Does the king get a boot up the bum? Do we find out about the mysterious stones that aren't stones way up in the North? Does Od come back and sort everything out? I don't know and will probably never find out, I simply don't have the patience to listen to anymore.
I liked the narrator by the way.
This one is not a winner, winner, McKillip dinner for me.
Started out well. Veered off. Too many different strands and nothing really happening.
It's not bad. But I can no longer keep listening in the hope that the next corner will get more exciting and pick up. It doesn't, it just moves to someone else's story and never allows you to get stuck in to anything.
Also, I've got tired of the princess being so totally wet with her aunt.
I like Elver, I like Brendan. All the characters are fine but there are too many different stories and it's diluted.
Does it all come together at the end, is magic freed in Numis, does Valeran get some sense knocked into him? Does Yar free himself? Does Arneth stand up for what he wants? Do the women in the story ever get heard? Does the king get a boot up the bum? Do we find out about the mysterious stones that aren't stones way up in the North? Does Od come back and sort everything out? I don't know and will probably never find out, I simply don't have the patience to listen to anymore.
I liked the narrator by the way.
meghan111's review against another edition
4.0
Od is the founder of a school of magic. She appears one day when Brenden is eating lunch in his garden:
Od says that Brenden should journey to the school to work as a gardener, because he has mysterious ways of knowing plants.
Any number of animals seemed to be crawling over her. Mice peered from one shoulder; a raven with a missing claw perched on the other. Lizards clung to her hair. A ferret stuck its head out of her cloak pocket. A great albino ox with a broken horn stood at a polite distance behind her, downwind, or Brenden surely would have smelled it coming. It carried an owl on its unbroken horn. A few mongrels, feral cats, and an old blind she-wolf sat waiting behind the ox."
Od says that Brenden should journey to the school to work as a gardener, because he has mysterious ways of knowing plants.
sonanomander's review against another edition
4.0
What I thought would be about cute and whimsical magic, the story ended being magical fascists vs. a gardener. In short, the premise is a Kingdom of Numis where an ancient magician Od had saved them from a catastrophe and was given leave to start a school of magic, but the centuries old Od was prone to wandering the world so was just a mythical figure in the school. In the time of the story, the King of Numis has become paranoid and sanctioned a strict itinerary for wizards who swear only to serve under him, and enforces this with a fascist squad. The principles of magic fascism comes under assault when Od invites a simple gardener to work for the school and a traveling troupe of performers come to town.
Od Magic is peculiar. I didn't feel it had as much of the ephemeral prose I love reading from McKillip, it was actually a bit more direct and clear. I'm not sure if this is an adequate comparison but it felt like watching the British film of wonder like Hugo. Multiple plot threads, two of them involving finding love in strange places - though it is not the main plot thread or even the main subject of those plot threads. There's a woman facing marriage with a man unwilling to listen to her. There's a gardener caught up in all this mess.
Od Magic is peculiar. I didn't feel it had as much of the ephemeral prose I love reading from McKillip, it was actually a bit more direct and clear. I'm not sure if this is an adequate comparison but it felt like watching the British film of wonder like Hugo. Multiple plot threads, two of them involving finding love in strange places - though it is not the main plot thread or even the main subject of those plot threads. There's a woman facing marriage with a man unwilling to listen to her. There's a gardener caught up in all this mess.
humvee's review against another edition
5.0
A lovely fairytale from a master storyteller
With the passing passing wonderful Patricia McKillip this year, I've committed to rereading old favorites, and catching up on stories I missed. "Od Magic," is one of the classics. A wonderful fairytale full of interesting characters. Very much worth the read or listen!
With the passing passing wonderful Patricia McKillip this year, I've committed to rereading old favorites, and catching up on stories I missed. "Od Magic," is one of the classics. A wonderful fairytale full of interesting characters. Very much worth the read or listen!