Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jul 2017
512 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
From Unhooked author Lisa Maxwell comes a captivating new world filled with magic and deception, about a girl who must travel back in time to find a mysterious book that could save her future.
Stop the Magician.
Steal the book.
Save the future.
In modern day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic - the Mageus - live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power - and often their lives.
Esta is a talented thief, and she's been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she's there. And all of Esta's training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order - and the Brink - before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future.
But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.
"The pace is somewhat slow, and Maxwell leans on a few too many clichés - including a hulking black character with medicine man–like healing powers and an Chinese assassin who relies on stealth - but altogether she provides a solid introduction into her new world." - Publishers Weekly
"Hand this off to fantasy buffs who appreciate historical fiction, since a good deal of the novel takes place in the early twentieth century, and Maxwell's attention to detail makes that time period seem vivid and compelling. " - BCCB
"A mix of historical fiction, romance, fantasy, and magic, the well-plotted and tightly paced story moves between present day and 1901 New York, a time of gangs, tenements, turf wars, and a fascination with science and technology as a cure for society's ills." - Booklist
"Hard-core magic and fantasy devotees might enjoy this ambitious tale, but more casual fans will be better served by the works of Maggie Stiefvater and Cassandra Clare." - School Library Journal
"A doorstopper with a total shakeup of an ending: don't miss this splendid series opener." - Kirkus
This information about The Last Magician was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Lisa Maxwell is the author of The Last Magician, Unhooked, Sweet Unrest, and The Gathering Deep. She grew up in Akron, Ohio, and has a PhD in English. She's worked as a teacher, scholar, editor, writer, and bookseller (at Little Professor Book Center in Alabama). When she's not writing books, she's a professor at a local college. She now lives near Washington, DC, with her husband and two sons. You can follow her on Twitter @LisaMaxwellYA or learn more about her upcoming books at Lisa-Maxwell.com.
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