Chronicles of a Magi: The Seventh Mountain
by Gene Curtis

The desert smelled hot, like a smoldering griddle. The white-hot brightness beat Mark’s shadow into a small oval that sought solace beneath him. He knelt, touched the sand and his fingers seared. Fist sized stones baked on the desolate landscape and black distortions shimmered in the expanse that stretched before him. A stone wall blocked the way to a terraced mountain that stood far in the distance. It was a mountain unlike any he had ever seen yet it stood there, enduring, stoic, facing the onslaught of heat and time. This wasn’t the way to school.

And with this strange juxtaposition begins Chronicles of the Magi, the story of a young man destine to become a warrior-wizard. Mark Young is a typical pre-teen whose greatest problem is the constant verbal abuse from his older brother, until a strange dream launches an increasingly bizarre series of events that begins to unlock the secrets of his destiny.

I am a bit indifferent to the novel. There are times when the writer does an incredible job of creating a tactile, lush visualization of a scene, particularly with Mark’s early dream sequences. But there are also too many points where the description and dialogue are just bland and mundane. This inconsistency makes it difficult to stay with the story. There are also missed opportunities for character development, such as when we are first introduced to Mark’s parents.

Steve looked at Shirley. They both had a prickle of trepidation. Was this the beginning of the prediction that the hooded man had spoken of, or was it just Mark’s natural apprehension of starting junior high school next year?

This statement comes across as awkward, as there is no set-up for it. At this juncture, we know Mark’s father is in the military and the family is pretty ordinary. Yet suddenly this allusion to a strange prophecy comes out of nowhere and is just as quickly dropped. It is also an example of a constant changing of point of view that is so common in modern fiction yet rarely done well. It is obvious that this is suppose to be Mark’s story, yet instead of allowing the story to develop from Mark’s perspective, the author constantly uses the perspective of other characters to “drop hints” that either confuse the issue or are simply unnecessary.

The novel as a whole reads as a solid first draft, but not a finished book. Spotty character development and unneeded changes in point of view make it hard to follow the characters and the story. It is apparent that the author has a solid concept behind the tale, but has some difficulty maintaining consistency throughout. Grammatically, the book is well edited and easy to read. A good stylistic edit with a consistent POV would give this book the opportunity to fulfill the promise it offers a great coming of age story.

Gloomwing Review by Julie Ann Dawson

Pages: 280
Softcover ISBN:1-4116-6282-2
Softcover ($14.95) available at http://www.lulu.com/content/188979

Hardcover ISBN:1-4116-6206-7
Softcover ($26.94) available at http://www.lulu.com/content/189055

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