Posted in Book Reviews
The next book I’m going to review, Magnus, has also been published under an alternate title, Wings of Dawn. I’ve read some books by the author Sigmund Brouwer before (surprise, surprise, primarily his children’s books), and I’m a fan of his writing.
In his book Magnus, Brouwer takes us back to the Middle Ages and introduces us to two different factions, the Druids, and the Merlins. The evil Druids are a secret organization that desires to take over the country of England, and eventually much more than that. The Merlins just as secretly oppose the Druids at every turn.
Thomas is a young man who has been trained for many years for the purpose of one task—to take back the city of Magnus from the evil forces that rule it. He knows nothing of Druids or Merlins, and he is very surprised to find that there is much more to his quest than meets the eye. He doesn’t know who to trust. The knight who befriended him? The mysterious girl who will never give him the answers he longs for?
Perhaps because I had already read and enjoyed several of Brouwer’s books, I was a little more critical of this book than I usually am of other books. So I’ll air my nitpicks first, and then tell you what I liked.
First, I thought that Brouwer’s usual writing style wasn’t quite as evident in this book. Usually he has a very tongue-in-cheek style, and I didn’t see as much of that. It was there, just not in full force.
The other thing that drove me crazy was the fact that the Merlins, who were the good guys, seemed to justify deception and taking the law into their own hands. For example, at one point in the book, Thomas’s loyalty to the Merlins is called into question. It was decided that if Thomas was a Druid, that he would be executed. Since the Merlins were supposed represent Christians, it drove me crazy that they would do something like that. The only bright spot was that usually their deceptions seemed to backfire on them. It was small consolation.
However, I would definitely say that those were minor annoyance, and that the good outweighed the bad. It was action packed, and while Thomas probably performed some impossible feats of bravery, Brouwer managed to keep me from sitting back and saying, “Yeah, right, that could never happen.” This particular author is also very good at weaving in spiritual elements into his fiction without making it at all preachy.
While this might not be my favorite work by Brouwer, it was still worth reading. In fact, if this was by any other author, I would probably be quite pleased with the discovery of it. I think it is because I’ve enjoyed Brouwer so much in the past that I’m holding him to a higher standard. However, I suggest it with no reservations.
Posted by 
Posted by 
Posted by 
Posted by 
