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puzzlethevampireslayer's review against another edition
5.0
I was really taken aback at how good this book was. If you have a couple hours and you're looking for a good mystery novel, this is definitely for you.
bookishbel's review against another edition
5.0
Read this book late into night and then try to sleep! I know i had some trouble.
dtaylorbooks's review against another edition
4.0
While I didn’t find it scary I did like the story A DEADLY GAME OF MAGIC offered. It’s well-plotted and pretty intricate for one of these old school YA horror novels and I could really appreciate that.
The characters weren’t anything to write home about. They weren’t the greatest to each other but that’s more to the fact that they weren’t actually friends but thrown together for a group project. They didn’t really know each other beyond going to school together. I felt the characters were the weakest part of the book since none of them were all that fleshed out to really invest in. Despite their differences they were all being molded by their parents to be something their parents wanted instead of doing what they wanted so they ended up uniting under that unifying front. But that’s about as deep as the characters got. Considering I did like the story itself quite a bit the lack of character depth didn’t really bother me. They got me through the story and while they were annoying at times they were still heads and tales better than the students at Shadyside High.
The plot itself was pretty well-constructed and breadcrumbs were dropped from the very beginning, threading the plot along so that it left no stone unturned and resolved itself pretty nicely, if not a little creepily. Actually the ending was rather depressing if you think about it for a second. SPOILER ALERT: The husband and wife magician team that these students end up coming across is the culmination of an abusive relationship where the wife was trying to get away from the husband. She didn’t and paid the ultimate price. So while the students’ story resolved rather cleanly and they all got out okay the side story had an incredibly dark ending that really drags it all down the more you think about it. END SPOILER ALERT.
But the way the mystery is woven into the more suspenseful plot is something I really liked. Who’s after them and why? It all gets answered at the end. It’s well-constructed and didn’t have me rolling my eyes at all. Definitely a marked improvement over some of these old school YA horror books. Not the scariest of them but the underlying subplot is creepy in a real world sort of way that digs in a little deeper, I think. The impression it leaves lasts longer. Well worth the read.
4
The characters weren’t anything to write home about. They weren’t the greatest to each other but that’s more to the fact that they weren’t actually friends but thrown together for a group project. They didn’t really know each other beyond going to school together. I felt the characters were the weakest part of the book since none of them were all that fleshed out to really invest in. Despite their differences they were all being molded by their parents to be something their parents wanted instead of doing what they wanted so they ended up uniting under that unifying front. But that’s about as deep as the characters got. Considering I did like the story itself quite a bit the lack of character depth didn’t really bother me. They got me through the story and while they were annoying at times they were still heads and tales better than the students at Shadyside High.
The plot itself was pretty well-constructed and breadcrumbs were dropped from the very beginning, threading the plot along so that it left no stone unturned and resolved itself pretty nicely, if not a little creepily. Actually the ending was rather depressing if you think about it for a second. SPOILER ALERT: The husband and wife magician team that these students end up coming across is the culmination of an abusive relationship where the wife was trying to get away from the husband. She didn’t and paid the ultimate price. So while the students’ story resolved rather cleanly and they all got out okay the side story had an incredibly dark ending that really drags it all down the more you think about it. END SPOILER ALERT.
But the way the mystery is woven into the more suspenseful plot is something I really liked. Who’s after them and why? It all gets answered at the end. It’s well-constructed and didn’t have me rolling my eyes at all. Definitely a marked improvement over some of these old school YA horror books. Not the scariest of them but the underlying subplot is creepy in a real world sort of way that digs in a little deeper, I think. The impression it leaves lasts longer. Well worth the read.
4
spleenix's review against another edition
3.0
This was a pretty good book- the story line was good.
However, her writing style didn't keep me interested.
Not to mention the grammar and spelling mistakes I found about every 5 pages.
However, her writing style didn't keep me interested.
Not to mention the grammar and spelling mistakes I found about every 5 pages.
miggsisalot's review against another edition
4.0
I can't tell you how many times I borrowed this book when I was a teen, and now, as an adult in my mid-30s, I can still say confidently that its creepiness is just as fresh as it was when I first picked it up when I was 14.
mayastone's review
1.0
Ehhhh, four teenagers find themselves in a large and eerie house after their car breaks down in the midst of a storm. Right at the front door they meet the supposed owner of the house who claims that he and his wife are running late for a party and agree to leave the teens inside the house.
And for a night they find themselves in a house of a Magicians wife that seems to be haunted by a ghost as things move, strange voices are heard and people go missing.
The book was small and quick to read but in the end was disappointing. At the risk of spoiling the story the murder had occurred before the teens even entered the house…this is like a Scooby Doo story but with teens. It even comes
with a blossoming love side story and a skeleton of a backstory that's mimicked for all four teens.
Lisa wants to be a Magician but can't because she is overshadowed by her over-achieving siblings whom her parents compare her to, Teena (is annoying) wants to be a judge because she is her parents last hope since her brother was killed in the military and her sister ran away, Julian comes from a family of doctors therefore he is expected to be a doctor too except he wants to dance and finally hillbilly Bo is dumb as bricks and a football star because his father failed to become one thus he lives vicariously through his son.
And for a night they find themselves in a house of a Magicians wife that seems to be haunted by a ghost as things move, strange voices are heard and people go missing.
The book was small and quick to read but in the end was disappointing. At the risk of spoiling the story the murder had occurred before the teens even entered the house…this is like a Scooby Doo story but with teens. It even comes
with a blossoming love side story and a skeleton of a backstory that's mimicked for all four teens.
Lisa wants to be a Magician but can't because she is overshadowed by her over-achieving siblings whom her parents compare her to, Teena (is annoying) wants to be a judge because she is her parents last hope since her brother was killed in the military and her sister ran away, Julian comes from a family of doctors therefore he is expected to be a doctor too except he wants to dance and finally hillbilly Bo is dumb as bricks and a football star because his father failed to become one thus he lives vicariously through his son.
emkoshka's review
3.0
I read a lot of Joan Lowery Nixon's books when I was a child and this was one of my favourites. I vaguely remembered the plot and tracked it down to reread as an adult, even going the extra step of ordering my own copy on Book Depository, but I was disappointed. It's lost some of its magic for me, and the teenage characters are just damn annoying. I have to admit though that the last sentence is a bit of a doozy, hinting at the macabre and malevolent. Would make a good quick read over two winter's nights; maybe the tension would've been sustained better if I'd read it quicker.
capitola's review
3.0
A teenage slasher film in G-rated book form - would have been better if more characters had died.
misskeesa's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad, not great...this book was fairly standard, easy reading, nothing to write home about. Cheap pulp paperback fiction. Mediocre.
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