Secret of Sixth Magic

Lyndon Hardy wrote a wonderful trilogy Master of the Five Magics Secret of the Sixth Magic Riddle of the Seven Realms I highly recommend all three books and I hope someone out there will reprint them in hardcover editions! Hint Hint ;-)

A strong sequel to 'Master of Five Magics,' we return to Alodar's world with a different protagonist -- Jemidon, (failed) apprentice sorcerer. I remember the frustration I felt with Jemidon as he tried casting spells over and over again, getting them technically perfect, but still messing up. Like Alodar, we follow a hero who fails and fails but never gives up or gives in. The sort of person I can truly identify with and respect. The world building is excellent, as we are introduced to the sixth magic, that of meta-laws. This may be a stumbling block for less intellegent readers, but I loved it. Complex, logical, and self-consistant, Hardy writes part of the novel as the 'hi-tech' of magic. We even do world jumping. The setting are memorable, and I can still feel the desperation behind Jemidon's efforts as he constantly reconfigures his focus-puzzle, trying to escape one of the many traps that catch him. The plot kept taking new unexpected directions, typical of Hardy, and the narrative pacing is everything you could hope for. The dialogue isn't the modern witticisms or biting sarcasm, but that makes the novel into a good story instead of a wannabe television scriptline. This novel has my stamp of quality and recommendations. If you are a logical mind, such as an engineering student or scientist who enjoys fantasy, you will consider this Lyndon Hardy's best work.

This book has one thing that so many other fantasy books are lacking - SOLID RULES. There are hard and fast laws that govern the actions of magic, and Lyndon Hardy has quantified them, and gotten them down to the point where they're considered more like a craft akin to blacksmithing than anything else. So for anyone who's ever wondered what's the guiding principles behind WHY somebody can just have a fireball appear out of nowhere... this is the book for you.

I found a copy I had read years and years ago, so I re-read it last night ... Probably one of the best pieces of Fantasy fiction I've ever read. The theories were well worked out, and the main character was developed enough so that you actually cared about what happened to him.

In this sequel to the Master of the Five Magics, you follow a blundering young man as he tries to understand why the five magics are failing. The antagonist in this book is dark and mysterious, and the whole time you are reading the book you want to more about him. If you have read the first book, then take the time to read this one. You will enjoy it as much.