The Face in the Frost - John Bellairs Book Review

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Review Summaries

"Prospero is a magician who lives in a very unusual (and very cluttered) house. When his friend Roger Bacon comes to visit, they both realize something is seriously amiss. There have been many signs and portents - a huge, malicious moth, a skeletal birds, bad omens from magical mirrors. After Prospero examines a book Bacon has brought with him, he realizes an old enemy is behind this, and is plotting evil. Prospero and Bacon set out to thwart said evil; during their journeys, they encounter many magical and mundane problems, and rely on their wits as much as their magic to save them. By turns creepy, suspenseful, and funny, Bellairs' first book defies classification - but it's definitely a fantasy classic."
Ivy, Resident John Bellairs Scholar

"Prospero, a wizard living quietly in an insanely eccentric house, is visited by his friend, Roger Bacon. They both have been having uneasy feelings and premonitions, and must travel to stop what is behind them. These are very down-to- earth, unpretentious wizards, so the building horror is that more frightening. An absolutely classic book that does not fit neatly into most categories. "
Shelley Waltzer, Resident John Bellairs Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%

FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past
Mental/magical powers focus Yes
magical powers: - clash between evenly matched magical power(s) (fantasy)
Is this an adult or child's book? - Kid's book (ages 7-14)

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Age: - 60's-90's
Has magical/special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character: - can cast many different spells - can read emotions
Eccentric: Yes - eccentric
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 60's-90's
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can change shapes - can cast all sorts of spells - is very quick
Eccentric: Yes - obsessed - emotionally unstable - wild
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount - throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Terrain - Forests
Earth setting: - general past
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a primitive/fantasy society
Takes place on Earth? Yes
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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