The Illusionist - Abby Goldsmith Book Review

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"The Illusionist"
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Review Summaries

"All her life, VALA has longed to leave the wealthy seaside tourist town of her birth, where interstellar celebrities and foreign royalty beg services from the mighty YERESUNSA ORDER of sorcerers. Unable to afford travel to foreign places, Vala sees an opportunity in MAGG, an alien merchant who promises to pay Vala for guidance to the office of a telepath. Magg requires the telepath to determine which of his employees has been embezzling from his company... but the telepath accuses an innocent accountant. As Magg's employees begin to vanish or die in freak accidents, Magg sends Vala a warning that she may be in danger from having been seen talking with him. His warning comes too late. Together, Magg and Vala are capitulated into a high-stakes plot of mind control and memory erasure, masterminded by Illusionist AUDAVIAN, a powerful member of the Yeresunsa Order. The merchant and the teenage girl suffer through poisoning, betrayal, and brainwashing at the whims of their enemy, rescuing each other from fatal situations, until at last they uncover the simple motive behind the machinations, and reveal the corruption at the heart of the Yeresunsa Order. "
Abby Goldsmith, Resident Abby Goldsmith 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 - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Spying & Investigations Yes
What is main char. doing? - finding a killer (criminal)
Mental/magical powers focus Yes
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - student
Age: - a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - magical being
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - telekinesis - mind reading - mind control - can read emotions
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Terrain - Water
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a futuristic society - neutral aliens
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - none/very little science jargon needed
How much dialogue? - 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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