A Perilous Power - E. Rose Sabin Book Review

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Review Summary

Tor, Jan 2004, 19.95, 288 pp.
ISBN 0765308597

In the village of Amesley, seventeen year old Trevor Blake has won a scholarship to the university, much to the dismay of Mistress Hanley, who believes her daughter should have won it. Trevor and his friend Les Simonton visit Trevor's uncle and the neighbors catch them practicing Magic. With a little skilled magic the neighbors forget what they saw and Trevor is forced to give up his scholarship otherwise Mistress Hanley will reveal Trevor's powers.

Trevor's uncle sponsors Trevor and Les, in the teeming metropolis of Port-of-Lords. When they get off the train they meet Carl who steals their money and letters. After they end up in jail, Trevor sends a mental call for help and Veronica answers the summons. While Les likes Veronica, Trevor only wants to meet the man who will teach him to become an Adept. However, he becomes entangled once again with Carl and a power hungry sorcerer who tries to make then his slaves. It will take a miracle to defeat the evil Carl and his master Dr. Tenney.

Comparisons between Trevor and Harry Potter are inevitable but the latter is more youthful and cocky than Master Potter is. It is Les, who will do anything to save his friends, that is the real hero because the Adepts say he has magical powers but he doesn't believe them. The villains are stereotypical but it is a lot of fun to hope they fail. E. Rose Sabin has targeted her work for young adult fantasy fans but anyone who likes a good tale will want to read A PERILOUS POWER.

Harriet Klausner

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Detailed literary breakdown of A Perilous Power

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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 - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past
Coming of age Yes
Youngster becomes - a powerful magician
Inner Struggle Yes
Plotlet: - coping with mental/magical powers
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Age: - a teen
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mage/magician
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
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
Earth setting: - during "Tolkien" (fairytime) times
Takes place on Earth? Yes

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

Most similar books to A Perilous Power
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A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer
Fortress In The Eye Of Time by C.J. Cherryh
The Sword of Calandra - The Winter King's War 2 by Susan Dexter

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

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