Tag B.B. Alston

Amari and the Metalwork Menace

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Amari and the Metalwork Menace
B.B. Alston
Farshore

In this fourth book we find 8th grader, Amari, one of the very best magicians ever, deciding she’s had enough of magic. Unexpectedly she’s found swimming has a calming effect on her and has had an offer to take the sport further, so she’s decided to retire as a Junior Ranger from the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. She’s still traumatised by having lost a mentor on her last mission and retiring will assuage the feeling of terrible grief. However so doing will also mean giving up on her friends in the face of a huge crisis: the Metalwork Menace is overtaking the supernatural world and she’s already seen the Bureau’s recruitment and also retirement officer, Mr Ware’s hand suddenly turned to metal.

It’s when a close friend starts turning to metal and is sent to the clinic, that Amari decides she must defer her decision and plunge back into the supernatural world. If she’s to save those she loves from disaster, she will have to work with Dylan Van Helsing, her arch enemy, break all the rules made by both the Bureau and the Government, and generally create chaos. However breaking rules may be the only option if she’s to save the world. With ever more people being truck by the terrible curse, what will be the outcome?

The action is truly gripping though sometimes unpredictable and readers will be on the edge of their seats, rooting for Amari throughout the book.

Something that struck me particularly was part of a speech given by Elsie towards the end of the book: “None of us are born good or bad. It’s our experiences that shape us. We shouldn’t look only to punish those who’ve done wrong but also to rehabilitate them. If we remove the negative, sometimes even traumatic, experiences that push our worst offenders on to the wrong path, they can become better citizens, and our world will become a safer place to live.”

A marvellous mix of magic, mystery, friendship and danger: the whole thing ends on a cliff-hanger that will leave everyone eagerly anticipating the final book.

Amari and the Despicable Wonders

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Amari and the Despicable Wonders
B.B. Alston
Farshore

In the previous story, Amari and the Great Game, Amari had to concede defeat in a contest with Dylan Van Helsing and was left without her magical powers. Now with the League of Magicians and the rival organisation, the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs heading for a decisive showdown, the powerless Amari faces her greatest ever challenge.

As the war intensifies, Quinton, Amari’s elder brother and superstar agent now back on the scene and others from the Bureau are intent on keeping her out of harms way, leaving him to undertake missions. Meanwhile her erstwhile friend and former partner, now her nemesis, Dylan Van Helsing has become head of the League and seems able to outsmart her no matter what she tries. However, Amari is one determined girl and even with the odds against her, she and her loyal group of friends set out to locate their only hope of preventing Dylan from unleashing a new destructive power that would render him invincible. What they need to find is the only source of anti-majik, ancient inventions called Wonders.

The tale twists and turns this way and that to its denouement, which is both poignant and uplifting. And for Amari, it affirms her place in the community she loves. For me as a reader, one of her thoughts near the end particularly resonated: ‘And it makes me hopeful that people might start giving others a chance before judging who they are.’

If you’ve not met Amari et al before, then start with Amari and the Night Brothers and move on to Amari and the Great Game before reading this one.

Amari and the Great Game

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Amari and the Great Game
B.B. Alston
Farshore

In this second book starring Amari Peters, the young magician turned thirteen and almost a year has passed since she proved that magicians can be good. Now as a Junior Agent at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, excited to be there for her summer internship, she has another mystery to solve. Following a time freeze that’s over in a moment, the Supernatural World Congress is trapped in time as are many of Georgia’s schools. Who can be responsible for such a terrible happening – a powerful magician? That is definitely the belief of the new temporary heads of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs.

Turning to the secret League of Magicians in the hope of receiving help, Amari receives instead the
offer of the Crown of Count Vladimir. However she doesn’t feel ready to accept the powers that come with this and so turns it down. This allows another to step forward, someone with very dangerous plans. Nevertheless, in a determined attempt to save her brother from the curse he is under and to prevent war between the League and the Bureau, she agrees to face the other challenger in the Great Game, the winner of which takes the crown. So begins the deadly competition. Fortunately for Amari, her best friend Elsie (who, she has just learned, is heading off to Oxford for a year) and some other allies are there to help her save the world again.

Combining magic and realism, B.B. Alston’s superbly crafted first person narrative is a terrific sequel, adroitly interweaving magic with real-world issues of discrimination and mis-information. Exciting and hugely satisfying, this is a truly immersive read with some wonderful characters.