Children - Fiction & Literature, Children - Fairy Tales, Myths & Fables

Tomorrow's Magic

Name: Tomorrow's Magic
Author: Pamela F. Service
ISBN: 9780307498335

by Pamela F. Service

Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Overview

It's 500 years after the nuclear holocaust that devastated the earth's population and left the few survivors dealing with unending winter. At their remote British boarding school, Wellington Jones and Heather McKenna
have a lot in common. Both are misfits trying to avoid attention, and both are fascinated by Earl, a tall, calm, older boy with no recollection of his past, but a remarkable knack for showing up when he is needed most.

When a blow to the head brings Earl's memory back, he claims that he is actually Merlin . . . a 2000-year-old wizard.

Originally published in two volumes in the mid-1980s, Pamela F. Service's creative, futuristic spin on the Camelot legend will appeal to Arthurian purists and fantasy lovers alike.

From the Hardcover edition.

Five hundred years after the Devastation destroys modern civilization, the young Merlin and two friends succeed in bringing back King Arthur to Britain in the grip of a nuclear winter and together they struggle to build a new and better society despite the evil plotting of Morgan Le Fay. Sequel to "Winter of Magic's Return."

Synopsis

It's 500 years after the nuclear holocaust that devastated the earth's population and left the few survivors dealing with unending winter. At their remote British boarding school, Wellington Jones and Heather McKenna have a lot in common. Both are misfits trying to avoid attention, and both are fascinated by Earl, a tall, calm, older boy with no recollection of his past, but a remarkable knack for showing up when he is needed most. When a blow to the head brings Earl's memory back, he claims that he is actually Merlin . . . a 2000-year-old wizard. Originally published in two volumes in the mid-1980s, Pamela F. Service's creative, futuristic spin on the Camelot legend will appeal to Arthurian purists and fantasy lovers alike.

About the Author, Pamela F. Service

Pamela F. Service grew up in Berkeley, California, and spent three years in England studying archaeology. She has published over 20 children's books, works as a museum director in Eureka, acts in community theater, and is still writing.

From the Hardcover edition.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In this sequel to the exciting fantasy, Winter of Magic's Return, Service begins her story two years after Heather, Wellington and the strange boy Earlreally the wizard Merlin, preserved through the centuries and returned as a youthhave conjured King Arthur and his army from Avalon. Britain is becoming united once more, and when Merlin negotiates an uneasy truce between warlike Queen Margaret of Scotland and Arthur, all of Britain looks toward the south, where Morgan the enchantress is raising her army. Merlin's Old Magic is not working, but he sees a glimmer of a new and better Magic in Heather's empathy with animals. Although her talent and the New Magic are elusive, Heather ultimately provides Merlin with the means to save Arthur and the world. Although not quite as exhilarating as the first bookwith its almost giddy sense of discovery for the readerthis book will satisfy fans of the three protagonists. Ages 10-13. (September)

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up This continuation of Winter of Magic's Return (Atheneum, 1985) does what a good sequel shouldit continues and enhances the original story without rehashing the events of the first book. It also does it in a way that makes this book stand alone; it is not necessary to have read the first. Heather and Welly, children of a future England recovering from a holocaust and nuclear winter, are now teamed up with a youthful Merlin and King Arthur, allowed to return from the past as a result of the nuclear devastation. Arthur still dreams of being able to rule a united Britain, although tribes developing in the North, led by the firey Queen Margaret of Scotland, dispute his claim. But there is a greater enemythe witch Morgan. Heather not only has to come to terms with her approaching womanhood, but also with her new-found talent for magic with animals. She sees the loneliness that magic has caused Merlin, and is not sure she wants to live like that. And Welly, nearsighted and overweight, is nothing like the great warrior he would like to be, but he is a staunch and loyal friend to both Merlin and Heather. A well-crafted novel, with equal doses of action and thoughtfulness, this should satisfy many readers. Susan M. Harding, Mesquite Public Library, Tex.