The Golden Tower (Magisterium Series, book 5) 

By Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Blurb: 
The final, thrilling installment in this extraordinary series from bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare.

A generation ago, powerful mage Constantine Madden came close to achieving what no magician had ever achieved: the ability to bring back the dead. He didn't succeed . . . but he did find a way to keep himself alive, inside a young child named Callum Hunt.

Facing up to what he is, Callum has battled chaos and evil across four years of magical training at the Magisterium, eventually defeating the armies of chaos in an epic battle.

It came at a cost.

Now, triumphant and heartbroken, Callum Hunt has just about had enough, and is ready to complete his training. But the evil Callum faced has not given up just yet...

Review: 
I believed I mentioned this in the previous review but the characters didn’t match their age. In this book they would have been 16 I think but yet they still spoke and responded rather child like 12 or something. I think they needed maturity added to them, just a tad. It was hard to connect to the characters after 5 books because they didn’t really develop they just stayed the same. 

Something minor that I have a problem with is Callum’s nickname. I don’t mind characters names being shortened but his was shortened to Call. It would have been fine if it was spelt like Cal. My problem with it is I always ended up reading it wrong, I would read it like phone call which just wasn’t good when trying to read.

Now that everyone knows that Call is the enemy of death reborn, a few people start to hate him. The one I didn’t expect was Celia. Celia was a close friend to Call and before getting with Jasper she had a crush on him. It was quite sad to see them fall out, thought she would have seen the good in him. Celia started of as a nice girl and I matched her more with Call than Tamara but her character developed the most. Even though I didn’t like how she turned out, I still enjoyed having this development.

I really appreciate in the Magisterium that the students all have a Master and they’re only in small classes. I wish schools were more like that as it would mean all students are getting the attention that they need. It would be more expensive but I just like the idea of it. I also like how they can go swimming and watch films with alternative endings due to air magic. I liked these creative aspects of the book.

All of the 5 books had the same rough format. They would talk to Warren the lizard who would have a warning. They ignore the warning to an extent then something bad happens. I don’t mind books having repetition like this, as long as there’s an overall plot linking everything together which there was. I know some people don’t like that though so I wouldn’t recommend this series to those who like all the stories to be different. Something I quite enjoyed in this book was the sort of 4th wall break. Gwenda; who became a stronger character in this book; figured out the pattern and said to the gang. I just appreciated that scene in the book. 

*SPOILERS*

At the end of the previous book, Aaron’s sole was sucked into Call and he could start to hear Aaron. In this book I did like how Aaron acted sort of like Call’s moral compass. Well he was always Call’s moral compass but even more so since he was inside Call’s head. It was funny having Aaron react to situations or Call’s thoughts. I also enjoyed Aaron telling Call what is best to say and that Tamara didn’t like it because Call started to sound like Aaron and she didn’t want Aaron that way, she liked Call the way he was. 

I however didn’t appreciate Aaron getting in the way of Call and Tamara’s relationship. Like I understand that he would feel uncomfortable when they kissed but they were meant to be so he should have just tried to ignore it and put up with it. Most intrusive cock-block in history. Because of this Tamara and Call’s relationship bounced about a bit but once they got Aaron out of his head they finally could be together. 

While Aaron was in Call’s head he could see a safe of locked up memories that they believed to be Constantines. I had a feeling they would get released and Aaron would have to bring Call away from the darkness but sadly it didn’t happen that way. Instead they released and turned out to be memories of past Makars. They didn’t really negatively affect Callum and we didn’t get the whole evil vs good issue. It was an interesting twist but it’s only real purpose was for the gang to figure out how to undevour Alex. So the safe ended up being disappointing for me.

Aaron and Call had a big moral dilemma of figuring out what to do with Aaron. He needed a body for his own but the problem is they didn’t want to be like Constantine who forced his soul in Call’s body as a baby. I figured their plan out when they decided to tell Tamara.  It was quite obvious. They wanted to keep Alex alive after they devoured his caos and put Aaron in his place. That way morally they replaced an evil person with a good person. I found this a bit weird though because Aaron would just suddenly be using Alex’s body and have his appearance. It must have been a strange experience but it wasn’t expressed in the book.

A twist in the book I did enjoy was Alastair, Call’s father became a devoured of air. He did this so he can help the gang defeat Alex as they needed a devoured of every element and air was the only one less. Throughout the series Alastair was a complicated character, he hated magic and although he loved Call he didn’t always do the right thing by him. This final act of Alastair just helped finalise this character for me and I found it a great twist for the story.

I wasn’t a great fan of the ending, it was obviously going to be successful after all it’s the last book of the series. My fault with it was that they won too easily. It could have been more dramrous and a harder struggle. Someone important could have died or got really close to it at least. The only deaths were Assemblyman Graves and Anastasia. I just wanted it to be hard but instead they took Alex straight down without any real struggle. I did like the very end where they had to go through the final gate and complete their school life that was a good take and the last line of the book was very fitting. 

Overall I found the book quite predictable and the odd twists that did occur were either not great or weren’t enough for the story to be rewarded higher. It was an alright quick read but I’ve read better books.

Quote: 

'They were both good people now. They just had to stay that way.'

- Holly Black & Cassandra Clare, The Golden Tower

Rating: 2.5 runes out of 5

written by Lauren

The Golden Tower (Magisterium Series, book 5) 

By Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Blurb: 
The final, thrilling installment in this extraordinary series from bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare.

A generation ago, powerful mage Constantine Madden came close to achieving what no magician had ever achieved: the ability to bring back the dead. He didn't succeed . . . but he did find a way to keep himself alive, inside a young child named Callum Hunt.

Facing up to what he is, Callum has battled chaos and evil across four years of magical training at the Magisterium, eventually defeating the armies of chaos in an epic battle.

It came at a cost.

Now, triumphant and heartbroken, Callum Hunt has just about had enough, and is ready to complete his training. But the evil Callum faced has not given up just yet...

Review: 
I believed I mentioned this in the previous review but the characters didn’t match their age. In this book they would have been 16 I think but yet they still spoke and responded rather child like 12 or something. I think they needed maturity added to them, just a tad. It was hard to connect to the characters after 5 books because they didn’t really develop they just stayed the same. 

Something minor that I have a problem with is Callum’s nickname. I don’t mind characters names being shortened but his was shortened to Call. It would have been fine if it was spelt like Cal. My problem with it is I always ended up reading it wrong, I would read it like phone call which just wasn’t good when trying to read.

Now that everyone knows that Call is the enemy of death reborn, a few people start to hate him. The one I didn’t expect was Celia. Celia was a close friend to Call and before getting with Jasper she had a crush on him. It was quite sad to see them fall out, thought she would have seen the good in him. Celia started of as a nice girl and I matched her more with Call than Tamara but her character developed the most. Even though I didn’t like how she turned out, I still enjoyed having this development.

I really appreciate in the Magisterium that the students all have a Master and they’re only in small classes. I wish schools were more like that as it would mean all students are getting the attention that they need. It would be more expensive but I just like the idea of it. I also like how they can go swimming and watch films with alternative endings due to air magic. I liked these creative aspects of the book.

All of the 5 books had the same rough format. They would talk to Warren the lizard who would have a warning. They ignore the warning to an extent then something bad happens. I don’t mind books having repetition like this, as long as there’s an overall plot linking everything together which there was. I know some people don’t like that though so I wouldn’t recommend this series to those who like all the stories to be different. Something I quite enjoyed in this book was the sort of 4th wall break. Gwenda; who became a stronger character in this book; figured out the pattern and said to the gang. I just appreciated that scene in the book. 

*SPOILERS*

At the end of the previous book, Aaron’s sole was sucked into Call and he could start to hear Aaron. In this book I did like how Aaron acted sort of like Call’s moral compass. Well he was always Call’s moral compass but even more so since he was inside Call’s head. It was funny having Aaron react to situations or Call’s thoughts. I also enjoyed Aaron telling Call what is best to say and that Tamara didn’t like it because Call started to sound like Aaron and she didn’t want Aaron that way, she liked Call the way he was. 

I however didn’t appreciate Aaron getting in the way of Call and Tamara’s relationship. Like I understand that he would feel uncomfortable when they kissed but they were meant to be so he should have just tried to ignore it and put up with it. Most intrusive cock-block in history. Because of this Tamara and Call’s relationship bounced about a bit but once they got Aaron out of his head they finally could be together. 

While Aaron was in Call’s head he could see a safe of locked up memories that they believed to be Constantines. I had a feeling they would get released and Aaron would have to bring Call away from the darkness but sadly it didn’t happen that way. Instead they released and turned out to be memories of past Makars. They didn’t really negatively affect Callum and we didn’t get the whole evil vs good issue. It was an interesting twist but it’s only real purpose was for the gang to figure out how to undevour Alex. So the safe ended up being disappointing for me.

Aaron and Call had a big moral dilemma of figuring out what to do with Aaron. He needed a body for his own but the problem is they didn’t want to be like Constantine who forced his soul in Call’s body as a baby. I figured their plan out when they decided to tell Tamara.  It was quite obvious. They wanted to keep Alex alive after they devoured his caos and put Aaron in his place. That way morally they replaced an evil person with a good person. I found this a bit weird though because Aaron would just suddenly be using Alex’s body and have his appearance. It must have been a strange experience but it wasn’t expressed in the book.

A twist in the book I did enjoy was Alastair, Call’s father became a devoured of air. He did this so he can help the gang defeat Alex as they needed a devoured of every element and air was the only one less. Throughout the series Alastair was a complicated character, he hated magic and although he loved Call he didn’t always do the right thing by him. This final act of Alastair just helped finalise this character for me and I found it a great twist for the story.

I wasn’t a great fan of the ending, it was obviously going to be successful after all it’s the last book of the series. My fault with it was that they won too easily. It could have been more dramrous and a harder struggle. Someone important could have died or got really close to it at least. The only deaths were Assemblyman Graves and Anastasia. I just wanted it to be hard but instead they took Alex straight down without any real struggle. I did like the very end where they had to go through the final gate and complete their school life that was a good take and the last line of the book was very fitting. 

Overall I found the book quite predictable and the odd twists that did occur were either not great or weren’t enough for the story to be rewarded higher. It was an alright quick read but I’ve read better books.

Quote: 

'They were both good people now. They just had to stay that way.'

- Holly Black & Cassandra Clare, The Golden Tower

Rating: 2.5 runes out of 5

written by Lauren

The Silver Mask by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare (Magisterium Series, book 4)

The Silver Mask (Magisterium Series, book 4)

By Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Blurb: 
A generation ago, Constantine Madden came close to achieving what no magician had ever achieved: the ability to bring back the dead. He didn't succeed . . . but he did find a way to keep himself alive, inside a young child named Callum Hunt. Now Call is one of the most feared and reviled students in the history of the Magisterium, thought to be responsible for a devastating death and an ever-present threat of war. As a result, Call has been imprisoned and interrogated. Everyone wants to know what Constantine was up to-and how he lives on. But Call has no idea. It is only when he's broken out of prison that the full potential of Constantine's plan is suddenly in his hands . . . and he must decide what to do with his power. In this spellbinding fourth book of Magisterium, bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare take us beyond the realm of the living and into the dangers of the dead. 

Review: 
I think obviously the first thing to discuss about this book is the fact it is written by two big authors in the YA community. Personally, I haven't read any of Holly Black's books but I am aware that she wrote the The Spiderwick Chronicles.  Even though I haven't read Holly's materials, I am a big fan of Cassandra Clare work such as The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices and discovered this book through her. I may be unfamiliar with Black's writing style, Clare's however comes very naturally to me. With saying that it makes me believe I could tell where Clare had her influence. I don't feel like she had a big part in the writing of this book which is very disappointing, however I don't think it helps that I picked up the book expecting it to be in the Shadowhunter world that Clare had created in her own series.

Although I did enjoy the series and will be finishing it when the final book comes out in September, I don't think I will explore more work by Holly Black. Her writing style isn't my cup of tea, as it's a lot more child like. Even though the book was written in the third person, it sometimes felt like the main character Cal was writing due to the choice of words. I understand Cal is young starting at 11, but the words don't need to reflect that when writing in a third person. Even though I enjoyed the characters, I felt their development was poor. They came across as remaining young 11 year olds even in The Silver Mask, they're 14 but still thinking and talking like 11 year olds especially when it came to relationships. Despite saying that overall their dialect and conversations were good and felt quite genuine (just didn't always match their age), it felt like they were real friends talking at times and I appreciated that. 

*SPOILERS*
Some other good points of the series is the plot twists such as Cal being the Enemy of Death reborn. This created an interesting good vs evil take to the book and makes the reader question their own morals. I also thought the series had a lot of courage to kill off Aaron (one of the lead roles), he does come back to life (sort of) but it really changed the tone of the book and due to the darkness I enjoyed it more. 

Overall, I think its a good short series to read, kind of like a filler series before you jump into a long book. Compared to Cassandra Clare previous work, I didn't find it as enjoyable and felt it lacking but that might be because this book is Holly's. I'm unsure how the final book will go but I look forward to reading it. 

Rating: 2.5 runes out of 5 

Check out review of Book 5: The Golden Tower

                                                                                                    written by Lauren

The Silver Mask by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare (Magisterium Series, book 4)

The Silver Mask (Magisterium Series, book 4)

By Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Blurb: 
A generation ago, Constantine Madden came close to achieving what no magician had ever achieved: the ability to bring back the dead. He didn't succeed . . . but he did find a way to keep himself alive, inside a young child named Callum Hunt. Now Call is one of the most feared and reviled students in the history of the Magisterium, thought to be responsible for a devastating death and an ever-present threat of war. As a result, Call has been imprisoned and interrogated. Everyone wants to know what Constantine was up to-and how he lives on. But Call has no idea. It is only when he's broken out of prison that the full potential of Constantine's plan is suddenly in his hands . . . and he must decide what to do with his power. In this spellbinding fourth book of Magisterium, bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare take us beyond the realm of the living and into the dangers of the dead. 

Review: 
I think obviously the first thing to discuss about this book is the fact it is written by two big authors in the YA community. Personally, I haven't read any of Holly Black's books but I am aware that she wrote the The Spiderwick Chronicles.  Even though I haven't read Holly's materials, I am a big fan of Cassandra Clare work such as The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices and discovered this book through her. I may be unfamiliar with Black's writing style, Clare's however comes very naturally to me. With saying that it makes me believe I could tell where Clare had her influence. I don't feel like she had a big part in the writing of this book which is very disappointing, however I don't think it helps that I picked up the book expecting it to be in the Shadowhunter world that Clare had created in her own series.

Although I did enjoy the series and will be finishing it when the final book comes out in September, I don't think I will explore more work by Holly Black. Her writing style isn't my cup of tea, as it's a lot more child like. Even though the book was written in the third person, it sometimes felt like the main character Cal was writing due to the choice of words. I understand Cal is young starting at 11, but the words don't need to reflect that when writing in a third person. Even though I enjoyed the characters, I felt their development was poor. They came across as remaining young 11 year olds even in The Silver Mask, they're 14 but still thinking and talking like 11 year olds especially when it came to relationships. Despite saying that overall their dialect and conversations were good and felt quite genuine (just didn't always match their age), it felt like they were real friends talking at times and I appreciated that. 

*SPOILERS*
Some other good points of the series is the plot twists such as Cal being the Enemy of Death reborn. This created an interesting good vs evil take to the book and makes the reader question their own morals. I also thought the series had a lot of courage to kill off Aaron (one of the lead roles), he does come back to life (sort of) but it really changed the tone of the book and due to the darkness I enjoyed it more. 

Overall, I think its a good short series to read, kind of like a filler series before you jump into a long book. Compared to Cassandra Clare previous work, I didn't find it as enjoyable and felt it lacking but that might be because this book is Holly's. I'm unsure how the final book will go but I look forward to reading it. 

Rating: 2.5 runes out of 5 

Check out review of Book 5: The Golden Tower

                                                                                                    written by Lauren