At the time, both her writing style and illustrations reminded us overwhelmingly of HTTYD (How to Train Your Dragon) series, which we loved and read (all 13 books!) so many times we practically memorized it, and I think I needed to put this series on the back burner for a while to get Hiccup and Old Wrinkly and Fishlegs' voices out of my head before I could continue reading the new series.
With some distance, the similarities aren't so striking, although they're still there. By not looking at the illustrations (which do remind me of Hiccup and Camicazi), and focusing just on the text, I was better able to get into the story this time.
Twice Magic picks up with young Wizard and Witch-blood-stained Xar escaping from alternative school -- cough! cough! -- sorry, prison Gormincrag and doing his best to get to Warrior and definitely-not-magical Wish, who of course is quite magical and has a magic eye that works on iron, of all things. She'll soon find out exactly how powerful she is.
Xar escapes the prison, much to chagrin of the Droods, the begrudging approval of his father, Encanto, leader of the Wizards, and the delight of the Witches, who've paved the way for Xar without his knowing.
Wish, in the meantime, has been locked in the Punishment Cupboard by her tutor and by bringing a key to life, escapes and ends up almost getting "sniffed" out by the Warriors' Witchsmeller, who's never actually smelled a Witch in his entire lifetime, but Wish smells pretty close ... maybe.
Xar is standing behind her, in the confusion Queen Sychorax (Wish's implacably hard-hearted mother) can continue with the illusion her youngest daughter isn't magical. Xar wanted his spell book back, but Wish tells him a spell to get rid of the Witches has appeared, although it's not finished listing the ingredients quite yet, but once they're free of their parents they can get started finding the first, a Giant's Last Breath...
With Caliban, their sprites, snow cats, talking spoon and key, a werewolf, a giant, and other assorted creatures and allies, they're off on a quest...and headed right to the Kingwitch, the most evil Witch leader of them all.
Knock Three Times picks up where Twice Magic leaves off, so stop reading if you don't want a spoiler! A new ingredient has been written in the anti-Witch spell, four scales of the Nuckalavee from the Western Whirlpools, and Xar and Wish and Bodkin, her bodyguard, are off to find it.
As they make their escape across the Western Forests, Queen Sychorax lights them on fire. The kids and their companions are rescued by a giant bear, Perdita and Caliburn's sister. She takes them through Pook's Hill (knock three times and say the password to get in) to the Learning Place for Spectacularly Gifted Wizards, where they're protected and safe for a bit.
But Bodkin reveals he betrayed them to Queen Sychorax and when she sneaks off campus to find the Nuckalavee and get its scales, he rips open Perdita's powerful protection spell and inadvertently lets in a Witch.
Of course, Queen Sychorax has already penetrated the school pretending to be a teacher, and Encanto shows up at the door knocking considerably more than three times to get in, away from the attacking Witches... and Wish and Xar sneak out after Bodkin.
The Witches are watching as all three converge on the Nuckalavee's lair, where Bodkin has rudely not taken off his shoes, and it's up to Xar and Wish to outwit the tricky beast, which has a hard stone stuck in its throat and would the kids kindly go inside and get it out? They have to figure out how to save their own necks and the bodyguard's.
And all the while, the KingWitch is watching, waiting, that much closer to getting his hands on the iron-magic Wish wields...
Never and Forever is the wrap-up to the series, revealing it's the story of a young ... oh, no, no, no. Shakes head and index finger. As much as I want to reveal this, you'll have to read to find out, because this was the best of the series, I thought.
Let's just pick up where Wish and Xar start the story, deep in the "Mine of Happiness" about to face a scary, horrible dragon, the Tatzelwurm (wow, I love that name!).
Of course, what Mine in what world features happiness, at all? Certainly not this one. It's a total misnomer.
It's run by Brutal the Heartless, who uses child labor, and the cook (or stirrer) of the gruel the kids have to eat is none other than the Witchsmeller (from that incident with Xar and Wish in Sychorax's palace, remember?). Why are Xar and Wish there at all?
Because one of the prisoners is Xar's older brother, Looter, who was captured after Perdita's school for gifted wizards crumpled under the Witch onslaught. Looter still has the Cup of Second Chances, which Wish and Xar need to complete / make the potion to defeat the King Witch, who is still trapped in the ball of iron, controlling Squeezejoos.
And then Queen Sychorax and Wizard Encanto show up and ....yeah, no way Wish and Xar are going to go unnoticed waaay down in the bowels of a pitch-dark mine. Not with overbearing parents, a mine wurm, an overlord and an unbearable older brother around every (cramped) corner. They'll need help -- Perdita's help -- to get out of this one, even after they manage to talk the Tatzelwurm into foregoing its considerable appetite to help them....
This was a great, fun read! I can still hear whispers of Cowell's previous characters from HTTYD, but now I smile when I hear them, and for some reason they endear me even more to the archetypes she uses and plays with in the text.
Enjoy!
