When I began reading Magisterium by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black with The Iron Trial, I thought that I was going to experience a Harry Potter knock-off. While the basic premise of Magisterium sounds similar to Harry Potter, what with the story revolving around three friends that go to a magic school unknown to ordinary humans as they conquer their fears, go on adventures, etc., it is definitely a series, Iron Trial in particular, that has some of its own unique moments.
The Iron Trial
Callum Hunt is a 12-year-old without any knowledge of the existence of magic. He has a whole family of mages, but his father wants to protect him from the various dangers of the magic world. His mother died before he ever got to know her. Call lives a normal life that is changed one day when he receives an invitation to attend the trials of Magisterium, the secret underground mage school where his father and mother went. Call does what he is told to by his father during the trials, which is to intentionally fail and return home. To his surprise, Call passes the trials and is accepted into the Magisterium. He is assigned to one of the most respected mages in the Magisterium, along with a boy named Aaron and a girl named Tamara. Throughout this book, the three tackle exciting assignments, and through it all, Call learns about the real reason he was chosen to come to the Magisterium - a powerful ability that Aaron also possesses. Together they face multiple enemies.
The Iron Trial was a book that I picked to read while browsing, instead of being recommended. I didn't think much of it, but I hadn't realized that I would find it interesting. The book teaches reader friendship, teamwork, and persistence through the adventures of the unlikely trio of popular Aaron, unpopular Call, and intelligent Tamara. I liked how Call was introduced to the series - instead of having a clear goal in front of him, Call is shown as a realistic character that does not want to work hard for everything, does not want friends, and still has a long way to go as a person. Throughout the series, Call goes through a lot of character development, which will be shown later. A defining part of the entire series is coming-of-age.
The friendship between Call, Aaron, and Tamara is also compelling. Understanding that the three were thrown into a group by chance rather than choice shows the uneasy relationship as the students slowly learn more about each other. Call doesn't want anything to do with anyone in the Magisterium at first, but he realizes that there are people there that care for him. The authors taught fitting in and team bonding with this.
One of the most important things to take away from The Iron Trial is how Call realizes and embraces his former fears of magic through the Magisterium and goes through experiences that bring out his inner strength. It goes to show how one place, person, or thing can change you dramatically.
As with the entirety of the Magisterium series, The Iron Trial is not lengthy in pages, thus being concise and fast-paced in some parts. If there is anything that I might say I did not like about The Iron Trial, it is that some parts actually felt slower to get through, and it felt like the authors were not managing their pages well enough. Some action scenes were too quick, and some unnecessary scenes were too long. The contemporary world of The Iron Trial believable despite being a fantasy novel.
My rating:
8.5/10
Your review makes The Iron Trial sound intriguing and the plot sounds well-developed. I think it's interesting how the main character is much less impressive than Harry was when he entered the magical world, and it seems like a good idea to show the school from an average student's perspective. I like your idea about how one thing can change a person dramatically--this idea seems like the essence of both this book and Harry Potter. I enjoyed reading your review, and I might read the book sometime!
ReplyDeleteYour review does a nice job of summarizing the Iron Trial. Your descriptions of Tamara, Aaron, and Call's friendship being very compelling and realistic makes me also want to read The Iron Trial. Call is also unlike many other main characters, having tried to fail the test to get into Magisterium on purpose. I enjoyed reading Harry Potter and other Cassandra Clare books, and after seeing this review, I might give The Iron Trial a try as well!
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see why you were expecting a budget Harry Potter of sorts when you heard the plot and how the main characters meet in a school for magic. That would have been enough to make me uninterested, but your review makes it clear that the plot of Magisterium is different from the Harry Potter series, which is good as it raises my interest in the book. I also liked how you included the feelings that the book produces and the skills that the characters can teach the readers.
ReplyDeleteI have read this series in the past but got bored with it once I got to the third book. I actually completely forgot about the series until I read this review! When I read the book, I didn't notice its resemblance to Harry Potter, although I am now realizing that there are many similarities between this book and Harry Potter. I didn't like the series much myself, but your positive review of the book has made me want to give it another go. Overall, great review.
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