Book review

A Handful of Magic by Stephen Elboz (2000)

What happens when a wizard, a royal prince and a flying carpet sneak out one night intent on an adventure? I can tell you a bit. They visit the werewolves at the Tower of London. Being boys as well as wizards and princes, they lark about a bit too much until:

Suddenly he seemed to buckle at the knees. He let out a gasp of horror and his eyes jerked fully open. And snatching desperately at the air he slowly tipped backwards into the werewolves' den.

That was the royal prince falling, so this is big trouble:

For one long terrible moment nothing moved, no breath of wind or sound or thought inside anyone's head; while the very moonlight seemed to turn harsh and freeze upon the metal bars. Henry lay perfectly still on the floor of the werewolves' den ...

A werewolf bite, as I am sure you know, is a very serious matter. Kit, the wizard, is way out of his depth, so it is lucky for him that his Aunt Pearl just happens to be passing by. She could cure the royal prince of his werewolf bite, and so could Kit's father, Dr Stixby, the Queen's own Witch Doctor, but Queen Victoria has had enough of magic. She sends for Stafford Sparks, the Royal Superintendent of Scientific Progress, declaring that magic is dead and that electricity is the power of the future.

Want to know what Kit does about it? You'll have to read the book.

What can I read next?

If you enjoy reading about Kit Stixby there's more!

Stephen Elboz has written other brilliant books too. You might like to look at any of these:

There are lots of magic books around. I really enjoyed this one by Charlotte Haptie:

And, of course, if you haven't read them all yet, you might like to look at the Harry Potter books by J K Rowling:

  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Also, the Bookchooser has found these books with a similar profile:

A Handful of Magic features in these lists: