The Third Magic - Softcover

Katz, Welwyn W.

3.84

201 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0888991266 ISBN 13: 9780888991263

Publisher: Groundwood Books, 1992

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Mistaken for one of her own ancestors, Morgan Lefevre is summoned through time to the alien world of Nwm. With only the boy Arddu as companion, she is caught between the opposing cruelties of the Circle and the Line, the two Magics of Nwm that have fought one another over the centuries and across many worlds. When Morgan and Arddu gain possession of an ancient weapon of the mysterious Third Magic, Earth is drawn into the struggle as well, and the reader comes to understand the King Arthur story in a whole new way. Times and worlds merge as Morgan is brought face to face with her own destiny.

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About the Author:

Hello there! I'm so glad you stopped in to see my book The Third Magic, which I wrote for young adults and adults who like fantasy and magic and the idea of parallel universes. This book has been so popular that many people have asked me to write a sequel to it, and a prequel as well! I even got a couple of emails asking if the writers could be the heroine when they make the movie. :)

It's true that With the perspective I now have on it, I can see that the book is a stand-alone novel set in a world full of potential stories; in a way it is an epic battle in a long, long war. And I do like to write big, complex books. And so, maybe after my current novel, which has been a long time coming, I will write more about Nwm and the people in it.

I had a car accident seven years ago which has prevented me from finishing the new novel (SMITH). For two years after the accident I couldn't even read. For me that's almost like not being able to eat. And then I was dyslexic and could barely speak without a stutter. Things are different now, but With the enforced perspective caused by the accident, I think differently about SMITH and realize the book has to be completely re-written. You may have gathered that I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my writing!

My daily life, however, is utterly chaotic. If it weren't for my husband who buys the groceries and cooks most of the meals and deals with bills and most of the cleaning, I'd be wading through books and unopened mail to an empty refrigerator. I must admit there are a lot of books in our apartment. I read mystery novels to relax while I research all the details I need to know for the changed SMITH. I love reading paper books, and I do all my research using them. Though I've been hoping to get a Kindle or another kind of electronic book reader for middle-of-the-night or on the train reading, there is one advantage of real books that an electronic book reader just doesn't have. You can keep one book on the go in every room in the house, and read the one that happensto be in the room you're in. Nobody I've heard about has ever used this as an excuse to keep real paper books, but for me it's a totally acceptable one.

I've had ten books published around the world in more than a dozen languages, and though I love all my books (the way a mother loves all her children), and won a lot of awards for them (all my books, actually, except for my very first one, which Amazon can't carry because it hasn't got an ISBN bar code on the back). Still, The Third Magic has always had a special place in my heart. For one reason, it was certainly the hardest book I've ever tried to write. While I was writing it (for three full years) I had huge sheets of paper taped to my walls in my office, just to keep track of who was where, when. The editing was a nightmare. And then finally the book won the Governor-General's Award, which is the highest award books for Canadian young adults can win. Even though I've had three other such nominations, I think none of them deserved it as much as The Third Magic. Also, I began it at a very rough time in my writing career, when I'd just been told I had a book accepted for publication, and then three or four days later I was told to scrap the whole book. The mixed messages in this event made me completely uncertain about my own judgment. The book I had thought was my best up to that time was first accepted and then only worthy of the trash. A writer can't write without belief in her own judgment, because that's what carries her through the years and years of decisions that have to be made every day in order to write a book at all. And so I decided to stop writing.

But then, one day I went into my office (which had sat unused for months), and it came.

Review:

My copy of The Third Magic is tattered and faded, but the words are clear despite eons of reading. It is my favorite fantasy novel for several reasons. It is masterfully written. Never have I been so transported to realms of awe and wonder. This book also supplies a unique and beautiful blending of breath-taking legends, and supplies a new and exciting perspective to such Arthurian characters as Merlin, Arthur, and my favorite, Morgan le Faye. The combination of the Irish Goddess, the Morrigan, and Arthur's Morgan le Faye is brilliant. I will keep re-reading my tattered copy until it inescapably crumbles, and when it does, I will buy a new copy of it. --Anonymous reader on Amazon

Any attempt to describe the plot of this book would detract from its beauty and enchantment Welwyn Wilton Katz casts like a spell over her readers. Katz's interpretation of the Arthurian legend's beginning combines present with legendary times and adds a fantasy world, Nwm. Fifteen-year-old Morgan Lefevre walks all three worlds and times. She plays her predestined role unifying First Magic...with Second. The result is Third Magic -- the sword in the stone, the Holy grail...and the founding of Camelot... This reviewer feels satisfied with Katz's scheme of time, place, and character interrelationships, and is awed by her vision and artistry. -- National Council of Teachers of English (USA), English Journal, October 1989

The Third Magic is a powerful and totally engrossing story which combines Arthurian legend, time travel, and an intriguing interpretation of the struggle for dominance between the male and female entity, a struggle which Katz suggests can only be resolved by co-operation. How skillfully she presents this thesis. This is a book to be read on several levels. It is more than an exciting, beautifully crafted and written fantasy adventure.I have passed my copy on to several young adults -- and adults. Not one could put it down until it was finished. -- Andrew Deakin, syndicated columnist, The London Free Press, Dec.,31, 1989

Any attempt to describe the plot of this book would detract from its beauty and enchantment Welwyn Wilton Katz casts like a spell over her readers. Katz's interpretation of the Arthurian legend's beginning combines present with legendary times and adds a fantasy world, Nwm. Fifteen-year-old Morgan Lefevre walks all three worlds and times. She plays her predestined role unifying First Magic...with Second. The result is Third Magic -- the sword in the stone, the Holy grail...and the founding of Camelot... This reviewer feels satisfied with Katz's scheme of time, place, and character interrelationships, and is awed by her vision and artistry. -- National Council of Teachers of English (USA), English Journal, October 1989

The Third Magic is a powerful and totally engrossing story which combines Arthurian legend, time travel, and an intriguing interpretation of the struggle for dominance between the male and female entity, a struggle which Katz suggests can only be resolved by co-operation. How skillfully she presents this thesis. This is a book to be read on several levels. It is more than an exciting, beautifully crafted and written fantasy adventure.I have passed my copy on to several young adults -- and adults. Not one could put it down until it was finished. -- Andrew Deakin, syndicated columnist, The London Free Press, Dec.,31, 1989

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