Worldweavers: Gift of the Unmage, by Alma Alexander, is a new fantasy series for young adults.
Thea is the seventh daughter of two seventh parents. Historically, this has always meant that the child would be a powerful mage with a unique power. But Thea shows no signs of any magical ability at all. When Thea’s father decides to send her to the mysterious Cheveyo for training and guidance, she realizes this is her last chance to find herself before being sent to the Wandless Academy (aka The Last Ditch School).
Set in what seems to be a fantasy version of a modern or futuristic earth, Alexander has blended elements of different myths and cultures. It seemed to be a mixture of Native American folklore and a modern coming-of-age story. Though bit hard to follow with the descriptions of the characters doing magic, I realized that Alexander was creating her own brand of magic where there are no rules.
As Thea begins to accept her situation and attends the Wandless Academy, a mysterious force called The Nothing seems to be attracted to magic and is quickly killing many people. Thea discovers that the answer to stopping The Nothing may lie in her and her friends. Those of us who grew up watching the movie, The Never Ending Story, may recall that the villain in the story was The Nothing. I kept thinking of the movie even though the stories are nothing alike; the idea of The Nothing was similar.
Young people, and adults alike, who enjoy Native American folklore and unique fantasy worlds, may enjoy this one.
Sounds interesting. My oldest daughter is starting to get into bigger chapter books, so this might interest her. Might be a bit old yet though. I’ll have to show her.
Thanks!
Hi Angela…just wanted to say you might want to check out the winners of my ARC contest last week…I’m just saying… 🙂
Sounds interesting, especially since I just finished Widdershins and it had alot of very interesting Native American folklore in it.
A good plot, Angela.
Oh the nothing totally freaked me out in the Never Ending Story. That wolf thing that attacked Atreyu. Oooh I got chills just thinking about it. The book the Neverending story is quite enjoyable too, and this was sounds like it as well.