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The Song of the Quarkbeast

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

King Snodd IV of the Kingdom of Hereford has realized that the power of magic has untold financial possibilities, and the man who controls magic controls almost anything. To this end, he has appointed as Official Court Sorcerer the odious Blix at Industrial Magic, one of only two Houses of Enchantment left in the world. With Blix's willing assistance, only one person stands between King Snodd and his plans for power and riches.

Jennifer Strange, the sixteen-year-old acting manager of Kazam, runs the only other House of Enchantment. She doesn't care for King Snodd or his plans for magic. Ancient decree dictates that Kazam can refuse Snodd's demands, but Blix challenges Kazam to a contest: the first team to rebuild their half of Hereford's collapsed 12th-century bridge gains control of the other's House of Enchantment.

With only one functioning Wizard and her faithful assistant, Tiger Prawns, Jennifer must use every ounce of ingenuity to derail King Snodd's plans. It may involve a trip on a magic carpet at the speed of sound to the Troll Wall, the mysterious Transient Moose and a powerless sorceress named Once Magnificent Boo. Only one thing is certain: Jennifer Strange will not relinquish the noble powers of magic without a fight.

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  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from July 15, 2013
      “Big Magic,” which had been in serious decline in the Ununited Kingdom, returned at the end of The Last Dragonslayer, the first installment in Fforde’s Chronicles of Kazam. Now that magical power is on the rise again, the despotic King Snodd IV hopes to cash in, specifically by putting the wizards who work at Kazam Mystical Arts Management under his control by proposing they merge with iMagic, the rival house led by the Amazing Blix, a questionable character with a new royal appointment: Court Mystician. “Over our dead bodies,” pretty much sums up the Kazam staff’s reaction, and no one is more resolute than 16-year-old Jennifer Strange, the foundling who has been running Kazam since the Great Zambini’s disappearance. Challenged to a magic duel that will decide their fate, Jennifer and her (mostly) lovable cast of misfits must rely more on wits than on wands to preserve their independence. It’s not essential to have read the first book to enjoy this one, but those who enjoyed the witty wordplay and whacked-out humor of The Last Dragonslayer will find the same delights in this sequel. Ages 10–14.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:920
  • Text Difficulty:4-5

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