Review: The Magician's Workshop, Volume Two

The Magician's Workshop, Volume Two by Christopher Hansen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In my review of volume one, I spoke of how I’m not the biggest fan of serial stories but was willing to try for this one. At the end of the first volume, I was content to continue on with the serial releases; after finishing the second volume, my view has shifted. I’m no longer merely content to continue on – I need to continue on. Need with a capital ‘N’. This second volume has added so much to the story: so many new elements have come to light, so many things have become clearer, and I have a much better idea of what kind of beauty is waiting deeper in the story.

In volume one, I came to really enjoy the magical world. There was so much to it, the originality being amazing. I was left with a lot of questions, though, but that was okay. It was only part one, and I knew the answers would come. With volume two, we get quite a few of those answers. In fact, a large majority of my questions relating to the magic were answered. Oh, there’s still the big questions. Of course the big questions would remain, would grow, as they’re central to the story. But my small questions were answered. The little things I was curious about became clearer; details I wanted more of were expanded. The magic really does develop in this one, continuing the wonderful world building we experienced in the first volume. In the first volume it was obvious how the magical world was interconnected, we were given ideas of how the world would come together, but it grew so much in this one. In fact, it took some turns that I had not been expecting. Notions introduced in the first volume were taken further, turned around, and made into something more.

Honestly, I cannot even begin to explain all the development that occurred in this one in regards to the magical world.

Not only does the world develop, also the characters are taken to the next stage of their stories. This is no filler volume, as can sometimes be the case with serial stories – this volume is pure movement. We move forward, we get new pieces of information. Characters are set on their paths in this one, the journeys truly beginning. Whatever ideas you had in the first volume about the characters, whomever you believed would and would not have colour, be prepared for some shocks. I thought I had it all figured out, but there were some characters that caught me off guard. I won’t say who or why, but be ready for some surprises. From there, be ready for a range of emotional scenes. The interactions that occur following the news in this volume, the way in which things play out once people do or do not receive colour, is a thing of beauty. I just wanted to grab some characters and hug them, whereas others I wished to throttle. It really is a great move forward for all of the characters, clearly giving us an idea of where everyone will be going from here. As with the first volume, some aspects are clearer than others are, but this only works to leave you intrigued as to where everything will go from here.

It really is a strong four star read. The only thing that left me disappointed was that this volume wasn’t quite as action filled as I had hoped it would be. I was pulled in throughout. I found the story to be gripping. Yet when I was finished, a voice in the back of my head (the reason why so few five star ratings are handed out) spoke up. Whilst this story did move forward, whilst we did learn a lot, it wasn’t an action packed fantasy read. It was a lot of information, really. This makes it a very important read, but I would have liked my heart to be beating with something other than the colour related suspense. This is just me being pedantic, though. I’m positive in the future volumes things will progress with non-stop action.

Once again, I’m eager to see where the story goes from here. Volume one pulled me in, and volume two left me super excited. I cannot wait to see what happens in volume three!

As a final note, I would like to thank the authors for allowing me to read this in exchange for a review.

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