Christina reviewed The face in the frost by John Bellairs
Review of 'The face in the frost' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Trippy.
English language
Published Nov. 21, 1986 by Ace Books.
The Face in the Frost
John Bellairs: The Face in the Frost (1986, Ace Books)
- ISBN:
- 978-0-441-22531-6
- OCLC Number:
- 233687379
Copied ISBN!
4 stars
(2 reviews)
The Face in the Frost is a fantasy classic, defying categorization with its richly imaginative story of two separate kingdoms of wizards, stymied by a power that is beyond their control. A tall, skinny misfit of a wizard named Prospero lives in the Southern Kingdom—a patchwork of feuding duchies and small manors, all loosely loyal to one figurehead king. Both he and an improbable adventurer named Roger Bacon look in mirrors to see different times and places, which greatly affects their personalities and mannerisms and leads them into a myriad of situations that are sometimes frightening and often hilarious. Hailed by critics as an extraordinary work, combining the thrills of a horror novel with the inventiveness of fantasy, The Face in the Frost is the debut novel that launched John Bellairs' reputation as one of the most individual voices in young adult fiction.
Thom reviewed The face in the frost by John Bellairs
Review of 'The face in the frost' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
A short read, but interesting. An original take on magic from the perspective of a wizard; when he is attacked by illusions the descriptions are truly wild and menacing. This wizard is no Gandalf or Merlin, but instead muddles through his magic. The force of will seems to be stronger than pure intelligence in this story.
A bit anachronistic for being set in another world (described in the first paragraphs of the book); it is clear that one or both wizards have visited Earth but with no indication of how or when. When the references happened, they were jarring.