newimport>Nathan |
newimport>DianeDuane |
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| − | [[Image:Games Wizards Play 300x200.jpg|thumbnail|right|200px]]The tenth Young Wizards novel. DD has described the book as being "in preparation to go to the publisher". There is no hard publication date at present. | + | [[Image:Games Wizards Play 300x200.jpg|thumbnail|right|200px]]The tenth Young Wizards novel. It will be published on February 2, 2016. |
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| − | The long-form blurb for the novel (copied below) was published in the [http://www.youngwizards.com/forums/yw-book-10-games-wizards-play/2464-yw-book-10-long-form-blurb.html Young Wizards forums] in June 2011.
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| | + | Every eleven years, Earth’s senior wizards hold the Invitational — an intensive three-week event where the planet’s newest, sharpest young wizards show off their best and hottest spells. Wizardly partners Kit Rodriguez and Nita Callahan, and Nita’s sister, former wizard-prodigy Dairine Callahan, are drafted in to mentor two brilliant and difficult cases: for Nita and Kit, Asian-American Penn Shao-Feng, a would-be sun-technician with a dangerous new take on managing solar weather: and for Dairine, shy young Mehrnaz Farrahi, an Iranian wizard-girl trying to specialize in defusing earthquakes while struggling with a toxic extended wizardly family that demands she overperform to their expectations… or fail. |
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| − | Once every eleven years, Earth’s most senior wizards stage an event called “The Invitational” – a gathering of hot young wizardly talent from all over the world at which the Seniors judge which of their younger colleagues will be in the forefront of the next generation’s battle against every wizard’s ancient enemy, the Lone Power. Part science fair (except that as part of their projects contestants can change the laws of science), part talent competition (the talents including shapechange, matter transmutation, and blasting things to atoms), part networking event and social occasion, the Invitational is an unmissable chance for the planet’s most gifted new wizardly talent to meet new people, start new friendships (or rivalries), scope each other out, and prove who’s the best at wizardry… and who just thinks they are.
| + | Together they’re plunged into a whirlwind of cutthroat competition and ruthless judging: it’s “The Apprentice” with magic. Penn’s egotistical attitude toward his mentors— Kit is “over the hill”, Nita is a prize to be confiscated from him – complicates matters as Nita and Kit work to negotiate their burgeoning boyfriend/girlfriend issues. Meanwhile, Dairine struggles to stabilize her hero-worshipping, insecure protégée against the interference of powerful wizard-relatives using her to further their own tangled agendas. When both candidates make it through to the finals stage on the dark side of the Moon, they and their mentors are both flung into a final conflict that could change the solar system for the better… |
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| − | The Invitational’s coveted first prize is a year-long apprenticeship under Earth’s Planetary Wizard, the powerful Irina Mladen. There are young wizards who’d do nearly anything to score such an incredible opportunity. Kit Rodriguez and Nita Callahan would love a chance at such a prize themselves… except that they can’t compete. Because of their team’s past successes, they’ve been chosen to mentor one of the most promising candidates among the up-and-coming wizardly talent. Trouble is, their cocksure mentoree, Penn Shao-Fang, thinks Nita and Kit are old news – a couple of has-beens past their peak power, with nothing to teach him. Nita’s wizard-sister Dairine has also been assigned mentoring duty. Unfortunately she hates not only her own mentoree candidate, an infuriatingly self-effacing girl called Mehrnaz, but the whole job that takes her away from the search for her missing friend Roshaun just as she’s come across a vital clue that could solve the riddle of his disappearance and bring him home.
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| − | Nita’s initially none too thrilled by the situation either. Her growing visionary talent has been subjecting her to repeated warnings that something terrible is about to happen to Kit’s sister Carmela, and possibly also to Kit himself. But she’s increasingly distracted from her concerns as she, Kit and Dairine discover that not all young wizards are as anywhere near as well-adjusted as those they’ve met so far. Though wizards are committed to slowing down entropy, that doesn’t make them perfect… and the Invitational’s present intake of competitors contains a fair number of divas, prima donnas, and characters who just need smacking down.
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| − | In this already-charged atmosphere, tensions between Kit and Nita are on the rise as they clash over how to keep the hypercompetitive Penn in line long enough to make it past the Invitational’s semifinal stages, where he intends to prove the worth of a signature spell that’s been making even Senior wizards nervous. And Penn’s loose-cannon behavior isn’t the only thing putting a strain on Nita and Kit, or their relationship, which has already been going through some changes. Neither of them is fully prepared for the complications that can ensue when wizards aren’t cooperating, but competing all out. When the competitive atmosphere infects Dairine and she tries to sort Penn out for Nita, the ensuing monumental blowup between the sisters – in which Kit unwisely tries to interfere – leaves the two wizardly partners at loggerheads.
| + | …or damage Earth beyond even wizardly repair. |
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| − | As the Invitational progresses toward its finals stage on the dark side of the Moon – as the previously overconfident Penn inexplicably starts getting cold feet about the final presentation of his competition wizardry, and without warning Dairine dumps her mentoree and vanishes without a trace -- it starts to seem to the frustrated Kit and Nita that everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong. But they soon discover that this too is a potentially fatal misconception. One silent participant in the Invitational has yet to make his presence felt. And even when he does, in this most challenging of the games wizards play, there’s still one move to go…
| + | (PLEASE NOTE: the above cover art is a placeholder. The genuine cover art for the book will be posted here when it is ready.) |
The tenth Young Wizards novel. It will be published on February 2, 2016.
Every eleven years, Earth’s senior wizards hold the Invitational — an intensive three-week event where the planet’s newest, sharpest young wizards show off their best and hottest spells. Wizardly partners Kit Rodriguez and Nita Callahan, and Nita’s sister, former wizard-prodigy Dairine Callahan, are drafted in to mentor two brilliant and difficult cases: for Nita and Kit, Asian-American Penn Shao-Feng, a would-be sun-technician with a dangerous new take on managing solar weather: and for Dairine, shy young Mehrnaz Farrahi, an Iranian wizard-girl trying to specialize in defusing earthquakes while struggling with a toxic extended wizardly family that demands she overperform to their expectations… or fail.
Together they’re plunged into a whirlwind of cutthroat competition and ruthless judging: it’s “The Apprentice” with magic. Penn’s egotistical attitude toward his mentors— Kit is “over the hill”, Nita is a prize to be confiscated from him – complicates matters as Nita and Kit work to negotiate their burgeoning boyfriend/girlfriend issues. Meanwhile, Dairine struggles to stabilize her hero-worshipping, insecure protégée against the interference of powerful wizard-relatives using her to further their own tangled agendas. When both candidates make it through to the finals stage on the dark side of the Moon, they and their mentors are both flung into a final conflict that could change the solar system for the better…
…or damage Earth beyond even wizardly repair.
(PLEASE NOTE: the above cover art is a placeholder. The genuine cover art for the book will be posted here when it is ready.)
