Wizards: Stories of Magic, Mischief and Mayhem

Rating:
Summary: Good starters
Review: I love wizards, be they the unusual, young ones or the old gray-bearded Gandalf/Merlin types. But I and many others Iove wizards. As the title suggests, this is a collection of some of the best wizard stories out there, by some of the best writers of fantasy ever, including but not limited to: Jane Yolen, Ursula Le Guin, T.H. White, C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, and so on.

Much of this material is excerpted from other books, such as Le Guin's story ("Wizard of Earthsea"), George MacDonald's ("At the Back of the North Wind") and several others. While readers may have heard of some of the books ("Wizard of Earthsea," "Wizard's Hall," the Narnia Books) this is a good introduction to other works by older authors, like T.H. White's excerpt from "Once and Future King," Phillippa Pearce, George MacDonald (who died before Tolkien!), Beowulf (the one excerpt that may be beyond the average 9-12 reader); and a few of those who are simply obscure like Mark Helprin and Nikolai Gogol. (Not all the excerpts are from wizard-related books, tho)

On a non-reading level, this book is beautifully bound with a gorgeous cover, though a little pricey for a paperback, in my humble opinion. Nevertheless, if you are not acquainted with some or all of the authors inside and/or are looking for good wizard stories, look no further. It's a good way to kick off your fantasy reading.