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Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: Basically what Emily Drake does is take Harry Potter, turn it into a formula and use the formula to write a very dissapointing book. If you put the two series next to each other you see many similarities, to many to be accidental. She gives us the male best friend, the female best friend. And they form a threesome to try and solve the mysteries by sneaking around at night and spying on the teachers. (This all seems oddly familiar, doesnt it.) She also gives him a broken home life to come from and a task to save the world/ camp. Emily Drake also gives us a group of teachers who seem to remind me of some other teachers from another book series. (Funny how familiar this all seems)
If you really think this sounds like a good book just read Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. (aka Sorcerors Stone) You will get a better book that is funnier and more understandable. (I had to read the ending four times and I still didnt get it. Seriously I shouldnt need to do that! Maybe I'm just slow,oh well.) There is a lot more I could say but they cover that in the editorial reviews.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful story filled with action, adventure, and more!
Review: I have been reading the Magicker series ever since it came out. I have fallen in love with these charcaters and find that this series is just as good, if not better, than Harry Potter. Jason has gripped my heart many times and I have found my heart racing along with his during his trails of fear, heartache, and betrayal. The characters in this story makes me want to believe that they are real and that they will all survive what is happening to them. This book in the series left me baffled and my heart racing. I can't wait to read the next one and many more!
Rating: 
Summary: So-So.
Review: I originally picked up this book because it looked mildly interesting... and really, that's all it turned out to be. It's sort of sad that it's such a rip-off of Harry Potter; the author seems to have plenty of good ideas of her own. I also appreciated the references to other fantasy books, though I have a feeling it's an example of the literary uh-oh 'pepper-jack': Insertion of something the author likes as one of the character's likes. I wasn't all that fond of Jason or Bailey, the two most main characters, but I thought that Henry and Trent were both very interesting and well-written.
For the most part, this book is pretty well written. The author's style still needs to mature a bit, but the second and third books in this series are already much better.
All in all, it's something to read when you're bored and have nothing else to do. It won't leave you with much, but it's sort of fun while it lasts. I, for one, really hope that the author writes more books in a few years-- maybe she'll be able to avoid the pitfalls 'The Magickers' series falls into by then.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Series that Bests Harry Potter
Review: I picked this up at the bookstore near my home because I always buy a book and thought this one would be, at the very least, interesting. From the first line, I was hooked. Emily Drake's expert writing leads you on a marvelous adventure in which magic is very, very different than JK Rowling's world. Another thing I love is that the characters are very well developed. Piece by piece you are offered insights into the lives of Bailey, Ting, Jason, Trent, Henry, and the rest of the delightful cast. Everyone has a story to tell, and Emily Drake expertly tells them. A marvelous series in which magick can be harnessed by using ordinary stones like amethyst, Ms. Drake leads us on a wonderful adventure into a new and unique branch of fantasy and magic.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: I read this book because I was jonsen for Harry Potter and it is still a year till the next book comes out. I wish someone had warned me not to, because I will never get back the hours I spent reading this book.
It is completely assinine! Let's just ignore that she simply took Harry Potter and changed tiny things. The action scenes were confusing and I couldn't tell what happened. The reveal of magic to the students was badly done--there were no denials or confusion. The students just accepted it. Immediately one of them asked if they could tell their parents. Huh??? Can you say unrealistic? Yes, I know it is fiction, but please...
Also, the children knew things and would reinforce what the teachers were trying to teach them. Example: Teacher, "I am looking for a skinwalker." Student, "Isn't that a shapeshifter?" Where did they learn this stuff? Each time was simply a poor attemp to give the reader necessary information.
In addition, the conversations that Jason (AKA a poor man's Harry Potter) overhears does not give enough info to entice the reader to care what they are talking about. And to top it all off, you can't tell one character from another because, frankly, none of them were developed.
It was frustrating and irritating as the events unfolded and I wish I could give it less than 1 star. Recommend it to someone you hate. Otherwise, move along. You will thank me for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Pure Magic! Original Magical Fun...
Review: Jason Adrian is plagued by nightmares of his dead parents, nightmares that feed off his wild imagination and love for books and all things fantasy. While he lives with his stepmother's new family, he can hardly help feeling like he doesn't belong. And as a soccor injury prevents him from attending his long-awaited summer-camp, Jason is all but resigned to spend the entire summer with his dull grandmother while the rest of his family is on vacation and away at camp. But a stroke of luck; his English teacher informs him that he has been invited to a new camp featuring kids with vivid imaginations, chosen from creative essays they had written. Choosing the better of two evils (his grandmother's, or "geek camp") he decides to attend Camp Ravenwyng. Camp Ravenwyng, he soon discovers, is a lot more than it appears to be--and not at all the "geek camp" he expected. They do all kinds of interesting things like botany, naming objects; everything the campers do is somehow a test they are being judged on. And then there are weird things, too. Councellors that are strangely out of tune with the world; strange occurances in the night, and weird conversations that Jason alone seems to hear. Not to mention a mysterious cut on his hand that no one wants to explain--what is it the Councellors are trying to hide? Soon our young campers are thrust into a world of magic, using a magic they never knew they had. But a storm of angry magic lurks ever nearer the campground...will Jason and his friends be able to save the one place they've ever felt they belong? A hearty adventure with a twist along every corner. I LOVE THIS BOOK! Well-written, well-woven, and well-thoughtout, Emily Drake has created a star-studded cast of characters that we are not likely to forget. Apparently these books are disapearing quickly (note the dwindling availibility right next to the price-tag) so order fast! Its worth your $$$ and your time.
And just wait till you see the sequel...
-Lia
Rating:
Summary: Magic indeed
Review: Readers picking up "The Magickers" will probably assume that, as a kids-learning-wizardry book released after the wave of Pottermania, that this is merely a clone to cash in on the new popularity of wizard-themed fantasy. Far from it; in many ways, I found "Magickers" to be a superior work of fiction. n ankle injury has sabotaged Jason;s chances of going to soccer camp, and with his stepfamily going on their own trips, he faces a bleak summer. Until, that is, his English teacher shows up with the application for a special camp called Camp Ravenwyng, for special and talented people. He can either go to "geek camp" or to his weird stepgrandmother's. Jason chooses the camp. Despite the ramshackle appearance of Ravenwyng, and the slightly eccentric teachers, Jason soon begins to enjoy himself with a cluster of new friends. But on his first night, he ventures outside his cabin -- and is bitten by a wolflike creature that snarls "You're mine" before vanishing. Though the teachers reassure him that it's nothing important, he isn't so sure. And there is an odd feeling about Ravenwyng: a pool of water speaks the name of the cabin he will attend, tiny objects are being pilfered from a certain cabin, strange dreams, and Jason overhears some very suspicious conversations among the teachers and the leader of the Camp, Gavan Rainwater. Then the teachers reveal the true nature of the camp: It is to train them as Magickers, powerful magicians who will resist the evil Dark Hand of Brennard, Magickers gone bad. As the savage Wolfjackals draw closer to Ravenwyng, and a magical "manna" storm is brewing around them, Jason may be the only person standing between the Magickers and destruction. This will undoubtedly be an unpopular review, as I find this to be superior to the Harry Potter series. But Drake has better descriptive ability, characterizations, and sense of atmosphere. This book never uses cartoonish characters stereotypes, or low humor. Jason is important, but not hugely unique or adored. Ravenwyng's teachers are realistic and effective authority figures that do not detract from the preadolescent heroes. The bad guys are bad for a reason, rather than being without motive. And, in a twist that is quite refreshing in modern fantasy, the climax does not depend on a deus ex machina, but on the effort of the characters. Jason is a good hero, thoroughly sympathetic and believable in his characterization; his determination and nervousness about his scar attracting evil forces are extremely evocative, as is his attitude whenever an obstacle is put in front of him, and his willingness to support and help his fellow younger Magickers. Bailey is mildly ditzy, but her pleasantness and helpfulness shine through. Gavan is a good break from the stereotypical mentor wizard, and comes across as a truly strong character. Supporting cast like the timid Henry, fiery Irish cook FireAnn, grandmotherly Aunt Freyah, and the others are all given their own little quirks to set them apart. Drake shows a skilled hand at description and atmosphere. Though occasionally there is an awkward passage or two, overall she's very effective at evoking responses. One of the most effective scenes in the book is when a boy burns out his magic, and Drake handles his response delicately and very saddeningly. Among the chilling scenes are the Wolfjackal's attack on Jason and its later attempt to lure him over to evil, and the bizarre dreams that are connected to his future as a Magicker. My only real beef is that the response of the kids to learning about the Magickers seems a little too casual. Fortunately this is only the first of a series of books about the Magickers, and I am definitely looking forward to "Curse of Arkady." Thoroughly delightful and magical.
Rating:
Summary: The Magickers should be the next Harry Potter
Review: When I started reading The Magickers I thought that Emily Drake was a good author with a practical idea; to cash in on the Harry Potter craze. The more I read, though, the more I realized how untrue this thought was. While there are certainly similar elements between the two - a lonely young boy finds out that he can use magic in a hidden world that operates within our own - Drake's story is fresh and compelling. Her characters show the complexity and personality that you'd want in a friend (or an enemy), the plot is full of entertaining twists, and Drake skillfully manages to deal with the concepts of good and evil both subtly and realistically. This book is a great read for both children and adults, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loved the Harry Potter series.
Rating:
Summary: A Fun, Harry-Potter .....
Review: When Jason Adrian is injured during soccer tryouts, he is devastated that he cannot go to soccer camp with his best friend. He was certain that he was doomed to spending summer eating Jell-O with his grandmother. But his English teacher unexpectedly comes to his rescue and he is off to Camp Ravenwyng. His overprotective stepmother cannot really find anything wrong with a camp for creative and imaginative students, so Jason finds himself on a funky little bus with a small group of kids and two weird-looking counselors. This bus ride is Jason's first tip-off that Ravenwyng isn't an ordinary camp - not when they suddenly went from nowhere to somewhere and night and day became totally confused in the process. Jason quickly finds that this is just the beginning. All of the children at camp were chosen because of their magicial potential and they are being trained to use that magic. As if that wasn't enough, he has to deal with a shape-shifting fellow camp kid, a disappearing best friend and a traitor in their midst. For he discovers that Camp Ravenwyng is the new battleground between the Camp Ravenwyng Magickers and their ancient enemy, the Dark Hand of Brennard and that a member of the Dark Hand is at camp plotting evil deeds... I resisted buying this book for quite some time because I thought it was a total Harry Potter .... and it both is and it isn't. Jason and Harry have many similarities: their age; they are both being raised by someone other than their parents: Harry an aunt/uncle, Jason a stepmother/stepfather; they both know nothing about magic until they go to school/camp; they both have two best friends: Hermoine/Bailey and Ron/Trent; a klutzy boy in camp: Neville Longbottom and Henry Squibb; they are both sorted into their areas: Harry by the sorting hat and Jason by the wishing well; both have weird scars: Harry the famous lighting bolt on his forehead and Jason a weird moon shaped scar on his hand; both are mysterious targets for evil beings; both have the power to work miraculous things and end up saving the day, etc. This is really too bad because once Susan Drake got past the whole "be as close to Harry Potter as possible without plagarizing" at the beginning of the book, she was able to create a delightful fantasy book. There are some differences, the main one being the way magic works and what it is used for. The evil characters are also different and include both animals and humans. There are also some unexpected surprises in the book. The book is well-written and the reader empathizes with the characters almost immediately. The plot is pretty fast paced and there are plenty of little details to keep the reader amused with sub-plots while they wait for the serious action to occur. If you enjoyed Harry Potter, you will like this book, but I still feel bad that she "borrowed" so many ideas from J.K. Rowling.
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