Book
The call
Record details
- ISBN: 9780061833670 (pbk.)
- ISBN: 0061833673 (pbk.)
-
Physical Description:
print
243, 15 p. : ill ; 20 cm. - Edition: 1st pbk. ed.
- Publisher: New York : Katherine Tegen Books, 2011, c2010.
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| Subject: | Good and evil -- Fiction |
| Genre: | Adventure fiction. Fantasy fiction. |
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| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
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- AudioFile Reviews : AudioFile Reviews 2011 February
Ramon de Ocampo gives a rousing presentation of the first in the series of adventures of 12-year-old Mack MacAvoy. Mack is "pretty medium" on every scale--a medium-happy kid who has medium brains and medium looks. But one day he learns that he's one of the Magnificent 12, and he's being called upon to set aside his "mediumness" to track down the other 11 members, who will join him to save the world from an evil force. De Ocampo's narration is far from a medium telling of the story. With a quick pace, he conveys the humor that helps Mack deal with new challenges and the combination of fear and excitement that drives pretty much everything that Mack does. J.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine - Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2010 November #2
*Starred Review* Tongue firmly planted in cheek, Grant sends a lad with a serious case of mediumness up against not only the minions of an ageless and evil Pale Queen but also a truly impressive list of phobias in this opener to the Magnificent 12 series. Prompted by the urgent warnings of an ancient, spectral mage (In just a few months the Dread Foe will be loosed in all her fury, all her rage, all her sphincter-clenching, heart-clutching, throat-gobbling, spit-drying, blood-freezing, bowel-loosening terror!), a murder attempt, and the arrival of plane tickets with a million-dollar debit card, Mack sets out for Australia. This is just the first leg of a mission to gather the other 11 supposed Magnifica necessary to defeat the evil that is about to escape 3,000 years of imprisonment. Hooking up with the first of his allies entails not only long, screaming drops into the ocean (Mack is powerfully thalassophobic) and down a shaft into a cave beneath Uluru (he is also awfully claustrophobic) but also battles with a variety of the queen's magical warriors and an encounter with her daughter, Ereskigalâan insanely beautiful young sorceress with the eating habits of a female praying mantis. Grant fills out the historical backstory for this promising scenario in alternating flashback chapters, provides a sturdy supporting cast for his reluctant young hero, and keeps up the rapid pace from first page to last. A terrific start, with an elaborate website festooned with games and contests to ease the wait for sequels. Copyright 2010 Booklist Reviews. - Horn Book Guide Reviews : Horn Book Guide Reviews 2011 Spring
Mack fears almost everything, making him an unlikely leader for a band of twelve preteen heroes. However, with his "head bully" bodyguard, Stefan, and cryptic messages from ancient magician Grimluk, Mack jumps into his destiny with a surprisingly level head. Grant's novel boasts loads of humor, but its too-often fourth-wall-breaking results in uneven pacing. Copyright 2011 Horn Book Guide Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2010 September #1
The first book in Grant's new series, The Magnificent 12, introduces unlikely hero Mack, who has "a serious case of mediumness" and a vast array of phobias. Enter Grimluk, a 3,000-year-old man who informs Mack that he is to be the first of the new Magnifica, a group of 12 kids who must join their talents and inherited-yet-unknown powers to fight the evil Pale Queen and her vicious daughter. Reluctant and frankly freaked out by this news, Mack and former bully, now guardian friend Stefan team up to evade deadly attentions from a seriously creepy set of insect-like monsters and demonic elves. The author keeps the story moving at a brisk pace with suspenseful action and laugh-out-loud humor. The juxtaposition of chapters that recount Grimluk's ancient adventures in times when math wasn't even invented against those when the young protagonist is equipped with an iPhone and receives text messages from his golem produces a lighter-than-usual fantasy action-adventure that is sure to win many fans and fly off the shelves. (Fantasy. 10-14)
Copyright Kirkus 2010 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2010 August #4
Grant, author of the Gone series, takes a comedic turn, launching the middle-grade Magnificent 12 series about a boy with multiple phobias forced to help save the world. After saving the life of the school's toughest bully, 12-year-old Mack, who fears everything from spiders to the ocean, is visited by the ancient wizard Grimluk, who charges Mack with gathering the "Magnifica," a group of 12 magical 12-year-olds who can defeat the ancient Pale Queen and her daughter. Mack's adventures take him to Australia (a flight that triggers many of Mack's phobias) and alternate with flashbacks to Grimluk's original battle against the Pale Queen. Mack's bully baiting and dispatching of poisonous snakes down the garbage disposal don't exactly emphasize his unlikely heroism, but the story's abundant action and humor--from the rampant ignorance of Grimluk's day (when the very notion of a number greater than 11 baffled most folks) to the diary dispatches of the scene-stealing golem who takes Mack's place at home and in school ("Dear Mack, Did you know that you cannot eat cats? Each day I learn a little more")--should win over readers. Ages 10âup. (Aug.)
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