Firestar is the fourth book in Anne Forbes’ magical series and this time it concerns itself with an attack on Firestar, the source of the magicians’s magic. Neil, Clara and Lewis are on holiday nearby, and, with their new friend Shona, they try to puzzle out what is happening and how to prevent it.
There are so many threads in this fantasy novel for 8 – 12 year olds, that it isn’t surprising a few technical points are light on explanations (that’s the beauty of magic, of course) and a few questions are left unanswered but that will not spoil anything for Dragonfire fans.
When a NASA satellite discovers a new source of power, coming from the heart of a Scottish mountain, no-one anticipates the consequences, not even the magician who helped the scientists to find it. The world’s press arrive, intent on telling the story of the walking mountains, but even they never uncover the whole story. Friends in high places, magicians and technical whizzkids combine their efforts to free Firestar from the magical virus that is attacking it.
Meanwhile family feuds are put aside (temporarily) and the evil Prince Kalman joins in the rescue mission. In so doing he also rescues the careers of two kind but hopeless singers. No one is all bad.
Of course, the good guys win and normal life is resumed but Anne Forbes has three more books planned in this series, so look out for more thrills from these characters. To see an interview with Anne, click here.
