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High Wizardry

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High Wizardry

Diane Duane

High Wizardry Diane Duane Nita's bratty little sister Dairine 10 is too smart and powerful for a new wizard. Her computerized wizard manual glibly sends her off on her novice Ordeal. Kit and Nita chase her across the galaxy, trying to catch up before she gets into trouble so deep that not even her brains can rescue her.

High Wizardry Details

Date : Published (first published 1990) ISBN : Author : Diane Duane Format : Kindle Edition 375 pages Genre : , Young Adult, Magic, Urban Fantasy

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From Reader Review High Wizardry for online ebook

Dixie Conley says

It seems like every book in this series can make me cry. And yet, while full conflict and darkness, you could say that the books are mostly about joy. About life and living.

In this one, Nita's smartmouth little sister has taken the oath and become a wizard. Because of reasons, she gets a computer rather than a book as a manual. Instead of spells having to be carefully prepared and checked and so on, the computer does the calculations, making magic simple for her. Did I mention that the pain in the ass wants to be a Jedi knight as well? Oh, she does, and so of course the first thing she does is go looking for Darth Vader.

It is never wise to go searching for the Lone Power. Misadventures befall her as does genuine life-snuffing danger. Is she smart enough to solve this?

Tremendously good book.

Laura says

The MC is an over confident know-it-all whiny little brat! She literally knows everything without needing to learn it, despite being so small.

The philosophy and life lessons that I loved so much in the second book are reduced to: the worst thing that can happen is having dogs burn in cars! Not children or other people getting killed but dogs!! And we should do anything to save those dogs!

I'm done with this series! It's just not worth my time.

Would I want my kids to read it? It's a series meant for a young audience after all. Hell no! And I wouldn't recomend it either.

Robyn says

Montana Library2Go

I read this at speed, which for me and in this case meant 375 pages in 75 minutes. I would have skipped it entirely if I weren't concerned that I might need to know about some of what happens in it for future books in the series. I actively disliked Dairine in previous books and I hated her in this one. I was hoping bad things would happen to her. I wanted her knocked down 10 or 12 pegs. I longed for her to understand that her view of herself as high-and-mighty better than everyone else practically perfect was not only false, but had led her to interact with the world in a way that was worse than useless. Straight through I kept wishing that she would suddenly have a realization that she had worked so hard at believing herself to be superior that nobody liked her, she was alone in life, friendless and merely tolerated by her family.

The computerized wizard's manual was a cheat by the author, plain and simple. Nita and Kit and every other

PDF File: High Wizardry... 3 Read and Download Ebook High Wizardry... human wizard on Earth have had to learn magic. They need practice, they need to work their way up, they need to collect objects that they wield to use their powers, etc. If Dairine had to follow the rules that Diane Duane had already set in place for wizardry, she wouldn't be able to be so reckless and idiotic about it. So she had to be provided with a shortcut. Thus the computer, which allows Dairine to do magic without really being involved in it in any way. She doesn't have to know anything, she doesn't have to understand anything, she doesn't have to think, or learn, or practice, or empathize, or collect totems, or do any of the other myriad sensible things that Duane created as aspects of the wizardry of this series. That's lazy.

More laziness: offscreen, so to speak, Kit's family was told about his wizardry for the first time, were made to properly understand it, accept it, be wary/proud, and allow him to head off for more of it, in a matter of minutes. Yeah, right. Convenient! There was one example of lazy writing after another in this book. I'm not ok with creating a world through 2 books and then just skipping right over all the natural laws and rules of that creation because they don't serve a story that wasn't worth telling in the first place. I'm also not ok with spending a couple books creating characters who are all about empathy and understanding and saving creatures and avoiding harm and only causing suffering to the antagonist and his minions...just to throw it all out the window to speed up a story that isn't very good. The /fall from Heaven crap was laziness, too, and totally unnecessary.

There was nothing here I liked. After I've read book 4 and if I decide at that point to continue with the series, I'll try to remember to come back and update whether this book can be skipped without missing anything important to later books.

Linda ~ chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny ~ says

This series continues to be nothing like what I expected. Yes, the protagonists are kids, and Dairine especially acts like a self-centered brat for much of this book. But damn, this series zigs where others would zag, and it goes at Warp 10 where others are barely making it out of the stratosphere. It's not afraid to tackle issues like death or hate, as well as self-doubt, bullying, and adolescence. The parental figures and authority figures are good people who the kids can trust and go to in times of need for guidance, not to be told what to do. And the kids learn important life lessons, like how not to strangle your little sister, or how to tell a boy you kind of like him like that, alongside the fantastical and sci-fi elements of magic and traveling the galaxy and going up against your own personal Vader. Kind of.

This book, even more than the previous two, shows that there are no limits to this world. Mars? Pah! Why stop at Mars when you can go to other side of the Unseen Universe? Who has time to worry about bra sizes when the ultimate evil is going after your little sister? This series is amazing and absurd and just a fun time all around, even when it's creeping the bejesus out of me.

I am a little disappointed that (view spoiler)

Highly recommend!

Paul says

Review written: sometime before April 20, 2015

High Wizardry by Diane Duane

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Why I read it: My book club is reading the series sometime next year.

Rating: 4/5 [now 3/5 for certain reasons] [actually now it's 4 again]

What I thought: Takes quite a while to get going, and I rushed its ending, which is an absolute shame, because there's a lot of interesting things going on here. Dairine is pretty great, though I'm unenthused by certain parts of her backstory. (There's so much more I want to say but while I kinda sorta know where to begin, I'm in my phone right now and it's awkward. I'm so glad I read this again again though, even if it deserves more time than I gave it.)

Kit says

Oh crud. I think I might not be reading anything else for a little while. I have a Leetle Wixxard addiction, and I am not sure if I need to get a life or not, or even if I want one. Oh my god, Dairine and the turtlethings, though. Oh man. I was absolutely delighted by this book, and by finding out that it is possible to have a younger sister character who, if powerful (a fair enough reason is provided), doesn't turn into another insufferable Dawn Summers character. Good for you, Dairi! I would have liked a bit more with Nita and Kit, but what I did get was charming, as usual. I really enjoy their dynamic and there are some hints in this book that suggest some changes in their partnership may be coming about. Hmmmm... Already about 50 pages into the next book. Guess I won't be working on my others for awhile. :)

Scurra says

As a geek, this will inevitably always be my favourite of the series, which makes my rating slightly less that useful here. (It should only merit 4 stars really...)

From the opening sequence (which brought back memories of our own first computer arriving!) through to the moment of the Choice, the story fairly rattles along, even if it is a bit too easy to see that the whole Nita/Kit storyline is rather redundant (other than for the "family" subtext.) But pretty much the whole of Darine's experience on the planet is fantastic and even though the outcome can never be in doubt, the journey there is genuinely thought-provoking.

And this book expands the universe quite significantly, introducing the Crossings and also expanding on the idea of the Avatar, both of which are key parts of the series in the future.

A great entry in a very consistent series.

Vicki (The Wolf's Den) says

Nita's younger sister, Dairine, can be a bit of a know-it-all brat sometimes. But at least she doesn't know about wizardry.

Well, until their summer trip (in Deep Wizardry) when she saw Nita transform from whale to human right

PDF File: High Wizardry... 5 Read and Download Ebook High Wizardry... before her eyes. Now she sees the power and she'll go mad unless she can have it too. Understandable, since I don't know anyone who wouldn't want to perform magic.

She starts poking around Nita's stuff, getting more and more intrusive (much to Nita's annoyance), and eventually finds the Wizard's Oath page in her manual. Without a second thought, she reads it aloud, but when nothing happens she's just about ready to give up.

Well, if she can't have magic, the new computer might be the next best thing. Or it might just be the answer she was looking for. Sure enough, she starts off on a journey across the galaxy and beyond, all in the hopes of fighting and beating Darth Vader. Be careful what you wish for.

The younger the wizard, the greater their power. The greater their power, the more they can do against the Lone Power. And He doesn't like that one bit.

For a third book, and a noticeably shorter installment, this sure had a LOT packed into it. It had Dairine's main story, it had Nita and Kit's story chasing after her, it had battles, it had Creation, it had 'Heaven', it had philosophy, it had space ports, it had aliens, it had...more that I won't get into... Frankly, I found the amount of material a bit daunting for one book.

I have to admit, I did not like Dairine at all during my first time reading this. I was intensely loyal to Nita and felt Dairine was a huge threat to Nita's continuing to be a/the main character. Perhaps it was because I'm an older sister, myself. Sure, younger wizards are stronger, but that's no reason to throw Nita aside! I was honestly getting really anxious about it, even to the point I thought Nita might get killed off to make room for Dairine!

Um...okay, SPOILER ALERT...Nita hangs around for a long, long time... END SPOILER.

With my fears on that subject since resolved, I found Dairine a very likable character. She's strong, independent, smart, and snarky. She's only 10, maybe 11, but she's far from childish. In fact, I keep picturing her as a mouthy 15 or 16-year-old (though this may be interference from recalling later books—ah, the joys of re-reading). She also plays off Nita extremely well, creating a believable, and at time touching, sisterly relationship.

My largest problem with this book was its vast technical or abstract descriptions. Other worlds, space ports, galaxy views, and other astrological events play a huge part here, and some of the descriptions are simply too much to picture. This book is the most tempting for me to want a movie to be made, just so I can see what the heck we're supposed to be picturing. Thankfully, these aren't too central to the plot, so you can sorta skim along with minimal knowledge, but it might be nice to see an illustrated edition one day. (If you're really hung up on the space port, don't worry, it gets visited again in later books.)

Same thing goes for the 'aftermath' of the 'final battle'. There are some references made to historical/mythological figures, a lot of whom might not be known to MG readers. Sure, it's a good opportunity for research, but I'd almost give this over solely to the YA crowd. MG readers will like it for the action and the excitement of other worlds, but I think YA readers will be able to understand more of the techno-babble, mythology and spiritual references, and some budding 'feelings' between Kit and Nita.

Approximate Reading Time: 3.5 Hours

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Olivia says

After reading the second book in the series and being utterly dissapointed (see review) I was somewhat hesitant to pick up the third book. Well, I can say I'm glad I did.

Unlike the first two books the main characters are not Kit and Nita - it's Dairine, Nita's bratty, annoying, kid sister who is far too smart for her age.

Many of the reviewers on here didn't like Dairine. I actually did. Sure she's bratty, and a know it all but beneath all that she's a good person who's navigating her way through life (and secretly wants to be like her big sister, Nita). I really enjoyed seeing her develop and learn that she's not always the smartest person in the room.

Aside from Dairine's story, Duane manages to weave in incredibly complicated wizard-esque technology (unfortunately, most of it isn't real in real life) and further expand upon the wizarding world she created in the first two books. Many of the concepts in the book will appeal to both adults and children alike. For me this is how I know a story is excellent: it can transcend across audiences and be examined at a higher level. I'm highly impressed with the complexity of these and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Qt says

This is Book 3 of Diane Duane's Wizard series, and like the first two books, it is very well written, containing serious and dramatic elements, believable descriptions of wizardry, and a spiritual or philosophical element running throughout. I think I liked the first two a bit better, though not because they were better books--I think I just preferred the adventures the main characters, Nita and Kit, went on. Also, Nita's sister Dairine is a major character in this one, and I never liked her, so that probably didn't help :-) Still, I love the mix of science, magic, and positive messages. The technical details occasionally were over my head, but I didn't feel that they bogged down the action--instead, it seemed like the explanations made the wizardry more plausible.

The series sounds rather Harry Potter-esque, with its good vs. evil plots and young magic-makers, but it really isn't; I believe the books were written before HP, and the feel of the series is also quite different.

Krysta says

Diane Duane continues to astound me with this series. As in the previous two books, the classic archetype of Good versus Evil is played out with such raw emotion in the climax that you'll be swept right into the wizardry. While I, like protagonists Nita and Kit, find Dairine more than a little annoying at times - she managed to redeem herself substantially in this installment. I think there is a part of all of us that approaches life with cold, calculating logic and it isn't until we acknowledge our humanity and weaknesses that we can truly overcome them and turn our knowledge into a real force for good. Dang it, Ms Duane, you've made me philosophical again! Then again, its because her books resonate so deeply that I keep reading them... ;) I'm gonna have to acquire the next book in the series.

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Kate Sherrod says

There is so much in High Wizardry, the third book in Diane Duane's wonderful series, that it barely counts as fantasy. Which is entirely awesome; this is the Diane Duane whose name I saw with pleasure and anticipation on those Star Trek novels of my youth, except even more cosmic. More cosmic in every possible way.

I've praised Duane's scientific/mathematical approach to magic before, but little did I know just how scientific and mathematical it was yet to become. For, as the focus shifts from Nita's and Kit's explorations of the powers and responsibilities of wizardry to Nita's astoundingly precocious and fierce little sister Dairene's, Duane adds an important new tool to the mix: computers. As in when Dairene starts investigating this amazing new world that her sister finally had to come clean about in Deep Wizardry, her version of the Wizard's Manual shows up on the family's new Apple computer, which Dairene of course already knows how to put together and program even as her parents are carefully sorting through what order in which to Read the Fine Manuals.

Lickety split, Dairene has taken the Oath (every wizard must promise to protect life and delay entropy with all his or her power, with her very life if need be) and is programming spells of genius-level complexity. The world all but quakes; the younger a wizard is, the more raw power he or she can command, and Dairene is the youngest, smartest wizard ever. The youngest, smartest wizard, with a fixation on outer space and Star Wars and finding her own Darth Vader to fight. Which means soon she is computing her way to and through outer space, with each jump getting progressively farther and farther from home until she's in another galaxy -- with her danger growing at each jump.

Nita and Kit and their mentor wizards' red and blue macaw, Picchu (wizards' pets get strange over time, and Picchu is something of a sibyl) more or less to the rescue, but by the time they catch up with Dairene, she is on the verge of having things pretty much under control. Having discovered a planet that's one giant computer chip, awakened it to sentience and taught it to create artificial life and all. You know, nothing but a thing. Except oh, there's her Darth Vader, except her Darth Vader is a million times craftier, more subtle and, yes, more powerful. Gulp. Okay, maybe a little help.

So again, it kind of drives me nuts that the Harry Potter books, with their elitism, their ugly "muggles vs magic" divides, their contempt for the world, were the ones to get popular, and these have remained as obscure as they have. In the universe next door, which I so long to visit, these got made into big CGI blockbusters and all the kids strive to emulate Nita, Kit and Dairene by cultivating their intelligence, exercising their imaginations, and thinking their way out of problems. Ah, me.

Daniella says

High Wizardry is probably my least favorite of the Young Wizards series. It was a fun, fast read, but much of the story seemed rather extraneous. Large portions of the narrative are taken up with unnecessary descriptions of an outdated OS, most of which I could have done without, and overall it simply lacks the same quality of layering as in So You Want to Be a Wizard and Deep Wizardry . As a result, it didn't even seem like anything important started happening until around the latter third of the book, and I came away feeling like there could have been a lot more to the story than there was.

Also, the majority of the book centers around Dairine. I actually kind of like her (except for her name, which sounds like some kind of low-fat dairy product or something), so this wouldn't really have bothered me if not for the fact that Nita and Kit got so little screen time. I love their dynamic, and I really enjoy watching them

PDF File: High Wizardry... 8 Read and Download Ebook High Wizardry... come into their own both in their wizardry and as individuals in that coming-of-age sort of way that's just right and not too clichéd or cheesy. But more than that, I've become so invested in their ongoing adventures through the first two books, and in their struggles against the Big Bad, that I felt rather cheated by Duane making them little more than a sideshow in Dairine's Ordeal circus, especially considering that this appeared to be such a critical turning point in the fight against the Lone Power.

That being said, I actually loved the latter fourth of the book. Not just because Dairine takes about ten levels in badass and lays the smack-down on the Lone Baddie--although that is pretty awesome--but largely because it's such a powerful story of change and redemption. It has always bothered me how many writers (and people in general regarding real life) seem to operate on the principle that, once a person crosses a certain moral event horizon, they can never turn back. You can't change; you're damned forever. But here's the thing: people change all the time. They don't always change for the better, and oftentimes it might not be very noticeable, but they do change. And I adore Diane Duane for straying from the well-laid path and instead conveying the idea that, even if you're the biggest, baddest motherfucker in the whole of time, space, and the entire freaking multiverse, you can change. It won't be easy, and it won't undo the damage you've done, but you can still make that choice and work to redeem yourself.

Whatever my other issues with this book, there's an important story here that needed to be told. Kudos to Ms. Duane for having the vision to tell it, and for doing it beautifully.

Rachel says

I enjoyed this probably more than SO YOU WANT TO BE A WIZARD but not as much as DEEP WIZARDRY. I appreciate Dairine more than I explicitly like her, so the focus on her through this was at times difficult. Since I'm more a "characters and relationships" fan than a "huge plotty world building" fan, this at times dragged a bit to me. It was reallllllly conceptually cool, though, and it definitely feels like a shifting point for the series as a whole.

Julia says

This book is Awesome. With a capital A. Dairine is one of my favorite characters, and the adventure that she has reminds me of all of my favorite sci-fi books mixed together. I am amazed at the worlds that Duane has created. Everything is so expertly woven, and the plot is very fast paced. Although the story mainly revolves around two girls, I think that boys would enjoy this book too because of its high paced action. It is full of complex "theories" that make this immense magical domain believable.This book is very well written.

. With this series, I lost interest after the fifth book(Hey, that's odd. Maybe fifth books are always bad or something, because Order of the Phoenix was my least face HP book, too) mainly because it became too real. This book was not like that. In my opinion, this is the best book in the Young Wizards series other than The Book of Night with Moon, and that doesn't really count because that was about cats. Unlike the rest of the series, this book is much more sci-fi than fantasy, mainly because almost the whole thing involves being on some other planet.

I know this is a bit stereotypical, but if you consider yourself a "geek", you will most likely enjoy this book because of all the computer programming references.

Anyway, five stars.

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