Review: OK
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 4, 2012
I was really looking forward to his book.  So much so, that I stopped reading another book halfway through to jump to this one.  Overall I enjoyed spending more time with the characters and seeing the story line head in some different directions than expected.  However, there were too many poorly conceived plot devices which distracted from my enjoyment of the story.  Plot device frustrations were primarily around 1) Zollin's wild swings from near invincibility followed quickly by easy knock downs and 2) careless use of same device such as having multiple characters brought down by a blow to the head in quick succession but each in different circumstances.Zollin, Quinn, Brianna and Mansel continue in their quest to evade the power of the Torr.  Zollin's magic is starting to show unexpected and startling effects across all the Five Kingdoms as dragons and other mythical creatures awaken also.  Zollin's powers and responsibilities grow significantly in this book as the team looks more to Zollin.  Mansel shows considerable growth in the second novel and it is fun to watch him become more of a warrior and an adventurer.  Overall a fun tale with Zollin and company except for the occasional cringes over the plot devices.  A few scenes were slightly more violent than typical for a young adult fantasy, but it mostly follows in the YA fantasy and coming of age story genres.  Conclusion of the second novel, while still having teasers for future episodes, was more satisfying than the first book.Magic Awakening is the second book in the Five Kingdoms series.  The first book isWizard Rising (A Five Kingdoms Novel).  Intended length of series is not clear since I could not locate this information in the book, on Amazon's product page or on the Author's website.  Author's website did have a Magic Awakening post that he hopes to publish two more books this year but it was not entirely clear if these would be Five Kingdom books or if so that they would conclude the series.UPDATE JUNE 6, 2012:  Update on Author's website states that series is anticipated to be 5 books but that this is subject to change.  Update also indicates tentative timing for next 3 books as August, December then February, 2013.No major editing issues were noted.  Magic Awakening is 6,516 Kindle locations long; excluding sample book at end.  Standard length novels seem to run in the 4,500 to 7,000 plus Kindle location range.  Longer books, such as books in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, can range from 15,000 to 20,000 plus Kindle locations.