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The Iron Trial (Magisterium, #1)

Holly Black

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Jan 05, 2015 Wealhtheow rated it liked it

Shelves: pocmaincharacters, urban-fantasy, disabled-character, fantasy, ya

Callum is the only survivor of a terrible magical massacre. Ever afterward, his father hates and fears magic, and trains him how to avoid it. Despite doing his darnedest to fail the magic trials, Call is still picked to begin training at the Magisterium. Call is torn between growing glee at all he's learning, and terror because of the horror stories his father told him as he grew up. But even as he and his new friends train to become mages, the Enemy gathers his power for another war...

Some of t Callum is the only survivor of a terrible magical massacre. Ever afterward, his father hates and fears magic, and trains him how to avoid it. Despite doing his darnedest to fail the magic trials, Call is still picked to begin training at the Magisterium. Call is torn between growing glee at all he's learning, and terror because of the horror stories his father told him as he grew up. But even as he and his new friends train to become mages, the Enemy gathers his power for another war...

Some of this was fun and interesting. I'm a sucker for magic school stories, and this at least partly satisfies, although I'd have liked more attention to the actual classes. After the first few descriptions of Call's lessons, the details of his training get sketchy and skimmed over. His growing friendship with ambitious Tamara and good-hearted, out-to-prove-himself Aaron also feels rushed. I could have done with more scenes between them to get a feel for their dynamic, especially because it seems like in future books (view spoiler) I liked--and was surprised by--the twist that (view spoiler) But the revelation that (view spoiler)

The other thing that bothered me about this book is its resemblance to Harry Potter fanfic. Now, I have read a lot of magical school stories, and a lot of YA fantasy. I don't think that just because the main character is an orphan, or a chosen one, or has messy black hair and magic, it's a Harry Potter rip-off. But there's something about the dynamics of this book: the main character who keeps sneaking off to figure out parts of his backstory, his two best friends (the likeable boy and the try-hard smarty girl), his posh school rival, the adults keeping painful secrets about the last magical war, the magical enemy who used to go to the main character's own school, and who wants immortality above all...that just feels too reminiscent for me to fully enjoy this book. I wish the book had put a little more time and effort into describing the characters, so that they'd feel like characters in their own rights instead of knock-offs.

All this said, I'll probably read the next book in the series. ...more

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Nov 01, 2014 Kate rated it really liked it

Shelves: signed-copies, fantasy, age-middlegrade, 2014

All his life, Callum's father hasn't wanted him to go to the Magisterium, where children with magical talent learn to hone their skills. But when Call attempts to fail the entrance test, Master Rufus chooses him to be one of his apprentices anyway. Despite not wanting to be at the school, Call finds that he enjoys life there. The other apprentices on his team, Aaron and Tamara, are pretty cool. The only damper seems to be the note he intercepts from his father to Master Rufus, and his father's w All his life, Callum's father hasn't wanted him to go to the Magisterium, where children with magical talent learn to hone their skills. But when Call attempts to fail the entrance test, Master Rufus chooses him to be one of his apprentices anyway. Despite not wanting to be at the school, Call finds that he enjoys life there. The other apprentices on his team, Aaron and Tamara, are pretty cool. The only damper seems to be the note he intercepts from his father to Master Rufus, and his father's warning that he doesn't know what he is.

So, this is pretty much exactly like Harry Potter. The good thing? I liked Harry Potter, so I liked this. I mean, you had Call, who has a scar from something that happened when he was baby that also killed his mother (okay, so his scar is a bum leg, but still), and a prophecy about him. He has two sidekicks, one of whom resembles Hermione in her striving for perfection, and the other who resembles Ron in his loyalty (although Call is also a bit like Ron in his clumsiness, and something happens with Aaron later on that makes him more like Harry). Master Rufus is a bit like a Dumbledore with his cryptic lessons, and Jasper is a bit like Draco, being the villain who is jealous of the hero. There's even a scene in the forbidden forest... the major villain, Constantine (Voldemort/or Valentine...) is called the Enemy of Death (Death Eater). There's even more similarities to Harry once you find out what Callum is, but those are spoilers...

Sure, there are no wands, and a lot of little details are different, but the similarities kept jumping out at me. I suppose there are many similarities to The Mortal Instruments as well. Again, I enjoyed that series too. So... while this isn't the most terribly original thing I've read, it's a fun read, and there are a lot of interesting elements. I like the fact that the main character is physically challenged. I hope in future books that the relationship between Call and his father is explored, because during most of this story they were distant.

I am looking forward to reading more of this series. ...more

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Jul 12, 2017 Laurie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017

This starts out seeming very Harry Potter derivative. A kid with no friends and a bum leg goes to magic school. But keep reading. Good friendships and a fun magic world.

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Jun 30, 2015 Jess rated it really liked it

Shelves: juv, fantasy

Definitely one I'll recommend to the book group - interesting characters, good pace, absorbing story.

So, I skimmed through some reviews and am rolling my eyes at all the people who are annoyed with similarities to Harry Potter. As if the magic + school combo begins and ends there? This did NOT feel like a rip off, and if anything it reminded me of Duey's Skin Hunger - only much lighter and more suitable for a middle grade audience. ...more

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May 04, 2015 Bill Doughty rated it it was ok

Shelves: kids, fiction, fantasy, read-with-the-kiddo, coming-of-age-angst, magic

Angstier, whinier, American Harry Potter. Read with the kiddo at bedtime. He liked it, but I found it kind of a slog. Not so full-on awful as to earn just one star, but nothing I'd actively recommend. ...more

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Jan 29, 2015 Marianne rated it really liked it

Fantasy is not my favorite genre, but I quite enjoyed this fantasy adventure. Its setting in a magic school is reminiscent of Harry Potter, but there is a very interesting twist at the end!

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Aug 30, 2020 Janet added it

Shelves: childrens-fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 13, 2022 The Book Maven rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-juvenile, read-in-2022

Let's just politely ignore the Harry Potter similarities and try to take this book on its own merits. It's a gripping, sometimes dark, sometime funny first book in a series about magical kids doing magical things and having to grow up too soon. I tore through it in a night, and am eagerly awaiting the second book to become available at my library. Definitely would recommend, especially for tweens who enjoyed Harry Potter, or else who like Harry Potter but struggle with the length of Rowling's bo ...more

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