Author: John J. Miller, M.D.

Publisher: KOKR Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-73263806380-0-6

The world of magic is proving to be as popular as ever, with John Miller M.D. now bringing out The Book of Spells, a text for both children and teenagers. As the Dedication notes, the work was written for the dreamers among the children and teenagers who have been the subject of his efforts as a pediatrician for almost half a century. Despite it having a strong formative intention, The Book of Spells is far from being a dry instructional text. Instead, it is characterized by excitement and intrigue, as the good and evil battle it out for the souls of the living, at the royal court of Vilgar, set in Sussex around 650 A.D.

The sound ethical integrity of the royal court is placed in jeopardy when an evil magician assumes power as the King’s chief royal adviser. However, help is at hand when a good magician becomes his apprentice. There are shades of the witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, with three sisters, who have been forced to flee from their previous home due to their practice of witchcraft, coming to dwell in the nearby woods. When they come under the sway of the King’s adviser, the ominous force of evil lurks even closer. When King Audric succeeds his father to the throne, proving to be as kind and wise as the latter, the stage is set for the battle between good and evil. In addition to the intriguing setting, the characters, whether human or magical, are well drawn, with their primary traits being carefully depicted. The intentions of both the good and the bad are made clear from the beginning, yet both sides are depicted with such relish and ease that the reader is drawn into the text, and becomes at one with the protagonists as they advance along what appears to be their predetermined paths.

The gender balance that Miller creates in The Book of Spells is also interesting, in that many other magic-based texts tend to focus primarily on one or other of the genders. The presence of strongly drawn women in the shape of the witches, with all their foibles, contrasts with the diplomatic ease and charm of the male-dominated court. This counterpoising of the elemental forces should attract both boys and girls to read the story with full appreciation of its underlying merits.

The Book of Spells is thoroughly recommended as yet another work of magical intrigue, for which there seems to be so much call these days, perhaps in rebellion against the technological thrust of the current age.