2 out of 4 stars
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The Elf Brief opens with Noel Night, a young elf with a passion for books, hurrying to a meeting with none other but Santa himself. To his own surprise, Noel is entrusted with a very delicate assignment that turns his life upside down and seems to raise more questions than it answers. While elves often serve up to two hundred years, a new Santa is chosen every hundred years from a number of eligible candidates. For the first time ever in the history of the North Pole, the transition period from one Santa to another is to be minutely documented.
While Noel himself initially feels extremely nervous about his mission, it seems he is not the only one having doubts. His task is not made easier by the secretive purple hat elves of the First Contact Department who like to keep to themselves and are reluctant to share their secrets with someone from outside their department. Nevertheless, Noel accompanies them on their missions, making the official job offer to the new Santa and eventually bringing him to the North Pole. What follows is a journey of both adventure and discovery.
The Elf Brief is a story of the North Pole, with a modern twist. Wish lists are mainly sent by email and the majority of the produced toys are electronic. Elves who work on these toys require training in metal and plastics working, electronics wiring, and software programming. We are told the “real” story behind the red-nosed reindeer, and it has nothing to do with Santa trying to see in the dark, but rather involves radar experiments. There are elves with earpieces, typing away on computers and a holographic display of the Earth in the Flight Control room.
The world that David creates is intriguing and a lot of time is devoted to explaining its workings. The vivid descriptions and detailed accounts of life at the North Pole transport you into an enchanted world of Santas, talking polar bears and elves with names such as “Gingerbread Cookie,” “Mistletoe Green,” “White Christmas” and “Glass Ornament.”
Still, The Elf Brief is in need of some editing. Throughout the book, “since” is repeatedly used instead of “sense.” For example, it would say that something “made no since” or that “lad[s] and lasses walked about with a since of purpose.” There are also other instances of misused adjectives, adverbs and nouns. At some point it says, “She was absenting petting a mound of white fur.” At another it says, “Losing all composer, Noel just laughed.” There are more instances like these found throughout the rest of the book which is quite strange, seeing how other parts of it do not seem to suffer from the same problems.
The Elf Brief is a heart-warming read with enjoyable characters and an interesting take on what life is like at the North Pole. It is the first book in the Magi Charter series, and the world David creates definitely lends itself to further expansion. However, the book does feel a bit drawn out at times, and the errors tend to distract a little. There is also no major conflict; the characters would be presented with a challenge, face it and then be presented with another challenge, and so on. I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars, leaning more towards 2.5 stars were it possible to award half stars. Were it not for the errors, it would definitely get one star more.
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The Elf Brief
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