4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The Elf Archive by Jordan David is the second book in the Magi Charter Series. It’s been five years since Noel Night helped recruit Santa Nicholas to the North Pole. To celebrate the halfway point to Christmas, Noel and his friends have been gearing up to participate in this year’s Reindeer Games. All of the festivities are sure to be full of fun, snow, and excitement. Meanwhile, Santa has his thoughts set on marrying a Mrs. Claus, but finding the right lady is proving to be difficult. With all the excitement going on, Noel can barely sleep and has been having strange nightmares. On top of that, Noel is tasked with finding a hidden library. Long rumored to exist, no one knows where the library could be. The only one with any idea is a senile elf living in the retirement village. The more Noel learns about the mysteries of the North Pole, the more danger seems to follow. Will Noel survive his hazardous mission and figure out the meaning of his bad dreams?
This book is the sequel to David’s first novel, The Elf Brief which introduced us to Noel Night, a young elf who loves collecting books. David expands on the mythology of his world in impressive fashion with more mature writing, world building, and character development.
From the start, David delves deeper into the process of elf recruitment. I found the storytelling in these chapters fascinating and exciting to read. This aspect was only hinted at in the first book and left me wanting more, so it was great when David delivered. The concept of elf memories also gets explored and I loved getting a taste of Noel’s background. The author even tries his hand at writing from a villain’s perspective. David’s descriptions remain rich and just as well developed as his characters. He manages to juggle many different tones and storylines with balance and flourish. His action sequences are particularly well-done and written as if he actually has experience driving a flying sleigh. He so thoroughly understands how the North Pole operates, it almost makes me wonder if he’s actually Noel writing under the name “Jordan David” to fool us.
David’s writing style has also vastly improved. The first book showed the author’s raw talent, but was rife with errors. This book is much more polished, but some errors remain. He occasionally forgets a comma, a word, or uses “dessert” when he meant “desert”. Still, his writing and spelling have gotten much better since his debut.
David also gets more creative with the ending of this book, which sets up the start of the next drama in book three. The ending was delightful in its presentation and almost like the cliffhanger you’d see in some of the best scripted film and television series. I must say, all of David’s books would make great movies that I would enjoy watching. Until then, I’m going to continue reading his sequels. This book feels more legitimately “fantasy” than the first book because he included a glossary. Some of the best fantasy series of all time have glossaries, so I like that David is aiming high with his own.
When I started reading this series, I expected to like it, but I didn’t know it would hook me the way it has. I haven’t anticipated reading a teen series this much since Harry Potter. These books keep getting better and better and I feel Jordan David could be one of the most gifted young authors of his generation. He appears to eat, sleep, and breathe this series, which is all the better for those of us who read it. I rate this book a solid 4 out of 4 stars for enjoyment, creativity, and storytelling. If you know kids who love books with realistic, complex mythologies, refer them to this series. Adults who can embrace their inner child can enjoy it too, because David has an old soul and seems to understand the complexities of life. Altogether, this book is a solid improvement on its predecessor and builds impressively on the mythology introduced in the first book. I highly recommend it!
******
The Elf Archive - Book Two of the Magi Charter
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Momiji1987's review? Post a comment saying so!
