3 out of 4 stars
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The Elf Archive – Book Two of the Magi Charter
By Jordan David
We have always been fond of stories about the North Pole and of what lies there. At the back of our minds, no matter how fictional the thought was, North Pole's the place where Santa and his elves reside. If we ever get to visit the place, we’d find them busy working all year round, getting ready for Christmas. But there’s so much more to know behind the magic of the place. And in this sci-fi fantasy story, we were given vivid pictures of the events that happen there.
The Elf Archive is the second book of the Magi Charter series written by Jordan David. Its predecessor, The Elf Brief, enlightened us about the traditions that exist in the North Pole. We were introduced to a regular elf named, Noel, whom we accompanied as he uncovered secrets, recruited and prepared a new Santa, and changed old traditions. In this second book, we were again tossed into a breathtaking sleigh ride into the place where Christmas never ends. This book holds new adventures, new mysteries and was filled with so much delight, we'd definitely feel the spirit of Christmas with a twist. The story was set five years after the events of the first book wherein many new things have unfolded in the North Pole.
At the start of the book, we were given the idea that an antagonist has risen from the former head of the First Contact Department, Mistletoe Green. He has lost everything he has worked hard for in the past years due to the sudden turnout of events ever since Noel started his new work. This time, we were given a lot of encounters with the old Santa’s and that a new threat awaits one of them. A storm’s definitely brewing and was about to hit the Northpole hard while almost everybody’s fuzzed up about the upcoming Reindeer Games celebration. Yet, we find Noel, some of our elves and the new Santa, Santa Nicolas, enjoying the waves of Hawaii on a surfing holiday. Santa Nicolas seemed to have a heart for surfing, but it didn’t quite surpass his longing for a Mrs. Claus. And so, he was very determined to find a wife. Noel was torn between all the hype of activities he has to deal with, his nightmares and a new task of finding a long-rumored hidden library no one could remember where it exists. What else is there to know about the North Pole? Will Noel be able to come out victorious in the end? The answers to all the questions were hidden in its pages so y'all better watch out.
I’d have to admit, this series made my heart ecstatic. I don’t think I could ever find a story as light as this. I had a hard time putting the book down. The cliffhanger at the end of the book was a superb preparation to keep the reader's thirst for more. There were a lot of questions that needed to be resolved but the author had a way of making everything fun and engaging. I had an opportunity to start this series properly by reading the first book and it didn’t disappoint as it displayed such a fascinating plot. This book had the same vibe, though another positive comment I had, was the fact that it can exist on its own even if the reader hasn’t read the first one. The Elf Archive is another a story that is worthy of every reader’s time. It can exist without its predecessor.
Life emanated from the book that no matter how fictional it was, in my heart I believed it was real. This book was written in an easy to understand manner with ideas expressed in simple sentences. The author had given us again a glimpse not only of the joyous, cold snowy North Pole but all of the scenes were described perfectly and vividly in details. The idea of elves classified into their respective departments along with their color-coded hats and creatively written names still amused me.
On another note, the errors were still there. It’s as if the mistakes had increased in number and they were very noticeable even at the start of the story. There were a lot of sentences that were missing punctuations (comma) and words like ‘a’ and ‘on’. In some sentences, some words used were inappropriate. I was not sure if they were typographical errors or were used on purpose just like in the sentence, “…there was much to think on”. The word ‘on’ at the end should be changed to ‘of’. Another example would be on the sentence, “…and umbrella that would be staying here with her”. The story used the third person point of view, so the word ‘here’ should be replaced with ‘there’. Again, like my comment in the previous book, some sentences need to be rephrased for ideas to have a better flow and because some words were jumbled.
Despite all the flaws I mentioned above, I give this a 3 out of 4 rating. I had a wonderful time delving into the archives of the North Pole that I’d love to know more. I just couldn’t give this a perfect score due to the errors scattered within it. No matter how minor they were, I believe that they made an impact on the book. I’d suggest a more thorough assessment should be done.
I recommend this to all types of readers. Those who love fiction, fantasy and feel good books will find this a hard one to put down. You’ll want to keep going until you finally uncover all mysteries. If you are looking for a light read where you can have fun, this is the perfect book for you.
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The Elf Archive - Book Two of the Magi Charter
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