James D. Maxon
Auteur van Traphis: A Wizard's Tale
Werken van James D. Maxon
A Far Off Place: A Collection of Poetry 2 exemplaren
Tagged
Algemene kennis
- Geboortedatum
- 1977
- Geslacht
- male
- Nationaliteit
- USA
- Geboorteplaats
- Anchorage, Alaska, USA
- Woonplaatsen
- Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- Opleiding
- Minnesota School of Computer Imaging
- Beroepen
- Senior Designer
- Korte biografie
- James D. Maxon (1977-Present) was born at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska. His parents were divorced when he was just three-years-old. Raised in a strictly female household, James grew up in the midst of mental illness and depression. He, himself, struggled in school due to a learning disability. Without a positive male role model, James learned how difficult it can be for children to realize their true potential. Having acquired a love for fantasy at a young age, he began to write stories of his own, providing children and teens with messages of faith, hope, and insight. Overcoming his disability, James graduated college with a 4.0 GPA. He deepened his connection to the creative world by following a career in design. He now lives with his wife and daughter in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and spends much of his free time applying his imagination to the real world.
Leden
Besprekingen
Needs some major editing for both grammar and content (ore is a mineral not something you paddle a boat with, it's air of importance not heir,...). The story drags on and I never found a reason to root for the protagonist who acts like an unintelligent 11 year old rather than 15 year old destined to any sort of greatness. Glad I got this from Amazon free.
Statistieken
- Werken
- 4
- Leden
- 52
- Populariteit
- #307,430
- Waardering
- 2.8
- Besprekingen
- 2
- ISBNs
- 3
Fifteen-year-old Traphis is a magic user, like his father; however, his mother has forbidden him to learn magic. Having found his father’s books and staff, he sets out to learn in secret. However, a youthful feud with the mayor’s son not only reveals his power to the Wizard’s Collective but also exposes him to the darkest of threats.
The story advances with at a swift pace. Although there are some diversions into exposition, the majority of the world is revealed to the reader by deduction. Those longer expositions that do occur are usually integrated naturally into conversation, so do not break the flow of the story.
The protagonists and many main characters are children, mostly teenagers. Each of them has a unique personality – yet shares the characteristics of self-interest and self-doubt common to puberty – giving their actions a feeling of being real people who have power rather than of magicians who are young. The discovery that the opposite sex are both addictive and confusing is especially well handled. While the older characters actions are reasonable when explained, they receive less exposition, adding to the sense that the protagonists are burdened with an immature understanding of human motivations.
Maxon has created two magical systems, one granting the user great power over an element and the other permitting control of any element but with less power. Although there is an underlying moral aspect to the choice of which system a magician uses, Maxon does not seek to hammer this home, relying on the contrast between high power and broad application to create conflict.
The plot is the classic fantasy narrative of a young farm-boy who becomes critical to defeating great evil; however, the characterisation and world-building make this more than a collection of stale tropes.
I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to readers looking for an engaging mid-length fantasy novel.… (meer)