Someone told me it's "more of an English thing", the reluctant/unwilling hero. He's not Rambo or Schwarzenegger, or the Rock, or Bruce Willis all 100% American. It always seemed so strange to me, seeing as I wanted to be Spider-Man when I grew up, until I was about 10 and realized that wasn't going to happen and then I settled on cop or firefighter, some job where I could save people (but never soldier because I didn't want to actually kill people). So it's kind of funny that the first time I remember encountering and not liking the reluctant hero was in another Gaiman book, Neverwhere. Gaiman didn't write this volume of The Books of Magic, but he started it off with the first volume, so Tim Hunter, reluctant hero, was already pretty well defined and John Rieber carried on the tradition.

So if you're looking for some ass-kicking warlock I would suggest you look elsewhere. Tim's got magic, he's just not sure how to use it or if he wants to use it or what it's for, Tim's basically not sure about anything. But not to worry the story is filled with a bunch of other interesting characters and ideas so it's not just a teen angst story. ( )

Wonderful.This third volume in Tim Hunter's story finally lives up to my admittedly high expectations--and in some ways exceeds them. Though his story remains non-linear--this is more a series of vignettes from Tim's thirteenth year than a straight narrative--the stories collected in Summonings feel more like gorgeous dream-snippets than disconnected, frustrating fragments. I suspect part of what makes this the most successful volume yet is the strong emotional undercurrent. Each story here is, at its heart, the story of nascent emotional connections between Tim and other (often female) characters. His relationships with Molly O'Reilly and the succubus Leah and Marya are thorny and complex, but still quite interesting. Tim sometimes doesn't do the right thing, but he's consistently well-intentioned, turning him into a sympathetic, realistic boy rather than a flat stock character hero. Surprisingly, my favorite story was a small, self-contained one, where Tim triumphs over his childhood imaginary friends turned monstrous.Though of course Neil Gaiman had essentially nothing to do with this volume, Summonings feels like the best of his work: surreal, heart-wrenching, but utterly true to the human condition. I love what Rieber's done with the character and the series so far. ( )

I saw Si Spencers [Books of Magick: Life During Wartime - Book 1] and my memory stirred, like trying to recall a dream. I got it, read it, and rediscovered Neil Gaiman's original [The Books of Magic]. And when I discovered that John Ney had continued the series, I wanted to read those as well, so (being broke, after spending the money on Spencer and Gaiman's books---I think; it was a while back) I went online, logged onto the library's system, and requested it. And I got [Summonings] . . . last Tuesday. I've read it---and will give it its due review in a few . . . days. Anyway, this has reminded me that since I wasn't going to count re-reads, the numbers will have to change. Hopefully I'll be back to finish this in a few days.

A month later:

Summonings centers around Tim Hunter, a boy "destined to be the world's greatest magician." So he's a target. Because he's going to play a pivotal role in something or other: between the "Forces of Light" and the "Forces of Darkness" (you know, Gandalf and Saruman). An evil adept who looks a lot like a Hollywood agent/producer---you can tell by the ponytail and the way he spells his name, Martyn, with a "y" instead of an "i"---(this is an awesome theme; it's obvious Rieber must've worked as a screenwriter) shows up next door and tries to turn Tim "to the Dark Side" by burning his (Tim's) dad and using a barely legal blonde succubus to comfort him in his grief---power and sex; what teenage boy could resist? Fortunately, Molly O'Reilly, the love of Tim's life (but he's completely oblivious because, well, he might be the most powerful magician of the age, but he's a guy) was there to pull him out of it---you know, it---and as a result, Tim owes Molly ice cream. It's a date, and nicely sets up the next segment. Tim also had help from an ancient Sumerian(?) priestess and her daughter, sired by an Angel who Fell. And Tim's future self also lends a hand. Molly was morel developed, lots of personality (spunk), more so than Tim.

I can't believe I've forgotten that! It was the most chilling thing, when the story opened on an adult Tim Hunter, entering a luxurious mansion filled with Mollys. Copies he'd made. Creepy chill factor. Brrr. You learn that he's running/ruining the world behind the scenes, and he sold his memories to demons for power (political & economic as well as magical power), and one of them, Barbatos, who's supposedly under Tim's control, offers some helpful "advice," which only goes to show exactly why you should never take advice from demons, babies, or more specifically, blue babies with bat's wings and needle-sharp teeth.

Back to the plot; my excuse is, the book isn't linear, so neither should I:
While Tim and Molly are out for ice cream, they're attacked by a teleporting Victorian chimney sweep---probably because, like most Americans (myself included), John Ney Rieber believes that they're all chimney sweeps over there in Anglo-land. And there's a unicorn and a cyborg who's manufacturing misery in the sewers below London. Auberon, King of Faerie, loses his soul to a seamstress, and we discover that all of Tim's childish imagingings come alive---because it's magic, after all. It's actually the best part of Summonings. The little imaginary creatures Tim played with as a child coming real, now that was magic. Magic in a way that didn't pay heed to any laws of possibility; you know, like Pinocchio.

Just a quick mention: I stand in absolute awe of Peter Gross, the artist. Quick example, his work on the Martyn character. It didn't need dialogue or explanation; just a glance and you could just tell the guy was smarmy. I never imagined it was possible to convey that through image alone. ( )

Surreal and meandering story of a boy with magic in his veins who has to find a place in the world for himself, several demons and magicians who want to direct him and ordinary life stuff that sometimes intersects.

It's an interesting series with strange intersections of reality and faerie, however I sometimes find it a little lacking and I'm not entirely sure where. ( )

This is actually the second collection after John Ney Reiber took over the reigns from Neil Gaiman's original miniseries -- I accidentally skipped Bindings. Anyway, this is a nice fat story arc that finds Tim increasingly embroiled in magical doings. Curiously, the Tim of the future is also involved in the present, but this Tim has been lead astray by a demon. ( )