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T.C.A. Sharad Raghavan
THE WIZARDS OF ONCE by Cressida Cowell Hodder Children’s Books, 2017, 341 pp., 399
November 2017, volume 41, No 11

What would be the most ‘fascintresting’ way to introduce a ‘tremunglous-istly’ lovely story about Wizards, Warriors, and Witches? Would it be enough to mention the weirdly wonderful verbal concoctions some of the characters speak in? Or would you need more, a taste of the sinister magical beings our heroes have to fight against, perhaps? Or would you like something a little more our-worldly, to know that this is a story about children struggling to find their true selves under the pressures of their parents’ expectations?

Well, The Wizards of Once is all of that and more. Cressida Cowell has followed up her heart-warming story of Vikings and dragons in How to Train Your Dragon with another story brimming with magic, mystery, and break-neck adventure. Where How To… was a story of enemies putting aside their hatred to live together in harmony and friendship, The Wizards of Once sets the stage for another such bridging-of-the-gap, this time between the magical Wizards and magic-hating Warriors.

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