Aldwyns Academy

Aldwyns Academy, a companion novel to A Practical Guide to Wizardry, will feel very familiar to Dungeons and Dragons aficionados, which is exactly the point. A young wizard, Dorian Ravensmith is already a disappointment to his accomplished and clever mother who wishes he had better control of his innate power. He arrives at Aldwyns Academy for Wizardry and is immediately plunged into a dangerous and mysterious conflict. Helene, elf-princess and snob, finds herself enmeshed in the same discord but wants nothing to do with Dorian.

In the end, of course, it is by working together that they manage to rise above and defeat the dark powers ranged against them.

A quick, easy read, this story plunges its characters into enough trouble to satisfy even the most gleefully mean-spirited Dungeon Master. Banshees, ghosts, dire wolves, minotaurs, zombies, deathstalker scorpions, bugbears and yes, dragons are among the many foes our heroes must face before finally triumphing.

Filled with adventure, magic and mayhem, Aldwyns Academy is a lively read. While the other novels in the series will no doubt make the experiences and characters in this story richer, even on its own it was entertaining. While lacking the depth of the Charlie Bone novels or that other boy-wizard series, Aldwyns Academy will find a place on the shelves many D&D players, or insatiable fans of stories about magical schools.