The Lost Magician

Published on 7 September 2025 at 12:43

The Lost Magician

🚪📚🛸🧚🏼

by Piers Torday

★★★

Things I loved:

📚 The homage to C.S. Lewis

✨ The idea of a magical library that transports you to lands beyond your imagination

👑 Seeing classic characters in a new story

⚔️ The action and battle

🤝 The interesting and unusual dynamics between the siblings

🧸 Larry’s loyal grey bear!

Review

If you love magical adventures, this book is for you! “The Lost Magician” is a bit like the classic “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” as we see children fight for good against evil in a magical world. The author, who was inspired by the old story, wanted to give it a fresh, modern twist and did so with huge success.

One of my favourite parts of this book is how the children enter a magical world through a library! You get to see famous characters like Goldilocks and Sherlock Holmes. The ending is full of action, and it does get pretty intense (with a bit of violence and death), so it’s better for older readers who can handle that.

Throughout the story, we hear about the Hastings siblings’ experience of WW2, with flashbacks and frequent recollections of the horror they witnessed. Although these are an important part, the war between fiction and non-fiction is the central focus of the storyline.

At times, the story is split into 4 different aspect (one for each of the siblings), so it’s perfect for confident readers who like a challenge. The ending leaves you with lots of unanswered questions and excited for the next book!

Overall, I think it’s a great read for older kids, and it has lots of messages about the power of books, family, and courage.

Dive Deeper

At a glance

✍🏼 Author: Piers Torday

🎨 Cover artist: Ben Mantle

📅 Release Date: 7th March 2019

📚 Book type: Chapter, 352 pages

🌟 Reader level: Confident, 9+

Overview

1945. They have survived the Blitz, but when Simon, Patricia, Evelyn and Larry step through a mysterious library door, it is the beginning of their most dangerous adventure yet. They discover the magical world of Folio, where an enchanted kingdom of fairy knights, bears and tree gods is under threat from a sinister robot army.

The many stories of the Library are locked in eternal war, and the children's only hope is to find their creator - a magician who has been lost for centuries.

What they find will change not just their own lives, but the fate of the world, for ever ...