The Fire
Witch and Wizard Series, No 3
James Patterson & Jill Dembowski
Read by Elijah Wood and Spencer Locke

Hachette Audio
December 2011 / ISBN: 978-1611139853
Teen / Fantasy dystopian / Audiobook (unabridged) / Appx: 7 hours
Amazon

Reviewed by Willie Elliott

James Patterson has written a dystopian novel that reminds us of the atrocities that are happening in Syria, but in this case the situation is much worse in his third installment of Witch and Wizard: The Fire. Whit and Wisty Allgood have special powers and The One has sought them out for destruction as they are the only hope for the resistance movement and the last obstacle for The One to gain complete control.

After we learn the basic plot, the action is centered on scenes that move about the city. The scenes could be played in any order without affecting the flow of the plot. Sometimes the reader may think a fewer scenes would be necessary and tend to skip a few. One runs the risk of missing some of the scenes in which Wisty speaks about special powers, ego and the responsibility for controlling them.

The scenes in which Wisty and Whit face the Pierce and the One are especially riveting. However, the book offers a great deal of material all at once and for the targeted group (grade 5 and up) this may be too much; since the chapters are very short (almost like chapter books), the reading could be handled by spacing the book over several days.

The novel is one of those few that gets better as the novel moves along so readers are encouraged to be patient and readers certainly don't want to miss the dramatic climax as the Allgood family faces The One.

The readers Elijah Wood and Spencer Locke do a good job in making the dramatic moments ever more so.

Reviews of other titles in this series

Withc and Wizard, No 1 [review] [audio]
The Gift, No 2 [review] [audio]