The Wizards of Once has all the ingredients needed for a great fantasy story. Everything from magic and witches to giants, ogres, sprites, and more than its fair share of adventure makes for a fast-paced, action-packed read. 

The storytelling in this book is top-quality; each chapter is brimming with imaginative scenarios, intriguing characters, and a richly-built world. The magical creatures are incredibly diverse and varied, each adding an extra layer to the story. The Warriors' regimented fortress is the exact opposite of the Wizards' forest home. Each page is full of something new to explore and the illustrations make the ideal accompaniment to Cressida Cowell's story.

Xar and Wish, the two main characters, are both similar and dissimilar to one another - yet both feel like outcasts in their own communities and are drawn together by the hand of fate. The pair are sure to excite and inspire young readers planning their own hijinks yet the story also leaves readers with clear morals and messages. 

The Wizards of Once is a fun, fantastical story yet it also has a darker side sure to thrill older readers. The end of the story sets up the perfect cliffhanger for book two and it will be interesting to see how the story develops throughout the rest of the series.

This is the first novel that I have read by Cowell so can't comment on any similarities (or lack of) to How to Train your Dragon, yet I was expecting great things based on the popularity of her previous series. However, I must admit, this book was a bit of a mixed bag.

The opening line is quick to draw the reader in, yet I quickly found myself a little lost. The novel immediately introduces Xar and his massive entourage through some heavy exposition, and I immediately felt as though I was being bombarded with names and concepts. Because of this, early chapters felt as though they lacked focus. There were just too many voices and too little plot, as the protagonists' separate adventures quickly collide and a rather anti-climatic visit to the Wildwoods ensues.

The world-building of the novel largely offers nothing new, but is very fun. Its plot about age-old feuds and parties with conflicting beliefs being unable to see eye to eye is very poignant and the tone is always appropriate for its target audience - largely humorous but with some creepy moments.

Cowell's gorgeous illustrations really bring this to life, nicely capturing her colourful characters and adding even more humour to a massively entertaining story. Because of this, I would really recommend buying a physical copy of the book, especially the hardback, as it really is a thing of beauty.

The novel really starts to come together in its second act, as the plot kicks in the characters are forced to undertake a dangerous mission to the Warrior Fort. This second stage of the story is enthralling, introducing some creepy villains and containing some pretty well-hidden twists. Although clearly the first book of the series, the novel does end well. A couple of loose ends are left hanging for a future instalment, but it does feel like a solid story in its own right.

Yet the thing that gave me the most pause were the characters. Some of the characters in this story are great. Wish, for one, is a great female lead. Despite her obvious weaknesses, she is brave and compassionate and eager to learn. I also liked the way that the relationships between parents and their children are portrayed in the story. The adults are all complicated, with Encanzo and Sychorax clearly wanting what the believe is best for their children, even if it may not be the best thing in actuality.

Then, there is Xar...

While I do understand Xar, and how he clearly behaves like an arrogant git at all times to hide is insecurities, I did not feel that he grew or learned anything from his experiences in the novel. Despite the damage (and very nearly death) that he caused, he is still the same monster at the end of the story as he is at the beginning, seeming not to have taken on board any of the dangers that have been blatantly pointed out to him.

The villains of the story are also a bit flat, with Witches simply being "evil" with no motivation. While this does lead to a few creepy encounters, it sadly made them a bit too forgettable. Hopefully, this is something that will be expanded on in the next book.

Anyhow, I think that about covers it. All in All, The Wizards of Once is a bit of a mixed bag. While I didn't find it to be greatly memorable, I am curious enough to read on and see what happens next.

Lovers of fantasy will really enjoy this book. Full of interesting images and adventurous characters, this book (and series) will be a great addition to young bookshelves (or those not so young). A great start to a new series, full of adventure, mystery and magic.

I have found childrens/middle grade books to be very hit and miss with me. But I actually really enjoyed this one. It was quite good fun and set up the world well for a new series which I believe this one is. The main characters are well rounded with flaws and the supporting characters are fun too. Some of the characters feel a little pantomime-like but I think that is to do with the age it is aimed at. I did like the son/father relationship between Xar and his dad, that was very sweet and very different to the one between Wish and her mum. Overall a good series which I might look at continuing.

A magical tale from the queen of whimsical children's fantasy, Wizards of Once is entertaining, thrilling and filled with Cressida's original illustrations. HTTYD fans will LOVE this new series!

My rather elderly Kindle did not handle Cowell’s trademark illustrations very well and I needed to persevere to pick out the text within the rather hinky formatting. However, I refused to be put off though it took me a little longer to get into the story than I had expected, simply because Xar is fairly obnoxious at the beginning – though as the narrative progressed, it became increasingly obvious why he is such a pain and I grew to like and sympathise with him.

This book is clearly aimed at an older age-group than the How To Train Your Dragon series, and consequently lacks the can-do chirpiness that runs throughout HTTYD no matter what is going on. The language is also richer, full of poetic metaphors and although the adventure is full of incident and unexpected developments that are the hallmark of a Cowell story, the issues are more nuanced. Neither Wish or Xar are all bad or all good and I particularly liked the way the adults are portrayed. Very often in children’s literature, adults are either bullying buffoons or simply oblivious. It’s relatively rare to see an adult with a significant backstory and an interesting hidden agenda, yet both parent figures in this book first appear as typically black and white authority figures, only to later develop into something far more intriguing. I shall be very interested to see how they develop in due course.

All in all, this is a joy. I shall be reading it aloud to my granddaughter as a break from the Louis the Laugh series – after I’ve bought the print copy. And I have included the poem at the back of the book as something of a treat – I recommend you read it aloud…

Wandering Free
In the roads of sky and paths of sea
And in that timeless long-gone hour
Words of nonsense still had power
Doors still flew and birds still talked
Witches grinned and giants walked
We had Magic wands and Magic wings
And we lost our hearts to impossible things
Unbelievable thoughts! Unsensible ends!
For Wizards and Warriors might be friends.
In a world where impossible things are true
I don’t why we forgot the spell
When we lost the way, how the forests fell.
But now we are old, we can vanish too.
And I see once more the invisible track
That will lead us home and take us back…
So find your wands and spread your wings
I’ll sing our love of impossible things
And when you take my vanished hand
We’ll both go back to that Magic land
Where we lost our hearts…
Several lifetimes ago…
When we were Wizards
Once.

While I obtained the arc of The Wizards of Once from the publisher via NetGalley, this has in no way influenced my unbiased review.
9/10

Ok.  So this was my first Cressida Cowell and although I really liked the idea, I didn't love the execution and I didn't really like the characters as much as I'd hoped.  My proof copy hadn't coped very well with the illustrations either (on Kindle or on iPad) so I felt like I was missing a key element some how.  Hey ho

Got to 48% and stopped. Didn't like characters or find the story very interesting I'm afraid.

Magic!  Mischief!  Mayhem!  And a pleasant about-face from the How to Train Your Dragon series.  With deep characters and a surprisingly spooky narrative with some pretty awesome villains, this book came as a surprise.  I must say though that I felt that this would be better suited to a younger middle-grade reader or an older child reader.  The illustrations and attempted humour sometimes made it read a little younger than I think the target market is.

This was fun. Wizards and warriors, not-very-heroic heroes, magical beasts, scary monster witches, a talking raven and a magic spoon, all set in ancient Britain – what’s not fun about any of that? Illustrated throughout in Cowell’s distinctive sketchy (yet clever) style, this book is perfect for any child who love fantasy, even if they aren’t strong readers.

Xar and Wish are very, very different. Xar is confident and headstrong, foolish and selfish, and not particularly likeable for most of the book. He wants magic and doesn’t care how he gets it. And yet, there are times when a better person emerges – he does care about his friends, whether they’re sprites, animals or human, and there is some hope that he might eventually learn from all his numerous mistakes. (Maybe.)

Wish couldn’t be more different. She’s uncertain and strange, shy and hesitant, yet really nice. She isn’t a natural Warrior because she tends to ask questions and not accept the her mother’s rules just because she should. She’s smart too and friendly. I liked her a lot and loved seeing her grow stronger through the book.

Alongside these two are plenty of friends – from assistant bodyguard Bodkin, to friendly giant Crusher, along with snowcats and sprites, that cute magic spoon and poor put-upon Caliburn, the talking raven who is charged with the impossible task of keeping Xar sensible. We also see two very different parents in the leader of the Wizards and the leader of the Warriors, ruling over a wild wooded world full of fun details and scary threats.

I really enjoyed this – the characters, the plot, the illustrations – the whole book was a joy to read. It’s exciting and silly at times, dangerous and dark at others, but once started I didn’t want to put it down. So if you have any magic or adventure loving children in your life, hand them a copy of this. I’m pretty sure they’ll enjoy it too. I can’t wait to read the next one.

3.5 stars for this children's fantasy adventure book.

This novel is the first in a new series by Cressida Cowell and it is a fun and scary adventure. The main characters are thirteen-year-olds Xar, younger son of a powerful Wizard king, and Wish, the seventh daughter of Sychorax, Queen of the Warriors. Xar is a self-absorbed, overconfident, unthinking, infuriating boy who will do anything to obtain magic: most Wizard children have their Magic 'come in' by the age of 13 and Xar worries that he will never have Magic unless he steals it from a Witch. Wish is kind, lonely, thoughtful and dismissed by most as unWarriorlike and very unlike her beautiful scary mother the Queen. They are accompanied by a host of other characters including Bodkin, conscientious Assistant Bodyguard to Wish who discovers he has a 'slight fainting issue' when faced with danger, Crusher a gentle Giant, snowcats, sprites, hairy fairies and an enchanted spoon. The characters and their relationships are beautifully drawn.

It is an exciting and well plotted tale involving the enmity of Wizards and Warriors; extinct-or-perhaps-not evil Witches; journeys, trials, and quests; lies and uncovered truths; and credible development of the characters. The only aspect of the book that I was less keen on was the narrative voice - this is subjective of course but I found the way the book was narrated rather off-putting, with laboured humour and at times it was just too twee for my liking. 

I am not commenting on the illustrations as I was unable to view many of them in my Adavanced Reader Copy.

I received this ebook free from NetGalley in return for an honest review.