Young Wizards is a series of novels by Diane Duane .
88-407: The Young Wizards series presently consists of eleven books, focusing on the adventures of two young wizards named Nita and Kit. Each novel pits Nita and Kit against the "Lone Power", an entity ultimately bent on the destruction of the entire universe. The series began in 1983 with the book So You Want to Be a Wizard , which told the story of their first experiences with wizardry. In 1997, Duane began
176-521: A Choice, the Lone Power tends to work subtly, controlling minds or events to result in its "gift" being accepted. It sometimes appears physically when becoming involved in the Choice process, though almost always in some kind of disguise . One of the central themes of the series, however, is the idea that the Lone Power truly wants to return to the light, and in some senses already has due to events in
264-555: A Lotus Esprit kills another car, its prey, a piece of metal gets stuck in it. Upon finding the injured Esprit, Kit cuts out the piece of metal and the car zooms away. Later, when Nita, Kit, and Fred are attempting to find the dark book, the Esprit returns and offers the three of them a ride. It proceeds to assist them in finding the book and in protecting them from the Lone One. This example shows how by offering sympathy and assistance to
352-399: A Wizard -p238). It is a renegade Power who invented entropy in all its manifestations, including death. Wizards exist in order to fight Its influence, with varying degrees of success. Addressed formally as "Fairest and Fallen", the Lone Power used to be one of the "good" Powers That Be, but Its actions were regarded as "evil" and It fell from grace. Throughout the series, the Lone Power, as
440-428: A Wizard has won the "ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers" award. Incarnation Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh . It is the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used to mean a god , deity , or Divine Being in human or animal form on Earth. The proper noun, Incarnation, refers to
528-564: A certain percentage of what the real world perceives as "missing children".) Every wizard has access to the Wizard's Manual, a book written in the Speech that gives the reader as much information about the business of wizardry and spells as he or she requires or is capable of handling. The Manual can take many forms and is often tailored to the race and personality of the wizard in question. Water-dwelling wizards, such as dolphins and whales , use
616-446: A connection with water. The third book, High Wizardry, briefly deals with the possibility that Nita and Kit have feelings for each other. In the 9th installment, A Wizard of Mars , Nita admits that she may be jealous of Aurilelde, a female alien that Kit seems to be attracted to. Later, in the heat of the moment, while fighting with the alien princess, she calls Kit her "boyfriend," though she and Kit are not officially "together" until
704-564: A magical owl that wants to reclaim its home tree that was chopped down to become the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York amid the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic happening that year. The official title of book 12 has yet to be released, but in a 2012 interview with GeekDads, Diane Duane used the working title, Wizardry in Shadow . Three other books are not strictly in
792-625: A prominent Hasidic leader, said that the Rebbe is God's essence itself put into the body of a tzadik . Rastas refer to God as Jah, a shortened name for God used in English translations of the Bible. Rastafari emphasises the immanence of Jah, who partially resides within every person, in a manner similar to the Hindu concept of Brahman . The unity of divinity and humanity is often reflected in
880-551: A responsible adult. Despite being one year younger than Nita, Kit is usually the more mature member of the pair. Kit is in Nita's grade in school, having skipped a grade. His birthday is August 25. In the first book, he often gets teased because of his Spanish accent and his height, but after their Ordeal, matters improve. Kit also lives at his home in Nita's neighborhood with his parents, his older sister Carmela, and his dog Ponch. The oldest child in his family, Helena, lives at college. Kit
968-620: A result of Its actions, deeds, and history, is often equated to Satan, an entity considered evil in Christian and Muslim traditions. For example, in the second book of the series, Nita is asked if she attained her wizardry through a deal with the Devil , to which she responds "Kit and I are the last people that One wants anything to do with." Tom B. Swale and Carl J. Romero are Senior Wizards who appear in each book. Originally introduced as local Advisories, they are promoted to Senior between
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#17327758854591056-477: A revised "New Millennium Edition" was released as an eBook . Nita Callahan, a thirteen-year-old girl living in New York City , discovers a book entitled So You Want to Be a Wizard . She discovers that she can do actual magic and meets Kit Rodriguez, another young Wizard. (The Young Wizards series consistently capitalizes the word Wizard.) She discovers a new hidden magical world. Nita, taking refuge in
1144-508: A spin-off, the Feline Wizards series, which takes place in the same universe, but with different protagonists. This series incorporates elements of fantasy , science fiction , and religion . The series deals with issues such as death , sacrifice , and redemption . A short story within the same universe, "Uptown Local", was originally published as part of Jane Yolen 's Dragons and Dreams anthology; it has also been included in
1232-503: A talk with Nita, it was said that S'reee was dating another whale who is a food critic. Roshaun ke Nelaid am Seriv am Teliuyve am Meseph am Veliz am Teriaunst am det Nuiiliat (sometimes "am det Wellakhit") is a haughty humanoid alien prince from the planet Wellakh. He is first featured in Wizard's Holiday and remains a prominent character until his disappearance in Wizards at War . He
1320-485: A wizard herself, enormously powerful and prematurely skilled, though, as with all wizards, her sheer power diminishes with time. Her Ordeal is a pivotal moment in the history of the universe, as she not only temporarily becomes the Manual, but helps to redeem the Lone Power. Dairine's skill comes through computers, and she is mentally connected to a race of silicon beings and their sentient planet. She calls her computer (which
1408-689: Is hypostatic union : the second person of the Trinity, God the Son , became flesh when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary . Biblical passages traditionally referenced in connection with the doctrine of the Incarnation include John 3:1–21 , Colossians 2:9 , and Philippians 2:7–8 . Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad is considered the founder of the Druze faith and the primary author of
1496-588: Is "kind of a goof" and is almost addicted to Earth-grown tomatoes. Harold Edward Callahan , Nita and Dairine's father. After his wife's death, he grows closer to his daughters and also to the world of wizardry, serving as a comforter and encourager to wizards who are going through a hard time, notably to Filif and Tom in Wizard's Holiday . Harry is a florist and landscape gardener; Nita believes she gets her talents with living things (especially plants) from him. Nita and Dairine inherited their magic powers from his side of
1584-580: Is a saguna (with form, attributes) embodiment of the nirguna Brahman or Atman (soul). Neither the Vedas nor the Principal Upanishads ever mentions the word avatar as a noun. The verb roots and form, such as avatarana , do appear in ancient post-Vedic Hindu texts, but as "action of descending", but not as an incarnated person (avatara). The related verb avatarana is, states Paul Hacker , used with double meaning, one as action of
1672-417: Is a human who embodies the teachings of Christ, or a distinct human prophet who symbolises the divinity within humankind. Leonard Barrett has argued that many Rastas believe in a form of reincarnation, where Moses, Elijah, Jesus and then Haile Selassie are avatars of Jah. R. Matthew Charet has argued that Christ is a title for Rastas much as Buddha is for Buddhists, and that Christ's divine connection
1760-584: Is a wizard whom Nita meets during the events of A Wizard Abroad . His body is the host of the One's Champion and he also possesses the Spear Luin (Spear of Light), making him extremely magically powerful until the One's Champion has to leave him in Wizards at War . He is one of the main characters in Wizards at War and is Nita's love interest in A Wizard Abroad , eventually kissing her. On his Ordeal he 'took
1848-589: Is actually an avatar of the Winged Defender, or The One's Champion, one of the Powers that Be. Nita recognises Peach in Ronan in A Wizard Abroad . So You Want to Be a Wizard So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane is the first book in her long-running Young Wizards series of novels which currently consists of eleven books by Duane. It was written in 1982 and published the next year. In 2012
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#17327758854591936-676: Is also her Manual) Spot. There is speculation that she has romantic feelings for Roshaun. According to the New Millennial Edition of High Wizardry , her birthday is October 20, 1997. The Lone Power is the chief antagonist of the series, and appears in various avatars and/or as Itself in each book. It is named as "the Witherer, the Kindler of Wildfires, the one who decreed darkness, the Starsnuffer," ( So You Want to Be
2024-495: Is an Abdal—a figure of tremendous power and a conduit for goodness from the One—and that he is actually tricking the Lone One, making him think that he's in control so that Darryl can trap him in a self-created universe and never again let him out. Nita and Kit put a stop to the cycle by reaching out to Darryl together, who swears to the Lone One that he will remain in the universe if the Lone One returns to it someday, and then circumvents
2112-591: Is an alien wizard shaped like a Christmas tree, so learning about vegetarianism as an exception to general human diets was like being in a world full of cannibals. Culture clashes aside, Filif is a very personable sort of individual: curious, friendly, and very easy-going. He takes almost everything in stride and is eager to learn about human culture. His favorite discoveries so far are baseball hats and bright colors, even if his fashion sense is, to put it politely, nonexistent. He calls them "decorations" and prefers bright orange swim trunks and Victoria's Secret lingerie. He
2200-587: Is believed to reincarnate, and is called a tulku . According to Tulku Thond, there are three main types of tulkus. They are the emanations of buddhas, the manifestations of highly accomplished adepts, and rebirths of highly virtuous teachers or spiritual friends. There are also authentic secondary types, which include unrecognized tulkus, blessed tulkus, and tulkus fallen from the path. In Hinduism , incarnation refers to its rebirth doctrine, and in its theistic traditions to avatar . Avatar literally means "descent, alight, to make one's appearance", and refers to
2288-462: Is conniving and devious, so to make the right Choice is difficult. Rejecting the Choice outright can sometimes lead to suffering for the entire species. Humanity's Choice appears to have ties to the Biblical story of creation involving Adam and Eve eating the fruit from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, with the Lone Power being "behind" the purported actions of the serpent. When involved in
2376-400: Is different about Ponch; at the beginning of the series, he is featured as a minor character, mostly a source of canine comic relief, but further on his character is developed into more of a supporting role and partner to Kit. He starts to find and even create alternate universes (his favorite being a squirrel universe) and eventually is revealed to be a canine Power, namely the canine version of
2464-469: Is in medieval era texts, those composed after the sixth century CE, that the noun version of avatar appears, where it means embodiment of a deity. The incarnation idea proliferates thereafter, in the Puranic stories for many deities, and with ideas such as ansha-avatar or partial embodiments. While avatars of other deities such as Ganesha and Shiva are also mentioned in medieval Hindu texts, this
2552-494: Is in the process of learning The Speech, despite the fact that she's not a wizard. Once Carmela learns The Speech, she spends most of her time watching TV from across the galaxy, and talking to her new alien friends. She seems to have a talent for languages, as she was learning Japanese before taking up the study of The Speech, and presumably knows Spanish as well. She helps Dairine deal with the exchange wizards in Wizard's Holiday . In Wizards at War Carmela also manages to free
2640-404: Is minor and occasional. The incarnation doctrine is one of the important differences between Vaishnavism and Shaivism traditions of Hinduism. The translation of avatar as "incarnation" has been questioned by Christian theologians, who state that an incarnation is in flesh and imperfect, while avatar is mythical and perfect. The theological concept of Christ as an incarnation into the womb of
2728-417: Is not himself a wizard, he knows of wizards and so recognizes Nita for what she is. Later, in Wizards at War , he helps by arranging for them to get time off from school. Poncho (Kit's black Labrador/Border Collie mix) is an average dog. More worried about food (and squirrels) than anything else, Ponch accompanies Kit and Nita on some of their adventures. As the series progresses it is obvious that something
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2816-573: Is not unique to Jesus but may be attained by all humans through a "discovery of the Christ-consciousness in us all". In the Baháʼí Faith , God is not seen to be incarnated into this world and is not seen to be part of creation as he cannot be divided and does not descend to the condition of his creatures. The Manifestations of God are also not seen as incarnations of God but are instead understood to be like perfect mirrors reflecting
2904-591: Is often called "Neets." She loves horse books and listens to Journey (according to High Wizardry ). Her wizardly specialty initially seems to be the art of dealing with plants and the living world (sometimes referred to as organic wizardry), but later on shifts more toward wizardly theory and manipulation of kernels—cores of energy found at the center of every person, planet and universe that act as replicable centers for major wizardries. Recent events have suggested that Nita may be switching specialties again, this time into precognition and oracular dreaming, also developing
2992-484: Is one of the exchange students from the wizardly exchange program and his skills focus on stars. He has/had a "sort of friendship" with Dairine; though it is unclear what these feelings were, they seem to be of a romantic nature. Sker'ret is one of the exchange students in Wizard's Holiday . His species, the Rirhait, resemble giant metal centipedes and have physiologies that allow them to eat almost anything. Sker'ret
3080-538: Is possessed by the Lone Power and presents Nita with the deal to give up her powers in order to save her mother's life. When Nita tells Pralaya that the Lone Power had been using his body, It kills him. Quelt is the Alaalid that Nita and Kit visit during the excursus in Wizard's Holiday . She is the only wizard of her species (besides Druvah). Pont is an alien that Nita meets in The Wizard's Dilemma when in
3168-454: Is sent to help Darryl in his Ordeal. He soon learns that Darryl is autistic and that his Ordeal is being deliberately sabotaged by the Lone Power. Utilizing Ponch's ability to "walk" through universes, Kit enters Darryl's mind to assist him in the Ordeal, but overexposure causes Kit to exhibit antisocial tendencies and mood swings picked up from Darryl himself. Nita, however, discovers that Darryl
3256-520: Is skilled with machinery and teleportation wizardry. He is one of the children of the Stationmaster of the Crossings on Rirhath B, and takes over the position for a time during the wizards' war. Filifermanhathrhumneits'elhhessaifnth or "Filif" is one of the exchange students in Wizard's Holiday . The program caused him enormous culture shock, because Filif is not just an alien wizard: he
3344-586: Is skilled with mechanical objects and sometimes, through Ponch, he is skilled in 'scent'. Kit found his Manual in a used bookstore in NYC. In A Wizard of Mars , Kit admits to himself that he is attracted to Nita, and that he may have never pursued his feelings because he was afraid of going beyond their friendship. This occurs after he finds himself strangely attracted to the Martian princess Aurilelde, who reminds Kit slightly of Nita when he meets her. His affection for
3432-401: Is very magically powerful and excels at writing new spells, as well as designing illusions. Pralaya is a wizard from a different universe that Nita meets while experimenting with kernels in The Wizard's Dilemma . He bears much resemblance to an otter , though with six legs and antennae. Nita meets him while retrieving the kernel of a "practice universe" from a canal. Later in the story, he
3520-448: The Biblical and Talmudic view of God was anthropomorphic. God could sometimes appear in bodily form. The Babylonian Talmud contains stories of earthly appearances of God, Elijah , Satan , and demons . Since the time of Maimonides , mainstream Judaism has mostly rejected any possibility of an incarnation of God in any form. However, some modern-day Hasidim believe in a somewhat similar concept. Menachem Mendel Schneerson ,
3608-673: The union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ . The incarnation of Christ (or Incarnation) is the central Christian doctrine that God became flesh, assumed of human nature, and became a man in the form of Jesus , the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity . This foundational Christian position holds that the divine nature of the Son of God was perfectly united with human nature in one divine Person, Jesus , making him both truly God and truly human. The theological term for this
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3696-476: The "Wizard's Oath"—a pledge to fight entropy wherever it may be found. If the potential wizard takes the Oath, the event is immediately followed by an Ordeal —a period during which the wizard may combat the Lone Power directly, or perform some other difficult task. The Ordeal is typically when a Wizard is at the peak of his or her power. The younger they are when they take the Oath the more power they will possess and
3784-546: The 20th anniversary edition of So You Want to Be a Wizard and as part of an ebook, Uptown Local and Other Interventions . Interim Errantry is a collection of three stories set between A Wizard of Mars and Games Wizards Play : The Hallowe'en novella "Not on My Patch," the Christmas novelette "How Lovely Are Thy Branches," and the novel Lifeboats . A short story "Not on My Patch" was released in October 2011. The story
3872-575: The Druze manuscripts, he proclaimed that God had become human and taken the form of man, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah . al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah is an important figure in the Druze faith whose eponymous founder ad-Darazi proclaimed him as the incarnation of God in 1018. Historian David R. W. Bryer defines the Druzes as ghulat of Isma'ilism, since they exaggerated the cult of the caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah and considered him divine; he also defines
3960-530: The Druzes as a religion that deviated from Islam. He also added that as a result of this deviation, the Druze faith "seems as different from Islam as Islam is from Christianity or Christianity is from Judaism". Some scholars believe Christian elements are deeply embedded in Druze beliefs, introduced through Isma’ili traditions . This is evident in the Druze creed, which deifies al-Hākim bi Amrillāh. The initiation text, "Mīthāq Walī al-Zamān" (Pact of Time Custodian), which begins with, “I rely on our Moula Al-Hakim
4048-406: The Lone Power, and as a result of Its destructive behavior was cast out of the creative order by the One. It has since manifested in many avatars or alternate forms throughout the universe. Its incarnations roam the multiverse, seeking new species to trick into accepting Its "gift". When a species becomes sentient , a process called "The Choice" begins, during which the Lone Power appears and offers
4136-403: The Manual, such as laptops and, more recently, iPod variations (called WizPods). Juanita Louise "Nita" Callahan begins the series in junior high school as a typical "book-nerd" who is often bullied by stronger girls. As the series goes on, she deals with such issues as parents, romance, death, sex, and social bullying. She lives at home with her parents and her genius kid sister Dairine. She
4224-531: The One, according to the Transcendent Pig. After this, Kit mourns his loss, only to have a stray dog come up to him and reveal that Ponch is inside all dogs now. Machu Picchu is an irascible scarlet macaw owned by Tom and Carl. Extremely grumpy and given to showing off, she can also tell the future: her advice saves Nita and Kit in all of the first three books. In High Wizardry she accompanies Nita and Kit to find Dairine, and they discover that Peach
4312-449: The Ordeal by taking advantage of his Abdal ability to be in two places at once. In the original version, Darryl uses this ability to split his autistic "self" and leaves it behind in the universe he created, so that the Lone Power is forever trapped there with the autistic Darryl. In the new "Young Millennium" Revised Editions, this was changed so that a mirrored version of Darryl watches over the Lone Power. Darryl continues to be autistic for
4400-420: The Powers that Be . The Powers exist outside of mortal time, capable of manifesting themselves anywhere in the universe, at any point in time. They were created by a being known only as "the One" (the source of all energy, wizardry, and creative forces in all of the universes) and are portrayed as Its active assistants in the business of creating and maintaining the universe. During the process of Creation, one of
4488-466: The Powers that Be—originally described as the greatest and most glorious of Powers, second only to the One—went apart from the others and invented the "gift" of death (often referred to in the series under the blanket term of entropy ,) turning it loose in the universe and thus corrupting or subverting much work done by the other Powers. This rebellious (or at least extremely self-willed) being became known as
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#17327758854594576-486: The Sea itself as their Manual, drawing answers for their questions out of the songs of the ocean, aka the "Heart of the Sea" . Cat wizards have a similar method of accessing the Manual called "The Whispering". Human wizards tend to use books as the Manual, although some hear voices like the cats and whales, and Irish wizards memorize the information. Recent advances in technology have allowed some wizards to use digital versions of
4664-507: The Song of the Twelve, a complex wizardly ritual. She is thrust into responsibility very young after the death of her mentor, but in later books she seems to be more confident with her duties. S'reee helps Kit implement a 'cleanup' wizardry to clean the waters surrounding Manhattan at the beginning of The Wizard's Dilemma . She appears briefly in Wizards at War . In A Wizard of Mars , during
4752-874: The Virgin Mary and by work of the Holy Spirit, as found in Christology , presents the Christian concept of incarnation. Mercy Amba Oduyoye and H. M. Vroom state that this is different from the Hindu concept of avatar because avatars in Hinduism are unreal and the Christian concept is similar to Docetism . Sheth disagrees and states that this claim is an incorrect understanding of the Hindu concept of avatar. Avatars are true embodiments of spiritual perfection, one driven by noble goals, in Hindu traditions such as Vaishnavism . The Serer religion of West Africa rejects any notions of incarnation or manifestation of
4840-578: The Young Wizards series, but take place in the same setting: All three were released as eBooks available from Diane Duane's web store in December 2017. Short stories about adult wizards in the same setting. The series shows the influence of many religious and mythological tropes from around the world, and the traits of traditional angels and various gods or heroes of ancient mythology are united in semi-divine, demiurgic beings referred to as
4928-476: The Young Wizards universe are On Ordeal: Roshaun ke Nelaid , On Ordeal: Mamvish fsh Wimsih , and On Ordeal: Ronan Nolan Jnr. Each book focuses on a wizard and their first trial against the Lone Power. The first book's subject is a humanoid prince who first appeared in Wizard's Holiday ; the second's is a saurian Species Archivist (a wizard who specializes in relocating endangered species to places where they can thrive) who first appeared in A Wizard of Mars ; and
5016-566: The alien is extinguished when he finds out about Aurilelde's ill intentions but finds out that Aurilelde is actually a counterpart of Nita. Dairine E. "Dair" Callahan is a brainy child, wise beyond her years. She is known for being obsessed with all things Star Wars and wants to be a Jedi. Although she is three years younger than Nita, she cannot stand it if Nita knows anything that she does not. She figures out that Nita has odd powers, finds out about wizardry, and in High Wizardry becomes
5104-536: The attributes of God onto the material world . Buddhism is a nontheistic religion : it denies the concept of a creator deity or any incarnation of a creator deity. However, Buddhism does teach the rebirth doctrine and asserts that living beings are reborn, endlessly, reincarnating as devas (gods), demi-gods, human beings, animals, hungry ghosts or hellish beings, in a cycle of samsara that stops only for those who reach nirvana ( nibbana ). In Tibetan Buddhism , an enlightened spiritual teacher ( lama )
5192-506: The bright Book by moonlight, to undo the changes that the Lone Power has been making during the pursuit. The Lone Power then puts out the Sun, extinguishing the moonlight they need to read the book. Fred sacrifices himself by "blowing his quanta". Reflected by the moon, this becomes moonlight that the Wizards can use to continue reading. As Kit and Nita recite the Lone Power's true name, written in
5280-522: The bright Book, Nita makes a slight modification to the text (the symbol ⎋ ), giving the Lone Power the option to become a positive rather than negative energy. Renamed and vanquished, the Lone Power withdraws. Nita and Kit go home, their Ordeal complete. One theme is the ability to extend sympathy and understanding to anyone, even enemies. One excellent example of this takes place in the Other Manhattan. In this world, cars are alive, and when
5368-402: The car, who was originally Kit's enemy and would have attacked if it could, Kit received kindness in return. Another theme is the balance between good and evil. In an interview with Harcourt Books, Duane writes The issues of the choice between right and wrong has to be an ongoing concern for everybody, at every age. There is no magical point in a human life when anyone is or becomes immune to
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#17327758854595456-676: The dark Book, and uses it to locate the bright Book in the tunnels under City Hall. In the tunnels, they discover the Book is guarded by the Eldest of the fireworms. The Eldest, a dragon , lies on a vast hoard of varied stolen items ranging from the valuable to the trivial. The Wizards bargain with the Eldest. They exchange the dark book for the bright one. They flee from the Lone Power, who manifests itself physically to chase them. They return Earth with it still chasing after. It threatens to unmake their universe. In Central Park , they begin to read from
5544-524: The desired effects of the wizardry exactly. "It is the language of the Universe." Non-wizards can learn the Speech, but cannot effect change using it. The Powers that Be choose individuals who have the potential to become wizards. The selection is often motivated by the need for a particular individual to solve a particular problem. Once a person has been offered the opportunity to become a wizard, if he or she decides to accept it, that person will be offered
5632-528: The divine descending, another as "laying down the burden of man" suffering from the forces of evil. The term is most commonly found in the context of the Hindu god Vishnu . The earliest mention of Vishnu manifested in a human form to empower the good and fight against evil, uses other terms such as the word sambhavāmi in verse 4.6 and the word tanu in verse 9.11 of the Bhagavad Gita , as well as other words such as akriti and rupa elsewhere. It
5720-488: The embodiment of the essence of a superhuman being or a deity in another form. The word also implies "to overcome, to remove, to bring down, to cross something". In Hindu traditions, the "crossing or coming down" is symbolism, states Daniel Bassuk, of the divine descent from "eternity into the temporal realm, from unconditioned to the conditioned, from infinitude to finitude". An avatar, states Justin Edwards Abbott,
5808-472: The end of the novel. In the process, she learns that Kit was not attracted to Aurilelde, but her, in a complicated series of events. Nita has a brief relationship with the Irish wizard Ronan in A Wizard Abroad , although when he reappears in Wizards at War , there isn't any sort of tension. Christopher Kellen "Kit" Rodriguez also starts the series in junior high school, dealing with the issue of becoming
5896-505: The end of times to judge the world and establish his kingdom, while Hamza ibn Ali is considered a reincarnation of Jesus, the Universal Mind 'Aql , closely associated with al-Hākim. Islam completely rejects the doctrine of the incarnation (Mu'jassimā / (Tajseem) Tajsīm) of God in any form, as the concept is defined as shirk . In Islam, God is one and "neither begets nor is begotten". According to many modern scholars,
5984-517: The entire group when they are captured at a crucial moment. During A Wizard of Mars she assists in the translation of an ancient text found in a cavern on Mars. Kit's oldest sister. She is away attending college and lives there. She originally believed that Kit had made a deal with the devil . As of A Wizard of Mars , she believes he is a mutant . Robert Millman is the school therapist; he first appears in A Wizard Alone to help Nita and, later, Dairine, with their mother's death. Although he
6072-453: The events of the first and second novels. They live together in the same suburb as Nita, Kit and Dairine, and generally appear in order to advise or to correct them. Tom is a writer of spells and fiction, while Carl sells commercial airtime in television. His wizardly specialization appears to be in time and its manipulation. Tom and Carl are wise, tolerant, and funny; Nita frequently refers to them as examples of adult wizardry. Ronan Nolan, Jr
6160-507: The family. Nita and Dairine's late mother, and the focus of The Wizard's Dilemma . A former professional ballerina, Betty passed on both her red hair and her natural grace to Dairine. She passes away sometime between The Wizard's Dilemma and A Wizard Alone . Kit's sister, a couple of years older than he. She bought a laser dissociator off the Mizarthu shopping network, which she uses to help Nita and Sker'ret defend The Crossings. She
6248-528: The gravity required to lift the pen from the bullies' possession and swallows it instead and now has a bad case of hiccups . They seek help from local Advisory Wizards. Fred's problem is fixed, but Nita's pen is still gone. They must link Fred to a "worldgate" in Grand Central Station and pull the pen out of him. Fred also has some alarming news: a crucial book, Naming of Lights (or The Book of Night with Moon ) has gone missing. It describes
6336-422: The greater their Ordeal will be. They will slowly lose power as they get older, though they will gain experience and finesse in return. Not all Ordeals are successful, however, and the result of being unprepared or careless during Ordeal is often death. Even if the Ordeal is successful, it may involve the new Wizard giving their life to stop the Lone Power, saving a species or planet. (Ordeals are said to account for
6424-414: The library from bullies, checks out a book found in the children's section with the provocative title So You Want To Be a Wizard . On the way home, the bullies corner her, beat her up, and take a space pen given to her by her uncle. Before she goes to sleep, she takes the Wizard's Oath. The next morning she looks at her manual and sees her name in its list of Wizards. While practicing a spell to retrieve
6512-464: The lonely God, the individual, the eternal,... Obedience of almighty Moulana Al-Hākim, exalted be him and that obedience is worship and that he does not have any partners ever, present or coming”, closely resembles Christian beliefs about Jesus' divinity . The Druze also view figures like Jesus , al-Hākim bi Amrillāh, and Hamza ibn Ali as the Messiah or Mahdi . They believe al-Hākim will return at
6600-615: The most basic human questions since long before Ecclesiastes . It turns up in the Book of the Dead and in old Hittite and Assyrian writings. I don't think I'd qualify as human if it didn't turn up in mine. So You Want to Be a Wizard is listed in What Else Should I Read? Guiding Kids to Good Books, Vol. 2 by Matt Berman as well as Rip-Roaring Reads for Reluctant Teen Readers by Gale W. Sherman and Bette D. Ammon. So You Want to Be
6688-556: The pen, she meets another Wizard Christopher "Kit" Rodriguez, also a new wizard, also making a spell for fearlessness. They create a new spell, which presents a vision of a frightening alternative Manhattan : polluted, lightless, and frightening. A terrible cosmic force (later named as the Lone Power) tries to consume them. They summon a sentient white hole from space, who they call "Fred". Next day at school, Fred and Nita try to retrieve Nita's pen from her bullies. Fred miscalculates
6776-493: The pen. The Wizards learn that both of the two Books are here. To return home they will have to read from the Bright Book by moonlight. They eavesdrop on the Lone Power's phone call to the archangel Michael . Michael suspects that his brother stole the bright Book, while the Lone Power suspects him of sending Nita and Kit to steal it back. Nita and Kit have not previously considered this, but it does make sense. Nita steals
6864-460: The practice universes. He is a plural—one person in multiple bodies—which is apparently normal in his universe. He looks to Nita like five giant blue ball bearings. Mamvish is a "species archivist" of extraordinary wizardly power who shows up in A Wizard of Mars . She is of saurian appearance and considerably more massive than any elephant. Her power levels are so huge that the Lone Power declined to show up for Mamvish's ordeal. Personally she
6952-549: The remainder of the series (in the revised editions) although he regains his coping abilities. Though the Lone Power itself is not trapped, the manifestation targeting Darryl is forever locked away from the rest of the universes. S'reee is the whale wizard who acts as the Senior for Earth's oceans. She has a special relationship with Nita, who saves her life in Deep Wizardry . In DW she asks Nita and Kit for help performing
7040-522: The saying "I and I", and the aphorism "God is man and man is God". Rastafari practices known as livity , influenced by the Nazirite vow, are seen as a way to embrace this inner divinity. Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, is traditionally seen by Rastas as the Second Coming of Jesus or Jah incarnate, and is sometimes referred to as "the living God". To others, he
7128-452: The sea in', briefly controlling an entire portion of the ocean, essentially becoming it. In Wizards at War , he becomes a love interest of Kit's sister, Carmela, a theme that continues in A Wizard of Mars . Eventually the tension between him and Nita decreases after Nita says that Carmela is "all his" in Wizards at War . Darryl McAllister is introduced in A Wizard Alone and appears briefly in Wizards at War . In A Wizard Alone , Kit
7216-414: The second-by-second choice to do right instead of wrong. Everyone has to deal with the choice with every breath, and it's so easy to fail at any moment, no matter how well you've been doing the moment before or may do the moment after. [...] Kids want to know (just as much as adults do, or more) how the hard choices look when they approach, and how to deal with them. "How shall a man do right?" has been one of
7304-457: The species the opportunity to support a lifestyle or course of action which may seem tempting but ultimately serves entropy (not coincidentally, the Lone Power is often compared to, or even equated to, The Devil ). However, the species also has the opportunity to reject the offered "gift" and choose to fight against entropic behavior—but that does not mean that the species has necessarily chosen to fight against pain, death, and evil . The Lone Power
7392-619: The supreme deity Roog (also called Koox in the Cangin language). However, the reincarnation ( ciiɗ ) of the ancient Serer saints and ancestral spirits , called Pangool , is a well-held principle in Serer religion. These Pangool (singular: Fangool ) act as intermediaries between the living world and the divine. When the Serers speak of incarnation, it is these Pangool they refer to, who are themselves holy by virtue of their intercession with
7480-407: The third book, "High Wizardry". However, because the Powers primarily exist outside of time the reconciliation of the single "projection" of the Lone Power does nothing to change other projections of the Lone Power created throughout the eons, leading to further conflict. To combat the Lone Power, the One created wizards. Wizards manifest their power through The Speech , which allows them to describe
7568-491: The third is about Ronan , a young human wizard whom Nita meets during the events of A Wizard Abroad . All three are part of the Interim Errantry: On Ordeal series, and have since been published digitally as a single volume titled Interim Errantry 2: On Ordeal . A special extra Young Wizards novella was released by Duane on December 2, 2020, entitled Owl Be Home for Christmas , telling the story of
7656-458: The true nature of the universe. Its shadow book contains descriptions twisted out of their true patterns. If the Lone Power should acquire the first book, the cosmos would be irreparably skewed. The three Wizards go to the dark alternative New York City via the world gate, in order to retrieve the Naming of Lights . Here the Lone Power rules, as well as his supernatural minions live. Nita retrieves
7744-416: Was scheduled to be published together with other short stories in late 2012 in a one-story-per-month anthology entitled The Wizards’ Year . On February 2, 2016, Duane released the tenth novel in the series, Games Wizards Play , involving a tournament called "The Invitational", where hundreds of wizards compete all-out for a year long apprenticeship under Earth's Planetary Wizard. Three other books within
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