The Magic Collector

Magic of Havenwood, Book 1

By: Clayton Wood

Narrated by: John Pirhalla

Length: 19 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Bella was sixteen when she discovered the truth: For the last decade, she’d been lost in a book.

Literally.

For the world she’d known her whole life was a fiction, everyone she’d ever known merely a character created by the magic of a powerful Writer. Bella discovers that she’d been sent into the book’s world by her late mother to escape the clutches of a murderous villain known as the Collector, the man who murdered Bella’s mother...and will stop at nothing to destroy her.

But when the Collector’s bounty hunters travel into the book to find her, Bella must escape into the real world. A world where art is magic...where paintings and statues come to life, where books can create worlds of their own, and where musicians and actors have powers so incredible that they alter reality itself. She discovers that she has the talent to become a Painter, able to draw out anything she paints into the real world...and to put anything in the real world into her canvas.

Now Bella must learn the art of painting to fight back against the Collector. If she fails, she will most surely die...or be shoved into a canvas, and spend eternity trapped in the Collector’s collection as a painting herself!

Experience the first book in the Magic of Havenwood series, an epic fantasy adventure unlike any other!

©2019 Clayton Wood (P)2020 Clayton Wood

Loved this story once it got going

Heck of a ride! I love Myko and Grandfather! One thing: stop, just stop writing: “his jawline rippled.” That phrase is written way too often. But, love the action and the story is one I would pay money to see on the big screen. The concept of the arts as magic is quite simply brilliant.

Just get it! It's great!

I listen to a lot of YA fantasy, and although many are fun, rarely do they offer unique story lines. They are often retreads of other books like HP. This book is different! No HP. No Lord of the Rings. The Magic Collector jumps off the page like a Miyazaki animated film where characters and creatures do the unexpected and the inventive. The main characters, Bella and Simon, actually have a meaningful story arc. The pure adventure of the audiobook is worth a listen alone. But the underlying themes are the jewels of this book. I absolutely loved it.
It was also brilliantly and thoughtfully narrated by John Pirhalla. An exceptional performance.
Can't wait to listen to book 2!

A treasure

Loved every part of this book. This YA fantasy takes on a lot in a very loving way. Subtle life lessons are there but NOT clumsily rammed down your throat. An earlier review called it a life guide book...I agree. But the story itself is fantastic from beginning to end. Once Bella enters the real world I could not stop listening.
A mixed race heroine (although race plays no part in the book). A boy not allowed to be who he really is. The life-death-life cycle. A land where all the arts are magic. Incredibly fun and creative creatures. I want my own Myko please! The book is just so imaginative and original.
The narrator deserved 10 stars. Great narration makes such a huge difference.

The magic collector

This was a great book so imaginative The writer made it feel
So real. I love it

Want to “Collect” More Like This!

Loved it! Loved the narrator! Loved the imagination! Really loved the fact that the book left things open for more books without making me want to kill myself (or the author!) for not having the next book immediately. Granted, I will have it in about five minutes, but Wood’s handling of the series issue makes me far more likely to read books in his yet-unfinished series, which I would usually avoid since unfinished stories haunt me until I get resolution, and that takes up far too much bandwidth in my aging-therefore-overfilled brain. Loved that the inclusion of a gay character seemed like an actual plot device and not a woke box check. Loved that the main characters were actually rounded out, not all good or all bad, and the ending was satisfyingly complex—neither treacle nor sob-inducing.
I would recommend this for fantasy/adventure lovers, maybe junior high and up, due to occasional mild swear words, some violence, and a very deftly handled issue of sexuality.

Re: the Narrator: Interestingly, I wasn’t totally thrilled with his style at first, but whether it got better, or I got used to it, or the content was just so good I quit noticing anything annoying, by the end I was a convert. I was amused to hear one of his characters sounded a great deal like an older Sean Connery. So give it a chapter or two if at first he doesn’t seem like your cup of tea. He grows on you!

My Best Listen of the Year

Very original YA fantasy where those gifted with the creative arts wield magic. This book has so many inventive moments I kept wondering if the writer would run out of ideas. Nope. He didn’t. The hero of the story is 16 year old Bella who learns early on that her world is not what or where she thinks. Once she’s transported into her real world everything changes and the fast paced adventure begins. Painters, writers, sculptors, singers, actors all wield powerful abilities that only those gifted in the arts can attain. There’s much more to the story than the plot. The life lessons along the way are like a guidebook to life. It’s a beautiful book rich in thought. To top it off the narrator is outstanding. All the voices and accents were phenomenal.

enjoyable, a little unbelievable, great lessons

I found this to be a truly interesting and engaging story. there were a few things for which my willing suspension of disbelief was not willing to suspend, but overall a wonderful read and well worth the many hours it took to get through it.

Great

This was a really well written, creative and unique fantasy! I thorough enjoyed the elements of magic, the setting, and the characters. There was a great mix of suspense that keeps you excited to continue listening. The writing was really well done and exciting, and the narration was also really wonderful! John does such an amazing job at setting the perfect pace and embracing each characters unique attributes fully. Listeners are truly transported into this story and can’t help but feel fully engaged. I’m looking forward to book two!

A bit too fantastical

I made it 6 hours into the book. The book is just not something I can listen to....you might...might....find it colorful and beautiful walk into a painting. I can see that viewpoint. The writing is fairly well put together. However, the basic premise of "magic paintings" was used as convenient plot premise and not throughly hashed out. It has a distinct feel of Alice in Wonderland...so maybe if I was a little kid I would have been able to drop my skepticism and just enjoyed the show.