Magic Street

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Mirron E. Willis

Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Living in a peaceful, prosperous African-American neighborhood in Los Angeles, Mack Street is a mystery child who has somehow found a home. Discovered abandoned in an overgrown park, raised by a blunt-speaking single woman, Mack comes and goes from family to family, a boy who is surrounded by boisterous characters and yet deeply alone. But while Mack senses that he is different from most and knows that he has strange powers, he cannot understand how unusual he is until the day he sees, in a thin slice of space, a narrow house. Beyond it is a backyard, and an entryway into an extraordinary world stretching off into an exotic distance of geography, history, and magic.

Passing through the skinny house that no one else can see, Mack is plunged into a realm in which time and reality are skewed, a place where what Mack does seems to have strange effects on the "real world" of concrete, cars, commerce, and conflict. Growing into a tall, powerful young man, pursuing a forbidden relationship, and using Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream as a guide into the vast, timeless fantasy world, Mack becomes a player in an epic drama. Understanding this drama is Mack's challenge. His reward, if he can survive the trip, is discovering not only who he really is but why he exists.

Both a novel of constantly surprising entertainment and a tale of breathtaking literary power, Magic Street is a masterwork from a supremely gifted, utterly original American writer, a novel that uses realism and fantasy to delight, challenge, and satisfy on the most profound levels.

©2005 Orson Scott Card (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"[Card's] prose is a model of narrative clarity; the author never says more than is needed or arbitrarily withholds information; yet even a simple declarative sentence carries a delicious hint of further revelation." (The New York Times)

Orson Scott card never disappoints!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, just flat out a good listen.i believe you won't be disappointed. the narrator was perfect as well.

This was fun!

I'm a Card fan so I knew I was going to like it. It was refreshing in a way because it was an planet earth. Well ? ? ? Sort of!

As always Card creates a believable story.

Entertaining, yet no where near as good as his usual fair. If I could get my
money back, I would.

Totally Worth It

The years, the rewrites, the research - this book is worth everything that went into its creation. And it gives me a sense that this story of ours, with the millennia of struggle, the excruciating work, and the tenuous hope will all be worth it as well. Thank you OSC.

Enjoyable escape

This is the first Card I've listened to and I found it very enjoyable. A good escape from everyday life and not too 'heavy'.

Enjoyable

I'm a long time Card fan and found this book to be thoroughly enjoyable. Card's strength is developing characters that you like and admire and this book is no exception. I listen during my daily commute and found myself looking forward to the drive home each day to see what would happen next.

Card comes through again!

I have been a fan of Card since I first read the short story that was to become the novel Ender's Game twenty some years ago. His ability to create characters who will stay in your heart happens yet again in this novel. The narrator was also terrific - nailing the different voices so that one had no difficulty determining which character was speaking. I personally enjoyed how he intertwined religion, upper middle class African American culture, Shakespeare and a fairy tale.

Is this what OSC has come to

As I listen to this book I get the feeling that Mr. Card did not write this. As many books of his that I have read and listen to, I think I have a good feeling for his work. This is a good story and told well, but if OCS was a painter and I looked at this as one of his works I would see that it does not have the color and depth of field that I see in his other works. I hope this is not what fame and fortune has done. I look eagerly for anything that may be coming from him and I am constantly watching for anything new, I hope this is just a fluke of a story and not a glimpse of what is to come.

mindbender with awesome imagery.

the usual Card imagery is present and makes this fantastic. it was unexpected and very enjoyable.

out of control religion

The Ender series is one of the best stories I have ever read. Lost Boys brings Orson's Mormon religion into the open and has great writing and wonderful observation. Magic Street must have been written by Orson's Bishop - all Jesus and evil and preaching and miracles. Don't waste your time with this book.