Passage to Avalon

The Epic Adventures of the Techno Wizard, Book 1

De: Mike Thayer

Narrado por: Mike Thayer

Fans of Fablehaven and Harry Potter will love this modern spin on fantasy with the "hilariously epic journey" (Readers' Favorite) of a boy stuck in a magical land who can still post about his adventures on social media and YouTube!

Thirteen-year-old Sam Shelton is the only person in Avalon who can't use the magical power of aether. He's also the only person in Avalon with a bag of high-tech spy gear, a solar-powered cell phone with intermittent signal back to Earth, a YouTube account, and a murderous wizard-emperor on his tail...so he's got a lot going for him.

When an earthquake hits his hometown of Bozeman, Montana, Sam gets inexplicably transported to Avalon, a strange world in which aether defines all aspects of life: the rich, the poor, the weak, the powerful, the oppressed, and the oppressors. Sam soon discovers that not only is he immune to aether's magical effects but that he possesses the rare ability to destroy the stuff on contact. This phenomenon poses something of a major concern for the Emperor of Avalon, a tyrant who has dedicated his life to amassing more aether than all his subjects combined.

While trying to find a way back home, Sam learns that his best hope lies with meeting the emperor head on, and draining the tyrant of his power. To do that, Sam will need to band together with a medieval cowboy, a young aether prodigy, and a curious dryad, all while using his whole bag of technological tricks...and posting about it on social media, of course.

In Passage to Avalon, Mike Thayer takes a humorous, action-packed, and modern spin on the portal fantasy genre in the first book of The Epic Adventures of the Techno Wizard, a series that combines magical fantasy with near future technology and social media.

©2018 Michael Thayer (P)2018 Michael Thayer

Listened 4 times in the car.

I like the big war at the end of the book because it gives you the idea of how you can be there in the end. I think you should make book 4 .

Delightful adventure for middle grade readers

What a fun book! From the very beginning, I was in love with the concept. A kid goes through a portal to a medieval fantasy dimension but takes his cool near-future gear and tech with him. That isn't something I've seen before!
The characters were very appealing. I loved their distinctive dialogue and quirks. Cornelius was my favorite.
I enjoyed seeing Sam grow. His memories and inner turmoil surrounding his father made him feel especially real to me. He was a great main character for the novel. His unusual skills at pulling off pranks came in handy time and time again. Because of it, the characters solved the problems they faced in unusual ways, often making sneaky plans instead of facing the enemy head on, which I enjoyed.
All in all, the novel was fun and original. I can't wait to dive into the sequel.

Awesome Book

I loved this book! Mike Thayer did a great job acting out the voices. My only complaint is that I cannot get the next two books on audio. It's fun and exciting. There are a few twists thrown in there which is really great too. The characters are likable and relatable. It's old world mixed with new techno world.

kept me wanting more. Loved it!

Old and Young will love this book. The characters are wonderful and unique. pulls you in fast. you will not be disappointed.

Audiobook is even better than the print copy.

The author does all the voices for his characters and does a great job. Now my kids prefer listening to the audiobook to my reading the printed copy.

Excellent

A fun book with an excellent reader. Typically I'm frustrated by books that do something odd to space/time. S.M. Sterling's come to mind. The TechnoWizard found a way to put modern devices into an archaic environment without creating frustrating inconsistencies. The story was also well developed and moved with good pace.

A also liked the protagonist. A hero in youth fiction that was neither brilliant nor an idiot was refreshing.

my kids loved it

They have read it now listed on audible. Great book and voices on audible were entertaining.

Phenomenal

I read the book last year and loved it! As a rule I don't do audiobooks, but after hearing Mike at a Reading at LTUE in February, I knew I had to make an exception. I decided to listen to the book as a refresher before reading book 2. Mike does an incredible job with the different voices and is an overall great reader. My biggest problem is that now I have to buy all the audiobooks too when the next books come out haha. -Kira Harris

An amazing middle grade read

I finished Passage to Avalon last night, by Mike Thayer who is a writing excuses alumni/friend of mine and was really impressed. Middle grade portal fantasy was something I did consume at a young age and this story is a modern update on classic/older stories like Narnia (think Aslan on Instagram). The cast of characters are likable and have distinct voices and abilities, and the overall world building is clever and fun. I had a few issues with the plotting around the half way point, but these were addressed by the epilogue, and there is actually some really awesome plotting leading up to the climatic final battle that was quite excellent (I think I actually smiled once I realized how the drone would utilized). I did feel that there was too much similarity in the traumatic back stories of the story's main characters, but that's a pretty minor gripe in the scheme of things. I'm not an expert in middle grade, but I found it considerably more memorable and enjoyable than things I've read by bigger names such as Brandon Mull and latter day Rick Riordan. Highly recommended.

Awesome!

This was really good! A hidden gem! Can't wait to read the others! It was fun to listen to the author read it. I hope he has recorded the next one too!