In the third chapter of A Wizard of Mars, the treasure is found. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Young Wizards.
Okay, so technically this is not a treasure hunt, BUT IT’S GOT ALL THE TROPE-Y GOODNESS OF A TREASURE HUNT. This is where I let y’all know that I really love treasure hunt stories. I don’t think I’ve gotten to read much of the genre for Mark Reads (though Deathly Hallows and Half-Blood Prince got real close to it for me), so I don’t often get to talk about it. (Heists or cons on the other hand…. LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY PASSIONS.) It was only at the conclusion of this chapter that I realized this wasn’t just a mystery but the end result of a treasure hunt. And I didn’t have to spend an entire book agonizing over whether or not the characters would find the treasure!
Instead, Duane drops us in just as Earth’s wizards, after MANY years of searching, have finally located the “superegg†that was hidden on Mars’s surface over half a million years prior. Was it hidden there by Martian wizards? We can only guess! Chapter three is devoted to the act of discovery, and my gods, it was so satisfying. I credit that to the fact that Duane provides worldbuilding prior to this so that we know why it’s so significant that this superegg was found on Mars. Part of that is serialization: much of the importance of this finding relies on us knowing what wizardry is, knowing why Mamvish and Irina are a big deal, knowing why it’s tense that Darryl is around… you get the picture.
But in the first fifth of A Wizard of Mars, there is new information for us, too! We’ve learned that wizards had been practicing on Earth for way longer than I expected, but that they hadn’t traveled to Mars at the point in history when the superegg was hidden. There’s a chance that the Lone One is behind this, but those chances are relatively slim (especially given that Irina and Mamvish are present). Mamvish has had experience with supereggs before, so we get an idea on how they’re opened… sort of. Duane is ambiguous about this in some respects because I’m guessing she wants to surprise us with the ultimate method used.
But it is the revelations – tiny as they are – about Kit that most intrigue me. Obviously, I want to know what’s inside the superegg. DON’T BE SILLY. However, I am taking all the cues present and hypothesizing that Kit is the key to this thing, both literally and figuratively. He’s the wizard who had a hunch about where the “bottle” was located. He was able to pull it out of the rock without much resistance. And then there’s that tingling… it can’t be a coincidence, you know? The same goes for that dust devil. SOMETHING knows what is happening on Mars.
Above all, Duane has avoided weirdness for the sake of it when it comes to wizardry. In this case, Kit’s interest in Mars is most likely due to a reason: either a changed specialty OR a draw to the wizardry in that superegg. That leaves another huge mystery to be solved: why Kit??? AND Y’ALL KNOW I WILL NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT ANOTHER MYSTERY BEING ADDED. I welcome it!
I just hope Nita is okay. My guess: Dairine. She’s the cause of their dad’s anger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0qSeLRmA18
I am thrilled to confirm that I will be a Guest at CrossingsCon 2017! Badges are now available, so COME HANG OUT WITH ME THIS SUMMER.
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