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[Following is a volunteer review of "The Elf Brief" by Jordan David.]

The Elf Brief is the first novel in a nine part series by Jordan David, known as the Magi Charter. It is a very unique and interesting concept which follows the lives of the North Pole elves, as opposed to most other books of this kind which normally just concentrate on Santa Claus.

Noel Night is a young elfin lad who works at the North Pole. Eight weeks before Christmas, the surprised elf is asked to attend an important departmental meeting in Santa’s office. This is the very first time that Noel will meet his high-ranking superior and he is terrified to think that he may be in some kind of trouble.

Santa however has an unexpected and rather unusual new work assignment that he feels would be perfect for such a literary and bookish elf such as Noel. It seems that the time has come for Santa Christo to retire, and be replaced with a new, younger Santa. Noel is asked to undertake the monumental task of overseeing and recording the transition of the new Santa, as he takes over and completes his training.

Santa Christo feels that it is pertinent that future generations of elves have a feasible resource with which to adequately educate and train successive Santa’s, for a straightforward and seamless changeover.

The characters in The Elf Brief are very easy to relate to, with the elves coming across as almost human in their mannerisms and lifestyles. I love all the different coloured hats that depict the various departments within the North Pole complex, this helps the reader to discern between the different characters and their roles, however my favourite character is the Polar Bear caretaker, and it is very disappointing that he only appears in a brief cameo within the story. I hope the caretaker will return to play a more prominent role in future novels.

With its nicely paced story providing interesting, and rather unique insight to the complex inner workings of the North Pole, I really wanted to give The Elf Brief the full 4 stars. However, as is common with self-published novels, there were far too many spelling mistakes that ruined the easy flow of my reading, such as Sahara Dessert, meaning I had to re-read a vast number of sentences to make certain that I had correctly adjusted the mistake. Coupled with the glossing over and lack of explanation as to the Polar Bear’s unique character quality, I felt compelled to mark Jordan David’s first Magi Charter novel down to just 3 out of 4 stars.

I would also have liked a more detailed explanation on how the magic portals, such as the portal fireplaces and portal chimney’s work, and how they know just where the elves wish to go, in order to deliver them to the appropriate location. My obvious guess would be a form of mind-reading software and teleportation.

I look forward to reading future Magi Charter novels from Jordan David, as the basic concept behind The Elf Brief was highly interesting, though I hope the author might consider employing a decent proof-reader in future.

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The Elf Brief
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Hi there! Thanks for your review.

I think the Portals are best seen as background. Hi Remember that even the FCD admitted that the Great Portal was already there when the Mission came to the North Pole, suggesting that not even they know how it works , only that it does.

Those are some good points Michael. I'm currently reading the follow up novel The Elf Archive, which provides a little bit more information on the portals, however I think you are correct in saying that they don't play a major role in the story, and therefore shouldn't be treated as such.

That sounds like a good book to read. Being a Christmas person I am always glad to learn more about the season and the people involved with making it happen. I might just add it to my need to read list.