Official Review: The Gallery of Wonders by Marc Remus

stoppoppingtheP · Post by **stoppoppingtheP** » 05 Feb 2016, 03:11

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Gallery of Wonders" by Marc Remus.]

4 out of 4 stars

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The Gallery of Wonders is the first book in the series titled Magora. The author, Marc Remus, paints a delightful story of an orphan girl and her friends discovering a fantasy land and going on wonderful adventures. This fictional book belongs to the Children’s genre. Some of the themes that the book explores are friendship, adventure and magic.

Holly lives with her mean foster family who make her life miserable. This all changes one day when a series of strange events unfold in Holly’s life. Her grandfather dies in a fire under mysterious circumstances, she sees a hooded figure that is looking for her, she receives a box with some strange stuff and finally she finds a chest hidden in the attic with one of her grandpa’s paintings. It is through this painting that Holly and her friends are whirled into the Land of Magora.

Magora is a place where there are many different creatures with astonishing magical powers. Cliffony is a school for artists in the Land of Magora. Holly and her friends are accepted into it and they begin to learn how to create art with magic. There are different level of artists; Tracers who can skilfully copy, Legumers who can create objects and finally the Gindars, the highest and most special type of artist. Holly is chosen to be a Gindar, although she has no faith in herself and thinks it must be a mistake.

There is also the dark side of Magora. There is the palace where Cuspidor the Duke lives. He is an evil character who wants to destroy the Gallery of Wonders, and it is up to Holly and her friends to save the day.

This book was really enjoyable. I found it to be easy to read, imaginative, descriptive and captivating. The book is mainly targeted towards middle school children. One of the main features that the book uses is that of painting. The author himself is a world renowned artist, so he has tried to capture his love for his work in this book. The main character, Holly, has always loved painting, even though she was never very good at it. In the book the author tries to show that one should paint by getting themselves immersed into their work.

However, one thing that concerned me about this book was the stark parallels that this story had with the series of Harry Potter. For example: an orphaned kid living with mean foster parents who is whisked away to a magic land. In this magic land the kid attends a school that teaches magical abilities, the kid is obviously special and has to save the day. There were also several other similarities which I picked up. For this reason, I was considering giving this book a three stars, due to its questionable originality. However, I finally decided to give the book a four out of four stars simply because I really enjoyed it, and I thought it was excellently written. I definitely think that kids of all ages will enjoy this book, but especially those who have a love for creativity and art.

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The Gallery of Wonders
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remus28 · Post by **remus28** » 11 Feb 2016, 09:45

Thank you so much for the review and for taking the time to write so much. I am glad you enjoyed the book and that you have decided to give it four stars. Since the Harry Potter similarities keep coming up, I would like to let you know that the MAGORA series will take a complete different turn than Harry Potter in the coming books. I have completed all six books already and that's why I can assure you that the series will lose all similarties to Harry Potter along the way. Already the end of the second book, THE GOLDEN MAPLE TREE ( which is out now for free with Kindle Unlimited) will let you take a glimpse into the metaphysical realm of this series. Please keep reading and I am sure you won't get disappointed. Best regards, Marc Remus

Post by **bookowlie** » 11 Feb 2016, 10:05

Nice, balanced review! The book seems like a great start to an imaginative series for tweens and teens. Congrats to the author on receiving a 4-star review!

gali · Post by **gali** » 11 Feb 2016, 10:11

Sounds good! Thank you for the lovely review.

stoppoppingtheP · Post by **stoppoppingtheP** » 12 Feb 2016, 03:52

remus28 wrote:Thank you so much for the review and for taking the time to write so much. I am glad you enjoyed the book and that you have decided to give it four stars. Since the Harry Potter similarities keep coming up, I would like to let you know that the MAGORA series will take a complete different turn than Harry Potter in the coming books. I have completed all six books already and that's why I can assure you that the series will lose all similarties to Harry Potter along the way. Already the end of the second book, THE GOLDEN MAPLE TREE ( which is out now for free with Kindle Unlimited) will let you take a glimpse into the metaphysical realm of this series. Please keep reading and I am sure you won't get disappointed. Best regards, Marc Remus

The book was really enjoyable to read, and I'm sure many kids will enjoy it as much as I did. ( I'm still a kid at heart

)

I'm glad that you pointed out that the similarities in the story does diverge from that of Harry Potter.

I also really liked the fact that you used your passion for art to bring this story to life. I have checked out your artwork as well, and I must say that I am impressed. Your paintings of the different places that you've been to are really brilliant and unique. - by the way guys, be sure to check out the authors artwork as well.

Rachaelamb1 · Post by **Rachaelamb1** » 12 Feb 2016, 10:46

This book sounds great! I love the idea of using art in a magical way. I'm one of those who love painting but am not very good at it so I think I could relate to the main character. I'm going to add this book to my to-read list. You can never get too old for a good children's book!

remus28 · Post by **remus28** » 15 Feb 2016, 14:39

I would like to thank you all for the kind comments on the review. I am very happy you are enjoying THE GALLERY OF WONDERS and that you are so gentle when evaluating the book. For a new author like me, and especially one who is not traditionally published, it is tough to get the foot in the door and stand up to the big publishing houses. That is why you guys are so important to me. It is a reality check to make sure I am on the right track. I promise all who find the Harry Potter similarities too many in the first book that they will disappear, and you will discover a complete different world in the next books. The second book, THE GOLDEN MAPLE TREE is out already on Amazon. It is also free under Kindle Unlimited and the third book will come out in October. You will be able to find it out yourself then. Thank you all!!! Marc

MotherTheresa · Post by **MotherTheresa** » 17 Feb 2016, 11:18

Sounds like a wonderful children's book

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 22 Feb 2016, 06:55

Sounds like a wonderful book not only for children but also for adults who enjoy fantasy books like myself (regardless of the similarities with Harry Potter). By the way, the cover is wonderful. Great job on the review. Congratulations to Marc Remus for such a well-written book.

remus28 · Post by **remus28** » 22 Feb 2016, 12:27

Thanks a lot kimmyschemy06. Glad to hear you enjoyed the cover of my book. I painted it in acrylics on board. I will be doing the covers for the entire series (6 books) myself. I hope you also get the chance to read the book. It is free on Kindle Unlimited in case you can't access it here.

stoppoppingtheP · Post by **stoppoppingtheP** » 22 Feb 2016, 13:38

Wow. I never stopped to think that you would perhaps paint your own covers too. This one is really wonderful, and I'm sure all your other covers (and stories) will be just as great.

anonanemone · Post by **anonanemone** » 22 Feb 2016, 16:38

@Remus28 I'm really impressed that you do your own covers! Congrats on a 4 star rating and also your last name pairs hilariously with the Harry Potter theme that was pointed out.

Good job on the review, stoppoppingtheP. To be fair, Harry Potter is not the first storyline with those type of themes. Sounds like an interesting book although I am not certain what the full significance of the Galley of Wonders itself is...

remus28 · Post by **remus28** » 22 Feb 2016, 17:45

Thanks a lot ananemone. I am actually an illustrator and painter. That is why I paint the covers myself. ☺
The significance of the Gallery of Wonders is that all major magical paintings of Magora are stored there. These paintings are entrances into other worlds. And the paintings have been stolen. You will understand the significance once you read the whole story ☺
And yes, seems Rowling took my last name for the Happy Potter books. So in a way she stole from me. Hahaha