Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch (review)

A century ago, a mysterious explosion tore the world in two and rendered the area beyond the Rift an uninhabitable wasteland, or at least that’s what sixteen-yearold Glenn Morgan, living in a technologically advanced society, has always been told. When her genius father claims to have invented a device that will allow him to travel beyond the Rift, government agents come to arrest both Glenn and her father. Accompanied by her best friend, Kevin, Glenn is on the run; forced across the Rift, she finds the reported wasteland to be a mirror-world where magic works and technology does not, populated by fantastical creatures and rural villages. As Glenn and Kevin travel across the countryside in search of a safe place to cross back into their own world, they get caught up in the long-standing battle to control the magic of the Magisterium, and Glenn learns that her connection to the world beyond the Rift is stronger than she could ever have believed. A compelling example of genre-blending, the novel draws its strength from its contrasting science fiction and fantasy worlds. Unfortunately, the storytelling is often choppy, with the plot unfolding as a series of episodes that provide Glenn and her companions with knowledge about the Magisterium and its history. Glenn herself never fully emerges as a fully engaging character, and she is often outshone by her sidekick/love-interest Kevin and her housecat-turned-feline-warrior Aamon. Still, readers looking for a novel that incorporates everything they love about these two disparate genres may still entertained by this first installment of a proposed series and look forward to Glenn’s future cross-world adventures.