Ease Reading-Find Your Next Favorite Book

Hot Search

Magic Street

orson scott card

... Show More
“A modern suburban fantasy . . . There are quests and complications, conflicts and charms. . . . Card’s back in top form, doing as well as or better than any of his fantasy work so far.”— The San Diego Union-Tribune

In a prosperous African American neighborhood in Los Angeles, infant Mack Street is found abandoned in an overgrown park and taken in by a blunt-speaking single woman. Growing up, Mack senses that he is different from most, and knows that he has strange powers. Yet he cannot possibly understand how unusual he is until the day he discovers, beyond a mysterious narrow house no one else can see, an entryway into a magical world. Passing through, Mack is plunged into a realm where time and reality are skewed, a place where his actions seem to have disturbing effects in the “real world.” Whether he likes it or not, Mack has become a player in an epic drama. His reward, if he can survive the trip, is discovering not only who he really is . . . but why he exists.

Praise for Magic Street

“A great read . . . Card’s take on his characters [is] as sure as ever, his narrative rock solid, his dialogue crackling and authentic.” — Los Angeles Times Book Review

“[Card] is a master at creating a sense of urgency that keeps you turning pages.” — The Charlotte Observer 

“Mind-bending . . . Card’s clever tale comes with sharp writing and crisp dialogue.” — The Tampa Tribune 

“Compelling . . . By the time the ultimate conflict comes into focus, the novel is propelling the reader forward like a bullet.” — Deseret Morning News 

“A suspenseful fantasy thriller that, during the race to the last page, has one mulling over myth, morals, salvation, and will.” — Booklist

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,2005

This edition

Format
416 pages, Paperback
Published
June 27, 2006 by Del Rey
ISBN
9780345416902
ASIN
0345416902
Language
English

More editions

About the author

Profile Image for orson scott card

orson scott card

... Show More
Orson Scott Card is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is (as of 2023) the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card co-produced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003).
Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.
Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.

Readers also enjoyed

Community Reviews

Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
27(27%)
4 stars
35(35%)
3 stars
38(38%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
ryu2k2
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
Interesting use of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was quite original and clever. However, at times the narrative just did not ring true for me. I also didn't like some of the themes and ideas in the book - it made me feel very uncomfortable.

Personal Note: I am anti-homophobia, and as such I usually refuse to buy books by authors who express homphobic views - whether these are present in the book or not. As such, Orson Scott Card's views were something of a surprise. This did not effect my rating or the review above, as I had written them before I found this out.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
TabascoSauz
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
First half had me hooked. The last half was repetitive, disjointed, and managed to completely weaken the character development of the first half. By the end I finished it just to finish it. Love the idea, but tragic execution.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
-light420-
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
Una historia de fantasía contemporánea, es decir magia en situaciones de la vida cotidiana. Es la primera vez que leo algo del subgénero y ha sido una lectura interesante; me encanta la fantasía, sin embargo, este libro me supo a poco.

Había leído con anterioridad a Scott Card por un libro de cuentos y fue un gran descubrimiento, quise conocer más al autor, pero creo que esta historia no fue la indicada, la verdad solo me dejé llevar por la portada y el título xD

Aunque la sinopsis es un poco ambigua. La historia va así: Mack es niño negro cuyo origen es todo un misterio, es encontrado por Ceese un chico del barrio y, sin saber qué hacer con él, lo deja al cuidado de una enfermera llamada Ura Lee. Es así como este chico crece gracias a este par y poco a poco va descubriendo que es diferente a los demás chicos del barrio y que, por si fuera poco, cosas extrañas suceden el barrio y todas están relacionadas con sus sueños y con los sueños de sus vecinos. A lo largo de los capítulos veremos el crecimiento de Mack y toda la magia que se desprende en el barrio, también, personajes misteriosos que aparecen al inicio, más adelante son revelados.

Creo que debería leerse con anterioridad “El sueño de una noche de verano” antes de abordar este libro, ya que sus personajes tienen una especie de cameo en esta historia, o es un calco de la historia original, no estoy seguro. Y debería leerse porque las referencias sobre esta obra, y sobre Shakespeare como tal, son muchísimas, convirtiendo a este último, casi, en un personaje más. Pienso que, si hubiese leído esa obra antes de adentrarme en este libro, hubiera disfrutado mucho más la lectura. Por lo que los invito a que primero conozcan esta obra de Shakespeare, antes de darle una oportunidad.

La narración es sencilla y fluida, pero por momentos se torna pesada y confusa, tal vez tenga que ver la traducción, no lo sé. De cualquier forma, me mantuvo enganchado y quería saber cómo terminaba, perfectamente la historia oscila entre unas 2 o 3 estrellas por lo anteriormente descrito, pero por las últimas páginas que fueron emocionantes, va de un 3,5 a 4 porque realmente no es una gran historia, pero por momentos es emotiva y emocionante.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
GonzyChan
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
Whose idea was it to let O.S. Card interpret Shakespeare? Great idea! Midsummer Night's Dream further fantasized.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Pokitaru
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
Such a great story & love the connection to A Midsummers Night Dream

This is my second time reading this novel from years ago. I was sharing the story with my relative telling her what a great read it was and had to come back and reread it myself. Totally worth the time to do so as I enjoyed every minute. Clever writing, great storyline, unexpected plot twists, deep character development, and you fall in love with the characters. Would highly recommend.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Taiga_Ryuji
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
... Show More
Ummm, no.

I'd given up buying Card books since he's become so free with his bizarre political and religious opinions, but I was rather hard up for a good read one day and grabbed this at the library, hoping, on the basis of the early Ender and Alvin books, that it would be worthwhile. Unfortunately, the story was plodding, the characters were two-dimensional (and frequently nonsensical and contradictory), and his attempts to portray African-American characters and dialogue were just cringe-worthy.

Couldn't bring myself to finish it.
0 0 Reply
Leave a Review
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.