The Magician of Tiger Castle

By Louis Sachar

Book Overview

*AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER *AN INDIE NEXT LIST PICK * A LIBRARY READS PICK *

"Funny, surprising, smart and weird . . . fully lives up to the high bar you'd expect from a great like Sachar."--Associated Press

"After decades of children's stories with adult intelligence, Sachar has given us an adult novel with a child's heart"--Alix E. Harrow

The beloved author of Holes presents his first adult novel, a modern fantasy classic of forbidden love, a crumbling kingdom, and the unexpected magic all around us.

Long ago and far away (and somewhere south of France) lies the kingdom of Esquaveta. There, Princess Tullia is in nearly as much peril as her struggling kingdom. Esquaveta desperately needs to forge an alliance, and to that end, Tullia's father has arranged a marriage between her and an odious prince. However, one month before the "wedding of the century," Tullia falls in love with a lowly apprentice scribe.

The king turns to Anatole, his much-maligned magician. Seventeen years earlier, when Anatole first came to the castle, he was regarded as something of a prodigy. But after a long series of failures--the latest being an attempt to transform sand into gold--he has become the object of contempt and ridicule. The only one who still believes in him is the princess.

When the king orders Anatole to brew a potion that will ensure Tullia agrees to the wedding, Anatole is faced with an impossible choice. With one chance to save the marriage, the kingdom, and, of most importance to him, his reputation, will he betray the princess--or risk ruin?

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0593952308
• ISBN13: 9780593952306
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Ace Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Light entertainment

This certainly was a fast book to get through, full of the wild adventures of Anatole, who through crazy experiments that may or may not include magic, rescues a princess from a vile prince, saves a scribe, and somehow invents a potion of eternal life. And that is just the start! It kind of wanders a bit, as Anatole, narrating the story from the modern day, recounts his tale in meeting Tullia and Pito and foiling the plans of the monarchy while also creating some very interesting potions that include blue spots and making a person's voice go high permanently as well as taking credit for some inventions. I laughed at some parts and it was pretty lighthearted with a few real facts and so definitely ranges more to a fantasy than historical fiction. It was entertaining though I would not consider it adult fiction so much, though Anatole is an adult, his companions are in the young adult age range. I would recommend it as an any range book as it is not too serious (has some nicely juvenile humor), even if it touches on some icky bits (aka much older prince trying to marry very young princess). I did have fun reading it.