Review: The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

THE LAST MAGICIAN - Lisa Maxwell
(The Last Magician #1)

Title: The Last Magician

Author: Lisa Maxwell
Series: The Last Magician #1
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Pages: 498

Publication date: August 10th 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse

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Stop the Magician. Steal the book. Save the future.

In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives.

Esta is a talented thief, and she’s been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta’s training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future.

But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.

Personal Opinion:

The world is divided between people who have an affinity with magic, and those who don't. Among the latter, there is the Order, a group dedicated to science and reason who will do anything to trap and stop the Mageus, those who use magic. This rivalry made the story fascinating, making us go deep in a chain of mysteries and secrets.

To stop the Order and destroy the Breach that prevents the Mageus from escaping the city, Esta must go back to the past and stop the Magician to get a book that will change everything.


The subject of this book is so interesting. Time travel, powers... two things that I love. The world created by the author is fascinating, mixing the past and the present with a very good investigation, not only of context but also of physics, chemistry and alchemy.

There are several amazing plot twists, which I honestly didn't expect at all and they took me completely by surprise. Revelations that I never imagined, and I really liked that.

This book has several main characters that are very interesting and particular, as well as their powers. It has several points of view, which I think is great to understand each of them. There is even a great development of the secondary characters.

Esta, being so impulsive and audacious, was one of the characters that I liked the most. Also the Magician, who was gaining my affection little by little. And Dolph, a character that fascinates me since before reading the book.

I liked the interactions between the characters, some full of drama and others with a bit of humor. There is a little of romance in this book and a lot of action, but I think it was the twists and the setting that I liked most about this story.

“They were sitting on opposite sides of the board, playing each other in hopes of gaining the same prize.”

The ending was impressive and left me wanting to read the next book. The Last Magician is a slow pace reading, but I loved it anyway. I hope to read the next book soon.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

About the author:

Lisa Maxwell is the New York Times Best-Selling author of THE LAST MAGICIAN. Also of UNHOOKED, SWEET UNREST, and GATHERING DEEP. When she's not writing books, she teaches English at a local college. She lives near DC with her very patient husband and two not-so patient boys.

~ AGUS ~