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Book Review By Nancy Louise
To Visit The Queen by Diane Duane

Rhiow a house cat, along with a Tom Alley cat, and a just trained kitten wizard. It all starts innocently enough, a young human student carrying a very large book. Looking forward to selling off this brick of printed paper, he takes the trains from Grand Central station and then somehow to his horror, ends up in of all places, Victorian England. In shock, and confusion he drops his book and runs off. Only to find himself back in New York City, with a bizarre tale, and no book. So it seems a strange and unfortunately glitch in the Wizard gate overlapping a normal human use gate. Or is it?

That book happen to have however, the chemical and periodic tables of all kinds metals. Many which have not yet been discovered yet by Victorian times. Two gentlemen finding this book, clean off the muck and find it fascinating and begin to spread the word of the marvelous information contained within. In short order, Queen Victoria is successfully assassinated and England finds itself on the verge of nuclear war. The Wizards must now find a way to correct it all and save the Queen. But not just the Queen, but all the Queens named Victoria who are being killed before their time.

To help them out is a young man by the name of Authur Conan Doyle who helps them to re-write history postponing Queen Victoria's death to the proper time and somehow find and learn to use forgotten magic to correct the unraveling of the time warps.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy story on current Earth
Political power play Yes
Political plotlets - saving govt/kingdom from external overthrow
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 30 %
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 %
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20 %
Animal Story Yes
Kind of animal - cat

Main Character
Identity: - animal
Profession/status:
If magical mental powers: - can cast many different spells
Really unusual traits?

Main Adversary
Identity: - magical being
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can cast all sorts of spells
Eccentric: Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
Earth setting: - 19th century - current (early 21st century)
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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