James Patterson wrote and released the novel Witch and Wizard in 2009. Witch and Wizard follow two main protagonists, Whit and Wisty, who live in a dystopian society where the use of magic is forbidden by The One who is The One (reminds one of Harry Potter, the one who must not be named, doesn’t it?) and is punished with execution. Whit and Wisty have never used magic, yet they are awoken in the midst of the night and imprisoned as magic users, a charge that carries the death penalty if proven. They are permitted to bring a remembrance from home, and their parents offer them two seemingly insignificant objects. Overpowered and fearing for their parents’ safety, the two teenagers have no choice but to be arrested, but they quickly understand how terrible their position is. Whit and Wisty are condemned as Criminal by The One Who Judges without even a proper trial or due process and are sent into a high-security jail (that is actually a psychiatric hospital) with energy-dampening charms to prevent the youths from exercising their magical powers. The importance of insignificant objects is revealed later in the story, and the two teenagers find out that themselves. Whit and Wisty learn that their parents have also been imprisoned, and they decide to put themselves in danger and escape in order to save their parents from their dreadful plight.

Witch and Wizard is a quick read with a narrative that moves quickly. The overall plot is engaging and soon draws the reader in. The protagonists are easy to relate to, and their goals are obvious. The landscapes and scenarios are nicely depicted, and they are appropriately gloomy and frightening. To entice the more hesitant reader, there are plenty of risky encounters and action-packed magical fight sequences. At some point, the novel became tedious, and regrettably, for my first James Patterson work, I was disappointed. I believe he has great abilities to construct rich storylines and well-developed characters, but I found little to back it up in this novel.

The ridiculousness of the New Order (which has been artistically reduced to the word “N.O.” on banners and symbols) is simply brilliant, and the notion of an all-knowing tyrant on a relentless witch hunt is scathing critique at its finest. The idea of two extremely powerful siblings who are completely unaware of their importance to the world as heroes is also absolutely priceless and could have led to some intriguing character development. Celia’s obligations were restricted to the shadowland and portal. The novel is narrated from the perspectives of Whit and Wisty, and there are several plot holes. Aside from the basic writing, there was a glaring absence of character development.

The plot seed of tension in the siblings’ relationship vanishes practically as soon as it is addressed, allowing one to forget about any profound, soul-searching ideas about their newly obtained powers or any doubts about the New Order society they live in. Nonetheless, I was quite let down. Overall, Witch & Wizard has a terrific core premise with an intriguing storyline and character development possibilities. Great concept, but poor implementation. Combine lousy writing with a truly crappy, sell-out suspense, making the readers irritated. The book, Witch & Wizard let me down on so many levels.