Magic Mirrors collects several of John Bellairs' so-called "adult" fiction in one volume: The Face in the Frost, The Pedant and the Shuffly, Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies, as well as the unfinished sequel to The Face In the Frost, entitled The Dolphin Cross. Like many other Bellairs fans I suspect, I purchased this book mainly for The Dolphin Cross. The biggest flaw in that story is its unfinished state--the manuscript that survives is just as delightful, fantastic, creepy, and inventive as its predecessor. If anything, it's even more frightening. The story involves Prospero's kidnapping for reasons unknown; it begins with an encounter with some sort of animated skeleton-knight, and ends with his escape from the twisted castle of a sadistic wizard. In the introduction to the story and the story-behind-the-story (which is also a pleasant read), Bellairs is quoted as saying he was pleased with the writing style of The Dolphin Cross but not so much with the plot, and I wonder if this is why he never returned to it; perhaps also he was so involved with his young adult novels, which by this point had become very popular, that he never had the opportunity (Bellairs died relatively young.). I'm extremely pleased to be finally able to read The Dolphin Cross, and it makes the entire volume valuable.

I won't go into the other stories contained in the book, except to say that they are equally enjoyable (and I'm pleased that the original illustrations for Pedant and Fidgeta are included). Unfortunately, the book could have used a more careful edit, as such errors as missing letters and spacing issues are far too common. There is an included appendix which translates the many instances of foreign languages Bellairs used, particularly Latin, and while I think this is a clever and useful addition, it too could stand to be more usefully edited and arranged. All in all, though, for the inclusion of The Dolphin Cross alone, this book is a must-have for any fans of John Bellairs. ( )