"Gardner's expert narration is a great match for this novel straightforward and,
fitting this novel, a bit acerbic. His pacing is excellent, and emotional colorings fit the prose perfectly.
This deserves to be widely heard."KLIATT

"The Magician is one of those rare books that, once you read it, you will never forget. Gardner's voice
and style fit the teenaged navet and bravado that inhabit the book's main characaters, and he paces the
story beautifully, particularly the climactic courtroom scenes. "AudioFile

The Magician is the now famous story of two sixteen-year-old antagonists locked in the crucible of
their high school which neither can escape.

Ed Japhet gives a skillful performance of magic at the school prom. After the prom, Ed and his girlfriend are
beset by Urek, the leader of a school gang that extracts extortion money by "renting" kids their own lockers.
Ed is the only student who refuses to pay extortion money. Urek's fury at Japhet's defiance results in an
attempted murder, a criminal trial, and death, with a shocker of an ending.

The book, selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club, sold over a million copies, was widely taught in American
schools, and has been published all over the world, in Britain, France, Germany, and as far away as Russia
and Japan.

Sol Stein is a prize-winning playwright produced on Broadway, an anthologized poet, the author of nine novels, and an award-winning teacher of writers. He has edited some of the most successful writers of the century and is the author of Stein on Writing and How to Grow a Novel and is the creator of the computer programs WritePro®, FictionMaster®, and FirstAid for Writers®.

Tom Parker, recipient of the Golden Voice award, records a remarkable variety of books while pursuing his love of theater by directing two or three professional stage productions a year in the Washington, D.C., area.