The fate of the magic world rests on 11-year-old Josh’s shoulders in the third instalment of Calgary author Maureen Bush’s Veil of Magic series. The curtain between the human and magic worlds has been torn, and magic is seeping through to the human side. It’s up to Josh – a boy with mysterious powers that get stronger with each visit to the other side of the curtain – to fix the rift.

Josh and his eight-year-old sister, Maddy, are welcomed back to the magic world by Keeper the giant and the crows that consider Josh their “magic boy,” but they are met with resistance by others who are wary of the human world, which has caused ongoing damage to their home. Still, Josh is their only hope, so they band together, leading the siblings on a journey up the mountain to meet the ancient Veil Weavers.

The book’s main villain, the hideous troll Gronvald, is not very intimidating at all. Although he pops up throughout the journey, hungry for gold and indifferent to the trouble he causes, he acts more like a delinquent child than a truly threatening adversary. And while every other magic creature is bound by the Will of the Gathering to assist Josh in his quest, Gronvald is inexplicably capable of resisting it, which doesn’t jibe with the rules set out at the book’s outset.

The relationship between Josh and his sister offers a sweet, touching element to the story. However, it seems like she is in danger more often than she helps out, causing one to wonder why Josh doesn’t just leave her at home if he wants to keep her safe. And, though the book moves along at an electrifying pace, the action is undermined by one-dimensional characters who fail to draw the reader in.