Starred Review ALA Booklist

Starred Review Tongue firmly planted in cheek, Grant sends a lad with a serious case of mediumness up against not only the minions of an ageless and evil Pale Queen but also a truly impressive list of phobias in this opener to the Magnificent 12 series. Prompted by the urgent warnings of an ancient, spectral mage (In just a few months the Dread Foe will be loosed in all her fury, all her rage, all her sphincter-clenching, heart-clutching, throat-gobbling, spit-drying, blood-freezing, bowel-loosening terror!), a murder attempt, and the arrival of plane tickets with a million-dollar debit card, Mack sets out for Australia. This is just the first leg of a mission to gather the other 11 supposed Magnifica necessary to defeat the evil that is about to escape 3,000 years of imprisonment. Hooking up with the first of his allies entails not only long, screaming drops into the ocean (Mack is powerfully thalassophobic) and down a shaft into a cave beneath Uluru (he is also awfully claustrophobic) but also battles with a variety of the queen's magical warriors and an encounter with her daughter, Ereskigal insanely beautiful young sorceress with the eating habits of a female praying mantis. Grant fills out the historical backstory for this promising scenario in alternating flashback chapters, provides a sturdy supporting cast for his reluctant young hero, and keeps up the rapid pace from first page to last. A terrific start, with an elaborate website festooned with games and contests to ease the wait for sequels.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Grant, author of the Gone series, takes a comedic turn, launching the middle-grade Magnificent 12 series about a boy with multiple phobias forced to help save the world. After saving the life of the school's toughest bully, 12-year-old Mack, who fears everything from spiders to the ocean, is visited by the ancient wizard Grimluk, who charges Mack with gathering the ""Magnifica,"" a group of 12 magical 12-year-olds who can defeat the ancient Pale Queen and her daughter. Mack's adventures take him to Australia (a flight that triggers many of Mack's phobias) and alternate with flashbacks to Grimluk's original battle against the Pale Queen. Mack's bully baiting and dispatching of poisonous snakes down the garbage disposal don't exactly emphasize his unlikely heroism, but the story's abundant action and humor%E2%80%94from the rampant ignorance of Grimluk's day (when the very notion of a number greater than 11 baffled most folks) to the diary dispatches of the scene-stealing golem who takes Mack's place at home and in school (""Dear Mack, Did you know that you cannot eat cats? Each day I learn a little more"")%E2%80%94should win over readers. Ages 10%E2%80%93up. (Aug.)

Kirkus Reviews

The first book in Grant's new series, The Magnificent 12, introduces unlikely hero Mack, who has "a serious case of mediumness" and a vast array of phobias. Enter Grimluk, a 3,000-year-old man who informs Mack that he is to be the first of the new Magnifica, a group of 12 kids who must join their talents and inherited-yet-unknown powers to fight the evil Pale Queen and her vicious daughter. Reluctant and frankly freaked out by this news, Mack and former bully, now guardian friend Stefan team up to evade deadly attentions from a seriously creepy set of insect-like monsters and demonic elves. The author keeps the story moving at a brisk pace with suspenseful action and laugh-out-loud humor. The juxtaposition of chapters that recount Grimluk's ancient adventures in times when math wasn't even invented against those when the young protagonist is equipped with an iPhone and receives text messages from his golem produces a lighter-than-usual fantasy action-adventure that is sure to win many fans and fly off the shelves. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Horn Book

Mack fears almost everything, making him an unlikely leader for a band of twelve preteen heroes. However, with his "head bully" bodyguard, Stefan, and cryptic messages from ancient magician Grimluk, Mack jumps into his destiny with a surprisingly level head. Grant's novel boasts loads of humor, but its too-often fourth-wall-breaking results in uneven pacing.