Fans of Brandon Mull and James Riley will love this action-packed, accessible fantasy story about one kid’s journey to discover magic as he’s caught up in an epic battle between two powerful ancient orders. Twelve-year-old daydreamer Joey Kopecky’s life has been turned upside down. After acing a series of tests, he’s declared a genius and awarded a full scholarship at a special (year-round!) school. He’s understandably devastated, until he takes one last test, and the room around him disappears, replaced by the interior of an old theater. There, Joey meets the washed-up magician, Redondo the Magnificent, and makes a shocking discovery…magic is real, but sadly, there isn’t much left in the world. It may be too late to save what little remains, but for the first time in his life Joey wants to try—really try—to do something big. Soon he’s swept up into a centuries-old conflict between two rival societies of magicians—the Order of the Majestic, who fights to keep magic alive and free for all, and the dark magicians of the Invisible Hand, who hoard magic for their own evil ends. The endless battle for control of magic itself has reached a tipping point. For Redondo and the Order to survive, Joey must inherit the lost legacy of Harry Houdini. Will he prove himself worthy, or will the Invisible Hand strike him down? The answer will depend on Joey’s ability to believe, not just in magic, but in himself. “Matt Myklusch’s thrilling reinvention of the magical school sub-genre is packed with humor, imaginative world building, and surprises. I loved it!” -- J.A. White, author of The Thickety series “An ingenious but aimless kid, a legendary but scandal-scarred magician, a miniature supercollider, a coin—nothing it what it seems in The Order of the Majestic. Matt Myklusch weaves a spell that is as much about the magic of storytelling as it is about magic itself. With dazzling plot twists and nonstop action, Myklusch conjures a cast of dynamic characters and a lovable hero whose journey to greatness will make readers scream for more! I loved it!” -- Peter Lerangis, New York Times-bestselling author of the Seven Wonders and Max Tilt series Matt Myklusch lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons. Chapter 1: Gifted and Talented 1 Gifted and Talented Joey Kopecky didn’t mean to become the smartest kid in the state of New Jersey. It just kind of happened out of the blue. He had gone to bed one night an average, unremarkable student and arrived at school the next morning a genius—on paper at least. Halfway through the seventh grade, Joey was shocked to find out he had aced a barrage of state-mandated aptitude tests, scoring higher than any student ever had before. Perfect hundreds across the board. Joey had always been good with standardized tests, but it turned out he was better than good. Way better. And the price he had to pay for that was terrible. It was Monday morning, April 22. Earth Day. It wasn’t a national holiday or anything (not really), but Joey wasn’t going to school. He wasn’t ever going back to his school. Instead, he and his father were riding a commuter train bound for Manhattan, on their way to decide what Joey was going to do with the rest of his life. “You ready for another one?” Joey’s father asked him. “I can’t wait,” Joey lied, staring out the window. “All right,” Joey’s father said, punching numbers into his phone. “What’s the square root of 361?” Joey grimaced. The whole ride, his father had peppered him with random questions, eager to explore his intellect like some newly discovered continent. For Joey, the game got old real fast. “I don’t know, Dad. I told you, it’s not like I have a calculator in my head.” “How about some history?” Joey’s father scrolled through his phone. “What year did Lincoln give the Gettysburg Address?” Joey shook his head. “I’m not Wikipedia, either. Sorry.” More scrolling. “What’s the capital of Albuquerque?” Joey was about to say he wasn’t Google Maps, but he stopped himself. “Albuquerque doesn’t have a capital. It’s a city, not a state.” Joey’s father beamed. “See that? It was a trick question, but you caught it just like that.” “Gold star for me.” Joey gave a sarcastic thumbs-up. “Doesn’t exactly take a genius, Dad.” His father put his phone away. “What’s eating you?” Joey looked at his father. “Let’s see if you can figure this one out. A train leaves Hoboken at eight a.m., headed to New York at sixty miles an hour. If the city is thirteen miles away, and a kid on the train has to be there at nine a.m., at what time is his life officially ruined?” “Joey.” His father sighed. “We talked about this.” “This one’s a trick question too. I’m the kid on the train. Did you catch that?” “Yeah, I got it. How about we dial back the negativity a little?” Joey grunted. “My life was ruined when you and Mom signed me up for this school.” “This school is one of the best in the country. Maybe the world. We had to jump through a lot of h