Castle in the Air vs The Magic City: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Magic, Fantasy fiction, Fantasy, Children's fiction, Fiction
Castle in the Air
Having long indulged himself in daydreams more exciting than his mundane life as a carpet merchant, Abdullah unexpectedly purchases a magic carpet and his life changes dramatically as his daydreams come true and…
vs
The Magic City
An extremely unhappy ten-year-old magically escapes into a city he has built out of books, chessmen, candlesticks, and other household items.
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Magic City is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 5 for Castle in the Air.
- The Magic City has the widest readership — 2158 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Castle in the Air | The Magic City | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.9 (2158) |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (210) | 4.0 (3) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (100) | 4.5 (10) |
Reception
| Castle in the Air | The Magic City | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 210 | 2158 |
| Editions | 27 | 445 |
| Citations | 6 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 2526 |
| Reading it now | — | 138 |
| Written reviews | — | 166 |
| Wikipedia attention | 4009 | 261 |
| Pages | 298 | 162 |