Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good, light-hearted swords-and-sorcery fantasy, 31 Jan 2003
When William Irving "Wiz" Zumwalt, computer programmer extraordinaire, steps out his front door, and into an entirely different world, he realizes he's in trouble. In this other world, magic exists but computers don't. He feels useless here, but the great wizard who summoned him must have had a purpose for him, and, as he is an unknown factor, the evil Dark League are determined to capture him. It's a dangerous world for Wiz...But, when he discovers that working magic *can* be handled like writing a program, it becomes a dangerous world for the bad guys!This is quite an exciting book. I must admit that when I first saw the book, I did not take it seriously. But, once I began reading, I was hooked. The author spins a fascinating story, people by interesting characters. Plus, I must admit that the author's unique take on magic was quite refreshing. If you like good, light-hearted swords-and-sorcery fantasy, then you will love this book!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
4.0 out of 5 stars
First in a series in which Wizard Programmers become Wizards, 10 Aug 2006
This is the first in a series of books in which computer programmer "Wiz" Zumwalt finds himself in a world of magic.
Rick Cook often writes books which poke fun at the fantasy genre, usually by combining it with another type of writing and exploiting the incongruities by having, say Gods and private detectives in the same story. Here the incongruity is between the worlds of computer nerds and "Lord of the Rings" style high fantasy.
Although the five books in the series can all stand on their own, there is some ongoing development of characters and situations through the series, and a lot of scene-setting is done in this initial book. So the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and if you are going to read them, read "Wizard's Bane" first.
The full series is:
Wizard's Bane (Published 1989, set in 1988)
The Wizardry Compiled (1990)
The Wizardy Cursed (1991)
The Wizardry Consulted (1995)
The Wizardy Quested (1996)
The subsequent books are all hysterically funny: this first book concentrated less on the humour and more on introducing the fantasy world in which 'Wiz' finds himself and showing how his programming skills enable him to save the world. But it still has some good flashes of humour and is quite exciting at times.
Don't bother with this if you like to take your fantasy too seriously, but otherwise it's very good fun.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Rick Cook
by Jack Campbell
by Jack Campbell
