The Learning Curve

by Matthew V. Lippart

What do floating pigs, children's car seats, and a disappointingly polite dragon have in common? Well, not very much, to be honest, unless your name is Gidion and you are the unlucky hero of The Learning Curve- a charming fantasy novel brimming with satire, absurdity, and Brobdingnagian amounts of silliness, held together with strong characters, sharp writing and a compelling story. Gidion, a young wizard in training forcibly ejected from the Tain Pek Academy of Magic and Advanced Gardening, encounters all of the above and much more on an epic quest to redeem his name, awaken his latent powers, and, ultimately, save the land of Nud from a dire fate. Along the way he befriends a brownie with a Napoleonic complex and a friendly troll who had only recently stopped consuming humans (for health reasons). The three of them embark on an adventure that tests their courage, resolve, and friendship in the face of difficult and increasingly nonsensical situations. This novel, eight years in the making, is both a loving tribute to and delightful satire of the time honored tropes that inhabit the realm of fantasy.

Genres: Fantasy

324 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 2011

About the author

Matthew Lippart is an international educator, raconteur, one-move-dancer, and connoisseur of reasonably priced local beers. He has spent the last twelve years of life on this rather strange planet teaching Math, Literature, and Generalized Mischievousness in various sweaty places.

His thirst for adventure has taken him to New Mexico, Myanmar, and Taiwan. Matthew currently resides in Congo where he spends most of his time writing stories and dodging spider attacks. He holds the dubious honor of being the only person in the world to have released a death metal song as a cylindrical phonograph (at www.vulcanrecords.com).

He has previously published a book, The Learning Curve, and keeps an almost entirely true record of his adventures at his 85% scandal free blog, All the World’s a Rage (at www.alltheworldsarage.blogspot.com).


Currently he has various short stories and two novels for sale, the newest being Endtyme: My Apocalypse and Me. Check this page for frequent updates- every purchase entitles the buyer to a free beer at some nebulously defined point in space and time.

Reviews

[Jacky He · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a story about a young wizard/magician named Gidion who is currently in training.She goes to the Train Pek Academy of Magic and Advanced Gardening. He soon encounters something that will change his life forever, even the fate of Nud, which he must saves from a horrible fate.
I enjoyed reading this very much. The characters were well-developed and I loved the fantasy feeling of the book. The storyline is creative and I can see that at the end of his journey, Gidion has grown to be a stronger person.

[Grandma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of a young magician who learns unexpected things about himself. Sometimes what you want and what life presents to you are not the same thing. Acceptance of others may not be easy for most of us, but acceptance of ourselves is the hardest of all.

I enjoyed reading this book, which I had not expected, but as usual I began with an open mind and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. There were times I actually laughed, chuckled or smiled without thinking about it. (Which prompted curious stares from both my son and my husband.) I stayed up way too late finishing it last night. I am very glad I did.
If you are looking to enjoy a story that is written to truly entertain you should pick this one up.

[Ilene · Rating 3 out of 5]

All-in-all I enjoyed this book. It is about a boy who gets kicked out of wizardry school and is set out in the world to "grow up" as it were. It is very humorous mixing reality with fantasy.

At first I thought that it was hard to get into and the humor was plastic but as I read on I found the characters easy to like (or hate) and the humor fit into the book well. However, this did happen for me towards the middle of the book.

I have to say that the end outweighed the beginning and I ended up enjoying the book.

[Heidi]

author is a St. John's College alumnus.