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Magus Rex
Magus Rex takes his daughter Zenobia on trips to various worlds of the past, in hopes that her suitor, Valorius, a young wizard, will be permanently stranded.
- GenresFantasy
313 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 1, 2019
Fifty cents bought me this little journey into time and space.
Set in a distant future, not unlike Jack Vance's Dying Earth. Valorius is in love with Zenobia and Zenobia has eyes only for Valorius. The problem? Magus Rex is Zenobia's father and he does not like Valorius and certainly does not want the two to elope. Magus Rex is also the single most powerful wizard ever. Period. Vexed with Valorius' persistence, Magus Rex decides to take a holiday in the far distant past. A game of cat and mouse ensues through time until Zenobia disappears and neither father nor lover know where she has gone. Who is behind the abduction? To what end?
Using physic energy mages are able to do many things. The limits are never outlined.
The story is fresh with historical and fantastic settings. Dystopian and Authoritarian civilizations in the past/future are visited. Problems crop up but Valorius is resourceful. Dumb luck abounds.
Set in a distant future, not unlike Jack Vance's Dying Earth. Valorius is in love with Zenobia and Zenobia has eyes only for Valorius. The problem? Magus Rex is Zenobia's father and he does not like Valorius and certainly does not want the two to elope. Magus Rex is also the single most powerful wizard ever. Period. Vexed with Valorius' persistence, Magus Rex decides to take a holiday in the far distant past. A game of cat and mouse ensues through time until Zenobia disappears and neither father nor lover know where she has gone. Who is behind the abduction? To what end?
Using physic energy mages are able to do many things. The limits are never outlined.
The story is fresh with historical and fantastic settings. Dystopian and Authoritarian civilizations in the past/future are visited. Problems crop up but Valorius is resourceful. Dumb luck abounds.
November 8, 2025
I think it’s always a treat to find a random book that nobody has ever read, and this one certainly fits the bill. I liked the time travel and the speculative history in this book. The way Valorius hops through time following Magus Rex, trying to find enough psychic energy to power his jump, was interesting. Overall worth reading, but nothing to write home about.
I feel like the novel was trying to say something about authoritarianism (Valorius gets stuck in several real and fictional authoritarian states, and the big bad is ultimately a fascist fan boy of sorts). I couldn’t for the life of me say what the something might be though. Maybe that authoritarians are weak and pathetic creatures propped up by technology, like Borimbo the dwarf wizard who ended up as the big bad of the novel.
Speaking of Borimbo, while he popped up throughout the book, he kind of felt like he came out of nowhere and then was immediately beaten. The novel never really explains why he was afraid of / couldn’t use magic against Valorius or why he hated him so much. He gets defeated and then the book just ends.
I feel like the novel was trying to say something about authoritarianism (Valorius gets stuck in several real and fictional authoritarian states, and the big bad is ultimately a fascist fan boy of sorts). I couldn’t for the life of me say what the something might be though. Maybe that authoritarians are weak and pathetic creatures propped up by technology, like Borimbo the dwarf wizard who ended up as the big bad of the novel.
Speaking of Borimbo, while he popped up throughout the book, he kind of felt like he came out of nowhere and then was immediately beaten. The novel never really explains why he was afraid of / couldn’t use magic against Valorius or why he hated him so much. He gets defeated and then the book just ends.
May 13, 2017
This book almost did not make my 50 page cutoff, it started slow and plodded along.
September 11, 2016
2.5 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews
Far in the future, Magus Rex is the most powerful sorceror who has ever lived. Valorius is far from a match, but has dared to fall in love with the great wizard's daughter Zenobia. When he presses his case, Magus Rex takes his daughter far back in time, daring Valorius to follow them, and risk being stranded in the past forever.
The setting of Magus Rex will be familiar to any fan of Jack Vance - the far future, outrageous mages with baroque, decadent lifestyles, etc. The concept could be Vance as well - a young man defying adversity in the name of romance. Lovejoy's take is far more personal than Vance's, however - the language is less elaborate, and the protagonist more likeable. Unfortunately, the sum isn't as successful as Vance's efforts.
I enjoyed Lovejoy's A Vision of Beasts series, also about a decaying far future. Here, his turn is more fanciful - there's no attempt at an explanation for why there is magic, or how it works - and largely an excuse for adventure in exotic times and places. It's a decent adventure, but never moves beyond a solid, almost stolid forward pace. Valorius is an engaging protagonist, but his love interest Zenobia, while bright, is largely a cartoon character who would be played on film by a bright-eyed girl in a bikini and revealing robes. The action is fun, but for a book written in the 1980s, the attitudes are pretty tired.
The resolution of the story hardly even bothers to wave a hand at the issue of magic. We just have to take it as given that the plot could work, and let it go. While Lovejoy wrote some entertaining books, this one is a decent third-string adventure that fills time, but breaks no new ground.
Far in the future, Magus Rex is the most powerful sorceror who has ever lived. Valorius is far from a match, but has dared to fall in love with the great wizard's daughter Zenobia. When he presses his case, Magus Rex takes his daughter far back in time, daring Valorius to follow them, and risk being stranded in the past forever.
The setting of Magus Rex will be familiar to any fan of Jack Vance - the far future, outrageous mages with baroque, decadent lifestyles, etc. The concept could be Vance as well - a young man defying adversity in the name of romance. Lovejoy's take is far more personal than Vance's, however - the language is less elaborate, and the protagonist more likeable. Unfortunately, the sum isn't as successful as Vance's efforts.
I enjoyed Lovejoy's A Vision of Beasts series, also about a decaying far future. Here, his turn is more fanciful - there's no attempt at an explanation for why there is magic, or how it works - and largely an excuse for adventure in exotic times and places. It's a decent adventure, but never moves beyond a solid, almost stolid forward pace. Valorius is an engaging protagonist, but his love interest Zenobia, while bright, is largely a cartoon character who would be played on film by a bright-eyed girl in a bikini and revealing robes. The action is fun, but for a book written in the 1980s, the attitudes are pretty tired.
The resolution of the story hardly even bothers to wave a hand at the issue of magic. We just have to take it as given that the plot could work, and let it go. While Lovejoy wrote some entertaining books, this one is a decent third-string adventure that fills time, but breaks no new ground.
May 2, 2010
It's very derivative of Michael Moorcock. But it was mildly amusing in parts. At least there was a giant killer elephant.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews