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Wiz #1
Wizard's Bane
Q: How does a shanghaied computer geek conquer all the forces of Darkness and win the love of the most beautiful witch in the world?A: By transforming himself from a demon programmer into a programmer of demons!It all began when the wizards of the White League were under attack by their opponents of the Black League and one of their most powerful members cast a spell to bring forth a mighty wizard to aid their cause. What the spell delivered was master hacker Walter "Wiz" Zumwalt. The wizard who cast the spell was dead and nobody— not the elves, not the dwarves, not even the dragons—could figure out what the shanghaied computer nerd was good for.But spells are a lot like computer programs, and, in spite of the Wiz's unprepossessing appearance, he was going to defeat the all-powerful Black League, win the love of a beautiful red-haired witch, and prove that when it comes to spells and sorcery, nobody but nobody can beat a Silicon Valley computer geek!At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
333 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 1989
30 people are currently reading
1472 people want to read
About the author
Rick Cook
34 books81 followersRick Cook is a journalist, computer hacker, and fantasy author best known for his "Wiz" series of books. Since his hospitalization in 2000 he has not resumed fiction writing.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
April 20, 2010
This is what happens when a computer programmer and D&D player attempts to write a book. The result is not pretty.
The first few pages are interesting enough and the use of actual programming jargon is a refreshing change of pace (most writers who attempt this tend to have no idea what they are talking about. Rick Cook obviously does). Unfortunately, that's all the book has to offer.
The premise is interesting enough but never comes to life. The characters are completely one-dimensional, the dialogue is stilted, the supporting characters never become more than scenery and the antagonists are are comical rather than menacing.
The rest of the book is nothing but a collection of cliches: the hero is summoned from earth to a magical world, he meets a girl, they flee their enemies into the dark forest, they reach a peaceful keep, they have a powerful wizard watching over them... Yes, they get married in the end (find anything familiar so far)? The plot is completely predictable - you've probably read it before another hundred times or so.
The worst part, however, is the plot device that allows the hero to survive an attack noone else could have. Yes, it was obvious from very early but that was not the problem. The problem was that when it occured, it contradicted the very first pages of the very first chapter of the book. So much for consistency.
Verdict: stay far away from these godawful series, unless you really wish to read b-grade pulp fantasy. Life's too short to waste on such nonsense.
The first few pages are interesting enough and the use of actual programming jargon is a refreshing change of pace (most writers who attempt this tend to have no idea what they are talking about. Rick Cook obviously does). Unfortunately, that's all the book has to offer.
The premise is interesting enough but never comes to life. The characters are completely one-dimensional, the dialogue is stilted, the supporting characters never become more than scenery and the antagonists are are comical rather than menacing.
The rest of the book is nothing but a collection of cliches: the hero is summoned from earth to a magical world, he meets a girl, they flee their enemies into the dark forest, they reach a peaceful keep, they have a powerful wizard watching over them... Yes, they get married in the end (find anything familiar so far)? The plot is completely predictable - you've probably read it before another hundred times or so.
The worst part, however, is the plot device that allows the hero to survive an attack noone else could have. Yes, it was obvious from very early but that was not the problem. The problem was that when it occured, it contradicted the very first pages of the very first chapter of the book. So much for consistency.
Verdict: stay far away from these godawful series, unless you really wish to read b-grade pulp fantasy. Life's too short to waste on such nonsense.
August 5, 2021
This is one of my all time favorites. It combines 3 story elements that I really like. fantasy & magic, a modern day person ripped out of their time and place, computer programming. Programming magic like its a computer, I love it.
November 14, 2012
Great concept, adequate story telling. Pop corn for the brain--and I mean that in the kind sense.
Maybe not worth four stars, but definitely more than three.
A fun read.
Maybe not worth four stars, but definitely more than three.
A fun read.
August 24, 2020
Executive summary: This is a terrible book with a neat central idea. That idea is that a programmer transported to a swords and sorcery world could hack magic. The execution of that idea is (I repeat) terrible. The MC (Sparrow) has a few conversations about magic but those conversations aren’t provided to the reader and are specifically aimed at not providing Sparrow with any useful information. Therefore when Sparrow starts doing magic left and right there is no actual basis for it in the story. Additionally the secondary MC, Moira, is female, so, of course the two must end up together, except that there is no basis for this in the story either. Moira is so terrible to Sparrow that he attempts to leave her even though he is magically infatuated with her and is in a hostile wilderness on an unfamiliar world. Would you want to be with someone who is that consistently terrible to you?????
What follows is my original full review but it is basically just further details on the above summary.
So “Sparrow” is a computer programmer magically summoned from our world. The light mage who summoned Sparrow is killed in the process and so no one knows why Sparrow was summoned. Moira, a hedge witch, was present for the summoning and for some unknown reason the dead mage also magically infatuated Sparrow with Moira. Making use of this infatuation a second light mage sends Moira and Sparrow to a hideout because the dark mages sensed the summoning and are looking for Sparrow on the assumption that Sparrow must be important for a light mage to sacrifice his life to summon him.
Moira is one of the worst characters I’ve come across in fantasy. Even though she is essentially a care giver (hedge witches are second rate magic users who are assigned and care for a town) Moira treats Sparrow so badly that, in spite of the infatuation spell and being in the wilderness on an unknown world he attempts to leave her. Example: at one point in time Moira and Sparrow are trying to sneak past a guard and Sparrow slips and makes noise LIKE COULD HAPPEN TO ANYBODY. The guard notices Moira as a result and Sparrow, unarmed, immediately charges the armed guard. Fortunately Sparrow’s desperate attack works but what is Moira’s response? She tells Sparrow he didn’t save her because it was his fault she was in danger in the first place.
Further Moira makes no attempt to teach Sparrow about the world he was summoned to against his will. Then Moira blames him for making mistakes that are readily avoidable if she acted with even a bare minimum of intelligence and decency. For example, after spending days together, including several days in a safe place, Sparrow offers to help Moira in the garden so Moira sets him to weeding. Sparrow didn’t know that lettuce was intentionally planted in the shade of fennel so he “weeded” it. Something that would never have happened if Moira would have taken 3 seconds to show Sparrow what he should have been doing.
Moira isn’t alone in failing to teach Sparrow anything. Basically everyone treats Sparrow as an infant but no one attempts to teach him anything or treat him as anything other than a pawn. One of the best parts of the book is when Sparrow gets fed up with Moira and simply walks away. Rather than having Moira realize how stupid and rude she is being the author has Sparrow encounter a difficulty Moira has to rescue him from. After that it is like the MC has forgotten he has a back bone. Too bad, this book would have been significantly better with a character who, unlike Moira, was intelligent enough to understand changing worlds requires some orientation. This thought, however seems to be completely absent from the author’s mind since he (in the form of a pep talk from a magic mirror to Sparrow) equates changing worlds to taking a new job. Obviously in the world he came from Sparrow could safely feed himself, house himself and travel. Sparrow could talk sports or movies with the people at his new job, and generally find commonalities, NONE OF WHICH APPLIES TO CHANGING WORLDS. This comparison is so far out of whack that it makes it appear that the author never really thought about what his MC was going through. (BTW, THE WHOLE MAGIC MIRROR PEP TALK SCENE WAS TERRIBLE- it basically amounted to “you’ll think of something” and then even that comment’s validity was called into question when the mirror’s owner asserts the mirror isn’t magic. Just stupid, the whole scene.)
Things get worse when Sparrow finally has his big breakthrough idea. Sparrow thinks he can create a computer language for spells. The problem is that, based on the story to this point in time, Sparrow wouldn’t have enough information to know if such a thing were possible. At this point in time Sparrow is staying with a former mage, Shiara, and they talk generally about magic in the evenings. These conversations are specifically aimed at not providing Sparrow any useful information. In fact when Shiara mentions the low level spells virtually anyone can do Sparrow DOESN’T EVEN ASK “WHAT SPELLS ARE THOSE?”. Basically Sparrow knows one spell that he stumbled on by accident. It is impossible to generalize (as Sparrow claims he is doing) from one data point- that’s just guessing. But wait, IT GETS WORSE . . .
A bad guys elite commando unit sneaks behind enemy lines, invades a fort with only 4 humanoids in it. They kill one, the goblin and, per their orders, take captive another suspected of being a mage. FOR NO REASON AT ALL THEY LEFT THE OTHERS ALIVE. THESE ARE THE BAD GUYS, AFTER ALL. IF NOTHING ELSE KILLING EVERYONE ELSE WOULD INSURE THEY WOULDN’T BE BACK TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY AND MAY EVEN SUCCESSFULLY COVER THE BAD GUYS’ TRAIL. But then that would have made this book about 100 pages shorter since one of the miraculous survivors is Sparrow. Look at this way, one of the bad guys bothers to turn his knife around and knock out Sparrow even though they are about to burn the building down. Why wouldn’t you just stab the guy and be certain rather than leave him unconscious with a conscious, but blind, woman in a burning building???? THIS ENTIRE SCENE IS MORONIC IN THE EXTREME. Just to show you how stupid this scene is the author has Sparrow go past over-turned furniture on his way out of the burning building. How did this furniture get over-turned? All the action happened upstairs and the over-turned furniture is downstairs. Did the lady of the house randomly over-turn some furniture on her way to bed OR DID THE AUTHOR JUST WRITE IT THAT WAY BECAUSE OF COURSE A BURNING BUILDING WOULD HAVE OVER-TURNED FURNITURE? And yet it gets worse . . .
The light mages are convinced the MC doesn’t have any magic because of their direct observation of him. However, in this world you don’t have to “have magic” to do magic. You only need to have magic to do “high magic” (complex and powerful spells). Non-magic people can do great harm by messing with the simple spells within their abilities. The example given is a man who killed thousands by asking a demon to provide him fresh water. Since the man didn’t specify how this was to be done the demon emptied a sea of its salt and deposited that salt on shore burying towns and cities. Therefore the light mages stop non-mages from practicing magic, EXCEPT FOR THE MC. No reason is given for this exception- the light mages appear to have convinced themselves that the MC isn’t any kind of a “chosen one”. The head light mage basically tells the MC that he will do great damage to the land and people around him by practicing magic, but then allows the MC to go ahead anyway. The MC is upset at this point in the book but that, if anything, is an even better reason to not allow him to practice magic. AGAIN, IT IS AS IF THE AUTHOR CANNOT ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND HIS OWN CHARACTERS AND JUST HAVE THEM DO THINGS THAT ARE AGAINST THEIR EXPERIENCES AND BELIEF SYSTEMS FOR NO REASON.
The end is incredibly convenient: Basically everything Sparrow tries works but when he comes across something he hasn’t planned for he is rescued. The bad mages are beaten and, of course, Moira and Sparrow now love each other, in spite of the fact Moira has been nothing but terrible to Sparrow the entire time she’s known him.
Bottom line: So poorly executed that this book is not worth the time it takes to read it.
What follows is my original full review but it is basically just further details on the above summary.
So “Sparrow” is a computer programmer magically summoned from our world. The light mage who summoned Sparrow is killed in the process and so no one knows why Sparrow was summoned. Moira, a hedge witch, was present for the summoning and for some unknown reason the dead mage also magically infatuated Sparrow with Moira. Making use of this infatuation a second light mage sends Moira and Sparrow to a hideout because the dark mages sensed the summoning and are looking for Sparrow on the assumption that Sparrow must be important for a light mage to sacrifice his life to summon him.
Moira is one of the worst characters I’ve come across in fantasy. Even though she is essentially a care giver (hedge witches are second rate magic users who are assigned and care for a town) Moira treats Sparrow so badly that, in spite of the infatuation spell and being in the wilderness on an unknown world he attempts to leave her. Example: at one point in time Moira and Sparrow are trying to sneak past a guard and Sparrow slips and makes noise LIKE COULD HAPPEN TO ANYBODY. The guard notices Moira as a result and Sparrow, unarmed, immediately charges the armed guard. Fortunately Sparrow’s desperate attack works but what is Moira’s response? She tells Sparrow he didn’t save her because it was his fault she was in danger in the first place.
Further Moira makes no attempt to teach Sparrow about the world he was summoned to against his will. Then Moira blames him for making mistakes that are readily avoidable if she acted with even a bare minimum of intelligence and decency. For example, after spending days together, including several days in a safe place, Sparrow offers to help Moira in the garden so Moira sets him to weeding. Sparrow didn’t know that lettuce was intentionally planted in the shade of fennel so he “weeded” it. Something that would never have happened if Moira would have taken 3 seconds to show Sparrow what he should have been doing.
Moira isn’t alone in failing to teach Sparrow anything. Basically everyone treats Sparrow as an infant but no one attempts to teach him anything or treat him as anything other than a pawn. One of the best parts of the book is when Sparrow gets fed up with Moira and simply walks away. Rather than having Moira realize how stupid and rude she is being the author has Sparrow encounter a difficulty Moira has to rescue him from. After that it is like the MC has forgotten he has a back bone. Too bad, this book would have been significantly better with a character who, unlike Moira, was intelligent enough to understand changing worlds requires some orientation. This thought, however seems to be completely absent from the author’s mind since he (in the form of a pep talk from a magic mirror to Sparrow) equates changing worlds to taking a new job. Obviously in the world he came from Sparrow could safely feed himself, house himself and travel. Sparrow could talk sports or movies with the people at his new job, and generally find commonalities, NONE OF WHICH APPLIES TO CHANGING WORLDS. This comparison is so far out of whack that it makes it appear that the author never really thought about what his MC was going through. (BTW, THE WHOLE MAGIC MIRROR PEP TALK SCENE WAS TERRIBLE- it basically amounted to “you’ll think of something” and then even that comment’s validity was called into question when the mirror’s owner asserts the mirror isn’t magic. Just stupid, the whole scene.)
Things get worse when Sparrow finally has his big breakthrough idea. Sparrow thinks he can create a computer language for spells. The problem is that, based on the story to this point in time, Sparrow wouldn’t have enough information to know if such a thing were possible. At this point in time Sparrow is staying with a former mage, Shiara, and they talk generally about magic in the evenings. These conversations are specifically aimed at not providing Sparrow any useful information. In fact when Shiara mentions the low level spells virtually anyone can do Sparrow DOESN’T EVEN ASK “WHAT SPELLS ARE THOSE?”. Basically Sparrow knows one spell that he stumbled on by accident. It is impossible to generalize (as Sparrow claims he is doing) from one data point- that’s just guessing. But wait, IT GETS WORSE . . .
A bad guys elite commando unit sneaks behind enemy lines, invades a fort with only 4 humanoids in it. They kill one, the goblin and, per their orders, take captive another suspected of being a mage. FOR NO REASON AT ALL THEY LEFT THE OTHERS ALIVE. THESE ARE THE BAD GUYS, AFTER ALL. IF NOTHING ELSE KILLING EVERYONE ELSE WOULD INSURE THEY WOULDN’T BE BACK TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY AND MAY EVEN SUCCESSFULLY COVER THE BAD GUYS’ TRAIL. But then that would have made this book about 100 pages shorter since one of the miraculous survivors is Sparrow. Look at this way, one of the bad guys bothers to turn his knife around and knock out Sparrow even though they are about to burn the building down. Why wouldn’t you just stab the guy and be certain rather than leave him unconscious with a conscious, but blind, woman in a burning building???? THIS ENTIRE SCENE IS MORONIC IN THE EXTREME. Just to show you how stupid this scene is the author has Sparrow go past over-turned furniture on his way out of the burning building. How did this furniture get over-turned? All the action happened upstairs and the over-turned furniture is downstairs. Did the lady of the house randomly over-turn some furniture on her way to bed OR DID THE AUTHOR JUST WRITE IT THAT WAY BECAUSE OF COURSE A BURNING BUILDING WOULD HAVE OVER-TURNED FURNITURE? And yet it gets worse . . .
The light mages are convinced the MC doesn’t have any magic because of their direct observation of him. However, in this world you don’t have to “have magic” to do magic. You only need to have magic to do “high magic” (complex and powerful spells). Non-magic people can do great harm by messing with the simple spells within their abilities. The example given is a man who killed thousands by asking a demon to provide him fresh water. Since the man didn’t specify how this was to be done the demon emptied a sea of its salt and deposited that salt on shore burying towns and cities. Therefore the light mages stop non-mages from practicing magic, EXCEPT FOR THE MC. No reason is given for this exception- the light mages appear to have convinced themselves that the MC isn’t any kind of a “chosen one”. The head light mage basically tells the MC that he will do great damage to the land and people around him by practicing magic, but then allows the MC to go ahead anyway. The MC is upset at this point in the book but that, if anything, is an even better reason to not allow him to practice magic. AGAIN, IT IS AS IF THE AUTHOR CANNOT ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND HIS OWN CHARACTERS AND JUST HAVE THEM DO THINGS THAT ARE AGAINST THEIR EXPERIENCES AND BELIEF SYSTEMS FOR NO REASON.
The end is incredibly convenient: Basically everything Sparrow tries works but when he comes across something he hasn’t planned for he is rescued. The bad mages are beaten and, of course, Moira and Sparrow now love each other, in spite of the fact Moira has been nothing but terrible to Sparrow the entire time she’s known him.
Bottom line: So poorly executed that this book is not worth the time it takes to read it.
April 26, 2014
Interesting concept! Making operating system for the power of magics! What an idea!
Really, you need to read this to believe it!
Really, you need to read this to believe it!
May 4, 2017
This book is a self-conscious wish-fulfillment fantasy novel. The plot is that a computer programmer is magically summoned into a world that is rife with magic, in order to help the good wizards fight against the evil wizards. A lot could be said about the comparison of programming and magic, and the numerous technical in-jokes, but that would perhaps spoil the fun. I'd say this is a good read, especially in that it doesn't take itself to seriously. Recommended if you like Neal Stephenson's "In the beginning was the command line", for example.
August 27, 2016
"qdr: Название фильма на торрент трекере: Сеть / The net (Ирвин Уинклер)[1995, Триллер, комедия для сисадминов, DVDRip]" (c) http://bash.org.ru/quote/403883
This particular series is about a programmer who gets summoned to an alternate dimention where magic works and computers don't.He quickly goes mad and He has some fun adventures.
It would probably have been much more fun if a) I didn't know anything about computers, or b) the author actually did some research more in-depth than asking a geeky 15-year-old.
Realistic-sounding development scenarios are interspersed with obvious BS. Various logical inconsistencies pop up in and around the story with a frequency that's entirely absurd.
this is hardly a spoiler, since this scene is a clip on the frontispiece, so here it goes:
Scene A: (paraphrased) "But he hasn't a shred of magic in him!"
Scene B: "well ANYONE can do magic, the problem is to STOP them from doing it unintentionally" [after exhibit A with not a shred of magic in him remotely exploded some trees by accident]
This particular problem recurs repeatedly throughout the series (or at least the first 5 books that i've read), but plenty others abound - I'll leave you to discover them on your own, if you wish.
The first book was pretty good, the second was slightly worse, the third slightly worse than that, by the fourth we know perfectly well that the author likes freckles (which occur on every female character, regardless of race or hair color), dimples, ample... well, amplitude in general, and a number of other features, and happy endings (at the end of every book a single character ceases to be single. this is not a spoiler, since it's easily predictable almost from page 1).
The series itself isn't particularly bad, it has many fun bits, some fun quotes (such as, "Like a lot of people in the computer industry, [he] had spent his whole life being the smartest person in the room, and like most of his fellows the experience left him with a rather high opinion of his opinions"), but getting a real computer scientist to go over it and fix all the bugs would make it oh so so so much better!
This particular series is about a programmer who gets summoned to an alternate dimention where magic works and computers don't.
It would probably have been much more fun if a) I didn't know anything about computers, or b) the author actually did some research more in-depth than asking a geeky 15-year-old.
Realistic-sounding development scenarios are interspersed with obvious BS. Various logical inconsistencies pop up in and around the story with a frequency that's entirely absurd.
this is hardly a spoiler, since this scene is a clip on the frontispiece, so here it goes:
Scene A: (paraphrased) "But he hasn't a shred of magic in him!"
Scene B: "well ANYONE can do magic, the problem is to STOP them from doing it unintentionally" [after exhibit A with not a shred of magic in him remotely exploded some trees by accident]
This particular problem recurs repeatedly throughout the series (or at least the first 5 books that i've read), but plenty others abound - I'll leave you to discover them on your own, if you wish.
The first book was pretty good, the second was slightly worse, the third slightly worse than that, by the fourth we know perfectly well that the author likes freckles (which occur on every female character, regardless of race or hair color), dimples, ample... well, amplitude in general, and a number of other features, and happy endings (at the end of every book a single character ceases to be single. this is not a spoiler, since it's easily predictable almost from page 1).
The series itself isn't particularly bad, it has many fun bits, some fun quotes (such as, "Like a lot of people in the computer industry, [he] had spent his whole life being the smartest person in the room, and like most of his fellows the experience left him with a rather high opinion of his opinions"), but getting a real computer scientist to go over it and fix all the bugs would make it oh so so so much better!
February 10, 2012
I enjoyed this book. The concept of a computer programmer applying his skills to a magical reality was neat and original. The plot moved along at a good clip and the main characters were likeable, so you cared what happened and rooted them on. Normally, I would probably have given this book 4 stars, good and enjoyable, but not enough of a wow factor to rank five.
But...(you knew it was coming, of course) there were a couple things that nagged at me enough that I had to dink the book down one star, and really, if Goodreads allowed half stars, I would have put it at 3.5. The first problem was one of continuity. One of the major elements of the story is that the people of the magic world don't understand our reality or its implications, but then every once in a while one of them will come out with a colloquialism or concept that is clearly from our reality. Had the book been set up like the Guardians of the Flame series, where a significant amount of seepage between the worlds was assumed it wouldn't have bothered me so much. And the second thing has to do with the ending. That's a more minor point, but in combination it bugged me.
Over all it's a good read, and it's available as an ebook through Baen's free reading library, so I recommend it.
But...(you knew it was coming, of course) there were a couple things that nagged at me enough that I had to dink the book down one star, and really, if Goodreads allowed half stars, I would have put it at 3.5. The first problem was one of continuity. One of the major elements of the story is that the people of the magic world don't understand our reality or its implications, but then every once in a while one of them will come out with a colloquialism or concept that is clearly from our reality. Had the book been set up like the Guardians of the Flame series, where a significant amount of seepage between the worlds was assumed it wouldn't have bothered me so much. And the second thing has to do with the ending. That's a more minor point, but in combination it bugged me.
Over all it's a good read, and it's available as an ebook through Baen's free reading library, so I recommend it.
November 30, 2014
The "magic as computer programming" premise is really interesting. Unfortunately, that concept isn't really introduced until about 3/4 of the way through the book, and even then is presented fairly superficially. There are also some problems (at least in the printing I got) with some evil wizards' names getting mixed up*.
The premise is strong enough that I'll probably give the author enough benefit of the doubt to read one or two more books from this series, now that said premise is established, but I wasn't overly impressed with this one.
---
*In chapter 7, we learn that evil wizard Toth-Set-Ra gained some of his power from the tomb of Amon-Set, a legendary ancient wizard. But throughout this chapter, Toth-Set-Ra is referred to as Toth-Ra -- fair enough; he might have changed his name in homage, though it's unexplained in the text -- and worse, for a couple of paragraphs, Amon-Set is referred to as Toth-Amon. Confusing.
The premise is strong enough that I'll probably give the author enough benefit of the doubt to read one or two more books from this series, now that said premise is established, but I wasn't overly impressed with this one.
---
*In chapter 7, we learn that evil wizard Toth-Set-Ra gained some of his power from the tomb of Amon-Set, a legendary ancient wizard. But throughout this chapter, Toth-Set-Ra is referred to as Toth-Ra -- fair enough; he might have changed his name in homage, though it's unexplained in the text -- and worse, for a couple of paragraphs, Amon-Set is referred to as Toth-Amon. Confusing.
May 4, 2011
This is the story of Wiz, a computer programmer who gets summoned to a world of magic. The wizard who summoned him died in the process so no one is really sure what he's supposed to be doing. The book took way too long setting up the story but once the real action started, it was much better. I really liked the throwing of spells as computer commands even though it never actually made sense to me. It was a quick, fun read though it didn't have a lot of substance to it.
August 27, 2013
Computer programming = Magic. Every nerds dream. Solid book, easy to read.
June 8, 2024
Wizard's Bane is a story about a Silicon Valley programmer circa 1989 who gets summoned to a magical realm to help defeat some evil wizards. Now, I'm a sucker for stories about regular people from our world getting dropped into fantastical settings or vice versa, and this was my reward to myself for sticking with a Serious Book that was kind of a slog to get through. And a better reward I could not have chosen. Wizard's Bane took a couple of hours to read (it might have been the better part of a day but who's counting?) and was a sincerely fun time. Considering I just spent something like 10 months trying to get through 200 pages it's a nice reminder that I actually can read 300 pages in one sitting (and the margins on my little paperback were practically non-existent).
It is full of tropes and cliches and goofy references. All the characters were likeable (to me... the reviews are filled with people calling the MC's love interest all kinds of horrible things... personally if I got dropped into a fantasy world and my companion was a capable, hot-headed, freckled, red-headed, green-eyed hedge-witch who was a little mean to me all the time I would fall in love with her too. side note: why do fantasy writers think red-headed people always have to have green eyes? is that a real thing or is it just white people's version of Exotic?) and the villains were goofy and campy. The romance isn't the best I've ever read and pretty predictable and the dialogue is a little clunky but none of it makes it unreadable. I thought the action scenes were well written and there are quite a few of them. I would say the book is a pretty good balance between the fantastic and dangerous journey in the woods, to the idyllic medieval life chopping wood and harvesting crops, to dramatic battle scenes between dragon riders, and more. The author executes all of these competently and descriptively.
Race is briefly discussed, the main Mighty (Good) wizard in the book is a black man who is described as being huge, having bearlike hands, wears animal furs, and is named Bal-Simba (this was released 5 years before Disney's Lion King which means this author genuinely selected a Swahili name and this was not some grotesquely offensive comical reference which was my first thought while I was reading the book and before I compared the release dates). It is mentioned that there are other black people in the land and they are not otherized or made out to be from some other country or anything. This comes up when the main character asks about "black magic" and his companion is like huh? yeah there's black magicians? and then he corrects himself and says no, I mean evil magic. So, the author is even engaging in some subversion/disruption of the antiblackness in fantasy when it comes to the Black/White, Good/Evil paradigm. However, basically every other character is white, or assumed to be since their race is not specified. All in all, I'd say this is a change of pace from some of the other vintage speculative fiction reads I've picked up lately. I did not appreciate the main character calling his hedge-witch companion a bitch at one point in the book, but I guess we couldn't otherwise know how much of an asshole she was being to the poor MC. *shrug* Cook makes up for it by introducing a lovely silver-haired witch who once lived a life thieving magical artifacts with her hot, blonde, roguish, sword-wielding lover at her side and you get a nice little chapter telling the story of how he passes away and how she loses her sight and stops practicing magic. She is the one who teaches our MC magical theory.
Basically the MC saves the day by creating/formalizing an operating system/compiler for magic. His motivation is to make it less dangerous, more accessible, and usable by the common human and he is driven by his experiences with poor folk battling against the spreading magical forest. Despite the author's obvious familiarity with programming please don't expect some high-fantasy, technically detailed magic system. The book doesn't even have a world-map for God's sake. As much as I would have liked there to have been about 100 more pages describing the minutiae of how one might create and use an operating system, compiler, and programming language for magic I think Cook gets it across in entertaining enough fashion even if you do end up feeling a little dissatisfied. If that's what you're picking this up for I would recommend checking out the works of chaos magicians and cyber witches instead.
Overall, I just had a lot of fun reading this. I had found this at my local library's annual spring sale and didn't know it was part of a series. Even though I was kind of hoping for a one and done story, the sequel involves the aforementioned hedge-witch travelling to Silicon Valley to recruit more programmers to their side so I think I will be reading more.
It is full of tropes and cliches and goofy references. All the characters were likeable (to me... the reviews are filled with people calling the MC's love interest all kinds of horrible things... personally if I got dropped into a fantasy world and my companion was a capable, hot-headed, freckled, red-headed, green-eyed hedge-witch who was a little mean to me all the time I would fall in love with her too. side note: why do fantasy writers think red-headed people always have to have green eyes? is that a real thing or is it just white people's version of Exotic?) and the villains were goofy and campy. The romance isn't the best I've ever read and pretty predictable and the dialogue is a little clunky but none of it makes it unreadable. I thought the action scenes were well written and there are quite a few of them. I would say the book is a pretty good balance between the fantastic and dangerous journey in the woods, to the idyllic medieval life chopping wood and harvesting crops, to dramatic battle scenes between dragon riders, and more. The author executes all of these competently and descriptively.
Race is briefly discussed, the main Mighty (Good) wizard in the book is a black man who is described as being huge, having bearlike hands, wears animal furs, and is named Bal-Simba (this was released 5 years before Disney's Lion King which means this author genuinely selected a Swahili name and this was not some grotesquely offensive comical reference which was my first thought while I was reading the book and before I compared the release dates). It is mentioned that there are other black people in the land and they are not otherized or made out to be from some other country or anything. This comes up when the main character asks about "black magic" and his companion is like huh? yeah there's black magicians? and then he corrects himself and says no, I mean evil magic. So, the author is even engaging in some subversion/disruption of the antiblackness in fantasy when it comes to the Black/White, Good/Evil paradigm. However, basically every other character is white, or assumed to be since their race is not specified. All in all, I'd say this is a change of pace from some of the other vintage speculative fiction reads I've picked up lately. I did not appreciate the main character calling his hedge-witch companion a bitch at one point in the book, but I guess we couldn't otherwise know how much of an asshole she was being to the poor MC. *shrug* Cook makes up for it by introducing a lovely silver-haired witch who once lived a life thieving magical artifacts with her hot, blonde, roguish, sword-wielding lover at her side and you get a nice little chapter telling the story of how he passes away and how she loses her sight and stops practicing magic. She is the one who teaches our MC magical theory.
Basically the MC saves the day by creating/formalizing an operating system/compiler for magic. His motivation is to make it less dangerous, more accessible, and usable by the common human and he is driven by his experiences with poor folk battling against the spreading magical forest. Despite the author's obvious familiarity with programming please don't expect some high-fantasy, technically detailed magic system. The book doesn't even have a world-map for God's sake. As much as I would have liked there to have been about 100 more pages describing the minutiae of how one might create and use an operating system, compiler, and programming language for magic I think Cook gets it across in entertaining enough fashion even if you do end up feeling a little dissatisfied. If that's what you're picking this up for I would recommend checking out the works of chaos magicians and cyber witches instead.
Overall, I just had a lot of fun reading this. I had found this at my local library's annual spring sale and didn't know it was part of a series. Even though I was kind of hoping for a one and done story, the sequel involves the aforementioned hedge-witch travelling to Silicon Valley to recruit more programmers to their side so I think I will be reading more.
May 10, 2021
I don't even know what I just read. This book reads like a fanfiction of a D&D homebrewed adventure with an impossibly boring self insert. Ordinary, slightly nerdy dude becoming the saviour of the world and getting the girl at the end? Dude. I wish I could scrub my brain of how bad this book was.
I don't even know why I continued reading it. I was skimming all the crap about dragons and the last third of the book. A part of me kept saying that it couldn't get any worse, but it did.
Moira is on par with that chick from Ringworld - Teela. Her character is awful. She's one dimensional (everyone is, to be honest) and a shrew. I've never seen a more badly written character, except I actively hate her. Every time I see her dialogue I want to tear my eyes out. She is profoundly unfair to Wiz, and how the hell does she fall in love with him after? It's so stupid!
And Wiz, oh Wiz. You are the most boring male MC I've ever read. You spend the first half of the book being stupid and walking through the forest, and the second half being a completely OP wizard who just happened to learn the "abstracts behind the magic". Your romance felt forced and honestly slightly abusive. You have no redeeming qualities and I wish you had died as soon as you got teleported into the World so the book could have ended in Chapter 1. I cannot express in words how much I wish I could take the hours I spend reading your drivel back.
There is no plot. None. We travel through magical woods, get saved (deus ex machina'd, actually) by elves, then have to sit through an agonising training montage where we also hear the oh-so traumatising past of a Mighty Magician or some woman, and then boom, Moira becomes actually becomes more useless as a damsel in distress and then Wiz powers up to save her and rewrite the magic system. Cliches at EVERY POINT. Predictable plot. No pacing. No worldbuilding. It's as if the background is just THERE as a ripoff Lord of the Rings. And amongst it all, there are RIDICULOUS cutscenes with the comically evil villain who does nothing except rage at his underlings like Jafar and then he dies at the end. *slow clap*
If I could give it zero stars, I would. May the literary gods ever curse Cook's name. If I had read it as a physical book, I would have burnt it. As is, I can only delete it off my computer and hope it didn't bring a virus.
Don't make my mistake. The premise sounds interesting, but TRUST ME. THIS IS NOT WORTH YOUR TIME. I would rather read the ingredients list off a shampoo bottle than read this absolute trash again.
I don't even know why I continued reading it. I was skimming all the crap about dragons and the last third of the book. A part of me kept saying that it couldn't get any worse, but it did.
Moira is on par with that chick from Ringworld - Teela. Her character is awful. She's one dimensional (everyone is, to be honest) and a shrew. I've never seen a more badly written character, except I actively hate her. Every time I see her dialogue I want to tear my eyes out. She is profoundly unfair to Wiz, and how the hell does she fall in love with him after? It's so stupid!
And Wiz, oh Wiz. You are the most boring male MC I've ever read. You spend the first half of the book being stupid and walking through the forest, and the second half being a completely OP wizard who just happened to learn the "abstracts behind the magic". Your romance felt forced and honestly slightly abusive. You have no redeeming qualities and I wish you had died as soon as you got teleported into the World so the book could have ended in Chapter 1. I cannot express in words how much I wish I could take the hours I spend reading your drivel back.
There is no plot. None. We travel through magical woods, get saved (deus ex machina'd, actually) by elves, then have to sit through an agonising training montage where we also hear the oh-so traumatising past of a Mighty Magician or some woman, and then boom, Moira becomes actually becomes more useless as a damsel in distress and then Wiz powers up to save her and rewrite the magic system. Cliches at EVERY POINT. Predictable plot. No pacing. No worldbuilding. It's as if the background is just THERE as a ripoff Lord of the Rings. And amongst it all, there are RIDICULOUS cutscenes with the comically evil villain who does nothing except rage at his underlings like Jafar and then he dies at the end. *slow clap*
If I could give it zero stars, I would. May the literary gods ever curse Cook's name. If I had read it as a physical book, I would have burnt it. As is, I can only delete it off my computer and hope it didn't bring a virus.
Don't make my mistake. The premise sounds interesting, but TRUST ME. THIS IS NOT WORTH YOUR TIME. I would rather read the ingredients list off a shampoo bottle than read this absolute trash again.
May 31, 2020
This book had so much potential! I believe that Cook tried his best to make a strong female character but instead he created well to be frank a bitch. The female love interest is mean and unlikable to the extent that she ruined the book for me.
If you delete her from the book (along with the stupid love spell) and replace her with a male companion who starts off not liking the MC but slowly they become friends. The book would have been 4 stars at least but the book is bogged down with a love interest that looks down on the MC the entire book and once she is saved takes a complete 180 and is now in love with him.
Which is completely odd because Cook had the chance to progress their relationship in a nice fashion but didn't . She would practically sneer at him and now they are holding hands and sharing a blanket. I don't like it. It is a scary portrayal of a relationship. And the book ends with their romance as if that is in any way satisfying!
Sparrow/Wiz using his programming skills to practice magic was the only bright spot in this book and I wish they had focused more on that throughout the book.
If you delete her from the book (along with the stupid love spell) and replace her with a male companion who starts off not liking the MC but slowly they become friends. The book would have been 4 stars at least but the book is bogged down with a love interest that looks down on the MC the entire book and once she is saved takes a complete 180 and is now in love with him.
Which is completely odd because Cook had the chance to progress their relationship in a nice fashion but didn't . She would practically sneer at him and now they are holding hands and sharing a blanket. I don't like it. It is a scary portrayal of a relationship. And the book ends with their romance as if that is in any way satisfying!
Sparrow/Wiz using his programming skills to practice magic was the only bright spot in this book and I wish they had focused more on that throughout the book.
November 2, 2022
I remembered liking this book the first time I read it. After reading it a second time it's flaws are very apparent. The whole "programming magic" concept is amazing, and it would be cool to see how it could work, but it's not explained in the slightest, and only shows up in the last 1/4th of the book. I would love if they went into specific details on how exactly he created an interpreter, a text editor, a debugger, etc. with magic, but it's just handwaved away, with no explanations other than "he wrote some stuff down".
It also takes way way too long to get to the central plot point, as most of the book is just world building and Wiz traveling and being (and moping about being) useless. And when he does start using magic programs, there's not a whole lot of cool stuff he does with it.
Also, as has been said in many a review, the ebook version has an atrocious amount of mistakes. So many straight up spelling errors that can be caught with a spell checker are just there, in the published ebook. It's mind-boggling to me how that can even happen. Whoever let this go out the door should be embarrassed.
It also takes way way too long to get to the central plot point, as most of the book is just world building and Wiz traveling and being (and moping about being) useless. And when he does start using magic programs, there's not a whole lot of cool stuff he does with it.
Also, as has been said in many a review, the ebook version has an atrocious amount of mistakes. So many straight up spelling errors that can be caught with a spell checker are just there, in the published ebook. It's mind-boggling to me how that can even happen. Whoever let this go out the door should be embarrassed.
March 22, 2024
DNF - Tried reading it many years ago and didn't even get halfway. I liked the premise, found it highly intriguing, but I had a serious issue with two of the major characters. Basically I couldn't stand the witch's constant beratement and insulting of the hero just because he was ignorant of her world and its ways, and I couldn't stand his constant happy-go-lucky bumpkin-esque response to such treatment, always apologizing to her for his ignorance instead of standing up to her abuse. I don't mean he should have put her in her place just for being a woman, nothing toxic like that, just that her treatment of him was largely if not entirely unwarranted, and it just made her look like an asshole and him like a spineless idiot. Very disappointing. I would have much preferred that they got along, or got along grudgingly as they get to know each other (and even if eventually getting along was what happened with them, it took so long to get to that I was turned off before that point, enough to put the book down and never pick it up again, or bother with any of the sequels.)
July 23, 2020
"At least he keeps things interesting."
"So does plague, pox and an infestation of trolls"
3.5/5.0 Wizard's Bane is an old school fantasy book that meshes computer programming and magic. Published in 1989, the book follows a young man torn from his world and career as a computer programmer and dumps his in the middle of a fantasy world on the brink of war. The premise of the book isn't wholly original (at least for today's standard), but I found the plot and story entertaining enough. There were time I thought the pace was a little weird but overall nothing to distracting. The characters were good if a little flat, the one thing I have to say is the dynamic between our two leads grated me throughout the book. On top of that the way thing suddenly turns 180 at the end made me want to roll my eye out of my head. Overall a solid book if not without flaws. May have to track down the paperbacks for this one as well as its sequel.
"So does plague, pox and an infestation of trolls"
3.5/5.0 Wizard's Bane is an old school fantasy book that meshes computer programming and magic. Published in 1989, the book follows a young man torn from his world and career as a computer programmer and dumps his in the middle of a fantasy world on the brink of war. The premise of the book isn't wholly original (at least for today's standard), but I found the plot and story entertaining enough. There were time I thought the pace was a little weird but overall nothing to distracting. The characters were good if a little flat, the one thing I have to say is the dynamic between our two leads grated me throughout the book. On top of that the way thing suddenly turns 180 at the end made me want to roll my eye out of my head. Overall a solid book if not without flaws. May have to track down the paperbacks for this one as well as its sequel.
December 3, 2020
I read this because it came highly recommended from a trusted coworker— plus I’m tired of reading anything demanding. This poor book is a product of its time: I’m sure I would have enjoyed it as a 15-year-old in 1987 (a few years before it was written), but I didn't find it tolerable in 2020. The gender relations are too hidebound, the plotting and logic of the story is too sloppy, and the nerd main character is too insufferably familiar to me as a programmer myself.
Some random tidbits that I found amusing:
- It's the first and only book I ever expect to read in which Emacs is a character
- The protagonist tells an anecdote which hinges on the fact that 'sizeof(any_pointer)' == 2. Two!! This is so 1989 that I can hardly stand it!
- There are two scenes in which a character makes an utterly impossible leap of deduction that, really, only someone who is reading the book could have made. It's basically the author saying "screw it, I don't know how else I can move things forward."
Some random tidbits that I found amusing:
- It's the first and only book I ever expect to read in which Emacs is a character
- The protagonist tells an anecdote which hinges on the fact that 'sizeof(any_pointer)' == 2. Two!! This is so 1989 that I can hardly stand it!
- There are two scenes in which a character makes an utterly impossible leap of deduction that, really, only someone who is reading the book could have made. It's basically the author saying "screw it, I don't know how else I can move things forward."
March 2, 2022
Boring as hell. I thought it would be a cozy fantasy like A Computer Programmer in King Aragorn’s Court. I wanted to see how you could decompile magic or turn the Council of Elrond into a stand-up meeting. But no, it’s a bunch of walking and walking and nothing happens.
A girl guides the guy through the woods and it’s boring. He only regards the girl for how hot she is, always looking down her blouse. The girl is a bitch throughout, complaining how he doesn’t have the stamina to hike or knowledge about dangerous magic stones. The guy doesn’t regard anything with wonder. There’s dragons and elf kings and magic, and all he’s worried about is being cockblocked. He doesn’t even try to impress her with knowledge of the future.
The only reason I made it to 46% was because it was a short book. But once it decided to take a chapter to tell a story within a story, I was out. I barely cared if the main characters lived or died, you’re not going to pad pages with someone else’s tale.
A girl guides the guy through the woods and it’s boring. He only regards the girl for how hot she is, always looking down her blouse. The girl is a bitch throughout, complaining how he doesn’t have the stamina to hike or knowledge about dangerous magic stones. The guy doesn’t regard anything with wonder. There’s dragons and elf kings and magic, and all he’s worried about is being cockblocked. He doesn’t even try to impress her with knowledge of the future.
The only reason I made it to 46% was because it was a short book. But once it decided to take a chapter to tell a story within a story, I was out. I barely cared if the main characters lived or died, you’re not going to pad pages with someone else’s tale.
March 18, 2024
Manage expectations, people.
Look, if you go into this one expecting great literature for the ages, you're going to be disappointed. But that's okay, not every book needs to be a heartbreaking work of staggering genius. Sometimes you just want some sincere, goofy fun that uses tropes and cliches with an occasional knowing wink and a nod. That's exactly what this story delivers. It was fun, period. So much fun that I read it in a couple of sittings because I had trouble putting it away. I say that as a professional developer, by the way, who spent half the time giggling at the intensely dated programming references. The ending was more or less as expected, and I fully plan to check out the sequels to see if they're any good.
What more can you want? Read it, enjoy it, don't over-analyze it.
Look, if you go into this one expecting great literature for the ages, you're going to be disappointed. But that's okay, not every book needs to be a heartbreaking work of staggering genius. Sometimes you just want some sincere, goofy fun that uses tropes and cliches with an occasional knowing wink and a nod. That's exactly what this story delivers. It was fun, period. So much fun that I read it in a couple of sittings because I had trouble putting it away. I say that as a professional developer, by the way, who spent half the time giggling at the intensely dated programming references. The ending was more or less as expected, and I fully plan to check out the sequels to see if they're any good.
What more can you want? Read it, enjoy it, don't over-analyze it.
March 5, 2021
A quick, fun easy read, and a fun idea.
I wish we'd seen more of Wiz learning magic; he seemed to go from nothing to writing a compiler for it, after discovering one spell on accident and talking to Shiara about magic in very general terms. In a fantasy novel, it still felt unrealistic.
Also, of course the relationship was obviously going to happen, and Bal-Simba's actions revealed at the end were pretty guessable, it still vaguely irks me to have such an obvious "of course she'll fall in love with him, she's a damsel in distress!" conclusion.
I wish we'd seen more of Wiz learning magic; he seemed to go from nothing to writing a compiler for it, after discovering one spell on accident and talking to Shiara about magic in very general terms. In a fantasy novel, it still felt unrealistic.
Also, of course the relationship was obviously going to happen, and Bal-Simba's actions revealed at the end were pretty guessable, it still vaguely irks me to have such an obvious "of course she'll fall in love with him, she's a damsel in distress!" conclusion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2021
This book could have been good. But it’s not.
The main concept is fine, but everything else not so much.
My biggest issue is character substance and development, or rather the lack of. The main character’s reactions, responses and behaviour are more suited to a 12 year old rather than an adult. All characters in general come off as obstinate or meek and no matter how i tried, i couldn’t sympathise with any, let alone identify with them.
Such a shame really. If the writer had based his characters on real people then reading this would have been a different experience.
The main concept is fine, but everything else not so much.
My biggest issue is character substance and development, or rather the lack of. The main character’s reactions, responses and behaviour are more suited to a 12 year old rather than an adult. All characters in general come off as obstinate or meek and no matter how i tried, i couldn’t sympathise with any, let alone identify with them.
Such a shame really. If the writer had based his characters on real people then reading this would have been a different experience.
October 5, 2021
It has been awhile since I read this book (20 years?), but it stuck with me. The premise is brilliant, providing a good foil to explore the difference between artisan knowledge "knowledge how" and science "knowledge why". The concept of building on a few things that are known to be true to infer knowledge that must necessarily follow is explored via the programmer protagonist learning and devising his own magical incantations.
January 27, 2022
Proto-isekai that I read back in 2000, about a software programmer that gets pulled into a world of magic and creates a compiler for spells. I wanted to reread after Rick Cook's passing this month. It has its moments with the programming details, but at the end of the day, is barely entertaining. The kind of D&D-inspired fantasy that had its heyday in the 80s and has thankfully been replaced for the better. Great for the memories, though.
May 14, 2023
pretty ok book overall. characters were bland and one dimensional so if you’re looking for a good engaging read don’t bother. i was only reading it to get to the computer programming magic part after i saw it recommended in a reddit post, so i can overlook the shitty writing. all in all, reads like the most cliche book you’ve ever read, characters are boring, but if you’re bored backstage during a theatre production it does the job pretty well. yippee
October 27, 2018
Original idea to apply computer science concepts to a fantasy world with magic.
Besides that the plot is high-fantasy predictable - and the characters are cut from cardboard. Kind of expected that so not much of a disappointment.
(that doesn't mean I won't read the next books in the series...)
Besides that the plot is high-fantasy predictable - and the characters are cut from cardboard. Kind of expected that so not much of a disappointment.
(that doesn't mean I won't read the next books in the series...)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 10, 2018
The main reason for me to read it is the appealing idea of mixing computers and magic: for me, software development and wizardry have lots of things in common, and this novel explores that path. Entertaining reading, I'll continue with the saga.
April 3, 2021
Hilarious book about a computer programmer getting sucked into another world and trying to learn the logic of magic. A little cringe-y sometimes, and not the best editing, but the story is fantastic and humorous, especially if you're familiar with programming.
August 4, 2018
Entertaining look at magic analyzed and practiced with a scientific bent.
September 30, 2019
Novel concept for what is essentially a proto isekai novel, but it does very little with it. The love story and general handling of female characters hasnt aged well.
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