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The Wizard Of Trope
Disaster! The mythological kind.
And it all started so innocently—capture a faerie princess for the local wizard. Standard stuff for any second rate adventurer. But… one thing leads to another, and now an entire city teeters on the brink of destruction!
The lives of thousands are in the balance, and their salvation falls to Blagre the Magnificent, a powerful wizard with a few—er— eccentricities, and his ragtag band of journeyman heroes. Ok, they may have caused the whole sorry business, but they’re determined to put things right again.
Join Blagre, Art, Lance, Susan, Paltrow and Princess Havfrue as they cavort across the (soon to be) sunken kingdoms of Europe in search of the elusive Beastie; the only thing that can save the city.
What a line up it is!
A story guaranteed to be free of child protégées, boy wizards, ‘chosen’ ones, halflings, lovesick vampires, conflicted assassins and dreary Catholics. Everything is—albeit narrowly—on the right side of cliché—oh, apart from a magic ring of course.
Tall tales of daring, magic, beer, monsters and faerie logic fill the pages of this novel—and mercifully, there’s no poetry you need to skip past. An affectionate romp through the very best fantasy tropes— with a pinch of parody and a sprinkling of satire. A story for everyone who loves classic fantasy and wildly inaccurate historical fiction. So, come on in and meet your new friends. Welcome to Trope. Everyone is drinking beer and you, dear purchaser-of-this-novel, are picking up the tab.
And it all started so innocently—capture a faerie princess for the local wizard. Standard stuff for any second rate adventurer. But… one thing leads to another, and now an entire city teeters on the brink of destruction!
The lives of thousands are in the balance, and their salvation falls to Blagre the Magnificent, a powerful wizard with a few—er— eccentricities, and his ragtag band of journeyman heroes. Ok, they may have caused the whole sorry business, but they’re determined to put things right again.
Join Blagre, Art, Lance, Susan, Paltrow and Princess Havfrue as they cavort across the (soon to be) sunken kingdoms of Europe in search of the elusive Beastie; the only thing that can save the city.
What a line up it is!
A story guaranteed to be free of child protégées, boy wizards, ‘chosen’ ones, halflings, lovesick vampires, conflicted assassins and dreary Catholics. Everything is—albeit narrowly—on the right side of cliché—oh, apart from a magic ring of course.
Tall tales of daring, magic, beer, monsters and faerie logic fill the pages of this novel—and mercifully, there’s no poetry you need to skip past. An affectionate romp through the very best fantasy tropes— with a pinch of parody and a sprinkling of satire. A story for everyone who loves classic fantasy and wildly inaccurate historical fiction. So, come on in and meet your new friends. Welcome to Trope. Everyone is drinking beer and you, dear purchaser-of-this-novel, are picking up the tab.
- GenresFantasy
Kindle Edition
Published December 12, 2019
About the author
S. Markem
8 books5 followersS. Markem is a writer, programmer, professional procrastinator and author of the new humorous fantasy series, The Wizard Of Trope.
After a long time in the trenches as a technologist, Markem has spent the last few years crafting a collection of novels, each with a wry, affectionate and occasionally dark sense of humour. His most recent works take place in The Sinking World fantasy setting, but he’s also authored Wage Slaves: Pat Parker’s Fairytales From The Workplace, and the dark comedy, The Murderpreneur.
Markem lives in the southwest of England, and is a lover of walking dogs, drinking beer and taking naps (usually in that order). He has a pathological fear of commas, as every reader or writer should.
After a long time in the trenches as a technologist, Markem has spent the last few years crafting a collection of novels, each with a wry, affectionate and occasionally dark sense of humour. His most recent works take place in The Sinking World fantasy setting, but he’s also authored Wage Slaves: Pat Parker’s Fairytales From The Workplace, and the dark comedy, The Murderpreneur.
Markem lives in the southwest of England, and is a lover of walking dogs, drinking beer and taking naps (usually in that order). He has a pathological fear of commas, as every reader or writer should.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 30, 2020
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
A bit of a spoof of litrpg and high fantasy as a company of adventurers get together, go on quests, and get drunk a lot.
The humor palls more than a bit by the end.
A bit of a spoof of litrpg and high fantasy as a company of adventurers get together, go on quests, and get drunk a lot.
The humor palls more than a bit by the end.
February 17, 2020
Fell flat for me. Disappointing.
I enjoy humor. I can even enjoy sarcasm, dark humor, etc.
However, I never find punts at any religion's beliefs funny. Especially when they're repeated continuously throughout.
I enjoy humor. I can even enjoy sarcasm, dark humor, etc.
However, I never find punts at any religion's beliefs funny. Especially when they're repeated continuously throughout.
May 17, 2021
This book breaks the fourth wall constantly with asides and characters mentioning the author and the reader. This something that I don't see very often so I found it fun.
This is in the same spirit of Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail because of how adventurous, comedic, and light hearted it is. If you are looking for a book where everything is made up and the points don't matter, this is for you. You can't take it seriously. It's a childish book, but it is not something I would necessarily read to a child. If you're looking for something with substance or literary genius, this is not it. You just have to go in with the right perspective.
Examples of how quirky it is: "I have literally no idea how we'll get out...what is needed is a pause in the narrative, so I can think." After a character's aside to the reader, "thou believes us to be in a novel? We are merely fiction?" And when talking about making a laborious trek to a mountainside, "It took the rest of the day, but only once sentence, to reach the foot of the mountains."
Since things don't really matter, I found myself glazing over sentences and paragraphs at a time. I wasn't really taking in what was happening and I found that I wasn't caring much about the story at all. I had no inclination to go back and re-read what I glazed over. But, just like "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," you can start watching at any episode and not really need any background. With this story I think you can drop in any time and get what's going on.
I won this as a Goodreads Giveaway.
This is in the same spirit of Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail because of how adventurous, comedic, and light hearted it is. If you are looking for a book where everything is made up and the points don't matter, this is for you. You can't take it seriously. It's a childish book, but it is not something I would necessarily read to a child. If you're looking for something with substance or literary genius, this is not it. You just have to go in with the right perspective.
Examples of how quirky it is: "I have literally no idea how we'll get out...what is needed is a pause in the narrative, so I can think." After a character's aside to the reader, "thou believes us to be in a novel? We are merely fiction?" And when talking about making a laborious trek to a mountainside, "It took the rest of the day, but only once sentence, to reach the foot of the mountains."
Since things don't really matter, I found myself glazing over sentences and paragraphs at a time. I wasn't really taking in what was happening and I found that I wasn't caring much about the story at all. I had no inclination to go back and re-read what I glazed over. But, just like "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," you can start watching at any episode and not really need any background. With this story I think you can drop in any time and get what's going on.
I won this as a Goodreads Giveaway.
January 4, 2020
If Douglas Adams and Piers Anthony got together to write a "how to draft an epic fantasy novel" book; or perhaps if someone tried to spoof Discworld or a Piers Anthony book, THE WIZARD OF TROPE would be it. Packed full of wry, absurdist humor and inappropriate fourth-wall breaking, this book is hilarious.
Thanks Goodreads for the free e-book, which I got in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks Goodreads for the free e-book, which I got in exchange for an honest review.
January 4, 2020
Wizard of Trope was my second Goodreads giveaway win of the year. Thank you, S. Markem, for the opportunity to read your work. Overall, I found The Wizard of Trope to be an enjoyable romp through a world of fantasy cliches and silly characters.
Humor is not always easy or, well, humorous. I found that to be the case here as well. Some of the jokes fell flat for me, but it could be personal taste. I didn't particularly care for the repeated jabs at Christianity either. Again, it may not bother others.
There's a lot to like here as well though. As I said, the author has a lot of fun taking fantasy's tired old tropes and turning them on their heads. Fans of Robert Asprin or John DeChancie will enjoy this one. While not all the humor worked, the parts that did were very enjoyable. It's also a quick read, clocking in at under two hundred and fifty pages, so it ends well before things have a chance to get dry or overhashed.
Thank you again for the chance to read Wizard of Trope. I wish you luck in your future writing.
Humor is not always easy or, well, humorous. I found that to be the case here as well. Some of the jokes fell flat for me, but it could be personal taste. I didn't particularly care for the repeated jabs at Christianity either. Again, it may not bother others.
There's a lot to like here as well though. As I said, the author has a lot of fun taking fantasy's tired old tropes and turning them on their heads. Fans of Robert Asprin or John DeChancie will enjoy this one. While not all the humor worked, the parts that did were very enjoyable. It's also a quick read, clocking in at under two hundred and fifty pages, so it ends well before things have a chance to get dry or overhashed.
Thank you again for the chance to read Wizard of Trope. I wish you luck in your future writing.
January 18, 2020
A fun, quick read!
January 30, 2020
Excellent book!!
February 13, 2020
It was funny/silly and i enjoyed the story. A lot was expected but then that was the joke so i'm cool with it. I think i'll keep reading the series if more books come out i had fun!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews