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The Wizard of 4th Street #3
The Wizard of Sunset Strip
When mutilated bodies begin turning up in Hollywood and the police are baffled, the young wizard Wydrune and his band--a beautiful cat burglar, a Cockney punk possessed by the spirit of Merlin, and Camelot's last survivor--take the case
202 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1989
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About the author
Simon Hawke
89 books238 followersAlso published as J.D. Masters.
He was born Nicholas Valentin Yermakov, but began writing as Simon Hawke in 1984 and later changed his legal name to Hawke. He has also written near future adventure novels under the penname "J. D. Masters" and mystery novels.
He was born Nicholas Valentin Yermakov, but began writing as Simon Hawke in 1984 and later changed his legal name to Hawke. He has also written near future adventure novels under the penname "J. D. Masters" and mystery novels.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 26, 2009
In this sequel to "Wizard of Whitechapel", Wydrune the Warlock must stop the Dark Ones who are turning Hollywood into a fantasy land of eternal horror. In an era when film magic is done with real magic, it's hard to tell where illusion ends and sorcery begins.
Accompanied by his strange band of friends (a young wizard, a cat burglar, a cockney punk possessed by the spirit of Merlin) Wydrune (the last survivor of Camelot) searches for a murderous devil plaguing Tinseltown.
Book Details:
Title The Wizard of Sunset Strip (Wizard of 4th Street)
Author Simon Hawke
Reviewed By Purplycookie
Accompanied by his strange band of friends (a young wizard, a cat burglar, a cockney punk possessed by the spirit of Merlin) Wydrune (the last survivor of Camelot) searches for a murderous devil plaguing Tinseltown.
Book Details:
Title The Wizard of Sunset Strip (Wizard of 4th Street)
Author Simon Hawke
Reviewed By Purplycookie
May 31, 2009
Like the previous book: good characters, good story, but with a plot epic enough to warrant a more in-depth storytelling.
(copy pasted the review from the previous book)
It followed a very similar pattern to the previous book.
(copy pasted the review from the previous book)
It followed a very similar pattern to the previous book.
April 11, 2015
Entertaining book in the Wizard series by Simon Hawke. These are very light reading, with a bit of humor thrown in.
February 17, 2021
Not as problematic as i was worried, w/r/t stereotypes of women and minorities. Originally read over 25 years ago. (will likely be the same review for each of the 4-5 books i'm currently re-reading)
March 30, 2021
It's always a strange thing, revisiting books you loved as a young adult. You're not the same person now that you were then. Or, at least, I'm not. And yet, some books stay the same. You see past their flaws, instead remembering them in the golden light of discovery even as you read them anew. For me, the Wizard of 4th Street series found me during the transitional years between elementary school and high school. I did not understand all the references and, well, the internet didn't exist yet. But I loved the series anyway. The thief, the warlock, the assassin, and the mage, all working together to defeat an ancient race of otherworldly beings set against a future in which technology no longer works but magic does. What's not to love?
Well, if I'm being honest, the book does read as kind of dated. I don't think this is necessarily the author's fault or bad writing, just the fact that they were written for a different market and a different readership during a different decade. They are also a lot gorier than I remember. On the other hand, Hawke's take on the inevitable battle between Hollywood unions and magicians hiring out for special effects work seems pretty real and pretty timeless.
I'm really kind of torn on this. This is the third in a series. You don't necessarily need to know what happened in the previous volumes because author Hawke reminds us a couple of times throughout the course of the book* who everyone is and how they got here. But if you're going to read this, and you should, then start with book one.
*This is what I mean by dated writing. When this book came out, there was no internet on which to look up plot synopsis or character arcs. What's more, because of the way bookstores worked, you might be able to get volumes 1 and 3 but not 2 and so a recap of everything that happened previously was necessary to get readers into the current story. Not the author's fault, but something that stands out when compared with more recent, similar novels.
Well, if I'm being honest, the book does read as kind of dated. I don't think this is necessarily the author's fault or bad writing, just the fact that they were written for a different market and a different readership during a different decade. They are also a lot gorier than I remember. On the other hand, Hawke's take on the inevitable battle between Hollywood unions and magicians hiring out for special effects work seems pretty real and pretty timeless.
I'm really kind of torn on this. This is the third in a series. You don't necessarily need to know what happened in the previous volumes because author Hawke reminds us a couple of times throughout the course of the book* who everyone is and how they got here. But if you're going to read this, and you should, then start with book one.
*This is what I mean by dated writing. When this book came out, there was no internet on which to look up plot synopsis or character arcs. What's more, because of the way bookstores worked, you might be able to get volumes 1 and 3 but not 2 and so a recap of everything that happened previously was necessary to get readers into the current story. Not the author's fault, but something that stands out when compared with more recent, similar novels.
July 27, 2022
[2022] common theme: reading funk/reader's block and Hawke is my go-to. The potential block has been hammering at me more than usual in the past few months, so I read these to keep it at bay. Starting to get a little more serious, and yes, quite dated - Hawke anchors the reader with period references couched at "pre-Collapse"... but the 1980s reference sources have faded pretty quickly
[reread 4/7/16] reading funk essentially broken; Hawke weaves fun tongue in cheek stories that don't take themselves too seriously.
[reread 4/7/16] reading funk essentially broken; Hawke weaves fun tongue in cheek stories that don't take themselves too seriously.
January 21, 2015
The gang from The Wizard of Whitechapel has traveled to L.A. to track down a necromancer, and to do that, Modred has agreed to finance a film about Merlin. I still think that this series would play very well on television.
September 18, 2007
This is my 5th or 6th time reading this book it is one of my favorate brain candy books.
June 16, 2010
Wydrune and crew must stop the Dark Ones who are turning Hollywood into a land of horror.
March 31, 2011
funny, suspenseful
July 5, 2015
Ahhh, what a book! At 14 I was Billy Slade before Simon Hawke told me my name.
September 7, 2010
One of the first urban fantasy books I ever read
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews