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The Ebenezum Trilogy #1
A Malady of Magicks
The wizard Ebenezum and his hapless apprentice, Wuntvor, must journey to Vughta, the City of Forbidden Delights, to seek a cure for a curse that makes Ebenezum allergic to magic.
235 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 1986
38 people are currently reading
1683 people want to read
About the author
Craig Shaw Gardner
151 books135 followersCraig Shaw Gardner was born in Rochester, New York and lived there until 1967, when he moved to Boston, MA to attend Boston University. He graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Broadcasting and Film. He has continued to reside in Boston since that time.
He published his first story in 1977 while he held a number of jobs: shipper/receiver for a men's suit manufacturer, working in hospital public relations, running a stat camera, and also managed of a couple of bookstores: The Million Year Picnic and Science Fantasy Bookstore.
As of 1987 he became a full time writer, and since then he has published more than 30 novels and more than 50 short stories.
He also published under these pseudonyms:
Peter Garrison
He published his first story in 1977 while he held a number of jobs: shipper/receiver for a men's suit manufacturer, working in hospital public relations, running a stat camera, and also managed of a couple of bookstores: The Million Year Picnic and Science Fantasy Bookstore.
As of 1987 he became a full time writer, and since then he has published more than 30 novels and more than 50 short stories.
He also published under these pseudonyms:
Peter Garrison
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
January 7, 2014
Picked this up off a book swap shelf at a railway station, and now I understand why it was left there. Complete rubbish.
The blurbs on the back cover claim readers will "laugh down the walls" and that "the field needs more humorists of this calibre". No, it really doesn't. The attempted humour in this book is clumsy, absurd and over-egged, and I say attempted because I never even smiled while reading it; the most I got out of it was an occasional eye-roll at Guxx's terrible rhyming.
There's barely any plot, and no truly cohesive narrative; it's very clear even without reading the copyright page that half the chapters were pasted together from the author's other short stories - and that doesn't work at all well here.
This book has been compared by other reviewers to Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. I don't recommend it to Discworld fans, or anyone else. The only real similarities between the two are the genre and that the cover art - which, frankly, is almost better than the story in this case - was drawn by Josh Kirby. There's really no comparison. Pratchett's sense of humour is subtle, edged, satirical and entertaining, where Gardner's is slapstick, about as blunt as his character's big club, and really not that interesting. The only reason I bothered to finish this was that I'm stuck on a train with little else to do. And I'll be putting it back on that railway swapping shelf, the very next chance I get.
The blurbs on the back cover claim readers will "laugh down the walls" and that "the field needs more humorists of this calibre". No, it really doesn't. The attempted humour in this book is clumsy, absurd and over-egged, and I say attempted because I never even smiled while reading it; the most I got out of it was an occasional eye-roll at Guxx's terrible rhyming.
There's barely any plot, and no truly cohesive narrative; it's very clear even without reading the copyright page that half the chapters were pasted together from the author's other short stories - and that doesn't work at all well here.
This book has been compared by other reviewers to Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. I don't recommend it to Discworld fans, or anyone else. The only real similarities between the two are the genre and that the cover art - which, frankly, is almost better than the story in this case - was drawn by Josh Kirby. There's really no comparison. Pratchett's sense of humour is subtle, edged, satirical and entertaining, where Gardner's is slapstick, about as blunt as his character's big club, and really not that interesting. The only reason I bothered to finish this was that I'm stuck on a train with little else to do. And I'll be putting it back on that railway swapping shelf, the very next chance I get.
May 11, 2011
I regularly refer to this series as "the American Discworld". Written around the same time as Pratchett's early novels, it too is a fun parody of the Swords and Sorcery genre. However, like humour differs across either side of the pond, so too does the humour between the two series.
Here you can expect less social commentary and more demons, maidens and tap-dancing dragons!
Easy to read, it makes a great story when you just want something different.
"'A wizard is only as good as his spells,' people will often say.
This statement is only made by people who have never been wizards themselves.
Those of us who have chosen to pursue a sorcerous career know that a knowledge of spells is only one small facet of the successful magician. Equally important are a quick wit, a soothing tongue, and, perhaps most important, a thorough knowledge of back alleys, underground passageways, and particularly dense patches of forest, for those times when the spell you knew so well doesn't quite work after all."
- - -
Next in Series: A Multitude Of Monsters
Here you can expect less social commentary and more demons, maidens and tap-dancing dragons!
Easy to read, it makes a great story when you just want something different.
"'A wizard is only as good as his spells,' people will often say.
This statement is only made by people who have never been wizards themselves.
Those of us who have chosen to pursue a sorcerous career know that a knowledge of spells is only one small facet of the successful magician. Equally important are a quick wit, a soothing tongue, and, perhaps most important, a thorough knowledge of back alleys, underground passageways, and particularly dense patches of forest, for those times when the spell you knew so well doesn't quite work after all."
- - -
Next in Series: A Multitude Of Monsters
July 28, 2007
This series is hilarious. The humor is different from that of Pratchett, but the net result is the same - side splitting laughter in a fantasy genre. Good luck getting a copy though - its been out of print for ages, and no, you can't have mine...
August 10, 2014
Um... The plot, such as it is, isn't finished in this book, not that it matters. Most of the humour fell completely flat for me. The running jokes weren't funny the first time, and there is a difference between madcap and random confusion. Characters converse for paragraphs before the oh by the way we picked up some travelling companions. There were other awkward moments in the writing. The main character doesn't really rescue much. The two stars come from this book being as light as promised, and from the introductions to each chapter.
February 2, 2014
i wish i could give this book 3.5 stars, 'cause i liked it more than 3, but it wasn't so fantastic as to deserve a 4. it is definitely a fun read--and sometimes it's surprising and intelligent, too.
so if you are looking for fun, light entertainment that comes packed with wizards, magic, giants, demons, and rains of dead haddock, this is definitely worth your time.
i highly recommend it!
so if you are looking for fun, light entertainment that comes packed with wizards, magic, giants, demons, and rains of dead haddock, this is definitely worth your time.
i highly recommend it!
July 19, 2015
My return to the world of Ebenezum revealed this little book to not quite be laced with the wit and invention that I had remembered encoutering when I was thirteen. From an adult's perspective, the pace is a bit breakneck, and there isn't quite the depth I would ideally look for. One firmly for the kids I think, who I'm sure will love it, especially those looking to give fantasy books a go for the first time without overloading on something too earnest.
May 3, 2015
Meh. I can't believe this was ever a contender in the raging junior high debates about which fantasy series was the funniest. Asprin's ANOTHER FINE MYTH for one leaves this one in the dust.
[Of course, nowadays Pratchett's Discworld book would render this debate utterly moot, but at the time I think only THE COLOUR OF MAGIC had been published in the US,]
Still, I'm quite happy to have finally read it.
[Of course, nowadays Pratchett's Discworld book would render this debate utterly moot, but at the time I think only THE COLOUR OF MAGIC had been published in the US,]
Still, I'm quite happy to have finally read it.
September 13, 2015
this has been on my bookshelf for a while, and I could not remember anything that happens in it. I just reread it, and... I'm already starting to forget. the book is set up in a series of mostly-unrelated vignettes as the main characters undertake a journey, so there's no real chance to grow to like any characters besides the main two. who I didn't, because they're sort of bland and the apprentice's annoying habit of falling in love with every girl in the book is not at all charming.
October 26, 2022
It is with books like this that I really wish Goodreads allowed half stars. This is better than a 3 star book but not quite a four star. I loved the introduction to each chapter and if the humour had been like that throughout the whole book I would have been a four star or even possibly five star book.
Unfortunately for me, parts of the book were not to my taste humour wise. I can see why some would find them funny but they didn't make me laugh out loud or even chuckle to myself. It was comedy more related to slapstick and because of the cover of the book I went in expecting Terry Pratchett and I instead got more David Walliams. Now I know a lot of people enjoy that style and they would probably enjoy this book. I just found it was missing that magic spark that makes me read, re-read and then re-read again the Discworld books.
The great thing about the book was that the chapters were quite often almost standalone scenes so I was able to pick it up and put it down easily. If I tried I probably could have read it in a few hours rather than the weeks it took as it was a light read, but I suspect I enjoyed it more this way.
I'm sure I have another book by this author on my TBR pile that I picked up in a secondhand booksale so it will be interesting to see if I enjoy that more or less now I know what to expect.
Unfortunately for me, parts of the book were not to my taste humour wise. I can see why some would find them funny but they didn't make me laugh out loud or even chuckle to myself. It was comedy more related to slapstick and because of the cover of the book I went in expecting Terry Pratchett and I instead got more David Walliams. Now I know a lot of people enjoy that style and they would probably enjoy this book. I just found it was missing that magic spark that makes me read, re-read and then re-read again the Discworld books.
The great thing about the book was that the chapters were quite often almost standalone scenes so I was able to pick it up and put it down easily. If I tried I probably could have read it in a few hours rather than the weeks it took as it was a light read, but I suspect I enjoyed it more this way.
I'm sure I have another book by this author on my TBR pile that I picked up in a secondhand booksale so it will be interesting to see if I enjoy that more or less now I know what to expect.
April 6, 2020
This review is for the audio version of the book, although previously I had read the book, and it was much as I remembered it.
The narrator does a good job with the various voices and with the pacing and pronunciation.
This book is a good satire of the wizard apprentice story. Ebenezer, the master wizard, is inflicted with a magical malady that makes him allergic to magic. Wuntvor, his apprentice, is mostly incompetent and also behaves like a love-struck teenager around anything wearing a skirt.
There are several amusing encounters including the dragon and princess who want to become traveling entertainers; a barbarian who acquired a cursed weapon and his most commonly spoken word is “Doom!”, the encounter with the enchantment that turns Wuntvor into a were-chicken and many others.
It’s a light-hearted, very enjoyable book and a good start to the series.
I received a free copy of the audiobook via Audioboom and chose to write a review.
The narrator does a good job with the various voices and with the pacing and pronunciation.
This book is a good satire of the wizard apprentice story. Ebenezer, the master wizard, is inflicted with a magical malady that makes him allergic to magic. Wuntvor, his apprentice, is mostly incompetent and also behaves like a love-struck teenager around anything wearing a skirt.
There are several amusing encounters including the dragon and princess who want to become traveling entertainers; a barbarian who acquired a cursed weapon and his most commonly spoken word is “Doom!”, the encounter with the enchantment that turns Wuntvor into a were-chicken and many others.
It’s a light-hearted, very enjoyable book and a good start to the series.
I received a free copy of the audiobook via Audioboom and chose to write a review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 5, 2023
I thought I had read this one a long time ago, but it's also entirely possible that I don't remember it, or didn't at all. There is a certain amount of nostalgia I have for these type of books, but there is also a bit of a misogynistic thread that possibly exist in the Myth series, certainly the Xanth series, and possibly others in the fantasy-humor genre that erupted about then. What I appreciate about this series is that Ebenezum is actually a respectable wizard, malady notwithstanding, unlike those in the Discworld series. Wuntvor reminds me a bit of a less-well-to-do Skeeve, with even more raging hormones. I know I learned the word "effluvium" from one of these series, but I swear it did not appear in this book. Anyway, I cannot recommend this book to anyone who hasn't been a teenage boy who had a bit of interest in the D&D worlds back in the mid-to-late-1980s.
April 1, 2020
Since I'd read the fourth book in this series, I decided I should go back to the beginning. It includes the bit about the dragon and damsel who start a stage show that had appeared in the dragon anthology. When the wizard Ebenezum summons the badly rhyming demon Guxx Unfufadoo, who curses him to become allergic to magic. Ebenezum and his apprentice Wuntvor, who narrates the story, head toward the legendary city of Vushta trying to find a cure. Along the way, they meet people from the wizard's past, and pretty much everyone seems to be trying to rip someone off. It also introduces the cursed warrior Hendrek, who begins pretty much every line with the word "doom!" I assume this was always intended to be a series, since there isn't really a conclusion at the end.
October 4, 2023
Featuring a wizard allergic to magic and his apprentice (who narrates the story), A Malady of Magicks is the first in a trilogy (though I believe there's a sequel trilogy as well). It's relatively episodic, as the two have periodic adventures on their way to Vushta to find some other wizards who can cure Ebenezum's malady. It's amusing and decently witty and doesn't overplay the humor too much (much more situational than Xanth-style puns, for example). However, the book ends while they're still on their journey, and this didn't necessarily feel all that satisfying on its own (since they have not reached Vushta at all).
July 30, 2024
This was one of the first books I remember as a child. It was one my dad read to me. Now, whether I thought it was good because my dad would dramatize it a little while he read it or if it was actually interesting. I'll have to reread to determine.
What I remember is a book that was entertaining, funny, and a little suspenseful in some parts. The part that sticks in my mind is when their traveling through the forest, and Ebenezum started sneezing. My stomach dropped knowing that someone/something was using magic.
Never read the others in the trilogy
What I remember is a book that was entertaining, funny, and a little suspenseful in some parts. The part that sticks in my mind is when their traveling through the forest, and Ebenezum started sneezing. My stomach dropped knowing that someone/something was using magic.
Never read the others in the trilogy
February 8, 2021
A belated selection for the r/Fantasy 2017 Bingo for the 'Fantasy Novel That's Been on Your 'To Be Read' List for Over a Year' square. This hasn't aged well. If I'd read it when it first came out (and when there weren't many other authors doing something similar) I would probably have enjoyed it more. If you want comedic fantasy done well, read Terry Pratchett's Discworld series (but even he wasn't at his best in the early ones).
January 7, 2024
From the Science-Fiction-Book-Club in the 1980s, this book sat unread by me until 2023. Unfortunately not worth the wait.
A mostly forgettable story with silly characters and a messy plot. Central to the story is a wizard who can’t cast spells due to an allergy to magic. Really a rather stupid and annoying premise. I won’t go on to read the other two books I have in this series.
A mostly forgettable story with silly characters and a messy plot. Central to the story is a wizard who can’t cast spells due to an allergy to magic. Really a rather stupid and annoying premise. I won’t go on to read the other two books I have in this series.
February 14, 2025
There are some unfinished plot points. that the author obviously forgot to complete. like it will skip and jump over information. and leave you confused. however the book is quite good in terms of comedic writing, and in a setting where comedy is not often used. I'd say the scenes with death are some of the best
September 26, 2021
The problem with humorous Fantasy is that it all too after depends solely on humor. Everything else—characters, plots, settings—takes a back seat to the funny; so if it isn’t actually funny, the whole thing falls apart.
Just like this book.
Just like this book.
November 18, 2021
Read this to my 7-yo, after having read it loooong ago in probably middle school. We both laughed ourselves silly all the way through. Definitely a book for kids - not as intelligent as Pratchett, but more of a slapstick humor.
December 12, 2021
This was okay. Readable. Not the biggest fan of it however. It is similar to Discworld novels but didn’t quite grip me like those ones. I didn’t care for the characters. There were a few amusing moments. I’m not sure I will read the next one.
June 30, 2025
I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was such an easy and fun read. Definitely recommend to anyone who wants something light to read when unwinding or relaxing. Already picked up books 2 and 3 before finishing this one! Great find.
October 12, 2025
This book gets a lot of hate, I picked it up on a whim. Not my favorite book in the world but it has great vibes and if you look at it the same way you look at Monty Python then I think you’ll like it just fine
August 23, 2018
It's hardly Myth'ing a thing
Comic SF & fantasy is a sub genre I Don' t get to enjoy often, this book pleasantly filled my craving. I look forward to finish the trilogy.
Comic SF & fantasy is a sub genre I Don' t get to enjoy often, this book pleasantly filled my craving. I look forward to finish the trilogy.
March 12, 2019
Lack of plot and humour often missed the mark.
September 8, 2019
Fun book. Not deep but funny, making fun of various tropes in fantasy books. I enjoyed it greatly.
April 8, 2020
Great book if you like the fantasy genre mixed with humor. Love that the author is originally from the town where I grew up.
June 20, 2021
This was fun. Reminds me if the xanth novels by peirce Anthony.
August 9, 2021
Entertaining.
September 14, 2021
It is okay for a young reader. I enjoy humor with my fantasy stories, which is why I selected this story. Some of the characters are repetitive in nature.
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June 4, 2023I liked it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews