Wishbringer

Infocom #2

by Craig Shaw Gardner, Walter Velez (Cover Artist)

Simon, a con man, is sent to Festeron armed with a magic radio and a kitchen appliance in order to take back control of the town from the witches, wraiths, and ogres who have taken over

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Science Fiction, Gaming

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1988

About the author

Craig 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

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 1 out of 5]

The lead up to the big reveal--goody-goody Festeron turns into dark-mirror Witchville after sundown--is so heavily foreshadowed and all the local characters hint and suggest and "oh but I shouldn't say" to the protagonist's frustration and reader's exasperation to just get on with it and then it takes about halfway through before things start happening. And let's be clear: the Festeron/Witchville thing is spoiled by the back cover. So, no big surprise.

And, oh yeah, I had forgotten that Wishbringer was an introductory/juvenile game, and this is trying to turn a reasonably grown-up book out of that.

Not bad, exactly, but deeply against my interests.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, not too serious take with good characters and bizarre encounters. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable and light read.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit of backstory. This is the first book I remember reading where I absolutely had to stay up all night to finish it. I must have been about 10 or 11. It was a school night, and I remember seeing the clock rolling around to the wee hours of the morning thinking I really should go to sleep. But no, I stayed up and finished it. For years I tried to remember what it was. All I knew is that it was called Wish-Something and it had a one-eyed monster on the cover. The other day I was looking over the Friends of the Library shelf--lo and behold--there it was.

Reading it now, I'm not sure what I saw in it.

This is a goofy little fantasy novel based on a text adventure. See, a small time con artist is arrested in a town called Festeron, and is immediately press-ganged into a position as the town's postman. All well and good, except that the postman position involves some unseemly obligations regarding Festeron's habit of becoming its own evil doppelganger village of Witchville.

Best not to think too much about this one. The fantasy setting straddles an otherwise small town in America and doesn't make much sense. The characters are widely drawn and never really coalesce or evolve. The jokes are okay, if you can recognize them as jokes.

All in all, an acceptable way to pass time. I'll always have fond memories of this book, but it's probably one of those things I should have kept as a memory. If you're ever stuck on public transport and you find this book shoved in a seat pocket, I say read it.

[Asriel Aquino · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was certainly an interesting book. It different, and I like that, it did a great job of making you want to keep reading to find out just how much weirder it can get, or why!?

There was a few times that I wanted to reach it he story and smack the main character across the back of his head, but he is a compulsive character so it flowed with the story.

Towards the end it did feel like it started to circle, extending the story out a bit, needlessly? Idk.

Overall I thought it was a great story, likable character, and good humor.

[Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books it is hard to admit enjoying, let alone claim it was amazing, but what the hell. Fine, it was based on a text based computer games from the 1980's...fine, it has terrible puns and cheap jokes...but dammit, I enjoy it. And if it says something about me that I enjoy reading trashy sci-fi novels over in-depth analysis of the human condition (yep, it does, and it ain't good) then so be it. If you need me, I'll be watching cartoons.

[Shilo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a really quick read. It has several glaring weakness but I enjoyed the puns and jokes. In the book, the hero thought to himself how could he be called the hero if he did not initiate action. That was the main problem for me. The main character is confused and gets dragged around most of the time. Once I found out it was based on a game it made a lot more sense. Oh, the Boot Patrols songs were a bit annoying.

[Benjamin Duffy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never played the video game this book is based upon, so I approach it purely as a work of fiction. It was interesting while I read it, with a zany sort of over-the-top humor that appealed to the 15-year-old me. Sort of a poor man's Hitchhiker's Guide. If you see a copy in the bin at the used bookstore, it's worth the buck or two investment.

[Megan]

I don't remember a single thing about this book, but my original review over on 50 book challenges said I liked it well enough, but thought it was a little heavy-handed with the foreshadowing. And that the best thing about it was that it was a really fast read.

[Metagnat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read by Craig Shaw Gardner based on an Infocom text-adventure game. Text adventures are naturals for having books based on them. In this one, a con-man gets arrested and sentenced to...deliver mail in a whimsical land of magic and occasional evil.

[Aneel · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Re-read). I lost my old copy of this somewhere along the line and bought a used one to fill out the gap in my Infocom books collection. It's really light reading and has less of the grue than I remembered.

[Jasmin Chua · Rating 2 out of 5]

Underwhelming despite my fond memories of the original text adventure.