The Unschooled Wizard

Sun Wolf and Starhawk #1-2

by Barbara Hambly

Omnibus book club edition containing the Ladies of Madrigyn and the Witches of Wenshar.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Own, Audiobook, German Literature

600 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

aka Barbara Hamilton

Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.


"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly

Reviews

[Mer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book showed up at my doorstep as part of a mail order book club [I have no idea today how I found out about] and has been a part of my library for decades.

I love how the 2 main characters are written, especially Starhawk, who is a strong female in a very male dominated world. There's alot to her I could use as a guide to how I should approach some things in my world today. The transition of Sun Wolf from one career to another is very well paced.

The Wizard King in the first book was a bit clunky, I thought, and I did alot of page skipping in Starhawk because the plot just draaaaged oooon! The mystery element was just too long for my taste but the development and transition of the main characters occurred rather nicely in the 2nd, and I love the author's many descriptors and similes. The place became easy to experience in my mind.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Competent. I'm sure I read the first half years ago.

The funniest part of the two-story set was Hambly's page-long explanation about writing about witches, explaining all sorts of things readers today don't care about but which might have be tender subjects just 25 years ago.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

First the mercenary warlord is kidnapped. The he develops magical powers.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of two novels about the mercenary Sun Wolf and his lieutenant Starhawk. In The Ladies of Mandrigyn, Wolf is kidnapped by women desperate for him to train them to lead a rebellion. Starhawk goes in search of him, and together they face the dread wizard Altiokis. In The Witches of Wenshar, Hawk and Wolf foil an assassination attempt and in consequence, are hired to train the king's young son. But training the squirrely Jeryn is easier than surviving in the palace, since members of the royal household are starting to get mysteriously murdered in the night.

Hambly is an accomplished writer, who is able to weave together fantastical adventures with characters and relationship dynamics that feel very real.

[Betsy]

This is a hardbound compilation, which I own, of two books, The Ladies of Mandrigyn and The Witches of Wenshar, which I read in paperback.

[Kolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

an omnibus of The Ladies of Madrigyn and the Witches of Wynshar (mespelled both books sorry) both of which are awsome 5 star

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book - the perfect blend of science fiction, gore and romance. I was very disappointed when I read others by Hambly, because this seemed to be a lucky fluke.

[Coyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

While these books are excellent overall, I think Hambly has probably built a world that is more interesting than the plots/characters she populates it with.