Week 13 ~ Her Majesty's Wizard

Week 13 ~ Mar 26-Apr 1, 2007

Her Majesty's Wizard (Wizard in Rhyme, book 1)
by Christopher Stasheff
(fantasy)

This is a fun book. Just - pure fun. Yes, it has some morals to it. Yes it has religion as the foundation for magic and the magical world that a hero from our world finds himself in. But at the heart of it, it is a fun book.

Pieces of this book fit a male-written-fantasy-from-the-80's-or-early-90's. Some of the women are described in anatomically dubious detail. But, it's a fantasy world, so I guess that's to be expected. There are not the angsty, heart-wrenching dramas that are found in many of today's fantasies, but there is character depth. There is not impossibly steamy sex, but there is a very believable pair of romances. It is, actually, quite a refreshing change of pace.

This book is similar to Piers Anthony's Split Infinity which I mentioned earlier, but only Anthony's fantasy world. Not his futuristic sci-fi world. But the style is similar, though I prefer Stasheff's writing. The method of using magic is also similar, though I prefer Stasheff here as well (though it is not music in Her Majesty's Wizard, like I had thought before, but poetry). I do greatly recommend this book.