Rating: 
Summary: Seers and Sorcerers
Review: This was my first experience with the Ethshar Hegemony and its world. I first read the book about 10 years ago, and have since re-read it many times. From the lazy overage apprentice to the young polygamist wizard, Tobas shows some signs of maturing, all the while illuminating his world for us with an incredibly rich cast and detail, from stupid dragons to smart (if poor) kings with too many daughters, kindly sailors to indifferent wizards, legendary wars and lost spells, beautiful witches and princesses, as well as ugly ones. Ethshar of the Spices is a particularly fascinating city with too many fascinating throwaway ideas to numerate. Just the consultation made by Tobas to an ethsharian diviner at the end of the book opens up new vistas. I recently purchased The Misenchanted Sword, and fell in love with the whole world again, I'm now buying up the rest of the series and can't wait.
Rating: 
Summary: Fluxuates between good and bad
Review: This was the first Watt-Evans book I ever read, and it's difficult to write a strong review for it. The story is simple enough: a boy too old for apprenticeship finds himself homeless, penniless, and teacherless after his master dies. With nothing else to lose and a past he wishes to escape, Tobas joins a quest to kill a dragon and marry a princess.Although this sounds unoriginal, the book is unique because the majority of the book has nothing to do with the dragon or the princess. It instead revolves around a magical "trap" which Tobas falls into and has to figure out some way to escape. Only at the very end is the plot thread concerning the dragon revealed. This is why the book is difficult to review. The plot setup the book is misleading since Tobas spends about 2/5 of the book getting to where the dragon is, 2/5 of the book on a completely different plot, and only about 1/5 concerning the dragon and the princess. I also feel how he defeated the dragon was weak and displayed little of his character development. Still, it is a fun read and I would reccomend it to fans of fantasy novels.
Rating:
Summary: Fluxuates between good and bad
Review: This was the first Watt-Evans book I ever read, and it's difficult to write a strong review for it. The story is simple enough: a boy too old for apprenticeship finds himself homeless, penniless, and teacherless after his master dies. With nothing else to lose and a past he wishes to escape, Tobas joins a quest to kill a dragon and marry a princess. Although this sounds unoriginal, the book is unique because the majority of the book has nothing to do with the dragon or the princess. It instead revolves around a magical "trap" which Tobas falls into and has to figure out some way to escape. Only at the very end is the plot thread concerning the dragon revealed. This is why the book is difficult to review. The plot setup the book is misleading since Tobas spends about 2/5 of the book getting to where the dragon is, 2/5 of the book on a completely different plot, and only about 1/5 concerning the dragon and the princess. I also feel how he defeated the dragon was weak and displayed little of his character development. Still, it is a fun read and I would reccomend it to fans of fantasy novels.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: Tobas has always been considered unlucky. But, when the wizard to whom he is apprenticed suddenly dies, leaving him half trained and with only a single spell, his situation becomes desperate. Setting off to the more advanced lands of Ethshar, Tobas hopes to find make a life for himself. But, what can a wizard do with only one spell? Adventure and danger await Tobas, and it just might be a that single spell will suffice... This is the third book I have read by Lawrence Watt-Evans, and it is just as excellent as the others. I found the story fascinating, and could not put the book down until I reached the end. I loved the characters, the setting, and Mr. Watt-Evans' fascinating magic system. This is a wonderful story, one that I highly recommend to any D&D or other RPG player, or to any other fan of high-magic adventures!
Rating: 
Summary: Ultralight fantasy
Review: Watt-Evans, in With a Single Spell, has addressed a problem that's haunted role-playing gamers since the first edition of AD&D: what can a wizard do with only one spell? Tobas, the main character of Single Spell, has more troubles than the average AD&D character, even. As an apprentice wizard, he only managed to learn one spell before his master died - and that one lights fires. An orphan, he has nowhere to go, and he can't make a living doing what a flint can do almost as well as he can. So, despite his strong disinclination for travel, Tobas just has to adventure - he fights a dragon, saves a princess, learns magical secrets, all while hoping that soon he'll be able to settle down. Although the plot isn't especially original and many of the characters are basically stock, Watt-Evans has done a fine job with the book; he's made it a very light, sunny romp through a world any reader of fantasy or player of RPGs will recognize. With a Single Spell is ideal reading for fans of Robert Aspirin, invalids in need of soothing distraction, and those who remember playing a first-level mage all too well.
Rating:
Summary: Ultralight fantasy
Review: Watt-Evans, in With a Single Spell, has addressed a problem that's haunted role-playing gamers since the first edition of AD&D: what can a wizard do with only one spell? Tobas, the main character of Single Spell, has more troubles than the average AD&D character, even. As an apprentice wizard, he only managed to learn one spell before his master died - and that one lights fires. An orphan, he has nowhere to go, and he can't make a living doing what a flint can do almost as well as he can. So, despite his strong disinclination for travel, Tobas just has to adventure - he fights a dragon, saves a princess, learns magical secrets, all while hoping that soon he'll be able to settle down. Although the plot isn't especially original and many of the characters are basically stock, Watt-Evans has done a fine job with the book; he's made it a very light, sunny romp through a world any reader of fantasy or player of RPGs will recognize. With a Single Spell is ideal reading for fans of Robert Aspirin, invalids in need of soothing distraction, and those who remember playing a first-level mage all too well.
Rating:
Summary: Ultralight fantasy
Review: Watt-Evans, in With a Single Spell, has addressed a problem that's haunted role-playing gamers since the first edition of AD&D: what can a wizard do with only one spell? Tobas, the main character of Single Spell, has more troubles than the average AD&D character, even. As an apprentice wizard, he only managed to learn one spell before his master died - and that one lights fires. An orphan, he has nowhere to go, and he can't make a living doing what a flint can do almost as well as he can. So, despite his strong disinclination for travel, Tobas just has to adventure - he fights a dragon, saves a princess, learns magical secrets, all while hoping that soon he'll be able to settle down. Although the plot isn't especially original and many of the characters are basically stock, Watt-Evans has done a fine job with the book; he's made it a very light, sunny romp through a world any reader of fantasy or player of RPGs will recognize. With a Single Spell is ideal reading for fans of Robert Aspirin, invalids in need of soothing distraction, and those who remember playing a first-level mage all too well.
Rating:
Summary: With a Single Word ....
Review: Wonderful. That's about it. A fantastic storyline, very well written. Witty, humorous, excitement.. it has it all. I've head hundreds of Fantasy books/novels, and this one is one of my favorites.
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