Her Majesty's Wizard

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Fantasy books I have ever read!
Review: I do not read nearly as much Fantasy as I used too. There was, however, a time, which Fantasy was the only genre, I had any desire to partake in. Enter "Her Majesty's Wizard" by Christopher Stasheff.

This novel is a perfect mix of Fantasy, Humor and Morality all spoon-fed to us with the masterful prose of Stasheff. First published in 1986 this novel was released by DelRey when they were at the top of their game. Time was in the mid 1980's to early 1990's if the cover had the DelRey imprint on it I would buy it. This is a great example of the strong staff of editors they had in this era.

"Her Majesty's Wizard" is an example of what I like to call Reality based Fantasy. What I mean by this is that one of the primary characters, usually the hero, starts out in our reality and is transported into another reality which is different in many ways usually involving magic of some sort. This is the case in "HMW".

I hate giving away too much of the plot of a book in a review. This tendency drives me crazy when others tell me the beginning, middle and end of books so please forgive me as I only give a gist of events. The hero, Mathew Mantrell, is transported to a realm where his penchant for archaic writings and rhymes gives him magical powers. Matt's challenges are many fold. The challenges include whether or not to believe in what is happening. Secondly, whether or not to defend good, side with evil or sit on the sidelines. Thirdly, whether or not to accept universality God and what that means to Matt's existence and many more challenges. All of this sounds pretty heavy but it really isn't. One of the great aspects of this book is how light is really is in some ways. The novel does not take itself to seriously and it makes for wonderful experience.

Christopher Stasheff followed this book up with a torrent of novels that take place in this same universe as Matt. All of the novels are good but this is the best of them and, in my humble opinion, it is Mr. Stasheff's best novel period. Read and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent adventure thrill to escape from modern issues
Review: I haven't read any books by him beside this one, but this one was really well written, with fun characters and it made me think about other things.

Rating:
Summary: Not as light as it seems...
Review: I read some of the other reviews, and it seems I'm in aminority view - for I really really didn't like this book. The bookstarts in a very 'standard' way: Mathew Mantrell, a graduate student,finds an ancient text. He somehow manages to read it (not knowinghow), and finds himself transported into a fantasy world, where magicand fantasy creatures exist. So far, a simple use of a A very populartheme. I even reviewed another book which starts in a similar same way(top dog). When Matt find himself in the unknown land, he for someunknown reason, starts to say rhymes out loud (we don't know why),only to discover that in this realm, his rhymes have strange powers -magical powers, and since he's such a strong rhymer - well, he's avery powerful wizard. Soon enough he is 'drafted' to help a princessin distress reclaim her kingdom from an evil sorcerer.
So far sogood - really a great premise. However, the book is a TOTAL cliche -everything is expected, there really is no explanation why the maincharacter acts in certain ways, he always casts spells when somethingbad happens - but the idea of actually using magic in advance to solveproblems never occurs into him. Thus, the story becomes reallyunbelievable. A good example: at the beginning of the book, Matt useshis powers to transport his companions out of a dungeon. Then hediscovers he has to cross an entire land to get to a certainplace. Not even once he thinks 'Hey, I can teleport myself.. so whynot try and port us again?'. I guess if he did that, then there wouldbe no story.. but this kind of stuff really makes the story feelamateurish, if not even ....

But the thing which really turned meoff about this book was its inheret seriousness. At first I thoughtit's a really light read. But I was wrong. The book is not light atall. Apparently, in the book's fantasy world, medieval moralityactually "works", i.e., if the main character lusts aboutsomeone, he is a sinner, and if he goes to church, he is forgiven -it's not just theology there. .... Every short tale in this book hadits underlying religious aspect, which was very transparent, andcompletely ruined whatever shred of fun I had from this book.

Rating:
Summary: Not as light as it seems...
Review: I read some of the other reviews, and it seems I'm in aminority view - for I really really didn't like this book. The bookstarts in a very 'standard' way: Mathew Mantrell, a graduate student,finds an ancient text. He somehow manages to read it (not knowinghow), and finds himself transported into a fantasy world, where magicand fantasy creatures exist. So far, a simple use of a A very populartheme. I even reviewed another book which starts in a similar same way(top dog). When Matt find himself in the unknown land, he for someunknown reason, starts to say rhymes out loud (we don't know why),only to discover that in this realm, his rhymes have strange powers -magical powers, and since he's such a strong rhymer - well, he's avery powerful wizard. Soon enough he is 'drafted' to help a princessin distress reclaim her kingdom from an evil sorcerer.
So far sogood - really a great premise. However, the book is a TOTAL cliche -everything is expected, there really is no explanation why the maincharacter acts in certain ways, he always casts spells when somethingbad happens - but the idea of actually using magic in advance to solveproblems never occurs into him. Thus, the story becomes reallyunbelievable. A good example: at the beginning of the book, Matt useshis powers to transport his companions out of a dungeon. Then hediscovers he has to cross an entire land to get to a certainplace. Not even once he thinks 'Hey, I can teleport myself.. so whynot try and port us again?'. I guess if he did that, then there wouldbe no story.. but this kind of stuff really makes the story feelamateurish, if not even ....

But the thing which really turned meoff about this book was its inheret seriousness. At first I thoughtit's a really light read. But I was wrong. The book is not light atall. Apparently, in the book's fantasy world, medieval moralityactually "works", i.e., if the main character lusts aboutsomeone, he is a sinner, and if he goes to church, he is forgiven -it's not just theology there. .... Every short tale in this book hadits underlying religious aspect, which was very transparent, andcompletely ruined whatever shred of fun I had from this book.

Rating:
Summary: Comical and exciting
Review: I think Christopher Stasheff did a wonderful job on this book. It's the type of book that doesn't have that much deep insight and is easy to follow. A book too keep you entertained for a little while.

Rating:
Summary: Grrrrrrrrreat!
Review: If nothing else, this book impresses me with Stasheff's knowledge. read it.

Rating:
Summary: gimme more!
Review: It's original, completely fresh and new in a way I have NEVER seen before. It combines the idea of alternate worlds with a completely new kind of magic, a medieval backround, wonderful characters, an exciting plot, and a battle between good and evil. Add in a romance between a headstrong princess, struggling to rescue a kingdom that's falling apart, and a poetic wizard straight out of the twenty-first century, and you've got "Her Majesty's Wizard"

Rating:
Summary: A Nice Surprise!
Review: Just by looking at the cover, 'Her Majesty's Wizard' would appear to be just another fantasy adventure. Well, not so fast...

A graduate student named Matt finds and reads an ancient manuscript, unknowingly transporting himself to another time/another world that has some interesting differences from our own world. Matt finds that through reciting poetry and literature, he can cast "spells" which help him and his new-found friends through some really tough spots as they seek to reclaim their kingdom from a wicked tyrant and his magic.

Two aspects of 'Her Majesty's Wizard' kept me hooked:

1 - The action is practically non-stop. You will have to turn many, many pages from the very beginning to find a place to breathe! Stasheff has given action/adventure fans their money's worth.

2 - The deeper implications of moral and theological thought. Stasheff's writing goes way beyond a casual look at "good vs. evil." He is able to examine, without getting too preachy, what drives his characters to do what they do. Stasheff gives us some very good scenes in which characters have to make some serious and possibly costly decisions that affect not only themselves, but many others. I appreciated the deeper look into the moral and theological issues, although it seems from other reviews that other readers don't. I found it refreshing.

If you enjoy fantasy or just like a good adventure, I highly recommend 'Her Majesty's Wizard.'

Rating:
Summary: A Nice Surprise!
Review: Just by looking at the cover, 'Her Majesty's Wizard' would appear to be just another fantasy adventure. Well, not so fast...

A graduate student named Matt finds and reads an ancient manuscript, unknowingly transporting himself to another time/another world that has some interesting differences from our own world. Matt finds that through reciting poetry and literature, he can cast "spells" which help him and his new-found friends through some really tough spots as they seek to reclaim their kingdom from a wicked tyrant and his magic.

Two aspects of 'Her Majesty's Wizard' kept me hooked:

1 - The action is practically non-stop. You will have to turn many, many pages from the very beginning to find a place to breathe! Stasheff has given action/adventure fans their money's worth.

2 - The deeper implications of moral and theological thought. Stasheff's writing goes way beyond a casual look at "good vs. evil." He is able to examine, without getting too preachy, what drives his characters to do what they do. Stasheff gives us some very good scenes in which characters have to make some serious and possibly costly decisions that affect not only themselves, but many others. I appreciated the deeper look into the moral and theological issues, although it seems from other reviews that other readers don't. I found it refreshing.

If you enjoy fantasy or just like a good adventure, I highly recommend 'Her Majesty's Wizard.'

Rating:
Summary: Clever, very very clever
Review: Stasheff became an instant addition to my library with "Her Majesty's Wizard". His weave of fantasy and 20th century science immediatly entangled me, a college physics student. I found myself reading only to find out what Stasheff would pull out of his hat or what wild character he would introduce next. If you are a student of science, please read this book! It will make you a believer in the power of fantasy literature. To all you fantasy lovers out there - insooth a worthy read indeed! The only fault I find in the book (and the reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5) is due to the level of the book. I felt that Stasheff developed the characters and kept the overall flow of the book very "popcorn and candy". Moreover, the character development could have been deeper and the storyline less cheery. Aside from that aspect, a truly pleasant find!