- Title:
- Off to Be the Wizard (Magic 2.0, #1)
- By:
- Scott Meyer
- Pages:
- 276
- Rating:
- 5
Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard.
What could possibly go wrong?
An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y’know, die or anything.
“I haven’t done anything,” he continued. “I especially haven’t done any of the things those men are going to tell you I did.”
What an amazingly brilliant idea for a story. It comes across as a little cheesy, but that’s all part of the charm and it’s really a very funny work. Chapter 3? I howled. First flight and the duck? I almost collapsed with amusement. It may not be original, it may pander to the stereotypes of the genre and completely reinforce the most worrying geekisms of several generations … but it’s a bloody brilliant book.