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Magic 2.0 #5
Out of Spite, Out of Mind
When you discover the world is a computer program, and you figure out that by altering the code you can time travel and perform acts that seem like magic, what can possibly go wrong?
Pretty much everything.
Just ask Brit, who has jumped around in time with such abandon that she has to coexist with multiple versions of herself. Now, Brit the Elder finds that her memories don't match Brit the Younger's. And there's the small matter of a glitch that's making Brit the Elder's body fritz out. Brit the Elder's ex-boyfriend Phillip wants to help her, but he'll have to keep it secret from his current girlfriend, Brit the Younger, who can't stand her future self.
Meanwhile, Martin is trying to protect Phillip from a relentless attacker he somehow hasn't noticed; Gwen is angry because Martin accidentally proposed to her; Gary tries to help the less fortunate, with predictably disastrous results; and an old nemesis might have to be the one to save them all.
In Out of Spite, Out of Mind, our fearless wizards discover the biggest glitch in their world's program may well be themselves.
©2018 Scott Meyer (P)2018 Audible Originals, LLC
Pretty much everything.
Just ask Brit, who has jumped around in time with such abandon that she has to coexist with multiple versions of herself. Now, Brit the Elder finds that her memories don't match Brit the Younger's. And there's the small matter of a glitch that's making Brit the Elder's body fritz out. Brit the Elder's ex-boyfriend Phillip wants to help her, but he'll have to keep it secret from his current girlfriend, Brit the Younger, who can't stand her future self.
Meanwhile, Martin is trying to protect Phillip from a relentless attacker he somehow hasn't noticed; Gwen is angry because Martin accidentally proposed to her; Gary tries to help the less fortunate, with predictably disastrous results; and an old nemesis might have to be the one to save them all.
In Out of Spite, Out of Mind, our fearless wizards discover the biggest glitch in their world's program may well be themselves.
©2018 Scott Meyer (P)2018 Audible Originals, LLC
8 pages, Audible Audio
First published June 19, 2018
440 people are currently reading
1728 people want to read
About the author
Scott Meyer
16 books2,637 followersScott Meyer has been a radio DJ, a stand-up comic, a writer for video games, an office manager, and a pretend ghost bellhop.
He is the creator of the comic strip Basic Instructions, and has now written a novel.
He and his wife live in Florida, to be close to their cats.
He is the creator of the comic strip Basic Instructions, and has now written a novel.
He and his wife live in Florida, to be close to their cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 368 reviews
December 28, 2018
I am so furious with this book I can’t see straight.
Spoilers to follow.
Just to make this clear, I loved this series. I gave Fight and Flight four stars. Luke Daniels is an outstanding narrator, and the first 84% of this book hovered between 4-5 stars. It was well paced, not boring, kept my attention, and genuinely intrigued me.
Reviewing isn’t an exact science. Sometimes I adjust my rating as I read. If a book starts off low and rebounds, I try to split the difference. In hundreds of reviews this is only my third 1 star review. Even the book that snuck in a love affair between half brothers got 2 stars for writing style. I’m a fair reviewer. (Update: While I initially increased the rating to 2 stars, the offensiveness of this book has been nagging at me the last few weeks.)
The unforeseen complete drop-off into utter shit at the 84% mark extinguished any excitement for this series I had, and it was so complete that it wiped out all the wonderful things I loved about this book until that point. I mean it. I’ve been texting about this book for days and bothering all my friends. There was good stuff there. I couldn’t care less about any of it now. The ending. Any of it.
I was naggingly annoyed throughout the start of the book that the female characters would be condescending, rude, even cruel at times to the men and not face consequence for that. Men are just idiots and that’s the way it is, right? No thank you. Later in the book, two women even remark they women need a reason to fight, and men need a reason not to fight, as the sophisticated women sip on tea as the men embarrass themselves. I’m fucking sorry, but speaking as a feminist, a daughter’s father, and a lover of women, has this author ever hung out with a pack of women? Every person is their own individual, but women can be just as nasty as anyone else on the planet, in all senses of the word.
Brit was an interesting character concept. I’m not going to get into much depth on her journey and her complaints and the ramifications of what’s placed on her because she’s a horrible human being and I’m very sorry she wasn’t eviscerated from the program in this book, because now there’s no possibility of me reading another one. Philip was informed unless he did XY, and Z, the universe would end, he still fought it, it still cost Brit nothing, and the cruelty she showed him extended to defaming him across her entire timeline for something terrible he didn’t do, and everyone else just accepts this and treats her like their BFF? I’m surprised Brit was in the final scene of the book because there’s no reason any other character should ever speak to her, and certainly no reason Philip isn’t having a bonfire and torching all her stuff because the bitch is out of his life!
There was no plot-related reason why the cover story had to be what it was. It was unforgivable that it was spread to all of the other Brits without consent because the character was holding a grudge over having to work for years on a problem that was only a problem because she went against everybody and broke her own code! Twice! I cannot properly express how infuriating it was to see such a vile character be treated as perfectly acceptable beyond a couple of references to “why you gotta be so mean?”
The twenty minute fight scene, where we knew exactly how it would play out after ten seconds, was unnecessary padding that the book had been free of to that point. It’s a bad sign when even the characters called it unnecessary.
I’m so mad because I so loved this series and loved recommending it to people. I got my own wife to start it yesterday.
I’m in for it now.
Spoilers to follow.
Just to make this clear, I loved this series. I gave Fight and Flight four stars. Luke Daniels is an outstanding narrator, and the first 84% of this book hovered between 4-5 stars. It was well paced, not boring, kept my attention, and genuinely intrigued me.
Reviewing isn’t an exact science. Sometimes I adjust my rating as I read. If a book starts off low and rebounds, I try to split the difference. In hundreds of reviews this is only my third 1 star review. Even the book that snuck in a love affair between half brothers got 2 stars for writing style. I’m a fair reviewer. (Update: While I initially increased the rating to 2 stars, the offensiveness of this book has been nagging at me the last few weeks.)
The unforeseen complete drop-off into utter shit at the 84% mark extinguished any excitement for this series I had, and it was so complete that it wiped out all the wonderful things I loved about this book until that point. I mean it. I’ve been texting about this book for days and bothering all my friends. There was good stuff there. I couldn’t care less about any of it now. The ending. Any of it.
I was naggingly annoyed throughout the start of the book that the female characters would be condescending, rude, even cruel at times to the men and not face consequence for that. Men are just idiots and that’s the way it is, right? No thank you. Later in the book, two women even remark they women need a reason to fight, and men need a reason not to fight, as the sophisticated women sip on tea as the men embarrass themselves. I’m fucking sorry, but speaking as a feminist, a daughter’s father, and a lover of women, has this author ever hung out with a pack of women? Every person is their own individual, but women can be just as nasty as anyone else on the planet, in all senses of the word.
Brit was an interesting character concept. I’m not going to get into much depth on her journey and her complaints and the ramifications of what’s placed on her because she’s a horrible human being and I’m very sorry she wasn’t eviscerated from the program in this book, because now there’s no possibility of me reading another one. Philip was informed unless he did XY, and Z, the universe would end, he still fought it, it still cost Brit nothing, and the cruelty she showed him extended to defaming him across her entire timeline for something terrible he didn’t do, and everyone else just accepts this and treats her like their BFF? I’m surprised Brit was in the final scene of the book because there’s no reason any other character should ever speak to her, and certainly no reason Philip isn’t having a bonfire and torching all her stuff because the bitch is out of his life!
There was no plot-related reason why the cover story had to be what it was. It was unforgivable that it was spread to all of the other Brits without consent because the character was holding a grudge over having to work for years on a problem that was only a problem because she went against everybody and broke her own code! Twice! I cannot properly express how infuriating it was to see such a vile character be treated as perfectly acceptable beyond a couple of references to “why you gotta be so mean?”
The twenty minute fight scene, where we knew exactly how it would play out after ten seconds, was unnecessary padding that the book had been free of to that point. It’s a bad sign when even the characters called it unnecessary.
I’m so mad because I so loved this series and loved recommending it to people. I got my own wife to start it yesterday.
I’m in for it now.
June 22, 2018
I wanted to love it but I couldn’t. Too much “if they could just finish their sentence we could avoid all of this” and the time travel and “I’m doing this because my future version” did it for ridiculous and tedious. Same thing over and over, seemed the catch all for everything. Also Phillip didn’t deserve what he got.
June 25, 2018
As a fan of the series and the narrator, I'll probably listen to books 1-3 again, but this book was a disappointment. The time-traveling was overdone and overly silly, while the characterizations/relationship of Philip and Brit were one-dimensional, untrue to the previous incarnations, and cruel.
July 9, 2018
I am seeing a lot of reviews from people who don't like the ending. I propose a different perspective.
When I completed this book, I was laying on my bed. I had my headphones on, and I had spent the last few hours as the climax of the story unfolded with meticulous, agonizing certainty. I listened as the characters I love treated each other like enemies, discarded each other like trash, and mocked each other over important events and emotional developments. I was shaken. It hurt.
As a writer, I think the most powerful sign of loving a character is to feel a deep pit of injustice in your stomach when that character makes decisions that you know they shouldn't make, and are powerless to stop it.
"Why are they being so cruel? Why are they being so apathetic to each other?" the readers cry. But the answer is obvious: The characters are all-powerful gods. They cannot be killed by physical means. Only they can kill each other and they hold a misplaced moral standard not to, even in the case of a mass murderer (i.e., Jimmy). They are bored, and amused, by deadly traps and horrible, fire-breathing dragons. And with that boredom comes a slowly-revealed truth--they are all slowly losing their humanity.
What we are seeing with this book is something that has been creeping at the back of our minds for some time: that they are self-governing, unchecked creatures with no limits. That power corrupts them. And worse yet, none of them focus on important skills like communications and social relations. They are only focusing on stemming the ever-creeping boredom with amusing and humiliating plights. Martin says halfway through the book that (and I paraphrase here) "We can't feel pain, but humiliation is still effective!" Yes. Humiliation. Base instincts. Anger. Fear. Regret. These emotions are slowly becoming the replacements for physical pain and anguish, and it becomes the all-consuming quest in their lives to be free form the boredom and try to scratch the walls of their psyche for just a taste of that thing that once made them human, back before they lived in a world without consequences.
We are watching their humanity slip away. And it is killing us as readers.
So I applaud Mr. Meyer, for making characters that we love well enough to be angry and hurt when they betray each other and hurt each other. It sucks, but remember this: the pain you're feeling as a reader reminds you who you are, and highlights just how far removed from reality our favorite characters have become.
When I completed this book, I was laying on my bed. I had my headphones on, and I had spent the last few hours as the climax of the story unfolded with meticulous, agonizing certainty. I listened as the characters I love treated each other like enemies, discarded each other like trash, and mocked each other over important events and emotional developments. I was shaken. It hurt.
As a writer, I think the most powerful sign of loving a character is to feel a deep pit of injustice in your stomach when that character makes decisions that you know they shouldn't make, and are powerless to stop it.
"Why are they being so cruel? Why are they being so apathetic to each other?" the readers cry. But the answer is obvious: The characters are all-powerful gods. They cannot be killed by physical means. Only they can kill each other and they hold a misplaced moral standard not to, even in the case of a mass murderer (i.e., Jimmy). They are bored, and amused, by deadly traps and horrible, fire-breathing dragons. And with that boredom comes a slowly-revealed truth--they are all slowly losing their humanity.
What we are seeing with this book is something that has been creeping at the back of our minds for some time: that they are self-governing, unchecked creatures with no limits. That power corrupts them. And worse yet, none of them focus on important skills like communications and social relations. They are only focusing on stemming the ever-creeping boredom with amusing and humiliating plights. Martin says halfway through the book that (and I paraphrase here) "We can't feel pain, but humiliation is still effective!" Yes. Humiliation. Base instincts. Anger. Fear. Regret. These emotions are slowly becoming the replacements for physical pain and anguish, and it becomes the all-consuming quest in their lives to be free form the boredom and try to scratch the walls of their psyche for just a taste of that thing that once made them human, back before they lived in a world without consequences.
We are watching their humanity slip away. And it is killing us as readers.
So I applaud Mr. Meyer, for making characters that we love well enough to be angry and hurt when they betray each other and hurt each other. It sucks, but remember this: the pain you're feeling as a reader reminds you who you are, and highlights just how far removed from reality our favorite characters have become.
June 20, 2018
Dang that was a lot of drama! I have no idea where Scott can go from the ending but I'm still expecting 1 more. I mean I see the threads but whaaa? I felt happier about Martin and Gwen's relationship development. The overall world is not focused as much as the previous ones I felt. I really liked the ending for the most part. Okay I love Dune references so yeah that made me super ridiculously happy throughout. Philip's whole storyline just makes me sad.
July 12, 2018
Time travel used as a Mcguffin is ALWAYS a bad idea. Always
I've been a fan of Meyers for awhile now and his magic series is always on my to buy list. This book however was an example of why this kind of story is a bad idea.
Plot.
Brit uses time travel to solve every single problem she has. Something goes wrong. She attempts to fix it by time travel. Something goes wrong. She attempts to Ok you know what? You got it by now right?
The whole book is a closed loop with Brit being the star of the show, Martin being the butt of it and Phil getting the shaft. Everyone else is there... just... there...
The rest is padded out with sitcom-like artificial relationship drama and some geek references thrown in there awkwardly.
The characters lacked distinction in this installment. The men were all "geeks" The women were all "bitchy" and the bystanders were all TV audiences from 1992. It made it hard to get into this book. I really don't recommend it.
I've been a fan of Meyers for awhile now and his magic series is always on my to buy list. This book however was an example of why this kind of story is a bad idea.
Plot.
Brit uses time travel to solve every single problem she has. Something goes wrong. She attempts to fix it by time travel. Something goes wrong. She attempts to Ok you know what? You got it by now right?
The whole book is a closed loop with Brit being the star of the show, Martin being the butt of it and Phil getting the shaft. Everyone else is there... just... there...
The rest is padded out with sitcom-like artificial relationship drama and some geek references thrown in there awkwardly.
The characters lacked distinction in this installment. The men were all "geeks" The women were all "bitchy" and the bystanders were all TV audiences from 1992. It made it hard to get into this book. I really don't recommend it.
May 5, 2021
May 5, 2021:
Held up pretty well on the second reread. Brit and Gwen annoy me a lot because they’re written to do that thing where people don’t say what they mean. It’s a stereotype of women I dislike intensely. Martin and Phillip are still annoyingly clueless. But I liked the world they exist in and Jimmy has surprisingly grown on me. Probably because he’s the most nuanced of them all.
June 23, 2018:
A lot of fun. I, like most fans, wasn’t hugely in love with Book 4. So this was back in the normal vein of Books 1-3. My only complaint is that the women are frustratingly 2D. Set in “pro-woman” scenarios, characteristically, I find them shrewish and unlikeable, particularly when dealing with their romantic relationships.
I hope he writes a sequel to a couple other of his books but I’d read a Book 6. Love Meyer and this series and Luke Daniels as narrator.
Held up pretty well on the second reread. Brit and Gwen annoy me a lot because they’re written to do that thing where people don’t say what they mean. It’s a stereotype of women I dislike intensely. Martin and Phillip are still annoyingly clueless. But I liked the world they exist in and Jimmy has surprisingly grown on me. Probably because he’s the most nuanced of them all.
June 23, 2018:
A lot of fun. I, like most fans, wasn’t hugely in love with Book 4. So this was back in the normal vein of Books 1-3. My only complaint is that the women are frustratingly 2D. Set in “pro-woman” scenarios, characteristically, I find them shrewish and unlikeable, particularly when dealing with their romantic relationships.
I hope he writes a sequel to a couple other of his books but I’d read a Book 6. Love Meyer and this series and Luke Daniels as narrator.
July 4, 2019
I'm really torn on this one, but overall I'm really disappointed.
There are parts of this which make it a 2 star. There's a whole lot of bad characterization which Really bothered me. Characters regularly act in ways which don't make sense with what we know of them. The female characters are spiteful and irrational and feel like strawman characters, which is especially galling since Brit is ostensibly the primary focus of this book. The ending felt tacked on and though it shows direction for the next part of the series really doesn't feel honest. A single conversation before it would have fixed the problem, so I'm not sure why it was done this way.
This book takes one of the more interesting parts of the series long-term and takes it to an extreme, which it uses to punish the characters. Ad infinitum. I didn't feel like the way it was handled really added anything fun and simplified the universe in a very boring way. I hope that this is to set up a more interesting reveal down the road, but I'm not sure that I'm interested in sticking around to find out.
Book 4 and this one are so different in flavour and scope that I wonder if this is being ghost written. I don't know that I'll bother picking up book 6.
There are parts of this which make it a 2 star. There's a whole lot of bad characterization which Really bothered me. Characters regularly act in ways which don't make sense with what we know of them. The female characters are spiteful and irrational and feel like strawman characters, which is especially galling since Brit is ostensibly the primary focus of this book. The ending felt tacked on and though it shows direction for the next part of the series really doesn't feel honest. A single conversation before it would have fixed the problem, so I'm not sure why it was done this way.
This book takes one of the more interesting parts of the series long-term and takes it to an extreme, which it uses to punish the characters. Ad infinitum. I didn't feel like the way it was handled really added anything fun and simplified the universe in a very boring way. I hope that this is to set up a more interesting reveal down the road, but I'm not sure that I'm interested in sticking around to find out.
Book 4 and this one are so different in flavour and scope that I wonder if this is being ghost written. I don't know that I'll bother picking up book 6.
June 21, 2018
The more complex plot elements of this knotty narrative aren't entirely satisfying in their resolution, but generally this addition is a return to form after the disappointing fourth book and shows that the Magic 2.0 series hasn't run out of gas yet.
June 20, 2018
I feel like after the slight down turn from last book, Scott completely made up for it with this masterpiece. I couldn't stop listening to this, from the beginning I was hooked.
It was just as funny as the first 3 for me, and honestly this might just take the place as my favorite in the series.
It was just as funny as the first 3 for me, and honestly this might just take the place as my favorite in the series.
June 30, 2018
It would have been better if Scott hadn't destroyed Phillip IMO.
All the other parts were okay.
I have to update my review.
While I had issues with the plot, I contacted the author regarding my thoughts and received a very thoughtful response.
Thank You, Scott!
All the other parts were okay.
I have to update my review.
While I had issues with the plot, I contacted the author regarding my thoughts and received a very thoughtful response.
Thank You, Scott!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2018
Executive Summary: I liked this better than Fight and Flight, but not nearly as much as the earlier books.
Audiobook: Luke Daniels is awesome as always. If you follow my reviews, you know that already. One of the main reasons I started this series in the first place was because he was narrating it.
Full Review
Pretty much every character in this series is awful. I knew this before, but for some reason this book really hit the point home for me. There are some I like more than others. Martin grew on me as the series went on, but I feel like in this book he reverted back to his most annoying form.
I normally like Gwen, but even she got on my nerves in this book. Gary is the worst. Possibly worse than Jimmy. OK, maybe not that bad, but close. Tyler is probably the only one I'd want to be friends with.
I've always been so-so on the time travel aspects of this series, and this book probably does the most with it out of any others. It focuses heavily on Brit, who'd I'd probably like a lot if not for her the major recurring theme of her hating herself. I get it, most people hate themselves to some degree or another. Again it was just a bit much.
That isn't to say this book was all bad. It was still pretty fun at times, although I probably found myself laughing less often than normal I will say I am intrigued by some of the developments near the end of the book that has me more interested in reading the next in the series than I'd probably have been otherwise.
This series continues to be a (mostly) fun/light summer listen that is all the much better in audio (which is probably why Audible signed it to a 6 month exclusive window on new releases). I'd like to see things get a bit more light-hearted in the next book, although maybe that's just not the direction Scott Meyer wants to take it.
Audiobook: Luke Daniels is awesome as always. If you follow my reviews, you know that already. One of the main reasons I started this series in the first place was because he was narrating it.
Full Review
Pretty much every character in this series is awful. I knew this before, but for some reason this book really hit the point home for me. There are some I like more than others. Martin grew on me as the series went on, but I feel like in this book he reverted back to his most annoying form.
I normally like Gwen, but even she got on my nerves in this book. Gary is the worst. Possibly worse than Jimmy. OK, maybe not that bad, but close. Tyler is probably the only one I'd want to be friends with.
I've always been so-so on the time travel aspects of this series, and this book probably does the most with it out of any others. It focuses heavily on Brit, who'd I'd probably like a lot if not for her the major recurring theme of her hating herself. I get it, most people hate themselves to some degree or another. Again it was just a bit much.
That isn't to say this book was all bad. It was still pretty fun at times, although I probably found myself laughing less often than normal I will say I am intrigued by some of the developments near the end of the book that has me more interested in reading the next in the series than I'd probably have been otherwise.
This series continues to be a (mostly) fun/light summer listen that is all the much better in audio (which is probably why Audible signed it to a 6 month exclusive window on new releases). I'd like to see things get a bit more light-hearted in the next book, although maybe that's just not the direction Scott Meyer wants to take it.
July 14, 2018
Meyer's "Magic 2.0" series is basically a more lighthearted Ready Player One. Funny, quirky, nostalgia/80s reference driven light fantasy (with a sci-fi element) wherein the world is governed by a mysterious computer text file that a handful of people (usually nerds of various stripes) discover and that be editing portions of the file they can grant themselves wealth, power, etc. Rather than risk detection, they time-travel to medieval England and set themselves up as "wizards" with their powers as "magic."
One of the most interesting characters in the series is really two characters that are essentially the same person: Brit the Elder and Brit the Younger. One woman simply being an older version of the younger but with all the memories built up over time. Brit the Younger hates Brit the Elder because the Elder won't tell the Younger about things that have already happened in the Elder's life that are upcoming in the Younger's life. Brit the Younger resents this.
This presents lots of quirky paradox-type questions which are on full display here. With all the time-traveling and split personalities floating around, the text file that controls reality begins to "glitch" and the two Brits' memories begin to diverge. The result is that Brit the Elder slowly begins to pixelate out of existence. So her friends must race to figure out how to stop it.
While the 4th novel in this series (Fight and Flight) was disappointing, this 5th one has a more coherent narrative thrust and doesn't feel as rushed/pointless. But because this book leans HEAVILY on the time-travel aspect and future-character interacting with past-character, some of the sections are a little convoluted in terms of deciphering exactly what is going on.
But it's a lot of fun and nerdy and doesn't purport to be (or need to be) anything more than that.
One of the most interesting characters in the series is really two characters that are essentially the same person: Brit the Elder and Brit the Younger. One woman simply being an older version of the younger but with all the memories built up over time. Brit the Younger hates Brit the Elder because the Elder won't tell the Younger about things that have already happened in the Elder's life that are upcoming in the Younger's life. Brit the Younger resents this.
This presents lots of quirky paradox-type questions which are on full display here. With all the time-traveling and split personalities floating around, the text file that controls reality begins to "glitch" and the two Brits' memories begin to diverge. The result is that Brit the Elder slowly begins to pixelate out of existence. So her friends must race to figure out how to stop it.
While the 4th novel in this series (Fight and Flight) was disappointing, this 5th one has a more coherent narrative thrust and doesn't feel as rushed/pointless. But because this book leans HEAVILY on the time-travel aspect and future-character interacting with past-character, some of the sections are a little convoluted in terms of deciphering exactly what is going on.
But it's a lot of fun and nerdy and doesn't purport to be (or need to be) anything more than that.
June 25, 2018
A slight step back but still pretty fun.
World: The world building has always been fun and the best part of the books and it's the same here. There are rules that Meyer's has set for time travel and this book takes that to an insane agree and tries to break the system while staying in the box he's created and it's pretty fun.
Story: The story starts off fairly slow compared to other books in the series and it's not until halfway through that we really get a sense of urgency. That being said the banter is still there the jokes and the interactions are great making it so fun. This is the fifth book so for readers they know what they are getting into, this is more of the same and something new at the same time and if you like the previous entries this one will be just as fun. I like how Meyer moves the world forward and things change and it's not a given for long running series like this.
Characters: The banter is great, the interactions is great and the characters have been written for five books now so it's pretty deep and well done. That being said I didn't really buy the relationship issues with Brit and well pretty much everyone but especially Phillip but oh well you knew this was going to happen given the rules the books have been setting up but I didn't feel that was handled well.
I love this series, there is a slight little dip in quality but I will read this series cause the characters are just so good and the world so fun.
Onward to the next book!
World: The world building has always been fun and the best part of the books and it's the same here. There are rules that Meyer's has set for time travel and this book takes that to an insane agree and tries to break the system while staying in the box he's created and it's pretty fun.
Story: The story starts off fairly slow compared to other books in the series and it's not until halfway through that we really get a sense of urgency. That being said the banter is still there the jokes and the interactions are great making it so fun. This is the fifth book so for readers they know what they are getting into, this is more of the same and something new at the same time and if you like the previous entries this one will be just as fun. I like how Meyer moves the world forward and things change and it's not a given for long running series like this.
Characters: The banter is great, the interactions is great and the characters have been written for five books now so it's pretty deep and well done. That being said I didn't really buy the relationship issues with Brit and well pretty much everyone but especially Phillip but oh well you knew this was going to happen given the rules the books have been setting up but I didn't feel that was handled well.
I love this series, there is a slight little dip in quality but I will read this series cause the characters are just so good and the world so fun.
Onward to the next book!
June 21, 2018
huh.
Its not as good as book 1/2/3 but it 1000x better than book 4.
Its not as good as book 1/2/3 but it 1000x better than book 4.
March 14, 2019
Not my favorite, but fun and light.
Hubert the dung-sifter: “Is Miyagi the one that trained you, master?”
Gary, wistfully: “In a way, he trained us all.”
Hubert the dung-sifter: “Is Miyagi the one that trained you, master?”
Gary, wistfully: “In a way, he trained us all.”
July 8, 2018
A cute book in the Magic 2.0 series but not as good as previous entries. I texted to a friend that it seemed like the author was going through some relationship issues while writing this book. This one also seemed a little more sci fi than fantasy, hence the shelving. I am intrigued by the ending, and it will be cool to see where things can go...but this one was silly without being as funny/logical. I hope the next one (assuming there will be a next one) brings back some of the charm of previous ones.
Read
December 28, 2018I enjoyed the 4th after a second listen,
I am hoping that a second listen will help me enjoy it a bit more, but I cannot help but feel that Book 6 (in editing atm, I messaged Mr. Meyer yesterday on facebook, his assistant replied) has a lot to resolve.
However, saying that, the review from Sam Swicegood is on the button, it shows how good a write Mr. Meyer is that we do get upset when things happen to characters we like, on the flip side we enjoy it when characters we don't like have something bad happen to them.
I am hoping that a second listen will help me enjoy it a bit more, but I cannot help but feel that Book 6 (in editing atm, I messaged Mr. Meyer yesterday on facebook, his assistant replied) has a lot to resolve.
However, saying that, the review from Sam Swicegood is on the button, it shows how good a write Mr. Meyer is that we do get upset when things happen to characters we like, on the flip side we enjoy it when characters we don't like have something bad happen to them.
March 19, 2020
So this probably technically better than Book 4 based on the first half, but I can't stomach to give it more than the same rating, a 2🌟. The world and the characters are great. I love the atmosphere and the narrator of the audiobooks. They are wonderfully easy listening. I am going to pick up the next one without question, because I constantly want to give it more chances. Even though this broke my heart a little bit, and not in the good way.
The whole second half of this book was a pointless action sequence and attempts to (unsuccessfully) justify the whole reason for the plot and a major character who got screwed over. I just feel like the whole thing could have been so much better based on the original premise.
The whole second half of this book was a pointless action sequence and attempts to (unsuccessfully) justify the whole reason for the plot and a major character who got screwed over. I just feel like the whole thing could have been so much better based on the original premise.
July 2, 2018
This series continues to be a ton of fun. This one is particularly head-scratchy and logic-twisting because it deals with paradoxes and time loops. I'm glad Scott Meyer can keep pumping these out about once a year, because it makes the perfect break from more serious books.
They would make a perfect movie or television series, especially the first book.
They would make a perfect movie or television series, especially the first book.
September 27, 2018
This one was a little crazy with all of the time-travel, but still hilarious. I adore this series and no other books make me laugh so much. It's exactly the type of humor I love.
February 26, 2019
Really enjoyed this one. Lots of fun moments (and a few sad - poor Philip).
Ending has me worried about the next book so we'll see.
Ending has me worried about the next book so we'll see.
May 25, 2020
What it's about: Continuing a thread from the previous book, Brit the Elder begins to investigate how it's possible that Brit the Younger had a different experience than the Elder remembers having. Soon, Brit the Elder finds things are worse than she thought - she is starting to glitch, with parts of her body shifting from their normal appearance to blocky, low-resolution versions. And it seems to be spreading.
Meanwhile, Martin has noticed that someone seems to be attacking Philip in very ineffective ways. But no one will believe Martin - nor will anyone help him figure out who it is, or why. So Martin sets off to solve the mystery on his own, since he has plenty of time on his hands - he and Gwen are in the midst of a major fight after Martin didn't quite propose to her.
And in the present, agents Miller and Murphy continue their stake-out of Jimmy Sadler, who continues to torment them on a daily basis.
As these three threads slowly weave together, the wizards find themselves coming into conflict with folks they never would have imagined.
What I thought: In this installment, Meyer leans more heavily into the time travel aspects of the world he's created than in previous books.
There are multiple copies of all of the characters at different points in this story. That's kind of fun, but it gets a little tiring to have Meyer continue to invoke the same rule over and over - "Why is this happening? Because it happened. Why can't we change it? Because that's the way it happened."
I haven't been a fan of this logic since it was introduced in the second book, but Meyer managed to leave some room for potential loopholes, thanks to Philip's refusal to accept that we are fated to live a certain way. This book seems to lend credence to Philip's point, only to then completely smash that point to pieces and establish pretty definitively that all the characters are living out pre-programmed sequences of cause and effect.
Although I didn't like that aspect of the story, it was the repetition of the point over and over again in this book that really just soured me on it. Also, Brit and Philip find themselves at a tough spot, and Philip ends up coming out of things for the worser, which is not enjoyable.
Why I rated it like I did: The storytelling was mostly well done, but this book had a lot less joy in it than the previous books. Phillip has been a good guy, and he gets shafted in this book, which is never enjoyable.
Meanwhile, Martin has noticed that someone seems to be attacking Philip in very ineffective ways. But no one will believe Martin - nor will anyone help him figure out who it is, or why. So Martin sets off to solve the mystery on his own, since he has plenty of time on his hands - he and Gwen are in the midst of a major fight after Martin didn't quite propose to her.
And in the present, agents Miller and Murphy continue their stake-out of Jimmy Sadler, who continues to torment them on a daily basis.
As these three threads slowly weave together, the wizards find themselves coming into conflict with folks they never would have imagined.
What I thought: In this installment, Meyer leans more heavily into the time travel aspects of the world he's created than in previous books.
There are multiple copies of all of the characters at different points in this story. That's kind of fun, but it gets a little tiring to have Meyer continue to invoke the same rule over and over - "Why is this happening? Because it happened. Why can't we change it? Because that's the way it happened."
I haven't been a fan of this logic since it was introduced in the second book, but Meyer managed to leave some room for potential loopholes, thanks to Philip's refusal to accept that we are fated to live a certain way. This book seems to lend credence to Philip's point, only to then completely smash that point to pieces and establish pretty definitively that all the characters are living out pre-programmed sequences of cause and effect.
Although I didn't like that aspect of the story, it was the repetition of the point over and over again in this book that really just soured me on it. Also, Brit and Philip find themselves at a tough spot, and Philip ends up coming out of things for the worser, which is not enjoyable.
Why I rated it like I did: The storytelling was mostly well done, but this book had a lot less joy in it than the previous books. Phillip has been a good guy, and he gets shafted in this book, which is never enjoyable.
March 13, 2019
I get it now, why so many people dislike the book. It takes a Master's Degree in Time Travel Debate but I get it.
Martin only thinks before he acts once in the book. The second time he could potentially do this he doesn't. He - or at least you, the reader/listener - has figured out what is going on(e two three four) and yet does nothing about it. Not even a snarky remark about what's going on. I don't like how mad everyone is in the book for most of the time. Especially when the one (two three four) is going on because it's never explained what they're mad at. Is the is (one) two (three four) months of practice that they had to endure? Or the time they had to spend with Brit, who is in prime pissed-off time?
Not a fan of the way she was handled in the book. Nor the way the storyline resolved itself. I guess it's an inevitability when you're talking about predestination but it could have used a little less hand-waving and "it's this way because that's the way it happened". They even point out once that if one person is writing the notes about what happened based on what happened which was based on the notes...which happened first?
I'm not a fan of the ending either. A little too Empire/BttF/Prequel Trilogy for me. Cart is way in front of the horse on that front.
I almost give the book an extra star just for the narration, it's that good.
Martin only thinks before he acts once in the book. The second time he could potentially do this he doesn't. He - or at least you, the reader/listener - has figured out what is going on(e two three four) and yet does nothing about it. Not even a snarky remark about what's going on. I don't like how mad everyone is in the book for most of the time. Especially when the one (two three four) is going on because it's never explained what they're mad at. Is the is (one) two (three four) months of practice that they had to endure? Or the time they had to spend with Brit, who is in prime pissed-off time?
Not a fan of the way she was handled in the book. Nor the way the storyline resolved itself. I guess it's an inevitability when you're talking about predestination but it could have used a little less hand-waving and "it's this way because that's the way it happened". They even point out once that if one person is writing the notes about what happened based on what happened which was based on the notes...which happened first?
I'm not a fan of the ending either. A little too Empire/BttF/Prequel Trilogy for me. Cart is way in front of the horse on that front.
I almost give the book an extra star just for the narration, it's that good.
October 27, 2018
This one isn’t out as a book yet, he’s publishing them directly as audiobooks to audible originals. But it’s still the same crazy group of nerds, with the same great narrator.
In this installment you’ll get a relationship implosion, multiple time jumping versions of many characters, a bunch of magic trainees, a goblin, and a Dune style ceremony complete with fremen, and one heck of a cliffhanger at the end!
Although I will say I was I bit disappointed with the resolution of the main plot in this one.
In this installment you’ll get a relationship implosion, multiple time jumping versions of many characters, a bunch of magic trainees, a goblin, and a Dune style ceremony complete with fremen, and one heck of a cliffhanger at the end!
Although I will say I was I bit disappointed with the resolution of the main plot in this one.
December 5, 2019
3.5 stars, only rating up because I'll keep reading more, for some reason.
Ugh this book. Not as bad as the last one, but dumb in it's own rights. It follows the trope - cliche - or whatever it is that people don't talk to each other, to create needless drama for filler in the books. It really really is starting to annoy me. But, such is books. Annoying as it is. So yeah, Phillip and Brit both annoyed me, Brit is a bitch. :/ Still, the rest is so entertaining. It's a great series to get lost in for wanting something light and fun.
Ugh this book. Not as bad as the last one, but dumb in it's own rights. It follows the trope - cliche - or whatever it is that people don't talk to each other, to create needless drama for filler in the books. It really really is starting to annoy me. But, such is books. Annoying as it is. So yeah, Phillip and Brit both annoyed me, Brit is a bitch. :/ Still, the rest is so entertaining. It's a great series to get lost in for wanting something light and fun.
August 23, 2018
I was happy when I started reading Out of Spite, Out of Mind! Boy, this book has it all. At the first chapter, it is made clear what the goal is. Even though we don’t actually know the problem, it’s clear something needs to be done. And to do that, we go on this crazy time-travelling adventure!
Read the full review at my blog.
Read the full review at my blog.
November 18, 2019
The Magic 2.0 books are great, light-hearted fun, and this one is no exception. I'm glad that Meyer has moved away from the formula of antagonists (in the first 3 books) to the wizards just screwing things up themselves and then having to come up with a way to fix things (books 4 & 5) - it turns what could be something falsely epic into an almost sit-com like farce, which is what makes these books amusing and fun. I don't want anything deep and meaningful here, just something that makes me grin as I read it. Good fun!
December 30, 2019
I love this series and always look forward to each installment though this one was slightly less enjoyable than the previous. The characters were great as always and it was fun getting to see them in a new predicament with ever-increasing tension but I think the ending just didn't sell me. It really felt like there was going to be some earth-shattering changes coming only to have a bit of ex machina. But that's me and I still overall enjoyed it.
June 13, 2025
Not as good
The plot is getting too convoluted. Layers of characters coming back from the future. It’s just silly. An instance of an authoer getting too creative. I finished it but wasn’t too engaged. If it keeps this trend it will make no sense by thr next book.
The plot is getting too convoluted. Layers of characters coming back from the future. It’s just silly. An instance of an authoer getting too creative. I finished it but wasn’t too engaged. If it keeps this trend it will make no sense by thr next book.
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