Smitchy's Reviews > The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
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I was not sure what to expect from this new Brandon Sanderson. It is a bit of a departure from his usual epic fantasy, instead it is a sort of time-travel/ buddy cop adventure - a fun romp with lots of action.
A man with no memory lands in a scorched field outside a medieval English village - his only clue is an exploded book "The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England" of which he only has about half and some of that is also scorched. Is our protagonist a hero or a villain? Is he a detective or a thief? Is there really magic going on or are the local people's superstitions getting the better of his common sense? This is a white-room mystery with the reader discovering the world along with the protagonist, but there is lots of action, a touch of romance, a few twists and turns before our protagonist works out his true role in the world he has entered. I enjoyed the medieval world and the "local" characters as well as the world's mythology.
To my mind this story felt almost YA. The protagonist's journey of self-discovery felt like that of a teenager (but then I have met an awful lot of juvenile adult men so maybe it is just being a man). I would happily recommend this one for 13+ audience. There is some violence (not overly graphic), no sex. I enjoyed the story but wasn't wowed by it, which might explain why Sanderson had to crowdfund this one in spite of his history of best-sellers, maybe his publishers felt the same?
A man with no memory lands in a scorched field outside a medieval English village - his only clue is an exploded book "The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England" of which he only has about half and some of that is also scorched. Is our protagonist a hero or a villain? Is he a detective or a thief? Is there really magic going on or are the local people's superstitions getting the better of his common sense? This is a white-room mystery with the reader discovering the world along with the protagonist, but there is lots of action, a touch of romance, a few twists and turns before our protagonist works out his true role in the world he has entered. I enjoyed the medieval world and the "local" characters as well as the world's mythology.
To my mind this story felt almost YA. The protagonist's journey of self-discovery felt like that of a teenager (but then I have met an awful lot of juvenile adult men so maybe it is just being a man). I would happily recommend this one for 13+ audience. There is some violence (not overly graphic), no sex. I enjoyed the story but wasn't wowed by it, which might explain why Sanderson had to crowdfund this one in spite of his history of best-sellers, maybe his publishers felt the same?
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