The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S THE FRUGAL WIZARD'S HANDBOOK FOR SURVIVING MEDIEVAL ENGLAND ABOUT?
At some point in the future, scientists discover the ability to move between parallel dimensions, and even find a group of them capable of sustaining human life—and buy/license exclusive access to some of them with histories and developments similar to our own, but delayed somewhat, so that visitors from "our" world look advanced. And then you "sell" these universes to people who are looking for the ultimate getaway.

Sure, sometimes you temporarily lose your memory when you travel to your new dimension. So you need to write everything you need to know in a book that you carry with you. But if things get bumpy show more in your entry, that book might catch on fire, removing a lot of your information—so it takes a bit to recover your memory. Which is what happens to John West when he wakes up in a version of medieval England.

I know that Sanderson keeps saying that John West is inspired by Jason Bourne—but that suggests that he's competent on multiple/several levels and that's not John. He's not even a Samantha Caine. He's more like a Myfanwy Thomas. But for the sake of discussion, let's go with Bourne okay?

Imagine Bourne wakes up in Terry Brooks' Landover, and tries to pull off a Hank Morgan-con to convince the locals that he's a wizard with great power. Throw in a little bit of Wizard in Rhyme's mixing of math/quantum physics into fantasy and a Douglas Adams- ish book-within-the-book (heavy on the "ish") and you've got this book.

Oh, and mobsters from his time are wandering around, as is at least one undercover policeman. And they all know John West—and he's not on anyone's good side.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE FRUGAL WIZARD'S HANDBOOK FOR SURVIVING MEDIEVAL ENGLAND?
I recognize—and want to remind everyone—that this is a completely subjective thing, and if I'd read this two months ago or two months from now, I'd react differently. But...this was good. Not great. Certainly not bad. Good—but somehow underwhelming.

But I couldn't shake the feeling the whole time that I should be enjoying it more than I was. I like the tone (although it felt like Sanderson was holding back and wouldn't let this get as funny, snarky, or whatever as it should've been). I love the premise, the characters, the twists, etc., etc., etc. But...it felt restrained? Like he's trying to assure everyone that no matter what he's still Brandon Sanderson—he's not going full-comedy (or whatever). I couldn't help but wonder if he'd put this out under a pen name if he'd been able to let loose a bit more. If Scalzi, Cline, or Meyer had done this? Absolutely would've worked.

It's been bugging me for days—I absolutely should've been raving about this, or at least enthusiastically talking about it. But I'm not. There's utterly nothing I can point to that explains it, either. All the elements are there for the kind of book that I love, and they were combined to just become something that I liked. Explain that one, Gestalt.

I absolutely recommend this—and think that many readers will find it as enjoyable as I thought I should. And even if you walk away with the same whelmed-level as I did, you'll have had a good time. But I'm not sure you should rush to it. show less

Here at Frugal Wizard Inc.©, we provide the highest quality experience at a fraction of the prices charged by other dimensional toursim companies.

A man wakes up in a clearing with no idea who he is or where he's at. All he has is the clothes he is wearing and the scattered pages of a guidebook. Apparently being hunted, the man's only hope is to recover his missing memories and gain the trust of locals while collecting as many pages of the guidebook as he can to figure out what's going on. The the guidebook is titled The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England.

We believe that the Interdimensional Wizard™ deserves options. Predetermined, groomed experiences are right for some, but others prefer a more rugged experience,

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full of unexplored lands and adventure.

This was a fun and different type of story from Sanderson's regular writing. Not set in the Cosmere, our hero finds out he's in an alternate dimension of Medieval England, where things are both different and similar to the fragments he remembers from childhood history classes. Absolutely up to expectation, the story features an interesting blend of modern technology with "boasting" magic that combine to give the world a unique feel. I admit I initially had a hard time with other ways flavor was added to the world in the form of misspelling of names and things from our world, modern or otherwise. Once I got used to it I was able to relax into the story.

As the story unfolds, we learn more about our main character and his background. It comes as a surprise and emphasizes the hero journey he finds himself on. I ended up liking him and the locals who join him on his quest.

Your life isn’t unremarkable. You are merely living in the wrong time. Find your Perfect Dimension™. Embrace your destiny— whether it be to bring Promethean light or exert relentless domination— and travel the dimensions. Become a wizard.

Unexpectedly entertaining were all the marketing blurbs spaced throughout the story. Frugal Wizard Inc.© has one heck of a marketing department. Also funny was our main character's need to constantly rate things. I'm sure your enjoyment may vary depending on if you find either of those as humorous as I did.

There is a classic Sanderson twist at the end that I did not see coming even with all the hints. The ending is left open enough that Sanderson could write more in this universe in the future if he wanted.

I received my Kickstarter hardback copy after I had finished the ebook. The physical book is absolutely gorgeous. I can't wait to reread it with all the art and doodles in context. show less

This was an absolute delight to read. Be still, my nerdy little Medieval Reenactment heart! Like all of the secret projects thus far, this one was short and playful. Not whimsical like Tress or Yumi, but full of that same sharp wit (only this time, the literal sort). It's a solid story from start to finish. Our MC finds himself completely disoriented at the start of the book and the world building is done through him figuring out where he is, who he is, and why he's in the situation he's in. The conclusion is open ended, but still satisfying. Unlike the other two secret projects so far, this one is a bit more serious and deals with a character change that is very relatable to the modern reader.

Definitely read it!

This was an absolute delight to read. Be still, my nerdy little Medieval Reenactment heart! Like all of the secret projects thus far, this one was short and playful. Not whimsical like Tress or Yumi, but full of that same sharp wit (only this time, the literal sort). It's a solid story from start to finish. Our MC finds himself completely disoriented at the start of the book and the world building is done through him figuring out where he is, who he is, and why he's in the situation he's in. The conclusion is open ended, but still satisfying. Unlike the other two secret projects so far, this one is a bit more serious and deals with a character change that is very relatable to the modern reader.

Definitely read it!

I've been looking forward to seeing what a Sandersonized medieval England would look like. Overall though, I was far more interested in the handbook snippets than the stuff that actually takes place in Anglo-Saxon England. Ish. The whole buy-your-own-alternate-reality thing is a brilliant concept (5 out of 5 stars) and I loved reading all the little rules. And, yes, the marketing copy. (I blame the day job.) Sanderson really thought this thing out (as is to be expected from the master world-builder), and it made me want to go have an adventure in my own alternate reality. The artwork is great too, and it was fun following along with the story the doodles were telling (5 out of 5 stars).

But I thought the story itself was kind of meh (3 show more out of 5 stars). Run-of-the-mill plot with bland characters. Kind of like every action movie I've managed to stay awake through, now that I think of it . . . This book has its moments for sure, even outside the delightful handbook snippets, but ultimately it leans a little too far on the action/sci-fi end of the spectrum for my tastes. I would much rather visit an England that has magic, not guns and technology. show less

A man who can't remember who he is wakes up in a field with no clue he got there and only the burnt pages of a book titled The Frugal Wizard's Handbook to Medieval England to help him.

I picked this book up from a library display on a whim based solely on the title. Then it came home with me because the blurb and my prior experience with Brandon Sanderson meant it was probably going to be a good time. I was not wrong. This is an SFF romp with our main character slowly piecing together who he is while also trying to survive in a medieval-esque world where nothing is quite as it seems. If the title amuses you, I'd recommend giving it a whirl. You'll have a good time.

This is a 3.5 for me.

I felt that Brandon Sanderson really had fun with this one. I have not read any of his books outside of his Cosmere universe, but The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England strikes me as something quite outside his usual wheelhouse. And that's meant in a good way - if you are looking for a fun read with an interesting premise, a decent plot, and a generous dollop of sci-fi mixed with history, but want to avoid an army of characters, reams of lore and convoluted storylines and subplot, I think this is a worthy contender. On top of that, the art from Steve Argyle is (as others have remarked) perfectly suited to the vibe.

Unfortunately, the book's strengths are also its weaknesses. I did feel that the show more setting, while vivid in some places, was not fully fleshed out and inconsistent in others; the characters, other than the main character, were a bit flat and sometimes even caricature-like (perhaps intentionally so); and although the overall storyline was entertaining, it did feel a bit simple at times and there were some "really?" moments for me. Ultimately, I don't think that these critiques massively hindered my enjoyment of the book, and I would still recommend to anyone that I thought would be interested in the style and genre, but probably not a book that I'll be reaching for as a re-read in the near future.

So, 3.5 stars, aesthetically rounded up to 4 for some of the self-consciously-joking-yet-deadly-serious interludes and the art. show less