A Malady of Magicks

I thought I had read this one a long time ago, but it's also entirely possible that I don't remember it, or didn't at all. There is a certain amount of nostalgia I have for these type of books, but there is also a bit of a misogynistic thread that possibly exist in the Myth series, certainly the Xanth series, and possibly others in the fantasy-humor genre that erupted about then. What I appreciate about this series is that Ebenezum is actually a respectable wizard, malady notwithstanding, unlike those in the Discworld series. Wuntvor reminds me a bit of a less-well-to-do Skeeve, with even more raging hormones. I know I learned the word "effluvium" from one of these series, but I swear it did not appear in this book. Anyway, I cannot show more recommend this book to anyone who hasn't been a teenage boy who had a bit of interest in the D&D worlds back in the mid-to-late-1980s. show less

An allergic-to-magic wizard must travel with his apprentice to find a cure, encountering humorous perils like tap-dancing dragons. Urban Isom narrates the story and follows the duo's journey to the City of Forbidden Delights.

Synopsis A young apprentice to a powerful wizard must help the wizard get through all sorts of adventures while the wizard is under the weather of an allergy to magic.   My Thoughts This book was trying to be funny. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't. Sadly, in this case, it meandered from one to the other. Some of the mini-adventures were funny, some were kind of meh, and some were just downright stupid.   The constant jumping from one place/adventure to another without any warning was weird as well. However, the Apprentices constantly falling in love with whoever the lady of the adventure was was pretty funny.   The apprentice felt like he was the narrator and his character was tacked into the story. It might have show more worked better to have an omniscient narrator and have the apprentice be more of an actual character.   I'll be reading the next 2 in the series however.   Rating: 3 of 5 Stars   Author: Craig Gardner     Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com " show less

at times funny but never greatly so - it was not terrible but neither was it great - parody 80% - comedy 50% - fun 40%

I read these as a sprout. They were pretty cheesy but also very entertaining. Good lowbrow fun.

meh