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A review by mitzee
The Frugal Wizard's Handbook For Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
It was a fun Sanderson read. Very mysterious to start out. Actually a solid story but I am getting less and less impressed with the standard hetero romantic relationships - though I know that likely won’t change with this author. Would call it a quick read compared to his other stuff. Definitely leans more sci-fi than fantasy.
Summary for myself:
Jonny comes from a world that’s considered the future compared to where we are now since he has nanobots in his body helping to create armor and heal. Also there’s inter-dimensional travel so that’s another clue that it’s a future time. The whole story however takes place in an area and time that’s closer to medieval Scotland I think? Somewhere in the UK.
The whole story revolves around Jonny trying to figure out who he is after he lands in this medieval world (an alternate dimension from his own) and it slowly comes back to him. He’s tagging along with a man who is the lord of some village and their local priestess of sorts. She speaks to the gods in some way.
Along the way a few things are unraveled:
The medieval world is being invaded by Vikings
It’s revealed that there are more people here from an alternate dimension (and the future) and they are trying to take over this world or something. It’s not entirely clear but it is clear that they are bad/ criminals.
Jonny learns more about himself and who he was before: part cop but also having had some relationship with this criminal element. He used to be married but his girlfriend? Wife? died 6 months ago.
In the end, Jonny finally does the right thing. His dead wife was not dead but was hiding in this alternate dimension helping Jonny’s partner/best friend and also the guy she has been cheating on him with. He ends up winning, staying, locking the portal, getting visited by their gods.
Summary for myself:
The whole story revolves around Jonny trying to figure out who he is after he lands in this medieval world (an alternate dimension from his own) and it slowly comes back to him. He’s tagging along with a man who is the lord of some village and their local priestess of sorts. She speaks to the gods in some way.
Along the way a few things are unraveled:
The medieval world is being invaded by Vikings
It’s revealed that there are more people here from an alternate dimension (and the future) and they are trying to take over this world or something. It’s not entirely clear but it is clear that they are bad/ criminals.
Jonny learns more about himself and who he was before: part cop but also having had some relationship with this criminal element. He used to be married but his girlfriend? Wife? died 6 months ago.
In the end, Jonny finally does the right thing. His dead wife was not dead but was hiding in this alternate dimension helping Jonny’s partner/best friend and also the guy she has been cheating on him with. He ends up winning, staying, locking the portal, getting visited by their gods.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, and Violence