A review by theoreticalwitchcraft
Waldo and Magic, Inc by Robert A. Heinlein
4.0
(I am only reviewing the titular novella)
This novella is an excellent example of how a fantasy setting can be used to tell a variety of stories, and not just the usual sword-and-sorcery adventure which is most commonly associated to the genre.
While the story is interesting and very well written (not even the Italian translation, which as I've stated again and again is usually clunky as hell, managed to spoil it), it has some flaws, especially in character building: while you glimpse interesting facets in all the characters, the limited length doesn't really allow to explore such a large cast.
It also has a sexist streak, although tamer than in other works from the period. There is a rather long rant on how women are inherently bad politicians because of their gender and the mp who helps the main characters is successful in politics only because she is so very different from other women (bleaurgh).
Although the length is about right for this story, I found myself wishing I could read more about this universe, as the little worldbuilding we glimpse is maybe the most interesting part of the story. I think a story from the POV of a magic user would be ideal, so we could see the inner workings of the magic system.
This novella is an excellent example of how a fantasy setting can be used to tell a variety of stories, and not just the usual sword-and-sorcery adventure which is most commonly associated to the genre.
While the story is interesting and very well written (not even the Italian translation, which as I've stated again and again is usually clunky as hell, managed to spoil it), it has some flaws, especially in character building: while you glimpse interesting facets in all the characters, the limited length doesn't really allow to explore such a large cast.
It also has a sexist streak, although tamer than in other works from the period. There is a rather long rant on how women are inherently bad politicians because of their gender and the mp who helps the main characters is successful in politics only because she is so very different from other women (bleaurgh).
Although the length is about right for this story, I found myself wishing I could read more about this universe, as the little worldbuilding we glimpse is maybe the most interesting part of the story. I think a story from the POV of a magic user would be ideal, so we could see the inner workings of the magic system.