Customer Reviews

Forward the Mage

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book will prove difficult or boring for many people, partly due to the vocabulary and partly due to the scope of background knowledge necessary to really enjoy it. The book parodies not only the prose of eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (as with the page-long sentence on the evils of verbosity) but also the political and philosophical movements of the time. Throw-away references to experimental physics, ecclesiastical history, etc. will probably lose everyone at some point. I'm sure I missed some (or a lot) of the jokes. As well, the authors are overly faithful to the voice of their narrators. If you don't have the background to catch the (often subtle) barbs, many passages will read as unleavened pedantry.

In spite of that, I recommend this book for those with patience. Not as comedy, exactly - though it has hilarious moments, they're not that frequent. Instead, I'd place it more in the hazy area of the Princess Bride - a story superficially impossible to take seriously, but ultimately very serious indeed. Beneath the antics, there's a real message about human nature. The characters may be literally larger than life, but they are complex and compelling.

Having a large vocabulary or a willingness to expand it rapidly will help. So will knowing something about nationalism and imperialism.

Eric Flint has become an established SF Author. However he has more than one style of writing. This book is in an experimental style more related to Rabelais, Cervantes, Voltaire, Swift and Sterne. This book set in "Joe's World" is the second book in this series. Although not main stream in any way it is an enjoyable book and well worth reading. Once read I was hooked into asking "where is the rest of this story", this is quite normal for this style of writing and I await eagerly the next volume.

This piece is a companion to THE PHILOSPHICAL STRANGLER. It is a sequel in that it was written after the original but the story line takes place before that of the original book. It is also a collaboration and differences can be seen.

The biggest difference to me was the higher level of buffoonery. The characters seem less intelligent than in the original as they wander their way through this magical universe.

The wandering in this story is on the part of two principal characters. One is the mage who was called in to interpret the dream of a king. The king goes mad right after hearing what the mage has to say and said mage embarks on a quest to find out who is trying to thwart him.

The second wanderer is the artist, Benvenuti, from the original book. Since he was supposed to be hired by the mad king, he now has nothing better to do than wander around looking for the wizard who drove his patron mad. Eventually the two link up and set off on a greater quest.

This story is not as interesting as the original nor are the characters as likeable. Still, it is an enjoyable read and well worth the time.

I actually read this before I read "The Philosophical Strangler," and I liked it more. This was probably the book that got me to realize I should start collecting Flint books.

This was also the book that had me laughing out loud in the library. And again. And again. Perhaps it's because I have the background to appreciate it, as another reviewer mentioned, but the points of view are remarkably well done throughout the whole book and the various historical, social, etc references hilarious in context.

I firmly believe that if you are a big fan of dry humor, meta-humor, and absurdist humor, this will be one of your favorite books.

The authors (Eric Flint and Richard Roach) definitely had fun chronicling this book. The frequent changes of viewpoint are confusing at first, due to the very different biases each 'narrator' has, but once I figured that out, it became even more amusing. There is a lot of satire directed towards the modern-day American way of life - licensing agreements and privacy rights just being a couple of the gorings dealt out. A uniquely flavored novel and definitely not for everyone, but I found it well worth the hardback price.

This book reads like a dervative of a badly written derivative of Tolkien, married to the son of "Dark and Stormy Night." The annual contest of Groaner openings needs a new entry, maybe that way, FtM could get recognized! Books should be FUN to read, this one is a chore. I have tried three different times to pick it up, but have failed miserably. My last attempt died after less than a chapter. One of the other reviewers used the word "Execrable," if he hadn't, I would have.

I haunt my local Half Price Books and snap up anything by my list of favorite authors that appears on their shelves. Eric Flint is on that list. He has done some very nice collaborative work, so I looked forward to reading FtM. OOPS! WRONG BOOK! I am not ready to give up on Flint, so I will blame his partner for the miserable writing. I don't think I will read any more of Roach's work.

Combining prequel and aspects of similarity with The Philosophical Strangler, "Forward the Mage" is full of Rabelaisian nonsense that is certain to confuse and befuddle the average reader, who will likely then put down the book and exclaim "what nonsense! This is a terrible book! what is it even ABOUT!?!" and that is where their problem arises! The book really isn't ABOUT anything, outside of a loosely held overall plot about the Rap Sheet, that winds its way through the book like a single glinting thread of gold through a cliff of limestone being washed by the ocean. Why do books always have to be "about" something? Why not just sit back and enjoy the lunacy?

The focus bounces back and forth between Zulkeh, sorcerer and pedant, and his apprentice, the dwarf Sheylid; and Benvenuti Sfondrati-Piccolomini, an artist, as he meets, travels with and falls in love with Gwendolyn Greyboard - THE Greyboar's sister, of whom we hear in "The Philosophical Strangler" and even meet there toward the end of that book. And, to make matters yet more entertaining, the book is purportedly written by a louse - yes, a humble louse! Living upon none other than Sheylid himself.

As is obvious from the above, I rather liked the book. I think it will appeal to anyone with a good sense of nonsensical humour (those who enjoy Monty Python, Terry Pratchett, etc.) and who are willing to suspend reality to a fine breaking point and just have fun. Don't miss it, if I have just described you!

Like one reviewer mentioned below, this book is not for the squeamish. My friend and I got a kick out of it and we are both die-hard fantasy lovers (and not very old, either.) However, those to whom Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The Princess Bride do not appeal completely may wish to avoid this book.

That being said, this book contains what every good book does: truth. A whole lot of it. Without spoiling anything, the lunatic's advice to Benvenuti in the last line? "Things change." How often does our modern society wish that things didn't change and get washed over by it?

Along the same lines, verbosity is the bane of many readers, and yet the writers go at length to use it (so effectively, I think) to parody the notion itself.

In store for dedicated readers are an uproarious Civil War (in the Dog House,a super-"socialist" city), the completely crazy wizard, and the very human and sane lunatic. (Don't ask me how they did it: the lunatic, Wolfgang, has better insight into the world than most so-called philosophical books do.)

Great, great fun. My friend and I still stage Civil Wars every now and again. (We actually invented a form of government where every other state in the nation controls every state's affairs but its own, inspired by Forward the Mage)

For those of you who enjoyed THE PHILISOPHICAL STRANGLER stand by for some severe disappointment. This sequel/prequel to TPS just doesn't measure up. FORWARD THE MAGE is for the most part dreadfully boring. While some of the story line sparks a little interest, primarily the relationship between Benvenuti and Gwendolyn, the rest is pretty dull stuff. The extremely long ramblings of the wizard Zulkeh are especially trying. The frequent attempts at humor are forced and not particularly funny, kind of like a drunk at a party who thinks he's hilarious but isn't. It makes you almost embarrassed to read it.

Well no need to spend a lot of time on this dog. Read THE PHILISOPHICAL STRANGLER, it is funny and worth the effort. You won't miss much except a little of the background which really isn't needed to begin with. If you REALLY feel you must read MAGE then check it out of your local library, but don't turn it in late, it's not worth the fine!

This book is NOT RECOMMENDED!

Eric Flint and Richard Roach's Forward The Mage is fantasy writing at its best: an artist-swordsman faces an evil sorcerer, arrest, and politics when his artistic ambitions are rerouted in a struggle for survival. Both feature fast-paced action and complex, believable settings.