The Kedrigern Chronicles Volume 1: The Domesticated Wizard [Hardcover]

John Morressy (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Kedrigern Chronicles, Volume 1 | Publication Date: January 5, 2005

A wizard's life is not an easy life. One never knows who, or what, one's next client will be, or what kind of unpleasantness he, or she, or it, is bringing. And there's always the certainty of travel to far places over bad roads in nasty weather. It's no wonder wizards prefer to live solitary lives in isolated towers or ruins or caves. They're looking for some peace and quiet. But it makes for a lonely life. So when a young man of 160 or so-no age at all for a wizard-meets a beautiful enchanted princess and releases her from a cruel spell, it seems the perfect chance to settle down to a life of cozy domesticity. With a bit of magic here and there to take care of the housework and a loyal house-troll to do the heavy lifting, things ought to be idyllic. And they would be, if it weren't for the unreasonable clients, the barbarian swordsmen, the home furnishings with minds of their own, the otherworldly intruders, and the rest of those annoying day-to-day problems of the profession. This is the first of four omnibus reprints of the novels and short stories of Kedrigern the Wizard. Kedrigern Chronicles #1 contains the two novels A Voice for Princess and The Questing of Kedrigern along with the following six short stories: 'Spirits From the Vasty Deep', 'Hey, Ho, The Wind and the Rain', 'The Quality of Murphy', 'Mirror, Mirror, Off the Wall', 'Nest Egg', and 'Floored'. Along with new introductions to the novels and short stories by John Morressy

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Meisha Merlin Publishing, Inc. (January 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892065762
• ISBN-13: 978-1892065766
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,520,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book!, February 14, 2003

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Kedrigern Chronicles Volume 1: The Domesticated Wizard (Paperback)

In the mid-1980s, author John Morressy began writing about Kedrigern of Silent Thunder Mountain, a most puissant wizard. Expertly combining traditional sword-and-sorcery Fantasy with humor, these stories are laugh out loud funny, and an excellent addition to the library of any Fantasy reader.

This book combines two of Morressy's full-length novels with six short stories, many of which I have never seen before. If you have never read the Kedrigern books, then I suggest that you get this book, and join the ranks of the Kedrigern fans. If you are already a fan, then all I can say is that you *must* get this book!

The following stories are included in this book:

A Voice For Princess (219 pages) - On a sparkling clear morning, Kedrigern discovers a princess who was turned into a talking toad by a bog-fairy. Ever the gentleman, Kedrigern attempts to break the spell, turning the unfortunate princess into a woman with a toad's voice!

Spirits From the Vasty Deep (12 pages) - When two aliens from outer space confront a primitive, non-technological Kedrigern they are in for a large and unhappy surprise!

Hey, Ho, the Wind and the Rain (14 pages) - When a pompous king and a scheming chamberlain try to humiliate and cheat Kedrigern, the wizard has the last laugh.

The Quality of Murphy (24 pages) - When a Djinni turns a kings daughter into a rat, they turn to the most famous wizard in all of Ireland: Conhoon of the Three Gifts. A great enemy of the foreign Djinn are local Pookas, and it is to Murphy the Pooka that Conhoon turns.

The Questing of Kedrigern (201 pages) - After Princess is re-enspelled, she and Kedrigern set out to break the spell. Their journey, though, takes them further than they expected...all the way to a world of technology, where magic is unknown.

Mirror, Mirror, Off the Wall (22 pages) - There's a witch trapped in a mirror, in five mirrors to be exact, and Kedrigern wants to release her. Unfortunately, only one mirror contains the real witch, while the other four contain reflections that it would be dangerous to release. What will Keddie do?

Nest Egg (17 pages) - When Kedrigern is called on to help an old client with a sick griffin, he immediately goes off to help, but sick griffins are not his specialty.

Floored (16 pages) - When a job brings Kedrigern less money than promised, he takes an old rug in exchange. But, this is no ordinary rug, it is a magic rug...er, one that doesn't want to be.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clever, skillful, and entertaining, February 1, 2003

By 

"romaphile" (Brookline, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kedrigern Chronicles Volume 1: The Domesticated Wizard (Paperback)

John Morressy's Kedrigern books have long been a hard-to-find favorite of mine, and I'm thrilled to see them republished in this form. Morressy is a very skilled writer, and he deserves to have a wider audience. Even for those who are not fans of "fantasy," Morressy's clever, multilayered humor, entertaining plots, and fantastical, yet familiar and believable characters transcend that genre. Kedrigern is a real gem of a creation.
(I can't say I cared for the cover art, though.)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wizard for all seasons, September 16, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Kedrigern Chronicles Volume 1: The Domesticated Wizard (Paperback)

John Morressy is one of those rare authors who can write within a popular genre and yet do it with intelligence, grace and wit. This first volume (of an anticipated three) introduces us to Kedrigern, a wizard at odds with his world, his wife Princess and his faithful retainer Spot (what else?). In this collection of novels and short stories, Morressy draws us into the sometimes absurd, often very funny, universe of a wizard who, a little tired of this world after some 160 years, is endlessly drawn away from the comforts of home into one adventure or another. The appeal here is universal, I think. For those with a taste for fantasy novels, one could do no better: Morressy gives you the magic, the journeys, the perils, the good--and of course the evil. For those new to the genre and who appreciate good writing and brilliant comedic prose, this is the best place to start. Included in the volume is a Foreward in which Morressy traces the origin of Kedrigern, and an Afterwards--a superb essay on its own, and one that should be handed out to writing classes everywhere--that could be titled "Why I Write". From reading The Kedrigern Chronicles one finds the answer: for the sheer pleasure in telling a good story well.