Logical Magician [Paperback]

Robert Weinberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1994

When Jack Collins answers an ad asking for a young man with a background in mathematics and fantastic literature, he finds himself working for the legendary Merlin and battling an evil computer hacker who has summoned an ancient demon to terrorize Chicago.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ace (April 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441000592
• ISBN-13: 978-0441000593
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,385,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born on August 29, 1946, making me one of the famous "baby boomer" generation. I attended Hillside High School in New Jersey, then got my B.S. degree in mathematics at Stevens Institute of Technology. I later obtained by M.S. in mathematics at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where I taught math for two years. I was working on my Ph.D. in Number Theory at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago when I met my (future) wife Phyllis in 1972. We were married in 1973 and I left college to start my own business. I ran three very successful corporations after leaving college and did some writing on the side. When I was 40, I decided I wanted to concentrate more on writing fiction, which I had done in college but had abandoned afterwards. So I started writing novels in 1986. My first book, THE DEVIL'S AUCTION, was published in 1998 and I've written another 15 novels since then. I'm probably best known as the author of a popular trilogy I wrote for White Wolf Games entitled THE MASQUERADE OF THE RED DEATH. These three novels have been published in a number of different languages (including French, German, Spanish and Hungarian) and I've gotten well over 1,000 fan letters about them since they first appeared.

I also have written 17 non-fiction books, many of them in the pop-science field with my friend, Lois H. Gresh. And, in my spare time, I've edited around 150 anthologies. I like to keep busy!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!, March 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Logical Magician (Paperback)

This book has been reprinted as A Modern Magician, had no trrouble getting it myself

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Joint Review of A Logical Magician and A Calculating Magic, July 26, 2002

By 

R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Logical Magician (Paperback)

This is an entertaining and lighthearted pair of fantasy novels. As with other books of this type, the basic premise is that magical and mythical creatures continue to live among us. Weinberg finds witty ways to integrate the magical into ordinary life. The magician Merlin is a financial consultant, wood nymphs inhabit shopping malls, etc. The hero is a young mathematician who uses logic and knowledge of modern society to vanquish the villains. Of these two books, A Calculating Magic is the more amusing with better character development and clever use of Norse and Arabic mythology. The major joke at the end of A Calculating Magic is particularly clever. These books are hard to find but well worth a few dollars in a used book store.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Getting Lost Has Never Been Better, August 17, 2001

By 

Joseph Trinh (Hamilton, ONT Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Logical Magician (Paperback)

I first came across this book at the age of 13; a friend had lent it to me after buying it from the drugstore as an impulse purchase at the counter bookrack. At first I simply regarded it as some nightly reading material that would put me to sleep and nothing more. As I delved deeper into the novel I found myself gladly lost in Weinberg's characters and scenarios. Weinberg was able to take the fantasy of every science fiction fan and turn it into a lovable story filled with conspiracy, adventure and intrigue. Unfortunately I have not been able to find this novel again after my first time reading it. My friend has since become yet another alienated soul from my childhood and the novel is long lost on the bookshelf of a bitter old girlfriend. But fond memories of reading this novel and enjoying every time consuming minute remain. Every aspect from when Jack Collins steps into Merlin's modern yet modest office to when he found himself being seduced by a fantastic Succubus has been engraved into my memory. It's unfortunate that I can no longer find any copy of this novel, especially now at an older, and hopefully wiser, age when I can better appreciate what was already a marvelous story to begin with. With plenty of references to old Fantasy style characters, and environments only read about alongside such devices as knights, dragons and maidens, Weinberg creates for us an idiot's guide to fantasy novels. Placing, what we call, Science Fiction into reality and having a logical and practical man play the part of the hero gives us the opportunity to listen to him ask questions about the plot rather than leave the SF challenged in the dark. Definitely a good book you can't put down and walk away from.