Off to Be the Wizard

Magic 2.0, Book 1

By: Scott Meyer

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

An io9 Can't Miss Science Fiction and Fantasy title in March 2014.

Martin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard.

What could possibly go wrong?

An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y’know, die or anything.

©2013 Scott Meyer (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

This book is a sleeper; a real bargain.

I can only guess that the book cover is a turn off for anyone over ten; probably for most of them too. This definitely isn't a child's book. The "magical system" is as believable as anything in hard core science fiction. The main character is likable, but still believable. There is plenty of humor, but the story line is serious, and will hold your attention. The action starts right away, and only lets up enough to allow you to catch your breath...here and there.

Great book if you're in the right demographic

If you're in the right demographic (computer nerd/geek) you'll love this book. If not, you'll miss most of the humor.

As for the performance: Having read the first several chapters before switching to the audio version, the voice the narrator gave to Phillip was completely wrong. He makes Phillip sound like a tool when the text doesn't give that impression. The voice for Martin and several others were 10/10 perfect for the characters.

Clever, Funny

The premise of this book is pretty clever. It is pretty much what any geek would do in his situation and that's what makes the book so clever. If you are a geek/tech person then you will love all of the computer programming references as well as references to geek pop culture. I was very pleasantly surprised by how much fun this book was. Also, Luke Daniels (who I usually think of as the Iron Druid) does a fantastic job of narration. He does a great job of creating distinctive voices for the characters that match their personalities.

Very light, maybe child or teen level, but amusing

This book is light fare, very predictable. Clean enough for kids, and the computer programming, time travel, teleportation . . . reality is a computer program that can be manipulated if you can write code . . . makes for an interesting premise.

The author is able to incorporate some amusing ideas, but not a lot of laugh-out-loud moments.

I haven't finished the second half of the book. Maybe I will, but for now just want to "read" something better. It's very light and thin and shallow, and there are times that I would be interested in something like that. Just not now, so I've noticed that after starting this book I have already moved over to another book, and even gone back to a book I finished a few months back.

What is lacking here is depth. And, maybe it is a depth that comes with living life and making observations. Noticing things that can be added to flesh out a story. I don't know if the author is young or maybe doesn't get out much, but the little things that other authors have noticed - like behaviors, or agendas, or patterns, or all the sensory input we all get every day - are missing. The richness of life and the complexities of human interactions are not in this story.

But, for someone interested in light and easy background listening that doesn't take a lot of concentration to remember details, characters, and events . . . this is perfect.

Thoughtful but lacks substance

A computer nerd discovers that the world is really just a computer simulation - and that he has access to the source code. After getting in trouble with the law, he winds up in medieval England, pretending to be a wizard - and discovering that he's far from the first person to come up with the idea.

It's a really interesting concept, but fails to really examine itself seriously. What ARE the consequences if we're really all a simulation? What's the purpose of it? Are there any clues in the code? Why doesn't affecting the past change the present in their universe? We never get answers. Instead, we get a young man's adventure. That's good enough, except that it lacks a central conflict until the very end. Instead, we hear about Martin's bumbling mistakes, one after another, as he learns how to become a wizard.

What really drove me nuts was the missed opportunities. More than once they mention the possibilities of the code, such as travel in time and space - yet Martin constantly talks about how he can't return to his own time for fear of being arrested. Why not reappear in his own time, but in a different place? Or a day before the police came to his door? We constantly hear that people can be altered in the code - why not remove the powers of the bad guy before confronting him in person? The 'wizards' define their code so that anybody with the proper equipment can use their 'spells' - why not tie it directly to their identities? So many missed opportunities when given such godlike powers.

In the end, it was a fascinating tale, and one that a lot of sci-fi geeks will love (and I'm one). But it was also a disappointing story on so many levels. There's so much more that could have been done with it.

Great Story, but poorly written.

This is a really fun story, with great concepts and great characters. Unfortunately, the writing doesn't live up to the concept. The dialogue is very amateurish throughout, and the prose itself falls into the same traps and cliches that most new writers fall into. Frankly, I'm surprised this book has sold so many copies...it must purely be on concept and story, and not on quality.

The voice actor tries his best with the characters, of which the writer really seemed to bite off more than he could chew. But at times his voice choices don't seem to click well, but maybe it is more due to the poor character portrayals of the writer.

All my criticism aside, the story is fun, and if you can get past the amateur writing you will enjoy it. But if you prefer polished writing this one may not be for you.

Fun book

Very fun and thought out. Loved it. If you love tech and fantasy as well as humor, you'll enjoy the book.

Wonderful story

Looking forward to the next one!
Smething unique and fun was not what I had expected, great characters.

Distracting narration

While I enjoyed the story a great deal, I found the narration difficult at times. Some of the voices — including the main character — sound *exactly* like Shaggy from “Scooby-Doo.”

Please Listen to Spell or High Water

Would you listen to Off to Be the Wizard again? Why?

I accidentally listened to Spell or High Water first - and I am actually glad for that accident (although I would not recommend that approach). I think the second book is better than the Off to be the Wizard but I really enjoyed them both and I was very disappointed when they were both over.

What other book might you compare Off to Be the Wizard to and why?

Spell or High Water is the second book - and it is really good.

What about Luke Daniels’s performance did you like?

I am not a hugh fan of the narrator but the books really drew me in.