Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Grabbed this from the Kindle Lending Library and whipped through it quickly. It’s a very fun read.
The main character Martin Banks stumbles upon the truth that his (our) world is really nothing more than a complex and detailed computer simulation and he’s found the source file. Before you can say “there is no spoon”, he’s making edits to the source code to alter his height, enlarge bank account balance and try to teleport. In an alarmingly quick amount of time he has attracted the attention of the authorities, but he has wisely programmed an app that will let him escape from this reality into the past. His research has led him to believe that he can return to the Middle Ages and pretend to be a wizard with his new found “powers”. But it just may be that he’s not the first one to try that particular trick…
Off to Be the Wizard (Magic 2.0 #1) is a great read; funny, light and just the right length. First-time novelist Scott Meyer writes the online cartoon Basic Instructions (http://basicinstructions.net/) and has a great comic tone here. The characters are fun and interesting and the whole thing is just plain enjoyable. I’ll be reading the sequel, Spell or High Water (Magic 2.0, #2).
[schema type=”book” url=”http://basicinstructions.net” name=”Off to Be the Wizard (Magic 2.0 #1)” description=”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.” author=”Scott Meyer” publisher=”47North” pubdate=”2013-03-29″ isbn=”0615786596″ ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” ]