Book review

I finished reading book two of Brandon Sanderson’s four secret projects. These books have helped me realize that the story behind Sanderson’s hard fantasy (what he usually writes) isn’t as accessible as the text itself tends to be. Again, his hard fantasy novels are written for a specific type of reader who wants the words and sentences to be accessible, but they expect a long hard slog through the story itself.

These stories are different.

The first two books of this Kickstarter, so far, have widely accessible stories with slightly more quotable text. And they have Sanderson’s characteristic focus on world-building. These should perform well with a more general audience.

This book, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, dips its toe into the isekai genre.

The protagonist wakes up in another world with no memory of how he arrived there. He is in Medieval England. His only clue to what’s happening is a partially destroyed guidebook that is 90% marketing material.

It has a strong theme where the protagonist’s struggle is echoed in the world he’s crossed into. The location feels real. You can tell Sanderson consulted someone about Medieval English history. He’s done the setting right, but can also wave off any inconsistencies as a consequence of the multiverse.

Where the first book of Secret Project had a ‘Princess Bride’ feel (what if Buttercup had set out to rescue Westley?), this book has a Hitchhiker’s Guide vibe with excerpts from the Frugal Wizard’s Handbook sporting titles like ‘Why Can’t I Visit A Dimension with Talking Bananas?’

The book left me wanting more, which is always a good spot to stop a book. It’s a good model for the type of book I want to publish someday.