Forward the Mage (Joe's World) - Hardcover

Flint, Eric; Roach, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743435249 ISBN 13: 9780743435246

Publisher: Baen, 2002

Synopsis

Arriving in Goimr to pursue his career as an artist, Benvenuti finds himself caught up in a bizarre quest to uncover the meaning of the king's nightmare, accompanied by the sorcerer Zulkeh and by Gwendolyn, a gorgeous Amazon. 17,500 first printing.

About this title

Reviews

While not as dazzling as Flint's Philosophical Strangler (2001), this prequel from the creators of the Joe's World series affords much the same kind of comic pleasure. The swashbuckling artist Benvenuti Sfondrati-Piccolomini arrives in the land of Grotum, hoping for royal patronage. Unfortunately, thanks to sorcerous machinations, the King of Goimr's wits have fled and so has Zulkeh, the sorcerer who holds the key to getting the king and his wits back in time to prevent an Ozarine invasion. With two trusty companions the gorgeous Gwendolyn Greyboar, sister to the strangler and militant revolutionary for the liberation of the dwarfs (and whose scantily clad body on the cover is far more eye-catching than the fully clothed mage or dwarf), and the deceptively affable giant, Wolfgang Benvenuti sets out on a quest to save the king's mental health. Along the way, they enjoy a fair amount of first-class sex and encounter a variety of obstacles that seem chosen more for zaniness than for plausibility. Readers of the earlier novel will be on firmer ground than newcomers, at least to the point of being better prepared for the intensity of the satire and the rather episodic narrative technique. The descriptions in 18th-century prose at the head of each chapter may be a barrier for some, but they do nicely set the tone for the goofiness to follow. Best of all perhaps, this is one humorous fantasy that does not rely heavily on puns. (Mar.)Victory (Forecasts, June 4) and other novels in the Belisarius series.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

This is epic fantasy in all the best ways, provided you adore an irreverent and witty take on the genre's cliches and formulas. The ostensibly historical narrative consists mostly of various first-person accounts, documents that range from chatty autobiography to florid "academic" depositions. The primary chronicler--narrator, if you will--isn't what one might expect but certainly a creature well placed to observe all the happenings at close quarters. The premise is simple enough: our, er, hero, Benvenuti Sfondrati-Piccolomini, newly landed in Goimr with hopes of finding his fortune as a court artist, has a run-in with a wizard on the run and then another with the law, which change his life forever by getting him mixed up in a rebellion and the theft of a precious relic. Although not exactly the cushy court job he had sought, Benvenuti's new career provides ample fodder for his artistic soul. Furthermore, the fate of the world rests on his and his confreres' actions. Fortunately, it is a thoroughly tongue-in-cheek fate. Regina Schroeder
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Edition details

• Publisher: Baen
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0743435249
• ISBN 13: 9780743435246
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480