A Wizard and a Warlord: The Adventures of the Rogue Wizard

I personally don¡¯t enjoy reading very much; however, Wizard and Warlord opened up a new image of fantasy to me. The characters with fascinating features and the medieval space colony time period¡¦. Combinations of these things used by Christopher Stasheff are more than enough to get you going! Simply sensational!

Magnus continues the journey he began over seven books ago... the quest for meaning, self-worth, and companionship. I applaud Stasheff's restraint in not forcing the relationship between Magnus and his companion, Alea, into an overly predictable direction. Each character remains true to his and her strengths and weaknesses. The story, which involves Magnus' continuing mission to help oppressed peoples find the government best suited to them, gives Magnus a world where there appears to be no visible government, or rather, not one he can classify. Like the other books in this series, the story is self contained, and makes you want to learn more about Magnus. To catch the WHOLE story, one should read the Warlock Series which begins in Warlock In Spite Of Himself.

The Wizard In Spite of Himself has created a dynasty that any person would be proud of. His son Magnus D'Armand follows in his father's footsteps by traveling from one lost colonial planet to another fermenting revolutions so that eventually democracy will come to the local residents. Magnus has visited six worlds in his artificially intelligent spaceship Herkimer. He has guided people on all six planets on a path leading to democracy. On the planet Midgard, Magnus selected a companion with psychic powers to join him on his quest. Magnus under the guise of Gar Pike and Alea land on a newly discovered lost colony that seems to have no centrally managed government. However, Gar is uneasy because in his experience, a country with no governing body should lead to chaos and anarchy. Traveling as peddlers, the duo finds happy contented people abiding by the Ten Commandments in each village. Only the outlaw General Malachi and his army of thugs stand in the way of peace. However, Gar thinks there must be more to the power structure than he or Alea see. Magnus is the most fascinating and enigmatic of the brood sired by Rod Galloway (see THE WIZARD IN SPITE OF HIMSELF). His tale is narrated in a fast-paced, breezy, and humorous story line that shows him in a new light due to his interactions with Alea. The audience will care for both characters as they join them on their travels. The seventh novel in the "Rogue Wizard" series, A WIZARD AND A WARLORD, contains all the liveliness and freshness we have come to expect from the Christopher Stasheff novels.Harriet Klausner