A Wizard in Midgard

This was a great book! I had been wondering how Stasheff could solve Magnus' girl problem. In this book, Magnus meets the woman who is his true love. She has been hurt as badly as he has and distrusts men. She recognizes his problem, too. At the end of the book, she leaves with Magnus. They will have a platonic relationship at first, but I know that eventually they will heal each other. I was pleased to see that Stasheff did not solve Magnus' problem in one book. The adventure part is one of the best ever. The world is based on Norse mythology. Inbreeding has created three races: dwarves, giants, and "regular" humans, who oppress the other two groups. Magnus, as a half giant, is enslaved at one point. Alea, his new friend, is also a half-giant (she is six foot five) who is an escaped slave. She and Magnus travel to the strongholds of the giants and dwarves to encourage them to rebel against the Midgarders(normals). They also meet a snotty band of half-giants who mistreat their wives and children. I liked the end of the book. Magnus starts a rebellion that will take more than twenty years to complete. Magnus used myths and stories to inspire the people- I loved that touch. Magnus is my favorite Stasheff character, and he has matured a lot since A Wizard in Absentia.

The newest installment of the Rogue Wizard finds our hero on the brink of romance and perhaps true love. This is the book I've been waiting for, a possible love interest for Magnus, yes! As far as the plot goes, typical Stasheff, which means it is a nice read. To me, this is one of the better Rogue Wizard novels, a series that has been a bit uneven. I'm a sucker for Stasheff's more romantic work (I loved M'Lady Witch) and this one delivers.

Magnus is off on another adventure, this time via Norse Mythology. On the way, he picks up another companion, Alea (to replace Dirk). Much romantic potential there, and it's about time! Stasheff has been hinting about it for several books now. The world he has created is quite interesting, though the plot is similiar to the rest of the series. But then who really cares, since it's all great fun anyway!