Tomes of Spellcasting--The Crusading Wizard

Tomes of Spellcasting

Welcome to the land of mystery, where the impossible is possible, and the improbable the reality. Join me as I investigate worlds filled with magic and meet the souls that wield this wondrous powers.

W A R N I N G !

This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.

That said, on to the review!

Title: The Crusading Wizard
Author: Christopher Stasheff
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine Books
Format: Paperback
Copyright Date: 2000

Religion can cause mighty arguments in any world or universe, and the parallel Earth where Matthew Mantrell and his parents have moved to is no different. Jerusalem is, once again, the focus of three major religions, and when the forces of evil press upon the Holy City in the guise of a horde of "barbarians" from the steppes of Asia, can even the united forces of the Christian Kingdoms of Europe and the Muslim domains of Africa and Arabia stand against them? Not if Matt can help it. The Lord Wizard of Merovence has good reason to involve himself directly in this conflict, because his son and daughter have been abducted by evil sorcerors to keep him from becoming involved at all! However, with the aid of all his old friends and allies and a few new ones to support him, Matt may yet come out the victor in this conflict...but first he has to escape the slavers!

The Crusading Wizard brings yet another dimension of the world Matt Mantrell came from into the world he went to. As a result, we the readers get yet more impromptu history lessons from the author and Matt, seeing as how the parallels are too strong to be ignored. And you know what? The history lessons are actually interesting!

Knowing, first of all, that this book is filled with information that, while not necessarily faithful to events in this world, is yet accurate enough to be comparable and therefore understandable by readers operating in the book's world, it is easy to eliminate the novelty of it all as one of my favorite parts of this book. However, what really appealed to me were the efforts of Balkis (a young enchantress) to get to a new mentor (Matt) who could help her complete her spells, and the inclusion of such details as a young prince (six-years-old) being forced to care for his younger sister and two baby djinn or a roc passing judgment on a magic carpet and its passengers. It's these tiny details that make the story, and believe you me, this is a terrific story!

Suffice it to say, The Crusading Wizard is a book I'd definitely recommend to anybody who has read the other Wizard in Rhyme novels, and if they haven't, I'd definitely tell them to read the first one and work up to this book. Why? Because these books are definitely worth it: where else are you going to get a helpful smattering of applicable academic knowledge and enjoy it, too?

Rating: Thumbs up! Mongol hordes, Muslim caliphs, and European crusaders, front and center!

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