Rick Cook called ...

... he wants his story back.

Just kidding, but I'm just noting that he did a very similar full-length novel -- a pair of novels, in fact -- in which a geek gets summoned out of our world by a hot sorceress to fight against an overwhelming threat.

Of course, the geek in question was a computer guy and not a game geek, and he was called to be a magician and not a warlord, but the principle is still the same ...

the books are "Wizard's Bane" and "The Wizardry Compiled". Both have been released by the publisher as free E-books at
The Baen Free Library

Respectfully,

Brian P.

dude it's a pretty iconic fantasy plot. It's been done over and over throughout the years. It's a classic. You can't steal a classic.

"Good artists copy. Great artists steal!"

:smallamused:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pendell

the books are "Wizard's Bane" and "The Wizardry Compiled". Both have been released by the publisher as free E-books at
The Baen Free Library

---

Thank you for the link. I think I may go read those. (BTW for people who don't know it, the Baen Free Library is one of a number of impressively forward-thinking ideas from Baen Books. Jim Baen will be missed, but his ideas live on.)

Anyway, the concept of the "normal" viewpoint character in the Fantasy world is as old as mythology itself. The test of any story of this kind has to be, "Was the old saw told in a fresh and interesting way, with something genuinely new for the reader to carry away?" On that score, it'll be a while before anyone will fairly be able to say Erfworld succeeds or fails.

No, I think you stole this plot form "The Last Starfighter"

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wallyz

No, I think you stole this plot form "The Last Starfighter"

---

LOL! Brilliant! Man, I loved that movie!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wallyz

No, I think you stole this plot form "The Last Starfighter"

---

That means there will be a replacement Parson running around and updating the Hamstard website, right?

Whoa...too many people know that gem of an '80's movie...

You have been recruited by Star League to defend against Zur and the Kodan Armada!

DEATH BLOSSOM!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jami

You have been recruited by Star League to defend against Zur and the Kodan Armada!

DEATH BLOSSOM!

---

Hmm. I think that needs to be worked into the comic somewhere...

:wink:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pendell

... he wants his story back.

Just kidding, but I'm just noting that he did a very similar full-length novel -- a pair of novels, in fact -- in which a geek gets summoned out of our world by a hot sorceress to fight against an overwhelming threat.

Of course, the geek in question was a computer guy and not a game geek, and he was called to be a magician and not a warlord, but the principle is still the same ...

the books are "Wizard's Bane" and "The Wizardry Compiled". Both have been released by the publisher as free E-books at
The Baen Free Library

Respectfully,

Brian P.

---

Actually, there's a lot more than just two books to the series. Wizard's Bane and Wizardry Compiled were packaged as a book The Wiz Biz, yes. Then there was The Wizardry Quested, The Wizardry Consulted, and The Wizardry Cursed.

The significant difference between Erfworld and Wiz is that they were not trying for a wizard and ending up with a computer programmer who came up with a compiler for magic; instead they actually got a lot closer to what they want: Someone who can win their war for them.

Assuming this guy is not already familiar with the rules of the game (like it being the game he had spent the aforementioned months designing), it'll take him a few turns to study up on the rules, how they are applied, and how to break them in traditional 'Munchkin' fashion (and it just occured to me that his boss strikes a remarkable resemblance to certain figures on various Munchkin materials... perhaps a more subtle reference?). Then he will apply all his powergamer might and rules-bending knowlege to attempt to snatch a victory out of the jaws of defeat.

I mean, come on, this is like the Ultimate challenge for a Gamer... to be presented with a desperate situation you have to get out of, or YOU die if you loose. I don't think he'd really want to pass on the chance to prove once and for all that he is the ultimate gamer, if presented to him that way.

Heck, it's a fairly standard plot. There's Heinlein's "Glory Road". Anderson's "Three Hearts and Three Lions". Rosenberg's "Guardians of the Flame." Stasheff's "Her Majesty's Wizard" and assorted crap that followed.

All are about people who get sucked into fantasy worlds; Heinlein and Anderson feature soldiers, Rosenberg a role-playing group, and Stasheff an English post-bacc.

Glory road and the Wizards books were sweet. So WAs TLS.....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ravenkith

Glory road and the Wizards books were sweet. So WAs TLS.....

---

The first Wizard's book, "Her Majesty's Wizard" was pretty cool. However, the subsequent books were crap on toast. Matthew Mantrell displays the learning capability of a severely retarded turtled with ADD; after living in the world, as a Wizard, for more than a year, he seems incapable of grasping even the simplest principles of it. None of the characterizations are consistent from book to book except in that the characters utterly fail to learn ANYTHING from the previous book.

Spoiler

Show

Remember at the end of Book 1? When Matthew commands the Demon to go with Sir Guy and aid him, telling him what orders to give? The Demon is delighted at this prospect. What's the situation when they meet again in book 2? The demon is bored because Sir Guy never gives him any orders except to light the occasional fire. WTB? Matthew is still surprised at the reality of that world's version of Catholicism throughout books 2 and 3, and you start to question if he has an inability to commit things to long-term memory. Stupid.

I have to disagree with you there. I really liked the Her Majesty's Wizard books - at least, until the end of Book 4.

They didn't stand up to a couple of rereads, though. There was just a little too much exuberant Catholic triumphalism by the end...

Personally, the plot reminds me of Hale Troy in the second Covenant novel by Stephen R. Donaldson.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MrNexx

Heck, it's a fairly standard plot. There's Heinlein's "Glory Road". Anderson's "Three Hearts and Three Lions". Rosenberg's "Guardians of the Flame." Stasheff's "Her Majesty's Wizard" and assorted crap that followed.

All are about people who get sucked into fantasy worlds; Heinlein and Anderson feature soldiers, Rosenberg a role-playing group, and Stasheff an English post-bacc.

---

A Connecticut Yankee in King Aurthur's court;
The dragon and the George (and sequels); Man from Mundania; it's not an uncommon story at all.

There are a lot of stories that have a similar theme. the spellsinger series is similar as well.

theres animae with the same theme as well.
El Hazad, and Maze that i know of offhand

magic kingdom for sale, Sold! is another book series, where a regular guy buys a magic kingdom. and then theres the castle perilous series.

I'm surprised nobody mentioned "The Wizard of Oz" yet...

It's already been mentioned in-comic, Maurog :)

Hey, there's only a total of five stories in the world. People just keep changing the characters and settings. This one happens to be the "Stranger In A Strange Land" story.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Thomar_of_Uointer

Hey, there's only a total of five stories in the world. People just keep changing the characters and settings. This one happens to be the "Stranger In A Strange Land" story.

---

I think the number is actually something like 23, but yeah, what he said. :amused:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MolotovH

I think the number is actually something like 23, but yeah, what he said. :amused:

---

It comes out to 23 if you include themes. The same story can be used to convey any number of messages, morals, or lessons. Take a look at the traditional Eastern take on tragedies (here is person/people, person/people does something, person/people die/dies) like Spirits Within, it tends to be totally different than Western tragedies like Hamlet.

Dangit.

I thought they had stolen the plot from "West Side Story".

My bad.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BiggusGeekus

Dangit.

I thought they had stolen the plot from "West Side Story".

My bad.

---

Golem, golem, crazy golem-
Stay loose, golem



A girl like that, who killed your dwagon?
Forget that girl, hide in the wagon!
Stick to your own tribe, look to your own tribe...