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EveryGnome's Review by Sheila Deeth!

7/30/2013

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There might even be wisdom behind the madcap wizardry

With pleasant self-deprecating humor and writing that’s a pleasing parody of
college lecture notes, author Joseph J. Bailey invites gnomes, and other beings,
to join him in a study of paratechnology, which is of course, neither purely
technological, nor entirely mythical and magic, but a blending of both. And
which should never be undertaken without adequate precautions, as laid out in
this book. There will be explosions, and overly extravagant facial hair may
burn.

Plays on words and plays on culture combine, adding occasional
profundity to madcap and hair-raising speculations, and even inviting
contemplation of our own society’s preoccupations. But it’s all very
light-hearted, long-winded in just the right professorial style, intriguing and
fun. There might even be an occasional faint echo of C. S. Lewis.

I particularly enjoy how the author invents words and introduces ideas without any
need for explanation. But if you really want to know the paratechnological
details, you can always read (and enjoy) the comprehensive glossary at the end.
Footnotes to each chapter add a certain personal touch, as long as you can
follow them. In print they’d be great. On my e-reader the numbers weren’t linked
to the notes, which meant I kept scrolling forwards and back to follow the
author’s conversation. But perhaps they’re linked in other versions. In any
case, they’re well worth the scrolling.

A fun, short read, with odd bits of wisdom tucked between the lines, Everygnome’s Guide is the perfect side-course to lunch with sci-fi fantasy-minded friends, and hey, it’s even got
some math!

Disclosure: The author kindly gave me a free ecopy and asked
for my honest review.
Thank you, Sheila, for the wonderful suggestion (and review)! After I finish my latest project, I plan to go back through Everygnome's Guide and Mulogo's Treatise to add links to the footnotes.

I want the footnotes to add to the guides, increasing reader immersion and enjoyment. Your suggestion should help!

- Joe
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The Chronicles of the Fists - Now on Kobo!

7/27/2013

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Everygnome's Guide featured on Fantasy and Sci-Fi Rocks My World!

7/5/2013

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Mulogo's Treatise is in the top 25 on Amazon in humorous fantasy!

7/5/2013

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Yes, that's Good Omens by Neil Gaiman just a few books higher on the list!

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Shadow's Rise in Top 3 on Amazon!*

7/5/2013

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*Among metaphysical & visionary fantasies mentioning martial arts (of 7).  I had to smile when I saw that! 
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Mulogo's Review on Dreaming About Other Worlds Blog

7/3/2013

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Many thanks to Aaron for taking the time to read Mulogo's Treatise on Wizardry!  I am glad you enjoyed the book!

Short review: A short humorous guide to being a wizard that mostly suggests keeping your head down and avoiding trouble.

Haiku
Wizarding advice
Delivered with pretention
And some added snark

Disclosure: I received this book as a review copy. Some people think this may bias a reviewer so I am making sure to put this information up front. I don't think it biases my reviews, but I'll let others be the judge of that.

Full review: Mulogo's Treatise on Wizardry is a short and humorous guide to how to survive as a wizard in a hostile world full of foes who want to kill you and take your stuff, and friends who want to place you in danger by asking you to help them accomplish their petty goals. The book consists of a collection of short instructional pieces giving advice to would-be wizards. Though the advice comes from the wizard Mulogo, the book is supposedly transcribed by his long suffering assistant Ludaceous Vaer Mordicanum, who inserts his own editorial footnotes throughout the text.

The advice, such as it is, is driven primarily by Mulogo's extreme sense of paranoia and desire for self-preservation above all things. While reading, it becomes clear that the reason the reader has never heard of Mulogo before despite this wizard's advanced age is that he simply avoids doing anything that would be particularly dangerous so as to avoid as much risk as possible, or noteworthy so as to avoid drawing any unnecessary attention to himself. For the most part, Mulogo's counsel seems to be "keep your head down, don't put your neck out for anyone, and remain as anonymous as possible", although the delivery is generally more specific and more humorous.

The pattern established in the book is a somewhat one-sided conversation between Mulogo and Luaceous. In each section Mulogo provides long-winded and fairly pretentious advice, and Ludceous offers some sarcastic rejoinders via the footnotes he adds. Through most of the book it appears that Mulogo is either unaware of the inserted footnotes, or too self-absorbed to care about them, which makes the "conversation" more or less one-way: Mulogo speaks, and Ludcreous figuratively mumbles under his breath in response, and the reader gets a front row seat. The exchange is made all the more humorous on those rare occasions when Ludcreous reveals his own self-absorption, or is dismayed to find that he agrees with Mulogo.

For the most part, that's really all there is to the book. Mulogo gives advice that amounts to saying "avoid danger" repeatedly, and Ludceous inserts footnotes talking about how Mulogo is unlikable, unliked, and selfish. The only weakness of the book is that there are only so many ways that one can say "be as incognito as possible" before it starts to get a little repetitive, and Mulogo's Treatise on Wizardry pushes right up against that line. It doesn't quite cross over to the point where the repetition becomes annoying, and so the humor remains solid through the entire volume. The end result is a funny and slightly silly take on being a wizard in a fantasy world that should provide a brief comical diversion for any fantasy fan.
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    Joe Bailey

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