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A man wakes up in a clearing in what appears to be medieval England with no memory of who he is, where he came from, or why he’s there. One thing is clear, though: he’s not from this time period. Soon he finds himself chased by a group of thugs from his own futuristic time, and his only hope for survival lies in regaining his missing memories and making allies among the locals.
Help from the “real world” should have come in the form of a guidebook entitled “The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England,” but his copy seems to have exploded during transit. The few fragments he’s managed to save provide clues to his situation, but when survival is on the line, how much help can a travel brochure really be?
The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England is the second of Brandon Sanderson’s secret-project novels to release in 2023. This standalone adventure is something like what I imagine would happen if you mixed Jason Bourne with epic fantasy and futuristic time travel.
However, while it’s a fun concept to explore, it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting when I picked up this book. Instead of a modern time-travel experience like I’d expected, our character hails from a futuristic sci-fi world. Instead of being planted in an actual medieval setting (like advertised), readers are given a fantasy dimension that only vaguely resembles medieval England.
Overall, this is a quirky, silly adventure story. As such, it felt more like an experimental, comedic sci-fi (as if Sanderson were attempting his own fan fiction in the vein of Terry Pratchett’s acclaimed Discworld series). I thought the plot and story world were less developed than I’ve come to expect from Sanderson. However, some readers may still love it for its odd humor, and others may find its simple easy-to-follow plot a good candidate for under-the-weather days.
Rated: Mild. There is one use of moderate language and 101 uses of mild language. Violence includes some injuries and blood.
