The Wiz Biz by Rick Cook Review

Baen Books, Oct., 1997.
Paperback, 615 pages.
ISBN: 0671878468.
Ordering information: Amazon.com.

William Irving Zumwalt, better known as Wiz to his friends, is a crack programmer from Silicon Valley. One evening, while debugging some recalcitrant code, he's snatched out of this world entirely and landed in a forest at the feet of the most beautiful girl he's ever seen. When she informs him that she is a hedge witch and that he has been summoned by one of that world's greatest Wizards to assist in defeating the Dark League, Wiz is sure it's a dream. But it's not and the next thing he knows he's on the run from the Dark League in a world in which magic is as commonplace as breathing. What Wiz ultimately finds is that the magic in that world is subject to programming protocols, so he sets out to write a programming language which will enable him to compete with the magic of the Dark League without being a real wizard at all. Can a nerdy computer geek be transformed into one of the Mighty and win the love of the beautiful hedge witch Moira? Wiz Zumwalt is certainly willing to try!

The Wiz Biz is the first unitary edition of Rick Cook's popular books entitled Wizard's Bane and The Wizardry Compiled. The Wiz Biz is a lighthearted read featuring magic, adventures, romance, humor and dragons, with lots of programming lingo thrown in for the technically-minded. A fast, enjoyable read for lovers of traditional fantasy, humor and computer programming.

Return to the April 1998 issue of The IWJ.