Thank you Publisher and Netgalley for this advanced copy

Sadly, this is the worst nook in the secret project, I don't think this is like Brandon Sanderson books. Enjoyable but not loveable

Real rating:3.75

I didn't really know what to expect of this book, Sanderson is certainly one of if not my favourite author, and I was keen to have a taste of some Non-Cosmere.

Truthfully it was ok, there were certain parts I enjoyed more than others. The ending was tied with a bow but it is a standalone so I guess it made sense. The best part for me was the concept of travelling to an alternate Medieval England, it kept me interested and made my own creative juicies run. This really reads like an ode to Pratchett, with its scifi feel and hit or miss jokes (many were a hit for me because I enjoy silly jokes), however it took me ages to get invested in the story, at about 70% when things get serious. I'd say it reads much like a YA novel.

Actually once you strip away the extra drawings and Pamphlet pages, this book becomes very short, but it took me ages to finish, part because it had too many short chapters (5-7 pages), making me take unnecessary brakes, and part because the middle seemed to stall momentum as the characters went of a few side adventures.

I enjoyed the white room trope (character wakes up with no memory and we piece rogether his past throughout the story), however there are othersl books that have done this much better (Project Hail Mary cones to mind). But the mix of far future fake wizard and medieval shenanigans does make for a fun silly time.

John's character journey felt rewarding and believable, my only huge gripe is his interaction with a certain character which I'll get into at the end of this review to avoid spoilers.

The mini love story was endearing, John's new friends are also quite interesting and the worldbuilding was captivating but underdeveloped, which is surprising as readers unanimously agree this is one of Sanderson's strongest areas. The side characters as well lacked proper characterisation, most likely due to the length of this novel. I actually think it would have packed a bigger punch either as a short story, or an extra 150 pages.

Overall, it was a quick, fun roller coaster and I do recommend it for a quick read and pallate cleanser.

SPOILER below!!!
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So my huge gripe was with his gf actually being alive, which wasn't that big of a twist in itself, but he had a very minimal reaction to this news. Now I do understand John had technically made peace with them being a poor match, but still he loved and grieved for a dead one and seeing them alive, regardless of what logic might dictate, would absolutely mentally destroy anyone. He needed time to digest that or it needed to be cut from the stort completely as ultimately it did not add to the story whatsoever.
Ryan being the real piece of work was quite satisfying, HOWEVER he needed a bit of blow back for his betrayal!!

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

Your protagonist wakes up in a mysterious place with no memory of who they are. They appear to have certain skills and knowledge but no idea of their name or history. Well, I guess we'll just have to have the adventure and discover together dear reader....

Its not a beloved trope of mine, particularly when used like Sanderson does here, to constantly make the wrong judgment until we get a final reveal near the end. But The Frugal Wizard's Handbook For Surviving Medieval England is not a particularly serious book as you may have gleaned from its title. Though the title is in itself considerably misleading. It should be "The Frugal Wizard's Guide For Surviving A Medieval England In A Parallel Universe Which Aligns With Your Reality When Appropriate But Doesn't Otherwise And is Time-Shifted FOr Handwavey Reasons By Approximately Six Hundred Years". This is not a time travel novel, you do not have to worry about changing the past. Stakes are low, this is one of the thousands of parallel dimensions being sold on the cheap. The ethics of everything involved here is broadly treated as a joke, which I guess is fine, it is much more the story of a stranger in a strange land finally coming to terms with their own failings.

Sanderson has played with comedy before as flavor to his other fantasy epics, and this feels very much like an off books experiment that doesn't really hang together (pandemic work I am starting to realise - where people want to write something a bit fun against the backdrop of terror). There are illustrated inserts here from the titular handbook which does a good job of illustrating why The Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy just dropped its useful info into the text. The biggest problem I had, beyond never really caring about the protagonist, was quite how many caveats the scenario required to be set up. There is probably a snappier version of this book that is actually as the title describes, and does not require the lead to be a physically modified sc-fi soldier to do his magic. It does a bit too much and then ends up doing nothing at all...

I enjoyed this book a lot. Lived up to expectations!

Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

Oh, Brandon Sanderson. His name has haunted me for years, so many of my literary friends hopelessly divided in the face of his work. One of my favorite articles of this year is on the exact subject— “Brandon Sanderson Is Your God” by Jason Kehe— dissecting who exactly is Sanderson, and what the deal is with his highly divisive, but nonetheless extremely successful, stories.

Despite all this, I had never actually read one of his books. Then, “The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England” fell into my lap, and I knew I had no other choice but to do a review. The premise is immediately not doing the novel any favors in my book, with our main character, John (Johnny) West, being thrown back in time to medieval England, his memory completely wiped, except of course of everything related to the modern world and technology, outside of his personal life. Here we see a classic isekai trope played out, (isekai being a type of anime or manga where the protagonist is transported to another world and forced to survive) my least favorite type of anime. Already being biased against the genre, this would have to be something truly stellar to garner my favor.

This was not that. It wasn’t horrible, either, I suppose. I just found myself utterly bored while reading, shocked that this was the type of writing that had people buying hundreds of his books. (Because hundreds of them do exist!) The concept alone could be interesting, as Johnny wasn’t just sent here for no reason. Instead, in this world you can buy your own realm to time travel to, to rule over with your knowledge of modern technology. This does not do much to help Johnny’s knowledge of his surroundings, however, as his own copy of the in-world “Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England” exploded as he time traveled into the realm.

With a concept like this, I was expecting Sanderson to make some kind of statement on the type of people who would desire to travel back in time and create a monarchy, perhaps even religion, entirely around themselves. I convinced myself of this when it’s revealed that Johnny had trained to be a cop, and we even later meet others from his past life who work in law enforcement. It would be unfair to say that Sanderson didn’t try to critique these things at all. Johnny’s “friends” from modern day are portrayed as jerks who see Johnny as a good for nothing loser, while Johnny, who supposedly has no desire to be a cop anymore and washed out of the academy, is our underdog hero.

In addition, interspersed between Johnny’s story, the audience is given glimpses of the titular handbook, and in the FAQ section there’s a chapter titled, “What If I’m Still Worried About the Ethics of Essentially Colonizing the British Isles, Influencing the Course of History for an Entire People?” The very short chapter is tongue in cheek, with this corporation ensuring us that “Once you step through that portal, you leave our dimension and enter one where only your conscience matters.” But of course the corporation selling these other dimensions would say this, and readers are left to come to their own conclusions, just like those in the book who buy a time travel pass.

All of this is just so surface level, a shocking phrase to use about a sci-fi/fantasy writer, who is typically more long-winded. This isn’t a detective novel, where it’s typical to have police make up the majority of your cast. This is science fiction, where to put modern day law enforcement into the world takes a deliberate amount of effort. While the world certainly feels fleshed out enough, Sanderson couldn’t seem to conjure up anything to say when it comes to a topic seemingly as cut and dry as colonialism that doesn’t just feel totally hollow.

What the book lacks in critical analysis, it makes up for tenfold in constant references and jokes. Unfortunately, I wasn’t charmed by any of it, and found myself cringing at Johnny’s “wizard-speak” to scare off his Middle-Aged opponents, threatening them with “Californications” and Nintendo. One point in the book’s favor, however, was Johnny’s constant lying. While most of Johnny’s personality is completely grating, the typical pathetic isekai protagonist I despise, towards the end he begins to embrace his duplicitous ways. He proclaims that the thing he is best at is lying, and does so to help his new friends in medieval England defeat their enemies. This quirk adds an extra layer to a character who is otherwise a complete copy and paste from this genre.

I hate to only have bad things to say about a book, so I have to reiterate how much potential the world Sanderson has built here has. The bits of the handbook we get to see are some of my favorite parts, with how much detail is put into how exactly each of these other dimensions operate. While the concept of a multiverse is very much overplayed nowadays, with blockbusters like all of the current Marvel movies and Everything Everywhere All At Once, Sanderson has a very clever way of explaining very succinctly how they each split off. Steve Argyle’s illustrations are also a standout.

Ultimately, the emotion that I felt the most when finally finishing this book would have to be disappointment. I wanted to understand where all his diehard fans are coming from! I wanted desperately to not just be another 2 star review on Goodreads. At the end of the day, though, I think that Sanderson is just not for me.

The unknown man certainly finds himself in something of a pickle – not only is he in the middle of a medieval clearing, but he can’t recall who he is or how come he pitched up in this world. I’m a bit torn about epistolary novels. Done well, the extracts from documents/journals/letters can add an interesting layer of subtext to a book. The extracts from the titular Handbook certainly give the reader a slew of information the main character, who is also the narrator of the adventure, couldn’t possibly know. However, some of the extracts turned up right in the middle of an unfolding adventure, which caused me to skim some of them – particularly in the early part of the book when I found their abrupt insertion rather annoying. That said, I increasingly enjoyed them and the ongoing, relentless sales pitch which was both ironic and funny, in addition to the blithe explanations of exactly how these parallel worlds functioned. I got the sense the reality wasn’t quite as cosy as the guidebook claimed – the vibe reminding me of Diane Wynne Jones’ marvellous book The Dark Lord of Derkholm where a fantasy land is also ruthlessly exploited for tourism.

It’s a tricky business to have the reader fully bond with a losing underdog. There was a stage in the middle of the book when I wasn’t sure that I particularly liked our confused protagonist. It seemed he wasn’t nearly careful enough of the people who’d invested in him. However, the way we learnt who he’d been and what he’d done as he did was cleverly handled and by the end I was thoroughly rooting for him. The medieval setting was well evoked, with the extra flourishes brought in by the time travellers to make their survival within such a harsh environment far more believable.

The only quibble I have with the book was the illustrations. These days, I read everything on my kindle, which didn’t do justice to the sketches depicted throughout the story. Perhaps the ebook publication should have had less drawings, but made those selected larger and easier to see. That said, although the technicality was annoying – I was aware of their quality, but simply couldn’t make the drawings dark enough to fully appreciate them – it wasn’t a dealbreaker. Overall, this is an entertaining timeslip tale ideal for fans of adventures full of incident and action, with a believable character on his own personal journey in the middle of the mayhem. While I obtained an arc of The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook For Surviving Medieval England from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with an Arc of The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson!

The main character, John, is transported to an alternate Medieval England. He has to navigate a host of challenges; remembering his identity, finding a way back home, and fighting a group of villains who are threatening this alternate England.

I really enjoyed the handbook inserts, it made the story more unique and definitely helped with the world-building in a fun way! I also really enjoyed the writing style and found it humours and engaging.

This is my first Brandon Sanderson book and it did not disappoint! I thought that the concept of this book was really intriguing and it ended up being a thrilling read.

My first Sanderson was a gripping adventure and I cannot wait to delve more into his works.

I love Brandon Sanderson. I loved Tress of the Emerald Sea, Sanderson's first Secret Project and I was looking forward to loving his third Secret Project: The Frugal Wizard's Handbook For Surviving Medieval England. Unfortunately, this book lacked what made Tress so great: vivid characterisation, detailed world-building, and well-placed humour.

In this Secret Project, our main character, John, is a work-in-progress ex-cop, a detail that rubbed me the wrong way immediately in a story all about redemption. In a Jason Bourne-esque plot, he finds himself transported to an alternate Medieval England, where he must navigate retrieving his identity (and finding his way back home), all while fighting off a horde of technologically-enhanced villains threatening the delicate balance of this alternate world.

The concept is definitely interesting (minus the inclusion of law enforcement) but everything in this book is really, really surface-level. Despite finding himself in an alternate world, where magic exists (how cool!), there is no real discussion of how this world works, the religious systems in place (which were mentioned without solid detail), or how magic works. It is so disappointing. Throughout, I found myself wanting to know more, and expecting to know more, but without any answers by the book's close. For our main character too, who Sanderson encourages us to (eventually) support, we get no proper flashbacks detailing his life as he pieces it together, just a lot of telling. In fact, only the new relationships forged are shown, everything else is told. The consequence is an underdeveloped character arc and a story with no emotional weight. Also, while being completely subjective, I found the humour of this book to be cringey and so far removed from the thoughtful humour of Tress of the Emerald Sea, which was equally disappointing. The highlight of this book was the beautiful illustrations included as a companion to the story. These were a wonderful addition and made the story shine in places.

I think Brandon Sanderson is an excellent author and I always have such high expectations for his work. This is why this book disappointed me so much. I really do believe that Sanderson can craft much more nuanced and detailed stories than this one.

I'm a sucker for a story where someone is thrown into a completely different world and watching them attempt to adapt to their new surroundings. The Frugal Wizard's Handbook was such a fun and gripping read that had me eagerly turning the pages as I tried to figure out who our main character was.

I loved the inserts from the handbook and really felt like they helped with the world-building and story-telling, it just makes it more unique and more memorable for me.

This was such a fun adventure and I can honestly imagine how much fun Brandon Sanderson had when writing this. I definitely recommend picking this one up, even if you're new to Sanderson's work (which I still very much am but I've got most of his backlog now to work through!)

Cross James Bourne with The Chronicles of St Mary’s and you get The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England.

A man wakes up in medieval England with no memory of who he is or where he’s come from - but he has some futuristic technological upgrades in his body that certainly don’t belong in this time.

The Frugal Wizard’s Guide is very different to what we’ve come to expect from Sanderson, and I suspect it will be a bit marmite amongst fans for that reason. It swaps his usually intense world-building and magic systems for a simultaneously futuristic and historic world where there is very little magic.

I enjoyed the humour of this story and loved the sections of the guide that we got to see along the way. It was a quick, fast paced read, and the characters developed a lot within a relatively short story.

Overall, it’s one to go into with an open mind for maximum enjoyment. Sanderson tried something different here, and I always appreciate that.

his is unlike anything of Sanderson's before - our main character has awakened with no memory in Medieval England. His only help, a handbook, has exploded in transit so he only has snippets left. Oh and he's also being chased down by people from his own time.
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This book gives Jason Bourne, but with comedic vibes and some sci-fi fantasy thrown in too. There are serious elements, but largely it felt humorous, and I enjoyed the patches of the handbook we got to see throughout the book too.
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Our main character experiences a lot of growth. Both in themselves, but also in learning who to trust, and uncovering their past, and challenges thoughts and feelings as they arise
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I liked the twist on medieval England, and the creativity we all have come to know and love from sanderson
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I feel this could appeal to both old and new sanderson fans, as no prior knowledge of the Cosmere is needed! It is definitely something new from him, and worth picking up. But don't expect the same feelings you get from the Cosmere, go in open-minded and see what happens!

I was very honored to be chosen to be a part of the book tour for this book and I want to say thank you to the publisher for gifting me a copy of it and allowing me to ramble enthusiastically once again about Brandon Sanderson. I think Brandon Sanderson’s secret projects are a whole brand of cosy fantasy and I'm here for it.  Although this book had more stakes than Tress of the Emerald Sea, I would still classify it as cosy fantasy, simply for the fact that the whole reading experience and the characters within the story make you feel good the whole time. I finished this book with a big smile on my face and a warm heart. I loved following our main character in this journey of self-discovery not only of himself, but of this mediaeval bizarre world that he seems to find himself without any memories of who he was and how he ended up there. He only has scattered bits of this handbook which doesn’t seem very helpful. We see his instincts from his former life starting to kick in and he finds himself adapting to his situation, whilst remembering bits and pieces and people from his life.  Whilst in the beginning these memories seem to give him a lot of confidence that he was a hero in the real world, soon enough he starts doubting himself as the story progresses. I found that the main character was extremely relatable, someone that is unable to find himself winning in life in comparison to others. Until he does. But for that, you’ll have to read it.I love the comedic side of the book and I love the addition of the little snippets of the actual Handbook in between. I truly have not read something similar to this. It is quite a different style for Brandon Sanderson and I think a lot of people might struggle with it, but like I said in the beginning of my review, I'm really becoming more and more of a fan with these secret projects. The world building itself entails more sci-fi than I expected, entwining itself to mediaeval England alternate dimension worlds. It's quite an interesting juxtaposition to read about nanobots that help enhance your body or protect your health, while at the same time you’re discovering a dimension with Norse inspired gods and traditions. The secondary characters are wonderful, funny and witty. They definitely enriched the plot and were very well explored. You’ll still find Sanderson's ethereal and heartfelt fantasy towards the middle of this book. This really reminded me of Doctor Who meets All my friends are superheroes meets Guardians of the Galaxy, wrapped around a big warm blanket. This was exactly what I needed after finishing big fantasies with a lot of emotional baggage and I am very grateful for this whole experience.

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

Brandon Sanderson – Orion Publishing

A Thank-you

Thank you to Orion Publishing for giving R&R a reviewer’s copy of the book.

Brandon Sanderson

For those of you who have never heard of Sanderson, please find a link here: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/about-brandon/ to his website. Where you will find all the information you need and more.

No Spoilers

I will talk about vague plot themes in the review, but I will not go into any kind of detail.

Introduction

Sanderson breaks his introduction down into thank-you’s and acknowledgements, letting you know that he did his research on this one, sourcing knowledge from Dr Michael Livingston and that influences the book. I was immediately reminded of short stories like, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, by Phillip K. Dick. Because our protagonist has no memory. He’s an amnesiac and Sanderson gives us a post-script at the end explaining what inspired him to write such a story. But unlike all of those cliché stories and films, where the plot is taken so seriously, Sanderson has fun with the concept. He knows what it is and that fun turns into entertainment.

Story

I knew this one was going to be weird and involve time travelling consciousness? I got ready to see what was in store. What I found was an expert blend of Science Fiction and Fantasy, creating a smooth page turner. You barely notice moving from one page to the next, because the flow and action is so succinct. But more importantly, I would like to talk about Brandon Sanderson’s use of hook. Read the blurb of the book:

“ A man awakes in a clearing in what appears to be medieval England with no memory of who he is, where he came from, or why he is there. Chased by a group from his own time, his sole hope for survival lies in regaining his missing memories, making allies among the locals, and perhaps even trusting in their superstitious boasts. His only help from the “real world” should have been a guidebook entitled The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, except his copy exploded during transit. The few fragments he managed to save provide clues to his situation, but can he figure them out in time to survive?” (Goodreads, 2023).

Sounds good, doesn’t it? But here at R&R we have been roped into too many good blurbs, too many good hooks, only to be left high and dry with: bad writing, uninteresting characters and overall an empty catch. However, Sanderson gives us a great hook and a great book. You want to carry on reading. You will read this in either a day, or a weekend, it makes you turn the page that much. He fuses action, with comedy, with mystery and you’re left powerless, until you have to turn the page again. Sanderson’s easy-reading prose helps with this as well. He weaves the ultimate Fantasy page turner.

But there is more. Steve Argyle, the illustrator and artist, comes in with brilliant illustrations that will percolate your imagination between chapters, or parts.

History

Medieval history is something which is also very popular. People are obsessed with history, but there has been a resurgence of the Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic period and associated eras. Think Game of Thrones, a massively popular fantasy series, Vikings, the TV series which has several seasons, people love the time period. There is even a surge in video games, Elden Ring, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Mount and Blade, Chivalry 2, For Honor, Skyrim…the list goes on. Sanderson capitalises on this and although R&R has no Medieval history buff on call, it is nice to know Sanderson conferred with experts, Dr Michael Livingston, in the field.

There are different sub sects of Science Fiction and Fantasy, you have Hard Science Fiction, which really grinds you down in the detail and research of the Science in the fiction, but when Science Fiction and Fantasy is done right, the genres can convince you of anything. I am reviewing this for the writing and reading, not for the historical accuracy and research that has gone into the book. I understand a lot of people are into historical fiction, and if there was a car, or an aeroplane, turning up in a book about Ancient Rome, it would completely blow the whole narrative away, but, The Frugal Wizard’s Guide to Medieval England is: 1. Fiction 2. About dimensional travel 3. Fun. So if you eagle eyed history buffs do notice mistakes, as there were a lot noticed in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla etc (Gamerant, 2020), just remember, the majority of us have not spotted anything at all.

Entertainment

Sanderson takes you on a path with bends and forks…and vikings! He directs your attention to one plot point and is already subtly building others and before you know it, you have more questions than answers and you need to carry on reading to get them. I enjoyed how this ‘future’ man was shaped by the world around him. I enjoyed how Sanderson put us all in our place. So you have a vague understanding of physics, medicine and electrics do you? Tough, vague understanding is getting you nowhere. The protagonist is reliant on the world around him, a hard, bleak world, full of lore and monsters. Have you ever experienced true darkness? I have. It’s pitch black, with nothing but noises and your imagination to rely on. The stars are the only thing that can be seen. You fumble around, desperate, as the blackness creeps in around you. But, although it’s dark, civilisation is only a few minutes away; or at least it was in my experience. But a medieval world has no cities, no mega-structures, shining street lights, like beacons up into the encroaching darkness. What would you do? Would you face the onslaught confidently? Or fold. It’s easy to discuss these abstract notions, but inter-dimensional travel would open up avenues of exploration.

Conclusion

Most of all, I continued reading because it was entertaining. Plots continued to unfold and you were left with more questions than answers. It’s a page turner, and whether you’re into fantasy, Science Fiction, or historical fiction, it’s a book you will read and enjoy quickly.

References:

Goodreads, (2023). The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook to Medieval England. Accessed via: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60531410
Gamerant, (2020). The Biggest Historical Inaccuracies in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Accessed via: https://gamerant.com/assassins-creed-valhalla-historical-inaccuracies/

I am a Brandon fan, and I do have a number of his books on my shelves so I was really interested by this one. It sounded really fun and light, and that’s exactly what it is. I love love love the format, with the “handbook” bits at the start makes the book for me. I loved them!

It is a light story, nothing heavy at all, and just a great easy read by a master of the genre.

My thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

As someone, I won't lie to you who has been intimidated by the works of Brandon Sanderson but considers one of his shorter books one of their favourite books, seeing this book appear was such a blessing and this book though I feel a little slow to start is a really good place to begin with such a discussed? author.

Watching Doctor Who sometimes I think about the knowledge I know that would blow the mind of someone who lived five hundred years ago, and reading this book feels like my thoughts have been put into print, because someone jumping into Medieval England and trying to figure it out from a modern perspective to me sounds like culture shock and this book certainly makes that clear as he adapts to the world he made for himself.

The characters here are written well with great growth throughout and though some of the jokes in the dialogue are slightly Pratchett-esque and maybe can sometimes can go over your head, but honestly this book is well written and makes for a fun read with a cast of characters that make up for it in my opinion.

I really enjoyed this one and it definitely makes me want to read Tress now.

(Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC for honest review).

‘This is the odd man out of the group of secret projects I wrote in 2020 and 2021. It’s not in the Cosmere, it’s in first person, and it’s more science fiction than fantasy.’

It’s always fun to see an established author want to take a bit of a departure from the books they are inherently known for, and it seems like the (extremely long) title ‘The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England’, had been in Brandon Sanderson’s head for a long time before he got around to putting pen to paper.

This book seems to have split reviewers by the looks of it, with the humour and characters not really landing with some readers. I personally really enjoyed it, it’s refreshing and quite light and I think would be a nice introduction to Sanderson to those who might not have the time to invest in a new series.

This is very much a standalone novel, and it has its own inherent style with brilliant illustrations from Steve Argyll. I must admit to being very grateful that I was given a physical ARC from Gollancz, as I usually read on my Kindle only and I’m not sure it would have had the same impact. It did however, mean I had to try and remember how to read an actual book and search out for a bookmark – as I travel so much for work, I haven’t picked up a physical book in years! If you are able to, I’d highly recommend getting the hardcover as it is beautiful, with illustrated chapter headings, as well as full graphic pages of the Handbook itself.

Most of the world building is done through these snippets of Handbook pages, that are marketing materials for the Interdimensional Travel Company who set Wizards up with their very own dimension to conquer – think a real-life version of Age of Empires! These Handbook pages are also humorous throughout, with footnotes giving witty asides. They do feel a little repetitive in places but then that is realistic when it comes to marketing materials!

In his notes at the end Brandon Sanderson names this as a ‘white-room’ story, which he has never done in novel form but has always wanted to try. This is defined as the character waking up with no memory and having to discover who they are along with the reader. This was a great narrative mechanic here as you can slip in a bit of an unreliable narrator without losing trust of the main character. The man finds himself in this other dimension with no idea why he chose to come there and what he might be running away from in his world. The man is an odd character – he gives star reviews to everything he encounters, is good at being stealthy, has rudimentary knowledge of hand-to-hand combat and can draw very well. We go on the journey with him as a reader and although he elicits empathy, he can get a little annoying at times!

I don’t want to give too much away about the story – it’s humorous and heartfelt at times and there are some good twists. The characters are fun and interesting – the female ones in particular! It doesn’t really give much of a scope for a sequel, but I’d actually love to visit the original world that has nanite and upgrade technology and where people disappear to live in their own dimensions on a whim!

Overall, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England is a fun story with brilliant illustrations – perfect for fans of Sanderson who don’t have the time to get invested in a whole new series. Thank you to Orion Publishing Group – Gollancz for a copy of the physical ARC in exchange for an honest review on their official blog tour.

A standalone novel from Brandon Sanderson that’s not set in the Cosmere and is supposed to be more sci-fi? Well, that sounded intriguing enough to check it out, even if neither memory loss nor Medieval England is among my favorite tropes. I’ll be trying to keep this review spoiler-free, so please bear with my cryptic comments on some aspects of it.

The book is more or less what it says on the tin: the main character goes through a journey of discovering who he was and who he might actually want to be against the backdrop of another dimension’s Middle Ages. The stakes too are revealed as we go along. The book within the book – the handbook about interdimensional travel that the main character tries to piece together in hopes of figuring out what he’s gotten himself into – is perhaps the best part of all, a delightful surprise both in terms of its unabashed marketing tone (complete with many footnotes and caveats) and lovely illustrations.

For me, this book is somehow a pretty good example of what happens when a writer whose main thing is epic fantasy and continuous world-building expansion sets his mind to writing a standalone – which is to say, it starts out very slowly only to pick up pace in maybe the last third of the book, and then ends up having three hundred potential hooks for continuation/spin-offs and severely underdeveloped secondary characters. The main character’s closest companions seemed fleshed out just enough, but the people from his own dimension barely have five character traits to go around, and the relationships he supposedly had with them in his other life come off as shallow and not impactful. The humor I didn’t mind so much, but it also seemed rather juvenile overall and might easily put off some of the readers.

As far as experiments in writing go, this should definitely be appreciated as a solid stab at creating something different. Has Sanderson written better books than this one? Absolutely. Is this book terrible? Not really, it’s pretty entertaining if you don’t dig too deep and it’s a fast read despite what felt like uneven pacing. That said, it would probably be a better fit for younger audiences than yours truly..

"The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England" was a lot of fun to read, though the humour soon lost its appeal for me. The story has shades of "Spellsinger" about it at the beginning, and seemed a little thin. The characters were a little sketchy considering the length of the book. A decent read though - especially if you don't want anything too taxing on the grey matter.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

When I read anything by Brandon Sanderson, I know I’m going to have a good time.

The Frugal Wizard, while not of the mind blowing quality and massive sweeping world building of Mistborn and Stormlight Archive, was heaps of fun to read. It had a little bit of everything: humour; magic; mystery and character growth. The premise of this was particularly interesting and enjoyable, I found myself thinking of all the possibilities of the interdimensional travel - I’d definitely read more stories in this ‘world’.

Ultimately a fun time but if you are a fan of Sanderson’s other works, don’t raise your expectations too high or you may be slightly disappointed!