The Wizards and Warriors book is an exciting story. I don’t think I like this book as much as the other books, even though it does follow the game very closely. I feel like it follows the game to a fault.
They find the different items from the game, our heroes run around collecting gems and keys, and they get to the different levels from the game. Battles are also rushed through at times. I’ve come to expect this, but it is very noticeable in this book. I wish the author had spent more time on the bosses and less on Kuros fighting random monsters.
Matthew’s main character doesn’t fit into this book very well. They make a point to say that the monsters ignore him. His role seems to be yelling at Kuros, finding things that Kuros would have found anyway, and gawking at the women at the end of each level.
I feel like I’ve been too negative so far. It is a fun book! However, it seems this book’s flaws were a bit more glaring than the others I’ve read.
The Story
We start with Matthew. He will be our link between the game world and the real world. I think he is okay. A bit hormonal, but hey, he’s probably just his puberty and thinks girls are pretty. Guys like Matthew are why girls must cover their shoulders in school! He gets one look at a cute girl and is mentally done for the day.
Anyway, he is probably having trouble in a creative writing class because he isn’t all that creative—his words, not mine.
School ends for the day, and he goes home. In his room, he is met by a hulking knight named Kuros. This was a common occurrence in the 90s. I can’t tell you how often my homework was left unfinished because I had to help someone on a quest.
Matthew agrees to go with Kuros on his quest to defeat Malkil and save many pretty women. I don’t think Kuros needs Matthew. He does save Kuros a few times, and Matthew teaches Kuros how to climb trees because he apparently didn’t know how for some reason.
We are also told that these two have a time limit. They have until sunset to complete all of their tasks, OR ELSE! I didn’t write down the “or else,” I guess a different knight shows up to save the day.
At the end of each level, they save a maiden who Malkil had captured as part of his ritual. This is when an unintentional joke is told. Matthew sees the first maiden and immediately falls in love. He comments that this maiden is even more attractive than Karen Douglas. More on her later.
He seemingly falls in love with each of them. I think he should have gone after the sassy redhead. That was just me, though. She gave Matthew and Kuros crap because they weren’t saving her fast enough. I found that very funny.
Matthew finally decides that he is madly in love with Grizelda, who happens to be Kuros’ sister. He is kind of dumb. Kuros is the kind of guy who would challenge Matthew to a jousting match for his sister’s hand. The result would have been Matthew dying.
Along the way, they stumble into the items that they need. Often it feels like Matthew is finding these things by accident. Almost like Kuros would have found them anyway.
I forgot that Matthew isn’t seen by the enemies coming after Kuros. Until they get to Malkil, he can see Matthew and wants to kill him. This results in Kuros fighting something and Matthew cheering him on or wandering around looking for keys, gems, or items.
Kuros gets killed two or three times in the book. At least, I think he is killed; the description in the book gives me that impression. Matthew and the Princess will him back to life. This is like continuing the game or having a second life in the game.
Things are wrapped up very quickly like the other books I’ve read from this series. The ending is a little strange. Kuros kills Malkil, there is a flash of light, and Matthew is returned to his house. He also didn’t get to talk to Grizelda, which is probably a good thing because he most likely would have been friend zoned or killed in a duel with Kuros.
I’m just being realistic. Grizelda is probably going to be married off to some nobleman. Matthew is from a different dimension and most likely wouldn’t raise Kuros in the ranks of nobility. I’m thinking way too much about this.
Karen Douglas
So, Karen Douglas is Matthew’s measuring stick to say that the maidens are lovely. We aren’t given too much information about her. I was having way too much fun with her inclusion in the book.
There was no reason for her to be here. After each of the maidens was introduced, I would add, “but she doesn’t hold a candle to Karen Douglas,” or “but how does this one compare to Karen Douglas.” I don’t know why I found that funny.
I was thinking about adding some stuff in this post about Karen Douglas. Like making up things like how she won every beauty contest. Like how she represented every state in the Miss America pageant.
I even thought about googling the name Karen Douglas and putting a bunch of pictures in here. Just a bunch of photos of random women named Karen Douglas shoehorned in without explanation. Then I figured that would be super weird and left that out.
I also thought it was funny how Matthew completely forgot about her after he saw Grizelda. I imagined that he would go back to school, look at her and say I guess she is okay. Then she tells him she won’t date him because he is creepy.
Final Thoughts
This is a fun retelling of the plot of the game. I was a little worried that I was being too negative here. There are some dumb things in the book, but it was a fun story.
It was meant for young adults and not some 38-year-old crazy person who likes reading books about video games (me). It was still an enjoyable story.
I’m thinking back to when I was a kid, and the Scholastic book fair would come to school. This might have been a book that I would have bought. It is a fun story that you can read quickly.