Review: Way of the Wizard by Michael Michel

Blurb:

Even gods have their beginnings.

Mine starts in the chasm between worlds. In the blink of eternity between life and death.

If you wish to follow, let this be your road.

First, join your brethren–those others who seek the Power. They are your allies and the key to your success. They will almost certainly try to kill you.

Second, slay a wizard and claim their topknot. Be smart, be quick, and never hesitate. They’re the most dangerous creatures alive. If destiny does not favor you, your bones will be added to the piles beneath their feet.

Third, acquire the hidden location of the Spirit Gardens. Secrets are worth more than kingdoms. Protect them at all costs or your enemies will win, and you will die.

But above all, never look back. Godhood is the goal.

If you have the courage and ambition to do so, read on.

Your path to power awaits.

Review:

I think Michael Michel has given me the false impression that anyone with a topknot is secretly a wizard. I tried cutting off a dude’s topknot while waiting for the bus the other day and now I’m at the police station. Michael, you owe me for bail.

Anyway, Way of the Wizard was a pretty fun read. A fast-paced coming-of-age story about someone taking their initial steps to become a wizard, it’s enjoyable through and through, and even with a couple missteps along the way, I found it to be a great palate cleanser after a heavier read.

Our story follows El, who seeks power in order to help their ailing mother and dear friend. After being driven out of their village, El wanders through the wilderness, follows the path of the Seeker, and is taken in by a cabal led by a great wizard. But as they learn the path they must take in order to become a wizard, a chance encounter reveals an artifact of great power in El’s possession, one that they must guard with the greatest of discretion. For the path to power is never-ending…and on that path walks the most dangerous creature alive: the wizard.

El’s path to power makes for an interesting tale. The wizards depicted in this book are a stark departure from the more classical variety we see in other works, in that they feel a little more like mob bosses here. They have their underlings in the Seekers, and they’re not afraid to use more powerful creatures to their advantage as enforcers (such as the appropriately named giant creatures called humongalors). One of the more intriguing aspects of the wizards is the administrative checklist one must complete in order to become a wizard, which includes slaying a wizard, stealing their topknot, throwing the topknot into a spiritual hole to reveal a secret tower, and obtaining a tome filled with the slain wizard’s knowledge. It made for a unique twist on the usual training montage, and it also ups the stakes of the power level of the wizards; a wizard is an immensely powerful and dangerous being, so the one killing them must be even more so. That’s definitely the highlight of the story for me.

Unfortunately, for how cool the concept on becoming a wizard is, there are a few missteps along the way. The largest issue I had with Way of the Wizard is in its rapid pacing. There were instances that would have benefited from a slower pace. One moment in particular that stood out to me was when El pulls an “lol kill-steal” on someone who is real angry about the kill-steal, but all it took to clear things up between them was a short conversation and all of a sudden they were good friends. Other moments passed by at a breakneck speed that I felt I didn’t have the time to properly digest everything before the next string of events began.

In addition to this, while El’s story and their path to power is very fascinating, El as a character is rather white-bread. They’re not a bad character by any means, but I didn’t find them particularly exciting, either, and that extends to much of the cast, as well. With slower pacing, I think the characters could have sunk in a bit more, but as it stands, much of the cast, El included, lacked some of the depth that was present in Michel’s prior work.

That said, this is very much a plot-driven work, and the plot is well-written and picks up much of the slack. There’s something comforting in these stories where the protagonist starts from nothing and begins their quest to become something, and Michel brings such a cool and unique twist to it that it still keeps me intrigued as to where El’s story is going to go.

On the whole, Way of the Wizard is a quick read with a fun spin on the Path to Power trope and some gripping action along the way. And if there’s anything it can teach us, it’s that dudes store all their power in their hair, so at this point, I may as well be a wizard, too. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go find a magic hole and throw someone’s hair down it.