Duane, Diane - High Wizardry

[oyceter]

Huh. I actually liked this better than Deep Wizardry, which seems to be the not-as-common reaction. I did sort of anticipate this though -- I like computers and computer magic much more than I like the deep seas, probably because there is something about computers that is so wonderfully mundane and yet completely mystifying and amazing and mindblowing at the same time. Not that the deep sea is not mystifying. But I feel there is much more fantasy already about the coolness of assorted animals than there is about computers.

Anyway. Nita's little sister Dairine has found out about the entire wizard thing, and worse come to worse, Dari has gone and taken the Oath. She's ended up with the beta software of the wizard's manual, handily stored in an Apple IIIc (OMG! Apple IIIc! Hee!). This book was written nearly twenty years ago, which shows with regard to all the computer stuff -- OS prompts! Actual floppy discs! Computers that don't just miraculously work the second you take them out of the box and plug them in! But honestly, I don't particularly care, as I am somewhat fascinated by it all.

Many people have noted in comments to the previous two books that Dari is quite a Mary Sue. I completely agree; she is smarter and faster than Nita or Kit, and she has even more raw wizard power than they do. But a large part of me just doesn't care. Dari believes that the way to get through the world is to accumulate as much knowledge as possible, and really, the second Duane mentioned that in the book, I was a goner. Also, Dari is an obsessive reader!

Go reader identification! This worked so much for me that I avoided being bugged by things like the prose and the "Eek! Cannot think about that!" bits of Kit and Nita growing into adolescents, complete with all those unpleasant adolescent things.

And finally, they go off into space! And visit different galaxies! There is a black hole!

Also, I was much more drawn into this battle with the One Power, largely because it hit many more of my Cool Bits buttons. Namely: entire planet made of silicon that is a motherboard! New species achieving sentience! Sibling protectiveness! And I was very touched by Gigo and the other turtle-things rejecting the One Power and didn't see the bit with Picchu as one of the PTB coming at all.

It's so interesting comparing my reaction to this with my reaction to Deep Wizardry. Nothing has really changed about the books; I can still see the awkwardness of the prose and the occasional anvils of the themes, but because Duane is hitting so many of my Cool Bits with this one, I am completely enraptured by it.

ETA: spoilers for this book and minor spoilers for the next book in the comments.

Comments

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Yaaay!

[oyceter]

Yes, it made me happy too!

Also... sentient lifeforms that are all wizards made from a giant planet that is a huge computer! That's a lot of Coolness Points in my book.

[kate_nepveu]

I like this one the best too, because Nita annoys me in the second one. Even with the giant astrophysics error.

[oyceter]

I think I completely didn't notice the giant astrophysics error, largely because I was trying not to look too closely at the computer science.

And I'm not even a programmer! Or anything resembling a programmer!

What was it? The black hole thing?

[kate_nepveu]

Stopping the expansion of the universe will not get you immediate large quantities of light if you don't also _change the speed of light_.

[oyceter]

Oh yes. That. I think I mentally tried to forget about that part. Also, I was confused -- wouldn't stopping the expansion of the universe just keep the level of light the same? Unless stopping the expansion also meant shoving everything closer together?

Or possibly I am revealing my embarrassing lack of knowledge of basic physics.

[kate_nepveu]

No, you were right and the author was wrong. =>

[oyceter]

Whoo! I actually learned something from high school physics!

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I like the parts with the little sentient computer aliens.

Hmm. You are having unpredictable reactions to the series, or else I would suggest skipping the next book. It is the only one in the series that I felt had no redeeming value whatsoever, as opposed to others that I thought had good parts and also flaws. However, I don't remember anything about it except that it is set in Ireland and it bored me.

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Oh! The next one is the one where I stopped reading but I remember nothing about it except that it is set in Ireland and bored me.

I'm sensing a trend.

[oyceter]

Hee! Me too. I read the beginning few chapters handily excerpted in the end of this book, and I find that I am deeply uninterested in Ireland and what seems to be a plot about Kit and Nita being Teenagers with Hormones and Romantic Interests.

[almeda.livejournal.com]

Actually, the Ireland book is the last one (IMHO -- dduane disagrees) that still HAS plot that isn't all about the wangst. A rather neat save-the-world-with-local-wizards plot, actually, if you ignore the my-romance-is-pastede-on-yay.

[almeda.livejournal.com]

I liked the Ireland one all right ... it was sort of boring, but aside from the pasted-on love plot it was considerably better than some books I've read.

And then the book after THAT, well, it drags on and on and on and only takes a week to happen or something, and Nita ends up in an ethical dilemma because her mom has cancer and even cancer cells deserve to live. Plus she's going through puberty now and has OMG!HORMONES.

And the one after that? The one after that, Nita and Kit turn into cardboard cutouts labeled "TEENAGER -- HORNY" in big scratchy black marker letters.

[oyceter]

Oooo, ok, you have convinced me to stop reading. I hated all the Nita and Kit having hormones thing in this book and the last, so I suspect that latter ones will not go down well.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Some of the later ones have very fun bits with lots of space adventuring and cool aliens, though I do think the first three books are the best. The hormonal stuff either goes away or I tuned it out.

[oyceter]

Hrm, yeah... I dunno. It almost feels like a bit of a giant, long denouement when compared to the climax of this book.

[oyceter]

I ADORE the little sentient computer aliens. I want one! I mean, I was also conflicted about Dairine playing God ("Don't give them all wizardry powers! That's just asking for trouble!"), though I'm glad that her playing God was the exact thing that brought on the crisis.

I am thinking of skipping the next ones, as a) it is more Nita focused and therefore will not have as much cool computer alien stuff, b) it is set in Ireland (wow have I read too many romances), and c) it seems to be about Nita and Kit being adolescents with hormones, which has made me cringe every single time it's been mentioned in the last two books.

[hecatehatesthat.livejournal.com]

So I'm stalking your journal under the pretext of seeing what you've been up to, and I just have to say: High Wizardy has always been my favorite book in the series. Dairine kicks ASS.

Not that I have a thing about little girls with big power at all. (Toph!)

[oyceter]

Hi! Stalk away!

I really loved all the astronomy stuff in this book, despite having to handwave the science and the computers (why don't my computers talk to me in the vernacular?).

Also, Toph! I love Toph so much. Now I feel like I should sic Honey and Clover and 20th Century Boys on you, as they are my recent obsessions and both of them have girls who are awesome and so strong, though in very different ways.