"A Forthcoming Wizard"

Jody Lynn Nye is the author of many books and stories, including a series written with Anne McCaffrey and another with Robert Asprin.

She applied the “Page 69 Test” to her new book, A Forthcoming Wizard, and reported the following:

Page 69 of A Forthcoming Wizard contains internal thoughts of the villain of the piece, Knemet. He is a very ancient wizard whose motivation is encapsulated in the paragraphs on this page. He muses upon the bitterness he feels over the loss of his beloved Compendium and the betrayal of his fellow wizards, the Shining Ones. He is ruthless in pursuit of his lost treasure. A reader will anticipate with horror the fate of the poor fisherman who had the bad luck to come into contact with Knemet's prize.

A Forthcoming Wizard is the tale of the brave people who are carrying the Compendium, otherwise known as the Great Book, from the lair of the thief who stole it back to its long-time place of concealment. Our heroine is Tildi Summerbee, whom we first met in An Unexpected Apprentice. She is a smallfolk girl, one of a halfling breed of human in the world of Alada. She fled from her home after the destruction of her family, and ended up taking her lost brother’s place as apprentice to the wizard Olen. In his household, she learned of the Great Book, and joined the quest to retrieve it. Her companions were two wizards, mother and daughter; a centaur princess; a dwarf woman trader; and two soldiers in the service of King Halcot of Rabantae. They are not the only ones who wish to possess the Compendium. First among others, there is the Scholardom, a religious order who are sworn to protect the Great Book – will they be too easily tempted by its power? The book can change reality, and can kill with a touch. It is up to Tildi and her friends to defend this treasure and bring it back to where it belongs without falling into its thrall.

I hope that the reader will be intrigued enough by page 69 to go back and read the story from the beginning (or to read An Unexpected Apprentice first, though A Forthcoming Wizard was written to be able to stand alone). A compelling and driven villain adds necessary conflict to the story, giving our heroine a reason to persevere and be creative, resourceful and brave. Knemet is clever and complex. Staying out of his clutches will not be easy.

Read an excerpt from A Forthcoming Wizard, and visit Jody Lynn Nye's homepage.

Check out the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue