Blog Tour | Book Review: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

Hello all
Long time no see!
I’m finally back with a new review.

Disclaimer: The book was gifted by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

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?

My Thoughts:

A subpar Sanderson novel – One of my lowest ratings ever for Sanderson.
I’m a huge Sanderson fan, his stuff is usually a favourite. I adore the Cosmere novels but this one fell flat for me.

It definitely doesn’t ‘feel’ like a Sanderson novel, it’s a whole new style for Sanderson. I understand the wanting to change things up and do something different but it had none of his usual strong points.

The world-building, characters, and plot fell flat. Nothing particularly grabbing. I took so long to read this relatively short novel. It was a struggle, every time I put it down I didn’t really care to pick it back up.

The writing style was very different to his other books. This story took on a more humourous, light-hearted tone. This, I didn’t mind too much, though some of the jokes were a tad cringe. This book felt very YA/juvenile compared to Sanderson’s usual adult fantasy.
It was well written, like all of his novels but I don’t think the humour/comedy was for me. I found it tedious at times. It wasn’t my sense of humour for the most part, though I found *some* aspects amusing.

The plot I don’t really have much to say about it was okay, nothing groundbreaking and none of the usual dramatic plot twists I’d expect from Sanderson. The different dimensions and travel were cool aspects but they weren’t really explained enough.

The main character, though not someone I was invested in, did have some decent character development. A lot of the plot was slowly getting to know the character while he was trying to remember himself.

The illustrations throughout were really nicely done and are a lovely addition to the story. I enjoyed them scattered throughout the novel.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Thank you to Gollancz for gifting me a copy of The Frugal Wizard’s Guide Fir Surviving Medieval England.

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