The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson is book number 2 of 4 in his Secret Projects series. For something that is extremely odd for me to do, I can’t recommend this book. I’m going on a wild assumption that fans of Brandon Sanderson will also feel the same. On that note though, I have to remember that these stories are a bit different from the traditional novels the author comes up with in that the Secret Projects had the intention of being written exclusively for his wife, and only now did he bring them to the public. However, that didn’t prevent me from enjoying Tress of the Emerald Sea. With this second installment, it’s completely forgettable. While I’m positive that Brandon and his friends had a blast putting this together with the artwork and whatnot, the execution of the story just felt like a big letdown, and that’s something I didn’t think I’d ever write, ever. Brandon Sanderson, as it turns out, is human after all.

“Your life isn’t unremarkable. You are merely living in the wrong time.”

Cecil G. Bagsworth III

Going on another wild assumption, I’d believe that many fans would say that the concept of dimensional hopping has immense potential, but that the execution here is sorely lacking. I’m sure if an author wanted to, they could write countless novels based on this idea alone. Going back to medieval England, while I don’t have an issue with it, is just not that exciting, especially with how the story went. It’s funny that the author had the help of an editor who would help correct any wrong assumptions he’d had of medieval England, but I hardly saw a need for that. The characters don’t go to any important historic landmarks of that period; they don’t meet any legendary characters such as kings, queens, or warriors; nor do they even perform any specific tasks that would require knowledge of the medieval periods. It felt like the main character could have traveled to some Third World country of our time and impressed the locals who aren’t familiar with recent technological advancements. In short, dimensional hopping to medieval England didn’t feel like so throughout the story.

“You can have no equal. And so, you can know no peer. You are a wizard.”

Cecil G. Bagsworth III

The inserts between chapters do provide for some light humor. Although a bit humorous to read in the beginning, it wore out halfway through. The humor the main character provides is very rare. The whole I-was-a-failure-but-now-have-a-chance-to-redeem-myself cliche was tiresome. In short, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook is what I’d hope to be the weakest of the four stories in this project.