Title: Geek Fantasy NovelAuthor: E. Archer
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
What happens when a science geek and magic collide?
Be careful what you wish for. Really. Because wishes are bad. Very bad. They can get you trapped in fantasy worlds full of killer bunny rabbits, evil aunts, and bothersome bacteria, for example. Or at least that's Ralph's experience. He's been asked to spend the summer with his strange British relatives at their old manor house in order to set up their Wi-Fi network. But there's much more to it than that, of course. It's just that nobody told Ralph. He's a gamer, sure. But this game is much stranger--and funnier--than anything to be found on his xbox.
He is a geek. This is his story. -- Goodreads
This book is not AT ALL what I expected. I thought it was going to be a cute little foray into geek culture, (with which I am very well-acquainted) a romp through a world full of comic book in-jokes and World of Warcraft references. While Geek Fantasy Novel has those, as well as fire-burping bunnies, the book is soooo much more than that--it's smart and meta and inventive and full of SAT words and freakin' layered--there are TWO narrators! Not that it's a hard book to read; it's definitely not that. It's just, well, to be completely honest, waaaay better than I thought it would be.
The main plot is that Ralph, a super geeky kid living in New Jersey with parents who are anti-wishing, is recruited by his aunt to come to England for the summer to help set up their WiFi network. While there, he reconnects with his cousins, Cecil and Daphne, and his half-cousin (is that a thing?) Beatrice. He also meets his other aunt, Chessie, who, as it turns out, has the power to grant wishes. However, these wishes have to be acted out via a quest that the wishee must complete.
Sounds simple enough, right?
Well, as is normally the case with magic, not everything is what it appears to be, and loopholes are abundant. With Ralph attempting to save each of his cousins from their careless wishing and terrifying quests, he wreaks havoc on the age-old profession of narrating quests and causes quite the stir in his family's otherwise quiet life.
After I read this book, I could not stop thinking about it. I enjoyed it so much that I just had to speak with the wonderful, talented Eliot Schrefer, who is, in fact, E. Archer, about the book! So I did! Check out my interview with Mr. Schrefer after the jump!
This book is not AT ALL what I expected. I thought it was going to be a cute little foray into geek culture, (with which I am very well-acquainted) a romp through a world full of comic book in-jokes and World of Warcraft references. While Geek Fantasy Novel has those, as well as fire-burping bunnies, the book is soooo much more than that--it's smart and meta and inventive and full of SAT words and freakin' layered--there are TWO narrators! Not that it's a hard book to read; it's definitely not that. It's just, well, to be completely honest, waaaay better than I thought it would be.
The main plot is that Ralph, a super geeky kid living in New Jersey with parents who are anti-wishing, is recruited by his aunt to come to England for the summer to help set up their WiFi network. While there, he reconnects with his cousins, Cecil and Daphne, and his half-cousin (is that a thing?) Beatrice. He also meets his other aunt, Chessie, who, as it turns out, has the power to grant wishes. However, these wishes have to be acted out via a quest that the wishee must complete.
Sounds simple enough, right?
Well, as is normally the case with magic, not everything is what it appears to be, and loopholes are abundant. With Ralph attempting to save each of his cousins from their careless wishing and terrifying quests, he wreaks havoc on the age-old profession of narrating quests and causes quite the stir in his family's otherwise quiet life.
After I read this book, I could not stop thinking about it. I enjoyed it so much that I just had to speak with the wonderful, talented Eliot Schrefer, who is, in fact, E. Archer, about the book! So I did! Check out my interview with Mr. Schrefer after the jump!
