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A review by riseofsilence
The Wizard's Butler: Book 1 by Nathan Lowell, Nathan Lowell
4.0
Where is the rest of my series? *puppy dog eyes* Where is it, Lowell?
Listen, guys, The Wizard's Butler...it's that kind of book that you spend all your time reading because you don't want to put it down, but at the same time you're sitting there asking yourself "what exactly is it that I LIKE about this book?"
For me, a lot of it was the characters.
I don't usually like a lot of urban fantasy. I don't like books set in the modern world where magic and world building are limited. And yet, somehow, this book changed my mind. All because of its delightful characters.
In short, The Wizard's Butler is the story of two men: Mr. Shackleford, an eccentric old man alone in his mansion who insists on leaving a thimble of whiskey out for the pixies and demands to be acknowledge as a wizard. A man who insisters that he does not in fact have dementia as his family believes, but that rather he is under a magical curse. And it's also about Roger Mulligan, a man who escaped the army after two traumatic tours in Afghanistan as an army medic and served time as an EMT in NYC. A man who is greatly amused by Mr. Shackleford but isn't quite sure whether he believes in things he can't physically see.
And of course there is a wild bunch of side characters including a gold hunting niece named Naomi and a good share of long lost relatives and old magical friends who bustle through the house to visit regularly. And together, this host of characters fills the pages with delightful and relatable antics. Which is beautiful. Because can the average person see pixies or practice magic? Absolutely not. But do we maybe have an old man living in our house who loves to play pranks and spends his entire existence in his garden and library? Absolutely. And lord knows we've all got a family member (or three) that we politely wish we didn't have.
The Wizard's Butler, at the end of the day, is a simply, friendly, but emotional book. A journey between two gentlemen that is both a bit of Wooster and Jeeves and a bit of Mary Poppins and Mr. Banks. There's a quiet core to this that feels like a cozy fantasy, and yet, I wouldn't call it that at all. (But on the other side of the coin, there's also ancient Native American magic involved and that's super hella cool???)
If you're looking for a high stakes fantasy with lots of world building and murder, this isn't it. But if you're looking for a quiet, humorous story of friendship between a butler and his master and their ancient Native American curse, well, The Wizard's Butler's got you covered.
I will state that there were some plot lines that still felt like they had some loose ends, but I do assume that those are meant to be solved in the sequel? And there was one character who I'd have liked to see more of that kind of just "disappeared" at one point and I'm not sure whether that was purposeful or not?
That said, overall, just a lot to love about this quiet little story and I think lovers of urban fantasy or magical realism or low stakes cozy fantasy will really enjoy this story.
Listen, guys, The Wizard's Butler...it's that kind of book that you spend all your time reading because you don't want to put it down, but at the same time you're sitting there asking yourself "what exactly is it that I LIKE about this book?"
For me, a lot of it was the characters.
I don't usually like a lot of urban fantasy. I don't like books set in the modern world where magic and world building are limited. And yet, somehow, this book changed my mind. All because of its delightful characters.
In short, The Wizard's Butler is the story of two men: Mr. Shackleford, an eccentric old man alone in his mansion who insists on leaving a thimble of whiskey out for the pixies and demands to be acknowledge as a wizard. A man who insisters that he does not in fact have dementia as his family believes, but that rather he is under a magical curse. And it's also about Roger Mulligan, a man who escaped the army after two traumatic tours in Afghanistan as an army medic and served time as an EMT in NYC. A man who is greatly amused by Mr. Shackleford but isn't quite sure whether he believes in things he can't physically see.
And of course there is a wild bunch of side characters including a gold hunting niece named Naomi and a good share of long lost relatives and old magical friends who bustle through the house to visit regularly. And together, this host of characters fills the pages with delightful and relatable antics. Which is beautiful. Because can the average person see pixies or practice magic? Absolutely not. But do we maybe have an old man living in our house who loves to play pranks and spends his entire existence in his garden and library? Absolutely. And lord knows we've all got a family member (or three) that we politely wish we didn't have.
The Wizard's Butler, at the end of the day, is a simply, friendly, but emotional book. A journey between two gentlemen that is both a bit of Wooster and Jeeves and a bit of Mary Poppins and Mr. Banks. There's a quiet core to this that feels like a cozy fantasy, and yet, I wouldn't call it that at all. (But on the other side of the coin, there's also ancient Native American magic involved and that's super hella cool???)
If you're looking for a high stakes fantasy with lots of world building and murder, this isn't it. But if you're looking for a quiet, humorous story of friendship between a butler and his master and their ancient Native American curse, well, The Wizard's Butler's got you covered.
I will state that there were some plot lines that still felt like they had some loose ends, but I do assume that those are meant to be solved in the sequel? And there was one character who I'd have liked to see more of that kind of just "disappeared" at one point and I'm not sure whether that was purposeful or not?
That said, overall, just a lot to love about this quiet little story and I think lovers of urban fantasy or magical realism or low stakes cozy fantasy will really enjoy this story.