A review by xerxes314
Out of Spite, Out of Mind by Scott Meyer

4.0

As I said in my review of Fight and Flight, when you're an omnipotent wizard, the only stakes are whose feelings get hurt. Meyer (IMHO) wisely doubles down on this theme with a book whose stakes are whether the entire universe will be destroyed

which it can't, because we know it wasn't

and whether Phillip's romance will end in heartbreak

which it must, but we don't know when or why

. There's a subplot concerning Martin and Gwen, which I was confident would turn out ok, since Gwen is a rational woman who wouldn't up and move thousands of years and miles away rather than voice her feelings and Martin is a mature guy who wouldn't screw up a relationship just to prove a point.

I had a feeling around Book 2 that Meyer was going to paint himself into a corner where nothing interesting could happen in this universe, but he keeps on going. I deeply respect his strict adherence to the rules of his universe, when lesser authors would cheat in order to subvert expectations. Just as Rocket Hat must inevitably clobber the Emperor of the Moon, the rules are the rules, and Meyer makes it funny every time.