Her Majesty's Wizard

Her Majesty's Wizard

File:Her majesty's wizard cover page.JPG Her Majesty's Wizard cover
Author	Christopher Stasheff
Language	English
Series	A Wizard in Rhyme
Genre	Fantasy novel
Publisher	Del Rey Books
Publication date	1986
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages	352 pp (paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-345-27456-3
Preceded by	none
Followed by	The Oathbound Wizard

Her Majesty's Wizard is a fantasy novel by American author Christopher Stasheff, the first in the series A Wizard in Rhyme.

Plot summary

A PhD student called Matthew "Matt" Mantrell is transported into a fantasy world. In that world, which mirrors our own (but a thousand years ago), magic still reigns supreme. Dragons, wizards, sorcerers and giants are just some of the exotic residents of this world. Most importantly, faith (in the Christ) exists in this world, and largely influences the works of men. Devout men who believe in and follow Christ - exactly the way the Christian doctrine dictates - will turn out successful in their actions.

Matt found himself the unwitting hero who has to rescue royalty-in-distress and help her regain her rule from an evil usurper.

Characters

• Matthew "Matt" Mantrell: A PhD student who, through reading forbidden runes, stumbled into a magical world similar to his original Earth homeland. The geography of the new world is similar to Matt's home world, and even shared some common history. By accident, he discovered he could perform magic in the new world by reciting rhymes.

• Max : Maxwell's Demon. Thought in the beginning, to be evil, Max turns out to be not of hell, and helps Matt through all his troubles.

• Alisande: The rightful ruler of Merovence and a damsel-in-distress.

• Sir Guy de Toutarien: Alias Sir Guy Losobal. A brave and upright knight and epitome of romantic knight in feudal age. He hid the fact that he was a descendant of Hardishane, a hero in the past who fought evil and established an Empire for goodness and order.

• Stegoman: A fire-breathing dragon who unfortunately becomes intoxicated whenever he breathed fire.

• Hardishane: The first emporer of Merovence. Dubs Matt knight.

• Father Brunel: A priest who, through lust, becomes a werewolf on a full moon.

• Saint Montcaire: Patron saint of Merovence.

• Colmain : A giant sworn to protect Royal House of Merovence.

• Duke Astaulf: Murderer of the rightful king of Merovence and usurper of its throne.

• Sayeesa: A witch who charmed Matthew to make him use his powers at her bidding.

• Duke of Montmartre: A loyal noble to the rightful Royal House of Merovence. He and a number of other loyalist nobles were imprisoned by Duke Astaulf.

• Marquis Sauvignon: Son of Duke of Montmartre, he adored Alisande.

• Earl of Norville: Once aligned to the false king Astaulf, he switched allegiance to serve Alisande.

• Baron D'Art: A loyal noble who shared the same cell as Duke of Montmartre.

• Duke of Lachaise: A noble aligned with Duke Astaulf.

• Count Ennudid: A noble aligned with Duke Astaulf.

Major themes

Catholic thought and tradition are the driving forces in this work. The author forms a world in which the catechism as well as some early tradition translates directly into reality.

Another important theme is the culture shock resulting from an individual abruptly transitioning from modern relativistic culture into a black and white world.