The Wood Nymph and the Cranky Saint (The Royal Wizard of Yurt)

by C. Dale Brittain

Book Overview

New light fantasy from the author of, Bad Spell in Yurt. When the king goes on vacation, Daimbert, wizard to the king, learns there's a great deal to be said for the quiet life, as he faces an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671721569
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Baen
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 1.0" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Sacred Stubbed Toe

This is the second book in C. Dale Brittain's Daimbert series. These are stories about a young wizard out on his first job - royal wizard of the tiny kingdom of Yurt. Daimbert has recovered from his first adventure, banishing a demon that was haunting the castle and temporarily dying in the process. Joachim the royal priest, who has now become an unlikely friend, rescued him. In the very medieval world of these tales wizards and churchmen generally don't mix, but age and education have drawn them together. When King Haimeric decides to take a vacation, he leaves his nephew in charge, with Daimbert to aid him. Now Joachim is called on to help resolve the problem of the Sacred Toe, a saint's relic that the spirit of the saint, ever cranky, seems to want moved elsewhere. At the same time Daimbert is called on to investigate a sudden plague of horned and fanged rabbits. The two join together to investigate their problems, and thereby hangs a tale. Daimbert's quest becomes complicated when he discovers that the rabbits are magical constructs and there is even something worse haunting the woods. Other distractions come in the form of a novice wizard whom the duchess has added to her staff and an extremely attractive wood nymph with an affection for wizards. Joachim's problems are almost as bad. The saint is indeed cranky, the current hermit is confused, and strangers are setting up a souvenir stand at the site of the Holy Toe. Now priests from a church in the city are on their way to claim the Toe, and, in case I forgot to mention it, priests and wood nymphs do not generally get along. This is a complex story with interwoven layers of deception. While the tone is light, there is no question but that some of the issues addressed are serious. Everything from an old wizard's fear of dying to a noble's mid-life crisis shows that Brittain has a knack for character development and a willingness to avoid the usual themes of grand heroes and damsels in distress. This series is unique in its mix of stylings, and worth looking up.

As good as the "Bad Spell"

C. Dale Brittain is one of the more underrated fantasy writers, who manages to blend straight fantasy with a sense of comedy and wryness. The first book in the Daimbert series, "Bad Spell in Yurt," introduced readers to the inexperienced wizard Daimbert; this book picks up where the last left off.King Haimeric of Yurt is going away for a while, leaving his blunt nephew Dominic and royal wizard Daimbert in charge of the kingdom in his absence. But Daimbert soon finds that things in Yurt aren't as peaceful as they appear: Enormous savage horned rabbits are running loose. Saint Eusebius the Cranky, at the Shrine of the Holy Toe, has been appearing in dreams to different priests and hermits, with conflicting wishes. The wood nymph who lives near the shrine has to be moved, except she doesn't want to be. The strong-willed Duchess Diana has apparently fallen in love with her new huntsman, Nimrod -- and Dominic wants to marry her instead. And a twitty but well-meaning young wizard named Evrard is tagging along with Daimbert.But solving each problem produces a new one. No sooner has Daimbert unraveled the mystery of the giant horned rabbits than he finds that a new one has cropped up. A mysterious zombielike monster is creeping around the countryside near the Shrine of the Holy Toe, and it's proving to be a much bigger problem than the horned rabbits ever were...This book is as enthralling a mystery/fantasy as the previous one was, without repeating any plot elements. Brittain continues the good-natured jokes and occasional bursts of silly humor, such as the hunter called Nimrod or the horned rabbits. The whole idea of the Cranky Saint, the Shrine of the Sacred Toe, and his comical encounter with the dragon and subsequent sainthood was absolutely hilarious; Christians with a sense of humor may appreciate it. As for the plotting, it has actually improved: this book is more complicated and twisted, with a slightly tighter feel to it.Characters return from the first book in the series, like the old wizard who served the king before Daimbert, and Joachim the saintly-but-not-annoying chaplain. There are some new ones, such as Evrard, a character who might be annoying if he weren't so earnest. The only character who fails to come alive is the wood nymph, who feels somewhat disconnected from the other plots. She did inspire some interesting theological discussions, of which there are more in this book than in "Bad Spell."A delightful sequel in an all-too-short series. Read "Bad Spell," read "Wood Nymph," and then on to the next book...

Be Careful What You Wish For...

...You just might get it! Daimbert soon found this out. When the King of Yurt decided it was time for his family to go on vacation, he left Daimbert and Joachim, the chaplain, in charge, with his nephew on the throne as regent. As soon as the King left, problems started popping up left and right! One of the dukes is plagued with magical rabbits... with horns; the very cranky saint that resides at the shrine of the Holy Toe has appeared in several different visions, some stated his wishes to be moved from the shrine to a church in a different city, and others saying that he wants to stay at the shrine; the church decided they wanted the nymph that resides in the woods around the shrine of the Holy Toe to be moved elsewhere; a duchess is being courted by an apparently low-born stranger *and* the King's nephew; odd zombie-like creatures have been sighted; and to top it all off, Daimbert's predecessor seems to be growing more and more incompetent. While all these problems are very serious indeed, Brittain still manages to keep it light-hearted and fun. Also, he does a wonderful job of addressing how magic and religion interact.

A well done sequel, definately worth reading

Brittain brings back all of the original characters in a worthy sequel to "Bad Spell in Yurt". While the sequel a lot of fun to read, I thought it had a sharper edge to it's tone then the first book in the series. I'd recommend this book to any fantasy reader-- if you've read the first book in the series then this is a definate "must read".

Kept me up several nights, few books have done that to me.

The wizard sure has his hands full. There was a good mix of fantasy and real life conflicts between church and everyone else. There were very few far fetched ideas which made the reading enjoyable. It is worth the reading if you like fantacy. If your too hung up on the real world, by a dictionary.