Questions About Off to Be the Wizard (Magic 2.0, #1)

by Scott Meyer (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (3)

Could this be appropriate for my 9yr old son? (Language? Situations? ...) I think I'll enjoy the audio book, and want to know if sharing the book with my son would be advisable.

Anthony Kramer This book is actually pretty tame given that it follows such a mature cast of characters. There -is- some language and suggestive situations but both …moreThis book is actually pretty tame given that it follows such a mature cast of characters. There -is- some language and suggestive situations but both are mild and few-and-far-between. I believe there -may- have been some instances of the words "Damn/Damnit" and "Hell" used in this book. The worst instance of bad language in this book is when the main character tells someone that he "looks bitchin' ". There was one reference to a character being "turned on" but it was a humorous one I'm sure most readers not knowing the meaning of that phrase would glaze over. There are, however, some other overt reference to sexuality is when one character tells the protagonist (again, in a humorous tone) that she's sure she doesn't need to fear him "ravishing her" since she jokingly suspects he's celibate. (SPOILER ALERT) Possibly the most suggestive part in the book is when the protagonist is talking to a fellow wizard who is a novelist in his spare time and apparently writes very trashy fantasy books teeming with "gratuitous sex" (pg. 146). The sex scenes in his novels are briefly mentioned as well as the "naked priestesses" and the seduction of a "beautiful, wealthy countess," (pg. 146). They don't go into any detail beyond mentioning the nakedness and the fact that sex took place. (/SPOILER). Apart from that, there is only one other mention of sex I can think of that your child will most likely not notice. And then there's two other references to male genitalia I can think of (one recurring, subtle reference and one singular, pretty overt reference--both of them, like all the inappropriate content in this book, humorous) that I think a 9 year old will probably not pay much attention to. Really, I can count most of the inappropriate elements of this 375 page book on two hands, so it's definitely safe for your child, I just figured I'd outline all the inappropriate content for you so you can determine for yourself if it's something you want to share with your son.

As for violence, there is some but 95% of it is cartoonish. Literally. Since (SPOILER ALERT) most of the characters cannot sustain bodily injury. The other 5% of the violence can possibly be a bit disturbing, involving references to bodily transformations--one of which is described as being painful and just a pinch bloody. But I don't think a 9 year old would process these mildly cringe-worthy details. (/SPOILER ALERT).

As for religion (if that matters to you), this book does deal with our whole existence and reality as we know it being controlled by a bunch of lines of code. Thusly, this book does mention--very briefly--the Christian faith, its church, and its god and there are a couple very brief instances where the validity of all these things is sort-of, kind-of brought into question. (SPOILER ALERT [kind of]) Rest assured, the stance and tone towards these things ends up being very safe and neutral, actually promoting the validity of religion and science and showing they're not necessarily mutually-exclusive ideas. While I think this is a very excellent message for children to receive, I will leave it to you whether you think this is a good thing or a bad thing. (/SPOILER ALERT) Regardless, the references to religion are limited to exactly two and are both very safe and short-lived.

Overall, this is a great and presently under-appreciated book. It's extremely hilarious, smart, clever, imaginative, well-written, and bears some very worth-while moral messages. The characters are all well fleshed-out and loveable, each in their own way; and it's certainly big enough to make for some excellent bed-time story reading over the course of a few weeks. I trust your son (and yourself) will eagerly look forward to each time you two are ready to delve into another few chapters together, especially once the story starts getting into the Medieval England, magic'y bits. I've only read this one so far, but I can tell it's the beginning of a wonderful and enthralling series that I hope you and your child can share in together.

So yeah. Read it to him if the stuff I mentioned doesn't bother you. Happy bonding!(less)

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This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Nick L Yea it's explained by having him fix it into the file that his phone always connects to the same tower as if he were in his apartment regardless of hi…moreYea it's explained by having him fix it into the file that his phone always connects to the same tower as if he were in his apartment regardless of his location. Basically he changes the part of the file that says what signal his phone is getting to be a constant. He does this when he first starts teleporting. (less)

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So...someone recommended this to me. What is the "Magic 2.0" reference in the series? Is that Magic the Gathering? Or something else, entirely? As a grown-up (who admittedly reads quite a bit of YA fantasy--there's not much else left) will I like it?