The Vexed Generation

Magic 2.0 #6

by Scott Meyer

In the latest rollicking adventure in the Magic 2.0 series, it’s time for the teenagers to show the adults how wizardry really works.

Mattie and Brewster are normal, typical 16-year-old twins who live with their normal, boring Martin and Gwen Banks. Normal and boring, that is, until the day their father's best friend shows up at their house - dressed in what appears to be a bathrobe.

The next thing Mattie and Brewster know, their parents are frozen like human statues in their living room, the guy in the bathrobe has vanished, and they need to find answers - fast.

The twins set off on a quest to discover the truth of their parents' lives. Along the way they find secrets, lies, magic, time travel, strange new friends, stranger new enemies, and a really weird dirigible (which, they're told repeatedly, is not a blimp). It is a twisted and bizarre trail that, they hope, will lead them to the man they blame for their parents'

Phillip.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Science Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Classics, Comedy

309 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 6, 2019

About the author

Scott Meyer has been a radio DJ, a stand-up comic, a writer for video games, an office manager, and a pretend ghost bellhop.

He is the creator of the comic strip Basic Instructions, and has now written a novel.

He and his wife live in Florida, to be close to their cats.

Reviews

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Executive Summary: A much better entry than its predecessor. The new characters really breathed life into a series that for me seemed to be running out of ideas.

Audiobook: Luke Daniels does his usual fantastic job. This series is currently an audible exclusive, but even if it wasn't I'd do this one in audio anyways. He does a variety of voices and really adds that extra something to the book.

Full Review
I really have enjoyed this series. Some more than others. I find most of the main characters kind of obnoxious but I find the humor pretty solid and the world building fantastic. The time travel element has never been my favorite part and I feel like the last book really took that to an extreme.

Thankfully this book used it far less and instead focused on largely new characters. There is Gilbert and Sid who have show up with cameos a few times in the series, but have had very little "screen time". I found them probably the most likable of the magicians in the series so far.

And instead of the main focus being Martin, Gwen and Phillip instead its Martin and Gwen's kids: Mattie and Brewster. They are typical teenagers and much like the other characters in the series can be frustrating at time. However it's a new kind of frustration and that plus Gilbert and Sid.

I think this book works as kind of a soft reboot and I'll be curious to see what he has in store for the next book.

[Ethan West · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally was going to give this book four stars. It has rekindled my enjoyment of the Magic 2.0 series after the last two had put a damper on it. The reason for the bump up to five stars was one line. Mattie and Brewster are asking Phillip about the story behind why they have dragon pens and Phillip says, "There's a story there but it is too long, too fragmented, and without clearly defined stakes." This line is genius. For Scott Meyer to use a review of a previous book in the series in his current book, especially one so critical, was amazing. I paused it the audiobook and listened to that part a couple more times it was so good. Yes this is the sixth book in the series but I think that Scott Meyer is back on track with it and I am excited to continue to read these books. I am also now more interested in reading some of his other books.

I would encourage anyone who reads this series to stick with it. In any series you will find that you don't like some of the books. I love "The Chronicles of Narnia", but I really don't care for The Horse and His Boy or Prince Caspian. But if I had given up on the series after those two I never would have read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which is my favorite book in the series.

[Ernest Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than Fight and Flight, but still a mediocre entry into the Magic 2.0 series. The first couple of books were great, but it's really gone downhill from there. And the author deciding to skip ahead some 15 or so years, plus make the kids the focus of this book, wasn't all that great. It was a decent story but didn't live up to most of its predecessors.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I *LOVED* IT! I would've been okay with a so-so book (after 5 books, it became a habit), but the book exceeded my expectations. I bet Scott Myer had A LOT OF FUN writing it. Very meta (and sometimes self-referential).

No spoilers, but expect the universe to be... rebooted. After all, being so meta, the book starts with the mention of Darth Vader and Kylo Ren. If you are having doubts - do read this one! The series is back on track.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real return to form for the series. And Luke Daniels continues to be stellar.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like any 80s sitcom struggling with ratings, the solution is...SURPISE KIDS! I have a soft spot for Meyer's Magic 2.0 series. I think Meyer does as well as he keeps going back to these characters with inconsistent results.

While I generally enjoy the characters and their mildly backbiting dialogue with each other, there's no real development in them or in their world.

Now, the children here aren't a surprise per se, but the twin children of Martin and Gwen, and are the main protagonists as they slowly discover their parents "magical" abilities and must learn them themselves to save their parents who have been magically "frozen" by forces unknown.

Unfortunately, this novel drags SUBSTANTIALLY in the middle as the twins ping pong back and forth among wizards without accomplishing anything. The penultimate conflict is decidedly mundane (parliamentary procedure features heavily) and while the final "battle" is amusing enough, there was never any real narrative build to it so it just kind of happened.

Ultimately, Meyer likes these characters and I understand why, but after 6 books they really should be doing MORE. Otherwise, it's just literary arrested development (which actually fits the characters well, but doesnt make for a great novel).

[Wing Kee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious!

World: I love the world building in this series, it’s so nerdy and so deceptively well thought out. The time travel stuff will make your head spin but the internal logic is sound and it is well written. This time around with the new pieces that we get it feels like a next chapter for this series after 5 previous books. Most of the new pieces are character based so I’ll get to those below but the new locales are also interesting with Victorian England being one (I love me some steampunk). Solid.

Story: The story was not what I expected. I thought that we would get the same stuff again and that awesome but what I got was something that felt like the next chapter of this world with Maddy and Brewster. The change in point of view and the places that are new made this book feel fresh and it feels like a good jumping on point for readers cause it does a lot of history dumping in a fun way to what happened before. The story moves along well, the humour is snide and quippy and the end is fun and expected. I like this series and injecting these new character into it really gave it a breath of fresh air.

Characters: Maddy and Brewster are well defined fun characters, they are different enough from the rest of the cast of well established characters that they fit right in and also feel fresh. I love the dynamic that the they have with Sid and Gus and those two are also well done and interesting. The old fan favourite characters are solid and I love their interaction. Tyler always makes me laugh...cold lava! LOL!

I love this series, this new one makes me want to keep reading this series.

Onward to the next book!

[Allthatisjosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd best book in the series. I especially appreciated when one of the characters recited a review from one of the previous books. I think this book wrapped up the series about as well as one could, even if there could have been more loose ends tied up.

[Hammer2Fall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The timing in which I've been reading this series is very fortunate. My wife and I got into this series as a couple, and since then, have had two kids of our own. The entire premise of this book is re-learning the world building that has been established in the series by a whole new set of eyes. In this case, its kids kids of two of the wizards, Martin and Gwen. I can also appreciate how a LOT of real time has passed since the original book in 2014. So the kids have little to no interest in the pop culture and nerdom that the wizard community have worked so hard into incorporating into their macros and overall lifestyle.

So let's not kid ourselves, here. This book is 100% fan service to all the readers and fans who want to revisit this world and its characters at least one more time, and Luke Daniels will continue to be great at voicing the characters in Audible. An additional nice touch was employing the time travel mechanics to view some significant events in the series from a different perspective. But I'm completely okay with that, and all things considered, this is probably the best ways to have done so!

As usual, the overall feel of the book is "Although the stakes aren't that high, the cosmic hijinks still ensue with the conflict." It's a fun and guilty pleasure with this series. So as long as Scott Meyer keeps writing 'em, I'll keep reading 'em.

[Oliver Gampe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Running out of steam...

I absolutely loved the first book in the series, very much liked the second one, and enjoyed the next ones, just a little less every time. This one here, meh. I could have done without it, really. I didn't need another reminder of no matter what you think, Philipp wouldn't do something bad. I didn't need another this is how magic works reminder, as that's what the first book was all about. And when I got to the point where the whole book just seemed written to make a political statement I just cringed, even though I fully agree with the statement. There is too much repetition, too little novel content here. The characters aren't really characters any more, just names from a list and totally interchangeable.
I think the series had a good run and I had some good laughs with it, but this one here made me feel like reading it was a chore (like watching the new Star Wars trilogy - you know you have to do it, but know you won't get what you're hoping for).
Also dropped one star for over-use of "writhing". I hate that word.

[Ben Haskett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A blast. While not especially memorable, the sixth book in Scott Meyers's Magic 2.0 series is a ton of fun that comes very close to approaching topical humor, but thankfully steers away before it's too late. It even pokes a tiny bit of fun at Book 4, which though still quite good, is my least favorite of the bunch.

The Vexed Generation stars Martin and Gwen's teenage kids and focuses on their discovery of magic. It also introduces some new villains and switches things up at the end.

I feel a little goofy now for thinking of the first three books as a trilogy, since that term implies a larger story arc. Instead, these stories play out like shortened TV seasons of a show like The Office where it's more about enjoying the characters and their interactions than anything else. I can dig that; I enjoy these characters and the lighthearted feel of this universe. I look forward to Book 7!

[Jennvw · Rating 1 out of 5]

Save your time and pretend this book does not exist as part of the series. The story was forced and tortured in ways that were truly painful to endure. There was no depth to the story and it was very predictable, the villain(s) were ridicules and not remotely creative. If Scott Meyer were to write another Magic 2.0 I would not read it after the experience of this book. At some point everything good has to come to an end and I am truly saddened that this is what we have of what had been a great series, I wish it would have been allowed to die with dignity.

[terpkristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one better than some of the more recent books in the series. In this edition, we meet more people in the magical world, including Gwen & Martin's kids!!! I also liked the not-so-subtle political commentary in the book. Overall, where the last few books felt like a rinse, repeat, this one felt more fresh (even though the basic formula is the same).

[Nithuir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dunno, a bit on the boring side. The last part had some annoying parts. Enjoyable but not as much as the first books.

[Dr. T Loves Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

What it's about: Gwen and Martin Banks and their two teenagers, Mathison and Brewster, live pretty ordinary lives. Mattie and Brewster generally find anything their parents say or do to be incredibly boring, particularly the fact that their father works at an amusement park whose theme is Victorian England; he plays the part of a stage magician of the era, with his partner, their Uncle Philip. Since Uncle Philip has always been awkward around the kids, they're not very interested in what he has to say, either.

But one day Uncle Philip shows up out of the blue - literally, appearing in the middle of their living room, wearing a weird blue robe and hat. Before the twins can figure out what's going on, their parents shoo them into the basement rec room. The twins can hear their parents arguing with Philip, then the sounds of shouting, then sudden, eerie silence.

When the twins come out of the basement, they find their parents are frozen as still as statues. Before they can figure out a plan of action, there is a knock at the door. They find two FBI agents - Miller and Murphy - and their civilian consultant, Jimmy Sadler. The twins are hustled into a vehicle and are on their way to another location when the twins start to suspect these people are not acting in their best interests.

Mattie and Brewster decide it's time to use the in-case-of-emergency necklaces their mother gave them. She always said that if the twins found themselves in danger, they should snap the charm on the necklace - although she never said what it would do.

The twins soon learn that what the necklaces do is teleport them through space and time. Before they can process this, Philip reappears and grabs them. Before they can react to being grabbed by their parents' attacker, they find themselves in a different place and time.

Soon, Mattie and Brewster are forced to fend for themselves, on the run from forces they can't comprehend. And they soon learn that there was a lot more to their parents than they ever realized.

What I thought: This one might actually be 2.5 stars.

When the previous book in the series ended with what was obviously Gwen and Martin's grown children spying on their wedding and wondering allowed why their parents would let their "worst enemy" attend their wedding, I was very excited to see how things were about to spiral out of control. I was CERTAIN we were going to see Brit become a bad guy on a par with Jimmy or Todd, except smarter and with more skills in the program that runs the world.

Instead, this was a mediocre story about Gwen and Martin's kids learning about the world of magic.

The final battle was interesting, in that it built on some of the things that had been done in previous installments, but not nearly enough.

Why I rated it like I did: I didn't find this book as enjoyable as previous installments in the series. I get why Meyer did what he did here, and learning more about Sid and Gilbert was kind of fun (even if the two of them were left as pretty flat characters), but Brewster and Mattie were not great characters.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another entertaining one in the Magic 2.0 series, narrated wonderfully as usual by Luke Daniels. This is my guilty pleasure series. I read postmodern literature stuff like Underworld and thousand pages classics like Les Misérables ***HUMBLEBRAG*** and sometimes it's nice to take a break with a goofy, juvenile book about time traveling hackers finding new ways to teleport their poop onto each other.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a much needed return to quality after 4 & 5. I wasn't going to get it until I saw that it had a lot of reviews which were positive by people who didn't like the previous two books.

Gwen is written sanely and interestingly.

Brit is still bonkers, but written more reasonably and it efficiently skirts around the major issues.

The kids and the magicians were delightful!

This felt like a return to form.

There were two specific moments which called out real world events. They were overdrawn and too obvious, but they were fun. One was good politics about how shitty Trump and Republicans are right now. The other was an apology for book 4. Which honestly I'd prefer an apology for book 5, but I'll take it.

Hopefully this presses more good books in this series.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, and I love how the kids are like "wtf do you put up with this stuff" when the 'rules' are explained.

Not a fan of how Brit is being treated, even given what the last book was like, because it makes her even more unlikable.

Totally loved the self-referential REL the dragon book, a neat little throwaway line about a (basically) throwaway story.

And as always the narration was spot on. I know you can't get this another way but the way it was narrated makes me think that it was written for Luke to read, not for us. Great stuff.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This installation of the Magic 2.0 series revived the series for me. Martin and Gwen are no longer the main characters, but rather, their twin children. Characters from previous books make an appearance, with some having larger parts to contribute to the development and resolution of the story, and others to simply remind us the existence of the world-building the author has taken in the Magic 2.0 Universe.

[Damon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun one, much like the earlier books in the series. None of the zany nonsense of Fight and Flight (which is probably a good thing). Fun stuff, recommended!

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one more than the last. It's a fun listen - Luke Daniels does his usual great job.

[Nate Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This series is one of my favorite more casual reads. This story took some fun directions with the series.

[Karsyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked parts of this and was really bored by parts. The action around 40-80% was my favorite - until the plagues, then snooze fest for a little while. But still, overall enjoyable and comical at times. Good for mindless reading, or listening in my case. I'd probably read more and overall, I enjoyed this series.

[Aaron Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun series. I'm sad that it's over for me now.

[Andrew Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, if you liked the first couple of book you will enjoy this one.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this crazy series, & I’m so disappointed the new ones are only available as audible originals and not accessible to everyone. (Thank goodness the narrator is excellent). This purely fun series plays around spectacularly with the idea of reality being a computer simulation, and what regular geeks who are smart enough to find and manipulate that code might do with their powers. Hilarity always ensues, along with adventure, and some great circular conversations explaining or trying to explain time travel, timelines, how absolute power can corrupt absolutely, and all the wonderful problems created by jumping around and manipulating our reality.

[Matt Dillard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. The humor is much the same as the prior 5 books, though I liked getting to focus on a few different characters. As far as I can tell, this may be the last in the Magic 2.0 series, and that feels about right to me. It was a fun set of stories, though.

[Maggi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as good as some of the previous books in the series, but still very enjoyable! The villains were a bit 'meh' for my liking but the new characters as well as Sid and Gilbert were quite fun to read.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man, I was so happy that this book was good. I really did not like Out of Spite, Out of Mind, and if this was as bad as that I was going to abandon the series. I found it particularly amusing when the author referenced the poor reviews of Fight or Flight and his hesitancy to discuss current events.
As always, Luke Daniels was awesome (except for the voice of young Brewster. Fortunately he grew up fast).