From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

The Prince and the Program (The Mordred Saga, #1)

Aldous Mercer

Start date: September 1, 2019

Finish date: October 1, 2019

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

Discussion leader: Jordan Lombard

Why we're reading this: This will be our September 2019 read.
[close] This will be our September 2019 read.

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What Members Thought

Jun 14, 2012 Mandapanda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: various-romance

What a TRIP!!! This is not your average m/m romance. Make sure you read the blurb carefully because there is no gentle lead in to this story, no explanations, no info dump... You just sink or swim! The author has created a unique, funny, totally amazing, compelling and often confusing world that is impossible to categorise.

Mordred (yes, THE Mordred) has been banished to Earth and stripped of his magic. He gets a job as a Software Engineer at a cutting edge start-up company and slowly begins a s What a TRIP!!! This is not your average m/m romance. Make sure you read the blurb carefully because there is no gentle lead in to this story, no explanations, no info dump... You just sink or swim! The author has created a unique, funny, totally amazing, compelling and often confusing world that is impossible to categorise.

Mordred (yes, THE Mordred) has been banished to Earth and stripped of his magic. He gets a job as a Software Engineer at a cutting edge start-up company and slowly begins a sort-of relationship with the lead developer, Alan. At the same time as he is struggling with his debts, his loneliness and his lack of power, he is also facing dangerous threats to his new life from several different adversaries.

Mordred is a brilliant character. He carries the whole book easily. Initially seeming to bumble and half-ass his way through life you soon realise what a noble, courageous and powerful man he is. Alan's character is also very intriguing and cryptic. The prologue, in which we find out who Alan is, is just gut-wrenching and made me want to cry. It's brilliant how this author has woven this real life person into a novel and part of my enjoyment stems from the second chance that it is giving him (if only in fiction). There are some other really vivid secondary characters, Gen-Mai, the militant CEO of the company, Mordred's cousin Tom and his other co-workers.

Who do I think would enjoy this book???

* Well you definitely need to have an inner geek.

* You also need to be a fan of the Scifi/Fantasy genre. Although the 'science' in this story is Computer Science, more specifically, computer programming and the creation of artificial intelligence. The fantasy element - Mordred's power, the mythology of the Deathless and the demonology - is all fascinating but it's also where the story (particularly in the penultimate scenes) becomes quite obscure. I struggled to keep up with it and a glossary wouldn't have gone amiss. I wasn't surprised to see who the author listed as his influences because there is more than a nod to Terry Pratchett and Isaac Asimov in this tale.

* I also think this story would appeal to a lot of guys who (from the reviews I've read) find most m/m stories insipid. There is plenty to challenge and entertain here.

There is a big climactic ending but many, many questions are left unresolved (view spoiler) so I will be waiting very impatiently for the next book. ...more

25 likes · Like · see review

Sep 02, 2012 Angel Martinez rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Let me start by saying what this book is not. Some of the issues readers have had, I believe, might have been headed off by adjusting expectations. I know this is a Dreamspinner title, so people walk in with certain expectations. Please leave them with your shoes at the door. We've just had the carpets cleaned.

First - this is a book for grownups, but it's not erotic fiction. Second - there is a romance or at least a desperate romantic longing as a centerpiece to the story, but it is not a tradit Let me start by saying what this book is not. Some of the issues readers have had, I believe, might have been headed off by adjusting expectations. I know this is a Dreamspinner title, so people walk in with certain expectations. Please leave them with your shoes at the door. We've just had the carpets cleaned.

First - this is a book for grownups, but it's not erotic fiction. Second - there is a romance or at least a desperate romantic longing as a centerpiece to the story, but it is not a traditional romance. Do not expect HEA. Third - there will be more, Aldous assures me, so don't despair.

Now let's move on to what this book is. Freaking brilliant. Written by an engineer about a software start up and the exiled, desperate mage who lands a job there, the pages are necessarily filled with computer geek and programmer in-jokes, jabs and nudges. I would love to say I understood every word, but that would be a lie. (The farthest I got into programming was learning HTML and that's sort of like saying, 'hey, I can roller skate, that's just like flying a plane, right?') You don't need to be a programmer, though. The story, from Mordred's initial frustrations in finding a job to the very end, is captivating. The all-too real struggles of keeping an apartment and getting enough to eat while the money runs out live side by side with visits to Unseelie relatives, memories of other planes, and the ever-present, charming oddness that is Imp, Mordred's not always helpful familiar.

We know, from the introduction and certain hints, who Alan, the head programmer, is. We know, but we're fascinated watching the strange pavane of minds that is Alan and Mordred's courtship, all danced in cyberspace. The connection between them surpasses anything purely sexual (though Mordred longs for something physical, at least a meeting) and is one of the most poignant romances I've ever read. To say too much more would give things away, but to me this intertwining of intellect was as satisfying as any physical encounter.

Just so you don't think it's all cerebral, there's plenty of real life peril, a huge helping of dry humor, evil things afoot, cosmic misunderstandings to clear up, and lessons about the dangers of pranks in the office. There are digs at Canadians, programmers, Americans, coffee addicts, gamers, corporations (and their HR departments) and bill collectors, just to name a few. The quirky characters (including our hero Mordred, the Prince of Quirk) nestle close to the reader's heart with breathtaking speed and refuse to let go. There's even a puzzle contained within the book, with a prize offered for the solution, if you happen to be numerically gifted. (Sadly, I wouldn't know where to begin.) Yes, serious things happen. The world could end if our heroes fail kinds of serious. But the story is told with such dry wit that you very seldom feel its true weight, as if it skated along on some unseen EM field.

Did I have a little "aw, man" moment at the end? Perhaps. But the reader paying attention will expect it and we know it's not the end. There were only a couple of minor elements that didn't quite come together for me (which I intend to ask Aldous about - it could have simply been me missing something crucial in my desperate devouring of the story) but taken altogether this is an amazing work.

Have I said it already? Brilliant. Just Brilliant. Leave your preconceptions about what a gay romance should be at the door and enjoy the ride. Your brain needs nourishment in its entertainment sometimes, too.

An unprecedented 95%. It's one I'll be thinking about for a long time to come.

...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Jun 15, 2012 ttg added it · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m, reviews, kindle-lendable, dnf

This started out really well for me, loved the excerpt, and I was really excited about reading it, but I got about 20% in and just can't push myself to read it anymore, and I'm tired of seeing it in my currently reading shelf when I know I don't want to go back to it.

It's possible I'm just a dumb-butt or don't have the patience that this book calls for to really enjoy it. I don't normally mind when little is explained--I'm fine with being thrown into the pool and asked to sort things out from t ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Mar 30, 2019 Calathea rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction, adventure-action-journey, geeks-geniuses-techies

Goodness... where is my head?
This was a wild ride! Have to sort everything out before having thoughts again. :D

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 16, 2012 Meggie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, sci-fi

Okay this is really a weird, unique story!
At first the main character Mordred instantly pulled at my attention. He was truly an enjoyable person. His dedication to get a job was genuine and comical. I liked him. And even his new job and new co-workers, everything was pulling, comical and well written. But between Mordred getting to know about Alan secret and fighting demons, I kinda felt lost.
And now at the end I'm a bit disappointed. This end was truly depressing. So I hope that a next part wi ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 25, 2012 Leah Petersen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, gay, fantasy

So, I literally had no idea what was going on half the time but I still enjoyed it. Sharp, witty writing and an insanely imaginative plot. Which is the reason for the aforementioned WTF experience of much of the novel. Still, it's one of those things, like great science, that you know you don't get at all but it still terribly fascinating.

I think my one real problem with the book is that the romance didn't feel real to me in its inception and early stages. Mordred said he was falling for Alan, ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 15, 2014 Jax added it · review of another edition

Shelves: not-rated, dnf

DNF @35%. Liked the writing, but I was too uncomfortably lost most of the time to really enjoy the story. Maybe I'll give it another go at some point. I'd definitely try this author again, though. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 25, 2021 Nightcolors rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-suspense-crime, romance, science-fiction-futuristic, action-adventure, made-me-laugh, horror, lgbtqi, dark-fantasy, humor, ghosts

I really liked this book. But some parts of the story was just as confusing as the story description sounded. I suspect that if I knew more about computers, I might have enjoyed the story more. Or at least understand more references.

What I loved about this book was that it gave my imagination a serious workout. It felt like I've pushed my imagination muscles through rarely before used ways. :)

(view spoiler) ...more

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