Book notes: An Unwelcome Quest by Scott Meyer

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An Unwelcome Quest by Scott Meyer

Synopsis:

“Ever since Martin Banks and his fellow computer geeks discovered that reality is just a computer program to be happily hacked, they’ve been jaunting back and forth through time, posing as medieval wizards and having the epic adventures that other nerds can only dream of having. But even in their wildest fantasies, they never expected to end up at the mercy of the former apprentice whom they sent to prison for gross misuse of magic and all-around evil behavior.

Who knew that the vengeful Todd would escape, then conjure a computer game packed with wolves, wenches, wastelands, and assorted harrowing hazards – and trap his hapless former friends inside it? Stripped of their magic powers, the would-be wizards must brave terrifying dangers, technical glitches, and one another’s company if they want to see Medieval England – and their favorite sci-fi movies on VHS – ever again. Can our heroes survive this magical mystery torture? Or will it only lead them and their pointy hats into more peril?” -Audible

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Opening thoughts:

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, so picking up the third book was an easy decision. I really like the narration of the book as well as the storytelling and character development. From my understanding, this book focuses on the one wizard who was banished way back by the other wizards, and it seems like he’s coming back for revenge. It should be an interesting continuation of the story.

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Key notes:

Prologue

Reader’s note: This part recounts how Todd’s actions led to his banishment 

Chapter 1

• Todd tricked a guard into letting him get access to the file

Chapter 2

• While the wizards were having a movie night, suddenly everyone disappeared except for Roy and Martin

Chapter 3

• The wizards couldn’t do magic and decided to wait it out

Chapter 4

• Martin and Roy went to Gwen to discuss the strange disappearance of everyone. She suggested they ask Brit for her help

Chapter 5

They were forced by Todd to play this game. It started off with Jeff falling to his death so that Todd could establish stakes for them

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

• The wizards continued along the path of the adventure, learning how to kill the computer-generated wolves

Chapter 8

• Brit, Gwen, Roy, and Martin made it to the game and started down the path. Eventually, they encountered the wolves

Chapter 9

• The original group continued their trek

Chapter 10

• Philip and Jimmy rescued the canary from the evil king in the castle

Chapter 11

• They returned the canary and the miners gave them the item they needed

Chapter 12

• Martin’s group got to the miners and figured out that they might have to redo the completed quest

Chapter 13

• They came across a cabin with four, seductive-looking clones of Gwen

Chapter 14

• Martin’s group strategically fought their way into the castle
• Martin explained to Gwen that Roy wasn’t trying to be disrespectful to her and Brit, just that he came from a different time
  • He was learning though, and he isn’t a bad guy. Martin asked her to just don’t hate him in the process
• They retrieved the canary and tried to make it out of the caste but the guards they killed regenerated

Chapter 15

• Philip’s group was inside the cabin being fed and doted on by the four Gwen clones
• The cabin was a trap obviously

Chapter 16

• Martin’s group retrieved the mineral from the miners, but it was an invisible object

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

• Philips group needed to complete tasks for the blacksmith to forge their weapon
• They defeated the spider and then used the bone to make a weapon with the blacksmith

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

• They discussed the lack of trust in Jimmy and how they’ll never forgive him, but it might be possible if they never betray him for the rest of his life

Chapter 21

• Martin’s group came across the cabin of Gwen clones but they left immediately

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

• Gwen proposed that they should skip the tasks as they’re probably not necessary, and their true goal was to catch up to their friends

Chapter 24

• They defeated the sand monster and then made a sling for Philip’s broken arm

Chapter 25

• Gwen’s group modified a cart to ride in

Chapter 26

• Philip’s group made it to the chasm of doom after walking through the dessert

Chapter 27

• Martin’s group attempted to make a sand monster-powered cart after they modified it

Chapter 28

• Jimmy’s group started down the chasm which made transporting the blade more difficult 

Chapter 29

• Martin’s group narrowly managed to escape falling into the chasm and he was able to lead the earth elemental into falling into it

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

• Todd revealed he was spying on them the entire time and that he himself was the chosen one that he prophesied
• Todd had them all trapped in the pendulum contraption that would eventually kill them off one by one
• Martin’s group finally caught up and planned to distract Todd while Brit tried to get to his computer

Chapter 32

• Martin’s group finally caught up and planned to distract Todd while Brit tried to get to his computer
• Martin’s group was forced to fight their friends under Todd’s control while Brit tried to figure out Todd’s computer
• Brit managed to give Jimmy his powers back since she was short on time

Chapter 33

• Jimmy made the decision to kill Todd, and also said he’ll end his own existence so that they’ll have peace of mind that they could trust him
• Jimmy cast a spell that supposedly killed himself, but they all suspected he was just trying to get away from them and planned to never bump into them again

Chapter 34

• Jimmy actually spared Todd and told him that he wants to become a man of his word and be a better version of himself in the future

Chapter 35

• They successfully brought Jeff back after a month and a half of preparation, then gave him all the updates on what he missed

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Closing thoughts:

Overall this was a fun story and a continuation of the previous books. It’s always enjoyable to return to book characters you’ve grown fond of over time.

One critique I had was that it seemed like the story dragged on a bit in the middle. And it kept switching back and forth between each group with minimal progress on either side. At some points, it felt like the author was just trying to fill time, and it wasn’t like all of the threads had a huge payoff in the end.

Nonetheless, it was still a fun story in the series and a good elaboration on an old character we’ve only heard about before, Todd. Not my favorite book in the series, but I’m sure fans of the series would enjoy it.

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One Takeaway / Putting into practice:

I personally couldn’t find a decent takeaway from the book. If I had to find one, it would be:

• Let go of the need to fix those you don’t trust, and just let them go

Even though Jimmy proved to be somewhat useful during the story, he ultimately was untrustworthy because she was only looking out for himself. Seems like his true nature showed in the end, and the group would have been better off just not giving him a second chance and letting him wander for the rest of his life without access to the file.

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Nutshell:

The wizards get trapped in a game by the vengeful ex-wizard Todd and have to find a way to escape and save their own lives.

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Similar books:

• Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer
• Spell or High Water by Scott Meyer
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
• Lock In by John Scalzi
• Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
• Armada by Ernest Cline

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Rating:

3/5

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