Witch and Wombat by Carolyn Cushman

 

Yes, my copy of this book is looking rough. Because I read it constantly. 

Trigger Warning: 

Brief mentions of sexual slavery

Violence

Over centuries, Hali has punished proud princesses, turned tough teens into toads, helped noble orphans on quest; the witch and her familiar, the wombat Bernie, have faced everything...except this.

Faced with a psychic energy shortage, a magic realm of sorcerers, dragons, and fairies must endure an invasion of tourists--from the mortal plane!

Now Hali and Bernie must guide two smug college boys, a plucky high school girl, and a totally obnoxious media critic through the perils of the enchanted forest.

But these mortals think they're in a computer simulated theme park, free to gripe at the ogres, harass the high elves, and taunt the trolls. They don't understand that the magic, monsters, and dangers are real.

And that in this vacation paradise, wannabe heroes can die...

There is the summary from the back of the book. Enjoy.

Okay, so. I love this book. Fucking love it. It was published in 1994 and I picked up a used copy at a flea market when I was a kid and have read it probably every year since. It is just a fun read. There is a small romantic subplot, but nothing major.

Hali is a witch who I adore and Bernie is her familiar who starts out as a crow but gets transformed into a wombat because people like wombats. They have to show four Outworlers around the fantasy land they live in. Those Outworlders are Oliver, a competent gamer and pretty realistic in his abilities, Leo, one of those gamers that blames his incompetence on the game, Tracey, a teenage girl with a good heart and a good head on her shoulders, and Jamison, an overly harsh critic (think those YouTubers that just bitch about everything). 

The characters are all fleshed out nicely with their own personalities that make you either like them or not. And there are plenty of characters to meet. I loved Hali and Bernie. And I loved Tracey because she was a girl gamer. Remember, this was the 90s. I'm reading this shit when I'm in middle school for the first time. And there is a girl, who likes video games. That was revolutionary for me. Even though Tracey is a total horse girl which ugh. But she is a good character and I did like her a lot.

I loved the world-building. The writer brought in a lot of fairy tale and fantasy elements that just worked. I cannot remember a lot of the character descriptions, though that is more of a me thing. I tend to remember one or two details of characters unless they are repeated and then fill in the blanks my memory gives me. That is a me thing, there might have been great character descriptions. 

Now, in the beginning, there is no clear plot. The gamers have no goal to achieve, which makes them all cranky. But Hali decides since she is getting a new house out of the deal, she might as well check out some real estate listings as they travel. Which is so amusing to me. Honestly, I would have read an entire book of her checking out houses and the gamers having mini adventures at each stop. Two houses they check out are the witch's house from Hansel and Gretel and Baba Yaga's house. Which, awesome. But a goal to achieve does make itself known, and they defeat the evil and save the day.

Great book. I highly recommend reading it. Though... It's only available used or on Kindle. Which I am tempted to buy a copy for my Kindle since my physical copy is starting to fall apart.

That's all this week. See y'all next Wednesday 👋🏻