REVIEW: Mogworld by Yatzhee Croshaw

Mogworld by Yatzhee Croshaw
Publishing information: Paperback; 414 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics; 21 August 2010
ISBN 10: 1595825290
ISBN 13: 9781595825292
Standalone
Copy Out of pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Back of the Book "A Novel That Will Give A Whole New Meaning To The Term 'Corpse Run'

In a world full to bursting with would-be heroes, Jim couldn't be less interested in saving the day. His fireballs fizzle. He's awfully grumpy. Plus, he's been dead for about sixty years. When a renegade necromancer wrenches him from eternal slumber and into a world gone terribly, bizarrely wrong, all Jim wants is to find a way to die properly, once and for all. On his side, he's got a few shambling corpses, an inept thief, and a powerful death wish. But he's up against tough odds: angry mobs of adventurers, a body falling apart at the seams - and a team of programmers racing a deadline to hammer out the last few bugs in their AI."

As a huge fan of The Escapist's Zero Punctuation, I knew that I had to give Mogworld a shot. I love Croshaw's sense of humor and while Mogworld is a tad bit tamer than his video reviews, it does a fairly great job of converting his brand of comedy into a novel.

Mogworld is very similar to World of Warcraft or other forms of MMORPG's (or online mulitplayer role playing games for the uninitiated) except this novel has a twist. We find ourselves reading about Jim, an undead wizard whose only wish is to die. He was resurrected, in his own words, " by a git." When the "git" messes up the resurrection spell Jim and his fellow undead gain awareness. They are not the mindless zombies their master was expecting. This leads to many adventures and an ultimate quest. These quests border on the absurd. Jim has a few companions that join him and encourage him to take on one disaster after another.

While the world building is a little bit lacking, you can see where it was done on purpose as Mogworld is satire. Each location sounds similar to some famous games and locales. While the book has some interesting names for locations they really have no real impact on the story as it is more about the adventure or quest. Besides, the majority of people that will be reading Mogworld should have a pretty good grasp of what online gaming worlds look like and should be able to relate fairly well. This is also where Mogworld fails, if you are not a gamer, then this book will fall apart on you half-way through and will leave you behind. The book starts out very strong with witty dialogue and great characters but by the end you are not left with much to think about besides, "why did I read this?" Even if you are a gamer, you may find yourself lost along the way as it gets a little muddled.

The plot is rather simple, Jim is undead and unable to die and he is looking for a way to take a permanent dirt nap. What seems simple becomes impossible and leads to some strange and interesting situations. The fact that Croshaw is behind the wheel of this story should tell you that you are in for quite a ride. The book is said to be 350 pages but my book has 414 pages which were plenty. I was hoping for more when I bought the book and Croshaw did not deliver.

If you enjoy Zero Punctuation's humor and want to see how he does in another form of media this may be your book. Mogworld was written for (mainly) gamers that like to play role playing games, but if you are not a hardcore player you may not get all of the jokes. Also, Mogworld is a far cry from his video game review site, Zero Punctuation, very tame and it loses its focus towards the end. A bitter disappointment, can not recommend this novel.

Plot 5
Characters 6
Style 6

Overall 5.5/10