The Science of Magic

A Web Serial Novel by Seann Barbour, more commonly known on the internet as Lizard Bite.

Erik Weiss is a young man with magical powers and a special pet project in the form of a computer program that will revolutionize the way magic works forever... or at least Erik hopes it will.

Unfortunately, this program attracts the attention of two different powerful groups: The Office (the governing body of magic), and the Hand (a group of extremist terrorists). Suddenly, Erik finds himself in a political power struggle, and the only people he can rely on are an android he built and a Valkyrie that was summoned to protect him.

You can read it here.


 * Action Girl - Hrist, oh so much. Erin may also qualify.
 * A God Am I - A two-faced monster claims to be Ianus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings
 * Meanwhile, Hrist is a warrior goddess, being a Valkyrie and all.
 * Crazy Prepared - Since magic works through hand-drawn symbols, characters need to resort to various tricks in order to cast spells quickly. Some versions seen include saving circle images to cell phones, drawing the symbol on one's chest, and wearing a dress covered in magic circles.
 * Deadpan Snarker - Erik
 * Different As Night and Day - Lampshaded. Erik in the second chapter notes that he and his twin sister, Erin, are extreme opposites
 * First-Person Smartass - Erik is constantly making snide remarks in the narration
 * Through the Eyes of Madness - In the more recent chapters, Erik has begun to lose grips with reality as a result of the trauma in his life
 * Killed Off for Real -
 * Magic A Is Magic A - Kinda obvious considering the title
 * Magical Computer - Erik can do amazing things with computers by combining the technology with magic
 * Magnificent Bastard - Timothy Clark, who managed to take advantage of Erik's situation in order to force him into an allegiance with the Hand
 * Meaningful Name - "Erich Weiss" was the real name of Harry Houdini.
 * Nightmare Fuel - This is most what chapter 16 was aiming for
 * Our Goblins Are Wickeder - The plot is kicked off by Erik getting attacked by a Hobgoblin, which is described as being big, strong, and yellow. Apparently, they can be summoned and controlled by spellcasters
 * Our Vampires Are Different - They apparently have great mental powers, but are harmed by prayers
 * Ridiculously Human Robot - Prague
 * Secret Police - It's the job of the Knight of Silence to make sure that dangerous criminals are never heard from again
 * Spell My Name with an "S" - "Erik", instead of "Eric"
 * The Magocracy - The Office
 * The Masquerade - Part of the conflict between Traditionalists and Techno Mages revolves around whether this should exist
 * Urban Fantasy
 * Weaksauce Weakness - Prayers give Vampires headaches. It doesn't matter what religion the prayer is or even if the person doing the prayer actually believes in anything. As long as it's a prayer, nearby vampires will suffer intense headaches
 * Web Serial Novel
 * Who Wants to Live Forever? - Jokingly Lampshaded. Upon learning that Sid and Monica (two vampires) are fifteen, Erik mentions that he certainly wouldn't want to be stuck in puberty forever
 * Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters - Timothy Clark, the leader of the Hand, openly acknowledges his terrorist actions, but goes on the explain that his people commit these acts because they believe in the Hand's cause, thus painting his group in a slightly more heroic light
 * Your Vampires Suck - Sid and Monica are parodies of the romantic vampire ideal