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''[[A Wizard in Rhyme]]'' is a fantasy series by Christopher Stasheff, combining [[Medieval European Fantasy]] with [[Deconstruction]], historical accuracy and a lot of troping. It is currently eight books long.
Our protagonist is Matthew Mantrell, [[Ordinary High School Student|Ordinary Graduate Student]], English major and general intellectual, working on his doctorate during [[The Present Day]] (presumably [[The Eighties]], as that's when the first book was published). During his researches he comes across a piece of parchment covered in a language unknown to man. It turns out to be a [[Summon Everyman Hero]] spell that whisks him to "Merovence," the France of an [[Alternate History]] Europe still in [[The High Middle Ages]]. Once there, he makes a number of discoveries.
* [[Functional Magic]] exists, is controlled by [[Words Can Break My Bones|rhymed verse]], and co-exists with normal physics. Matthew, having a good six hundred years' extra knowledge to draw upon in both fields, is enormously powerful by the standards of the day.
* God and Satan exist, bringing with them [[Black and White Morality]] and the necessity of picking a side. Both forces offer power--evil in the form of [[Deal
* Saint Moncaire, patron of Merovence, brought Matthew here to restore the [[Balance of Good and Evil]]. All the other nations of Europe--Ibile, Allustria, Latruria, etc--have fallen under the reign of evil men, and a usurper, Astaulf, now threatens the throne of Merovence, aided by his [[Evil Chancellor]] Malingo. Matthew's job is to find [[Everything's Better
The series is relatively obscure--and, if truth be told, deservedly so.
The ''real'' reason tropers will want to check it out anyhow is that it is decidedly, deliberately, unabashedly [[Troperiffic]]. The [[Theory of Narrative Causality]] is in full force, and characters are [[Genre Savvy]] enough to actively ''[[Invoked Trope|invoke]]'' tropes if they stand to benefit from them (in the first book alone Princess Alisande calls upon "[[Underdogs Never Lose]]" and "[[The Good Guys Always Win]]"). The result is a [[Post Modern]] series in the trappings of an [[Historical Fantasy]] (complete with [[Ye Olde
A not-especially-complete wiki on the series can be found [http://christopher.stasheff.com/wiki/tiki-print.php?page=A%20Wizard%20In%20Rhyme at the author's website]{{Dead link}}.
{{tropelist}}
* [[Absurdly Sharp Blade]]: Matthew conjures up a sword [[Sharpened to
* [[Acrophobic Bird]]: Stegoman, the dragon, who is afraid of heights.
* [[Action Girl]]: Alisande for starters; more later.
* [[Adipose Rex]]
* [[A Day in
* [[Bare-Fisted Monk]]: Saul Bremener
* [[Black Knight]]: non-villainous example in Sir Guy
* [[Distracted
* [[Evil Chancellor]]
* [[Fantastic Racism]]
* [[Fish Out of Temporal Water]]: Matthew. It's in his favor, though, and other characters are willing to overlook his 20th-century eccentricities [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|for the sake of his brilliant wizardry]].
* [[Guardian Angel]]: Saul summons one, though, as an agnostic, he can't fully accept its existence.
* [[Istanbul (Not Constantinople)]]: many names are traceable to influences in our history. Merovence, for instance, takes its name from the same [
* [[Literal Genie]]
* [[Mix
* [[One of Us]]: Matthew Mantrell definitely is, and by extension Stasheff as well.
* [[The Promise]]: in the second book, ''The Oathbound Wizard'', Matthew rashly swears to conquer the neighboring kingdom of Ibile, as his common birth is preventing him from marrying Alisande. The universe holds you to your promises.
* [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]: Stegoman.
* [[Public Domain Character]]: [[Robin Hood]] and his Merry Men, [[
* [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]]: [[Once an Episode]].
* [[Reality Warper]]: any wizard would count, but special mention goes to Frisson, a genius-savant who comes up with brilliant poetry as easily as breathing... which, given the setting's [[Functional Magic]], can go [[Off the Rails]] ''real'' fast.
* [[Rescue Romance]]
* [[Rightful King Returns]]: subverted. There's stories of a descendent of Emperor Hardishane, a [[King in
* [[Rousseau Was Right]]
* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something]]: all over the place. Whether villainous or virtuous, there's one thing to be said for the royals of this alternate Europe: they work for their crowns.
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* [[Succession Crisis]]: not only is this how some evil rulers take charge, but there's a genuine one at the end of the second book. Of the two people competing for their grandfather's throne, one is the eldest son's daughter, the other the younger son's son. (Solved when the lady [[Pair the Spares|marries a third party]], removing herself from the line of succession.)
* [[Summon Everyman Hero]]
* [[Suddenly
* [[Talking Is a Free Action]]: Zigzagged. In some battle situations, Matthew snaps out rhymed couplets to cast his spells. In another, he recites much of Byron's "[http://www.bartleby.com/106/173.html She walks in beauty, like the night]."
* [[Trapped in Another World]]
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Fantasy Literature]]
[[Category:A Wizard
[[Category:Literature]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wizard in Rhyme, A}}
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