Wistril Compleat

Frank Tuttle writes light, character-driven fantasy, and Wistril Compleat collects his stories about Wistril, a fussy older wizard, and Kern, the long-suffering apprentice who keeps getting dragged into Wistril’s projects.

The tone is closer to Terry Pratchett’s earlier wizard stories than to anything epic. Wistril is more interested in his comforts than in saving the world, and the plots tend to involve small magical problems that get tangled up in larger ones because Wistril refused to deal with them properly the first time.

The stories are linked but mostly standalone. You can dip in anywhere without missing essential setup.

Readers who like Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series for the voice, or who want the cozier end of the comic fantasy tradition, will find Wistril worth the time. The collected format makes it easy to read in chunks.