An irreverent fantasy novella with a Conan-like protagonist, but with a number of fresh twists and style.
Gotchimus has a problem with wizards. Wizards put a real cramp in his style and his life. He’s a barbarian. He has an eyepatch although even to his friend Hecksley he is not open about what happened to his eye. But with a number of wizards turning up dead, suspicion has fallen on Gotchimus as the cause of the recent spate of death of spell slingers, a barbarian like Gotchimus, even if he has come up in the world of sartorial fashion and manners a bit, is going to be suspected. And he does have a grudge against some of the dead wizards, if not all of them. Untangling Gotchimus’ story is going to take a lot of work, and a lot of wizard deaths.
This is the world and story of Kill all Wizards by Jedidiah Berry.
The perspective and touchstone I want to go with showing you how this story felt like me might feel a bit strange and obscure, but bear with me here. In the 1990’s there was a now not well remembered film adaptation of the detective/superhero comic The Shadow, with Alec Baldwin in the title role. John Lane plays Shiwan Khan, his opposition (and ostensibly the last descendant of Genghis Khan)¹. There is a scene in the movie I want to focus on, where Shiwan Khan and The Shadow have lunch together. They debate philosophy, tactics, and, well, fashion. It’s the classic Dr. No style “the bad guy and the villain have a meal together”. Shiwan Khan reminds me of Gotchimus. He’s trying to learn fashion and manners, but at the end of it, he is a barbarian (the lunch scene ends predictably, with things going to pot).
In a way, Kill all Wizards captures that vibe from Khan for the story. One minute, he is at the opera and ill-fitting (but trying) in the heart of culture and refinement.² And then the next moment, he is fighting what seems to be a forest god for his life, elegant clothes and put-on manners ditched for doing the more traditional business of a barbarian. The novella, too, recognizes the story and goes a little postmodern with the whole business a number of times, commenting on the action directly to the reader.
This goes to the point of pointing out that there is an excess of violence and refuses to have that be inflicted on the reader. Thus, the narration of the story is extremely knowing, and sometimes very much tongue in cheek. The narration and tone recognize the reader has likely been down this road before many times and wants to tell the story in a slightly skewed way. Consider the cover image: The cover image in a way tells you that the author is not going to play it exactly straight. It's a good use of the cover art to inform and prepare the reader.
This is not to say that the book doesn’t give you what is on the label. Gotchimus, for a lot of the book, is recounting his adventures, and yes, there is a lot of barbarian action in among the more polished cultural adventures. The polished cultural adventures include the mentioned visit to the opera, and an encounter with the horrid and unkillable beast named Bureaucracy. The wilder adventures have a resonance with exploits of barbarians going all the way back to Conan.
It’s clear to me that Berry made deliberate references and homages all through the novella and I hesitate to spoil too many of them for a curious reader. This all resonates with several genres of fantasy beyond just the sword and sorcery, and there is plenty for a well-seasoned fantasy reader to enjoy here. Even for its length and its freshness, I am not sure this is actually even a 101 novella, it's unexpected in its cuts and premises.
In the midst of all this, finally, the story is queer friendly, readable and doesn’t outstay its welcome.
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Highlights:
A classic fantasy story from a delightfully off kilter point of view
Maybe not the fantasy story you expect, but one that does not outstay its welcome
Some delightful funny bits, both in manners and in action.
Reference: Berry, Jedediah, Kill All Wizards (Tordotcom, 2025)
¹ Just go with it. Genghis Khan is probably the ancestor of an appreciable fraction of Eurasia thanks to his, um, prolific nature. But on the other hand, even that now is coming in for question as the evidence seems muddled.
² Is this a Fantasy of Manners? Maybe, to a degree it hits that old subgenre, too. There is evocation of the subgenre of fantasy (mannerpunk). Although far from its high point, there are still fantasies in this vein being written.... notably the Glamourist Histories by Mary Robinette Kowal run on this sort of Austenian flavored fantasy. Gotchimus’ intrusions into High Society are in this old tradition.
POSTED BY: Paul Weimer. Ubiquitous in Shadow, but I'm just this guy, you know? @princejvstin.
