The Wizard In My Shed: The Misadventures of Merdyn the Wild
Reviewed By Ian Banks November 28, 2020
Author Simon Farnaby. Illustrations Claire Powell.
Distributor: Hachette Australia
ISBN: 9781444954388
Publisher: Hachette Children's Books
Release Date: November 2020
Website: https://www.hachette.com.au
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Straight out of the land of completely zany, madcap magic comes the cranky and frequently badly behaved, often bad tempered Merdyn the Wild, Wizard, ops sorry, Warlock from the Dark Ages, a time somewhere about the time of Harry Potter and Hogwarts.
Merdyn has to face Court in his time of 510; a time very long ago. The sentence issued to Merdyn by the King, somehow goes very wrong-ish and instead of Merdyn being banished to the Rivers of Purgatory for seven years, he ends up in the 21st century, a place Merdyn considers as bad if not worse! He considers he has been sent to hell!
Rose is a very ordinary girl of the 21st century who loves to sing and believes she is on her way to becoming a singer of great fame and fortune, just like Beyonce. Her Mum thinks otherwise. Her family is in a mess and she is hoping to find a way to get things sorted out by following her dream, when she literally bumps into a very grumpy, strangely clothed man hiding in the park.
From that moment in time, life in the 21st century becomes anything but normal for Rose and her beloved guineapig Bubbles, as they take on the role of helping Merdyn attempt to fit into a new way of life, with some seriously funny results.
Now a guineapig known as Bubbles was mentioned, which as it turns out and with the help of Merdyn, becomes a very vocal part of this totally hilarious story. Claire Powell, noted for her magic illustrations has created a wonderful artistic representation of Merdyn and the crew, as they crash headlong into doors, order herbs for the magic incantations required on-line from Waitrose, all without bowing down to Merdyn the Wise (bow down before him or feel his wrath,) as he is wont to say when he gets upset, which is pretty often.
The Wizard in My Shed is the first novel from writer Simon Farnaby, better known for his screen writing for Horrible Histories, Ghosts and a number of other shows. His completely whacky humour has found a new incantation in the character of Merdyn the Wise and life, as Merdyn will see it, of the 21st century.