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Wizardry

Wizardry by Rick Cook

by Rick Cook

Shares rank 27 of 41 fantasy novels by recommenders

People recommend it as fiction for programmers that combines programming with magical realms.

People recommend it as fiction for programmers that combines programming with magical realms.

3 people gave an opinion

recommend it
3
criticize it
0
approval share
100%
Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes

Recommended in 1 of 13 months

  1. November 2025: not recommended
  2. December 2025: recommended
  3. January 2026: not recommended
  4. February 2026: not recommended
  5. March 2026: not recommended
  6. April 2026: not recommended
  7. May 2026: not recommended
  8. June 2026: not recommended
  9. July 2026: not recommended
  10. August 2026: not recommended
  11. September 2026: not recommended
  12. October 2026: not recommended
  13. November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)

Why it doesn’t carry the badge

  • 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
  • Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
  • Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.

The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works

What people say about it

The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.

Why people recommend it

Each mark is one comment

  • Programming meets magical realms

    “Programming meets magical realms”

    Comment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What fiction books would you recommend for programmers?”

Other fantasy novels people recommend

The four most recommended other fantasy novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.

Wizardry by Rick Cook compared with 4 alternatives
ProductRecommendCriticizeApprovalMonthsOwnedBadge
The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R. Tolkien661186%1215 yrs5 ownersApproved
The Hobbitby J.R.R. Tolkien491379%9—Approved
Dungeon Crawler Carlby Matt Dinniman48689%111 yr3 ownersApproved
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationalityby Eliezer Yudkowsky191753%7——
Wizardryby Rick CookThis page30100%1——
See all 41 fantasy novels, ranked

What people said

1 of the 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.

“Programming meets magical realms”

RecommendsComment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What fiction books would you recommend for programmers?”

Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.