R.Z. Nicolet is Rachel Reddick by another name. She's trained as a physicist, but she was a Star Trek fan first. When not doing fun stuff like tabletop gaming, she works as a data scientist. She lives in Minnesota with her husband, daughter, a large book collection, and a small starship collection.

The Cloak and Its Wizard by R.Z. Nicolet

I don't choose my wizards lightly. It's a lifetime commitment. Their lifetime, that is. I'll outlast them all. Unless the world ends. Which is looking increasingly likely…

After a century of boredom in the library of the secret Order of the Open Eye, the Cloak of Sunset and Starlight finally chooses a wizard. Unfortunately for the cloak, Veronica Noble isn't thrilled. A brilliant doctor, Veronica has been dragged into the Order against her will, and doesn't want to be saddled with a glittering, starlight-covered cloak that sneaks through vents, sets off car alarms, and refuses to leave her shoulders.

When Veronica accidentally reveals her powers to all of Minneapolis, superheroes take notice. The Order threatens to reclaim the cloak. And sea serpents from other dimensions keep crashing into reality.

Now the cloak must do everything in its power to keep its wizard safe—even if that wizard isn't sure she wants it.

CURATOR'S NOTE

A sentient, powerful cloak with a snarky personality that chooses the wizard it wishes to adorn? Count me in. R.Z. Nicolet's tale of secrets magical orders in the city of Minneapolis blends fantasy and reality into a captivating blend of superheroes, accidental magic, dimension-threatening monsters, and a new wizard-cloak duo that's a refreshing change from the other one that's a bit more well-known... – The SFWA

 

REVIEWS

  • 1."The stakes are high, the snark is higher. It's amazing how easy it is to love a sentient non-human object with attitude. I couldn't have loved this more."

    – C. H. Brown, Goodreads Review

  • 1."The washing machine scenes alone are worth the price of admission."

    – Amazon Review

  • 1."It held my attention from start to finish and I was sorry to see it end and hope the author will be writing more adventures of the Cloak of Sunset and Starlight! Highly recommended for any who enjoy UF."

    – Goodreads Review
 

BOOK PREVIEW

Excerpt

I'm picky about wizards.

The wizards themselves will complain about that, but of course I'm picky. When I choose a wizard, barring utter abandonment of moral scruples, it's a till-death-do-us-part situation. (Their death, not mine. I'm the next best thing to indestructible.)

I admit, there is a certain temptation to take the first one who's even remotely suitable, especially after I've been floating around an archive for a century. I did that, once. I'm not doing that again.

So, when the Eminence of the Order of the Open Eye led her latest class of initiates through the library, I wasn't expecting much. I had heard the speech a hundred times before—from her and her predecessors. I could have recited it by heart. If I had a mouth, that is. Or a heart.

"And this is where we store artifacts. They typically require a trained wizard to wield them. The shielding charms are…"

I ignored the rest of her speech, concentrating on the forms I could sense in the other room. I couldn't see them through the walls, but I could make out their auras. (How do I see without eyes? Quite well, thank you.)

The Eminence herself was easy to identify. Hers was a presence of stone, carved into shape and worn down by years. Chipped, but immovable, with one oozing crack.

A half-dozen others gathered in the room. More than usual. Typically, only four of the candidates made it this far. I inspected each of them in turn. Three of them felt like trees growing in sunlight, building and reaching and expanding. Youths. One was more like a torch, a fire, potent, but contained and purposeful. Another was a strong breeze, fall leaves and woodsmoke and a flicker of sunset.

Boring.

One of the six hung back from the rest. That aura was dark, but flecked with stars, hot and cold at once, distant and eternal.

I liked that one.

I liked that one even better when they broke away from the rest of the group, starting an independent inspection of the room even before her Eminence had finished rambling.

The door to my room opened.