Reviews are coming in for Chasing the Wyrm:
“It would be an oversimplification to say that this is a Bond novel with magic. Wilber’s protagonist—Christopher Yan—is new to the game of international intrigue, whereas Bond is a master-spy at the height of his game. And Topher’s newbie mistakes (including creating an historically epic traffic jam and getting an associate killed) are part of what makes this story so entertaining as he starts to navigate the world of international sorcerers.
This book has many of the things people look for in spy novels—exotic locales, ranging from Afghan hill country to metropolitan Sao Paolo to South American jungles to Basque Spain; international political intrigue; a little romance; a couple of really rotten villains; and a lot of gunplay. But it’s set in a shadow-world of special people who are adept at magic, whose magical gifts make them into targets for government recruitment. In Chasing the Wyrm, ‘Topher (as he’s called within the story) uncovers a mad magician’s plot to release a wyrm (a type of dragon) on the unsuspecting modern world.
The book maintains a brisk pace as it introduces us to a character and a world that are fun and exciting.”
— Jo Lynn Wells via Amazon
"Chasing the Wyrm is a spy novel in the vein of Ian Fleming’s James Bond or maybe Craig Thomas’s Winterhawk. It’s got the girls, the guns, and the goons, but not necessarily in the flavors you’d expect. The hero is an inexperienced geek of a guy at the beginning of his world-saving career, so he doesn’t get all the steps right in his high-stakes dance with the bad guy. The bad guy is a a nutcase with moves; he loves fast cars, ostentatious pistols, and a showboating approach to stamping out his enemies. The closet heroes of this book are the many soldiers of the US military, who are portrayed as heavy-duty professionals. Not the cardboard one-dimensional army guys of a Clancy book, though. These guys are ice against terrorists and insurrectionists, but understandably out of their element when confronted with werejaguars. Yes, you read that right. You remember that season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Buffy must deal with the Initiative? It’s kind of like that, but with better technical advisors. And, of course, there’s the Bondian super-villain planning to raise a dragon the size of a 747 in order to reclaim his homeland. Hint: he really hasn’t thought that one all the way through. James Wilber gives us a rollicking good yarn in this wizard-spies meet wizard-freedom fighters meet wizard-assassins thriller. You wonder where your taxes go? Why the government spends hundreds of dollars on a hammer? Billions of dollars on airplanes they never finish? These guys, the OAA, are the answer.”
— Stephan Loy via Amazon
“James L. Wilber is just about to release his new book, Chasing the Wyrm, and as a beta I can tell you that book is everything you could dream for in a paranormal action suspense. His protagonist Christopher Yan is everything Harry Dresden should have been (unless Dresden was Thraxas, which in my opinion he should be), but better. Aw man, I loved Chasing the Wyrm. I’d love to see a Hollywood agent approach Wilber for a movie based on it. I don’t know if the agent would leave such a meeting intact…”
— Anneque Malchien via annequemalchien.com
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Chasing the Wyrm: Christopher Yan – Office of Arcane Affairs
To protect its interests, the U.S. government projects its power militarily, economically, and magically. It leaves the last to the Office of Arcane Affairs.
Christopher Yan didn’t ask for the job. A wizard born with the power to warp reality, the OAA calls on him to neutralize all arcane threats. Part spy, part fixer, part assassin, Topher searches for a way to make his unique gift serve both his country and his principles. When he makes an enemy of a rogue wizard serving a dying insurgency, he learns the limits his conscience can bear.