The Merdstone Trilogy

Philip Merdstone is broke. Many years have passed since his novel about sensitive teenagers won «all those awards» and «made Asperger cool». Philip's last book sold a meager 313 copies. The solution, says his agent Minerva Kinch, is to shift gears: create a trilogy filled with a Dark Lord, Dorkins, magical swords, plenty of capital letters and random apostrophes, and, most importantly, an Amulet. Unfortunately, Philip hates Fantasy.

Drowning his sorrows in «Dark Entropy» beer in a pub near his cottage in Dartmoor, he burps his way to the nearest stone circle, relieves himself at a standing stone, and lies down on the grass, where he is visited by a vision. A creature named Pocket DobroChest appears and dictates the first part of the saga about a hero-exile, a corrupt wizard, and the very lost Amulet. The resulting novel, which Philip calls «Dark Entropy», is brilliant but incomplete: a trilogy is warranted. Pocket appears again and offers Philip the rest of the story in exchange for the Amulet, which the evil wizard has hidden somewhere in the real world.

Now Philip must find the Amulet, while his agent Minerva (who he is deeply indifferent to) hovers over him and urges him to hurry with the second part, which is supposed to make them both rich. Philip, who has never loved fantasy, finds himself embroiled in the mysterious dealings of the fantasy world, which he is trying to escape by traveling the real world.