The Wizardry Compiled

In which our reluctant and clumsy hero W. I. Zumwalt is kidnapped and in peril for most of the book, and a team of other programmers is secretly recruited from our world to try to make something more generally useful out of his initial attempts at programming with magic.

This is the second in a series of five novels, and it's the one I like best. Our hero still makes mistakes, but he's becoming gradually more competent. I enjoy the clashes between the cultures of the two worlds, and the new team of programmers introduces a greater variety of characters.

There are two parallel plots going on here: Wiz on his own, trying to survive, and the other programmers trying to adapt to their novel situation. I prefer the latter. Wiz on his own isn't boring; but, once I've read it, I'm not highly motivated to read it again any time soon.