I'm rather reminded of a novel I once read, where a computer programmer travelled into a dimension where magic worked, and he ended up writing a magic compiler. Unlike other magicians who worked out their spells in somewhat random fashion, he developed abstractions, a subroutine library, and an orthogonal command system. For example, he would say things like "backslash light enter" to cast a light spell, where other magicians might chant some kind of short poem about light. As a result, he became one of the most proficient wizards in the land, because his powers were extensible and composable in ways that other wizards' were not.

(отсюда (http://dirtsimple.org/2005/08/multiple-self.html), ниже в комментах есть ссылка на книгу)

P.Кук "Wizards Bane". Не читал.