Tag: Humor Page 2 of 14

The Book That No One Wanted to Read by Richard Ayoade, Tor Freeman, Jarvis Cocker, Lydia Fox: In Print or Audio, It’s Just Delightful

On May 10, 2023

In Audiobook, Fiction, Humor, YA/MG/Children's Books

I am fully aware that the following post overuses the word “delightful.” I wanted to use it at least a dozen more times. This is both a sign that my working vocabulary needs expansion and that this book is a delight. More the latter than the former.

The Book That No One Wanted to Read

(Hardcover/Audiobook)
by Richard Ayoade
Narrated by Richard Ayoade, Jarvis Cocker, Lydia Fox
Illustrated by Tor Freeman

DETAILS:
Publisher: Walker Books US (hardcover); W.F. Howes, LTD. (audiobook)
Publication Date: March 14, 2023
Format: Hardcover/Audio
Length: 108 pg./49 min.
Read Date: April 4, 2023

What’s The Book That No One Wanted to Read About?

This is tricky without giving the whole thing away…but I think I can get close to it. Maybe more idea of the flavor?

We’re told at the very beginning that this book isn’t like others—other books are written by authors, while this book is written by a book. A book with opinions. For example, about authors:

Take it from me, authors can be quite annoying. They go on and on, filling up up page after page, but they have no idea what it’s like to be a book.

or these parts of Top Five Things That Grate My Gears (I’m only giving selections, but I want to give the whole thing):

1. People who fold the corner of the page to save their place.Have these savages not heard of novelty bookmarks? Or paper?…Which part of your body would you most like to have folded back on itself?*

2. People who underline certain words. ALL THE WORDS ARE IMPORTANT!

3. People who skip to the end. If the end was meant to come sooner, it’d be called “the middle.”

and don’t get it started on Ipswitch.

* The accompanying illustration of examples of ways to fold a body is delightful.

This book then goes on to tell a story in the second person about someone (presumably a middle-grade child, but really it could be anyone) who is going through a very large library and comes across the shelf holding The Book That No One Wanted To Read. That book then begins having a telepathic conversation with the “you” about being a book, the book’s plight as being so ignored, and how “you” can help it.

I’m not sure that makes sense—but it should give you an inkling of what you’re in for.

The Narration

Jarvis Cocker handles the bulk of the narration—he’s the voice of the opinionated Book telling the story, and as such is the voice that describes the “you” walking around. I could listen to his portions on repeat for a few hours at a time and be quite content (when I wasn’t laughing).

Richard Ayoade is the voice of the titular book and brings his distinguishing style to that narration. If you don’t smile listening to him as this character, you’re doing something wrong.

Lydia Fox provides the voice for the middle grader in conversation with the book. She’s just as fantastic as the others, and I only mention her last as I went in order of appearance.

This is one of those multi-narrator audiobooks where all the narrators are equally good—capturing the spirit and tone of the text and bringing it to life. I’d say that Cocker is the best narrator of the three, unless you asked me in the middle of one of Ayoade’s lines. Or while Fox was reading. I just loved all the audio aspects of this book.

The Illustrations

Oh, wow. I love the illustrations—they are absolutely great. It’s a sketchy kind of art, immediately relatable (think Jules Feiffer). They grab you right away and are just delightful—as funny as the text, without overshadowing it. They have the same voice, the same kind of humor, but don’t just retell the jokes in the book—sometimes they riff off them, expand them, and sometimes the humor is just adjacent to the jokes in the text.

I don’t normally recommend this kind of thing, but you can pick up the book and just look at the pictures (and read the captions) and have a good time without bothering with anything The Book is trying to convey.

So, what did I think about The Book That No One Wanted to Read?

When I heard about the book a few months ago, I was intrigued and made a mental note to look into it when it was released. Then I promptly forgot about it until I saw it on my library’s app. I’d intended on getting the text version, but I needed something short, so I jumped on it.

I was charmed instantly and loved the experience so much that I ran out to get the Hardcover so I could see the text, re-read portions—and check out the pictures. I haven’t found the time to read the whole book yet—but I have looked at every illustration and read bits of it a few times. This is why I’m giving you this strange hybrid format post.

If you’re going to encounter this book without the vocal stylings of Fox, Cocker, or Ayoade, you need the illustrations to make up for them. If you’re going to read the book without the benefit of the illustrations, you need narrators as strong as those three.

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m doing much better at conveying my reaction to the book than I am the book itself. The voice and tenor of the book are great—it’s goofy and strange, the humor is occasionally dry, it’s imaginative, it’s affirming and encouraging, it wraps you in a blanket of fun and makes you feel good. The characters all three of them—”you”, The Book That No One Wanted to Read, and the Book telling the story—are the perfect way to convey the contents. You don’t want a lot of characters wandering in and out of this one—keep it simple. But you don’t want this to become a monologue or an essay (although judging by the first and final chapter, it’d be great as one of those), so you need the three voices.

The best thing that comes to mind to compare it to is The Phantom Tollbooth. But shorter. And with the humor dialed up by a factor of 50.

I have one reservation. I’m not sure that the style of humor or the content of all the jokes are going to land right with an American Fifth Grader. It feels, perhaps, too British for that. But then again, American Fifth Graders are exposed to more than I was. Also, this could be the kind of thing that trains an 11-year-old’s sense of humor in the same way that stand-up albums I didn’t fully understand did mine. So what do I know?

Bookish adults are going to have a blast with this. Middle-Grade readers who are into slightly off-kilter books will really enjoy this. Most middle-graders, as far as I know, are slightly off-kilter themselves, so maybe they’re all the right audience. Just give them this book in their preferred format and you’ve likely got a winner.

I adore this book—and think it’s going to be a favorite of mine for years to come. I can’t wait to introduce my grandson to it—and frankly, a few older friends and relatives, too.

4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

Swamp Story by Dave Barry: Florida. Just say it’s Florida.

By HCNewton

On May 1, 2023

In Fiction, Humor, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Swamp Story

by Dave Barry

DETAILS:
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: May 2, 2023
Format: eARC
Length: 320 pg.
Read Date: April 19-21, 2023

What’s Swamp Story About?

This is hard to summarize, really. Which is part of the beauty of the book.

Most of the characters in this book aren’t what you’d call likable. They’re not really villains or antagonists, they’re just…people you don’t want to spend time with in real life, people with more greed/ambition than common sense (or decency). There are a couple of guys living in a cabin in the Everglades trying to assemble enough footage for a reality show pilot (basically, the good-looking one of the pair walking around shirtless interacting with native wildlife). Their weed dealer owns a failing convenience store/bait shop and has a “so stupid it just might work” plan to put his family’s store on the map. There’s a would-be talent agent (or just anything to ride the coattails of his buddy who happens to make a little money). Oh, and there’s a lawyer and a cabinet secretary/presidential aspirant, too—can’t forget them.

On the villainous side, there’s the weed dealer’s supplier—a former football player who is still large enough to intimidate active linemen who will not tolerate missed deadlines. Two ex-con brothers who are the textbook definition of nasty are also running around. There’s also an Eastern European gangster and some of his employees from the old country who should make everyone quake with fear.

On the likable side, you have the shirtless would-be star’s girlfriend and mother of his child (who really regrets ever giving him the time of day, no matter how pretty he is). The weed dealer’s brother who really needs something to motivate him to do more than play games on his phone, might have found that motivation in her. You’ve also got a couple of aides to the secretary, who really need a better job. An alcoholic ex-reporter desperate to make a buck is just what the weed dealer wants for his idea. I can’t forget either the aging TV reporter desperate to cling to her former relevance or the champion snake hunter.

Put all these characters in a small geographic region, throw in a large amount of buried Confederate gold and a couple of viral videos, shake well, and serve. Swamp Story is the result.

This Book Could’ve Been Shorter

Around the 70% mark (I’m keeping it vague because I don’t know how it’ll go in the final edition), a couple of the characters have an exchange that essentially goes along these lines:

Character A: I hope nothing else happens.
Character B: What else could happen?
Character A: …

and then there’s a map showing the immediate vicinity and some of the major buildings/landmarks of the story, making it very obvious that, based on what we know, all the characters are really near each other and that the likelihood of them running into each other in the very near future is pretty high. The reader will not be able to look at this map and not start imagining how all that running into each other is going to go.

I made a note at this point, that Barry could’ve ended the novel at that point—that exchange, the map, and the reader’s imagination—and it’d have been a fun and satisfying read.

However, odds are, your imagination isn’t as good as Barry’s is (mine sure isn’t), and as zany as I thought things were going to get from this point, the truth was far zanier. His conclusion to the novel (not just the immediate every character and storyline coming together in one spot, but everything that followed) was better than any of the ideas I came up with (and I liked most of my ideas a lot).

Still, there’s part of me that wishes he’d left things with that line and the map. I’d have laughed hard at that.

So, what did I think about Swamp Story?

I really enjoy reading Barry’s novels, and Swamp Story is no exception. It’s a different kind of humor (largely) than Barry’s columns or books, but it’s just as satisfying. I’d want to say that it’s more subtle, but that’s not true at all. There’s more character-based humor, and some of it’s the dialogue—which strikes you differently than the straight humor pieces he’s best known for.

Now, that said, there’s a scene at the beginning—involving a rich child’s birthday party, a couple of costumed performers, and a difficult-to-crack piñata, that absolutely cracked me up and I’ve been replaying it in my head since I read it—it’s perfect slapstick.

Putting aside the humor, all the story arcs worked really well and I can see toned-down versions of all the arcs working well together in a grim version of this story. I’ve argued recently that a good test of a comedic novel is if the plots would work without the laughs—in this case they largely wood. But they’re so much juicer and more enjoyable in this comic and heightened versions.

There are genuine bad guys, some actual threats, several characters in search of a good idea,* and a couple of people you hope catch a lucky break and escape from everything they’re surrounded by relatively intact. Throw in some good laughs, and some clever writing, and you’ve got yourself a fun few hours of reading. That’s likely what the reader looks for in a Dave Barry novel, and that’s what Swamp Story delivers. Strongly recommended.

* Apologies to Pirandello.

4 Stars

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Simon & Schuster via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

A Few Quick Questions with…Harry L-B

By HCNewton

On April 13, 2023

In A Few Quick Questions With...

I talked about Harry L-B’s debut novel, Billy in Space, earlylier today, and am now very pleased to bring you this Q&A with the author!

Let’s start off by introducing yourself to the readers—talk about your background, path to publication, etc.
My background is in theater. Outside of my day job, I’ve spent the last ten years writing and performing on stage in small venues around Milwaukee. Before Billy in Space I hadn’t actually thought about writing a novel. Writing plays or sketches always felt easier, because they didn’t necessarily have to be that long, and the actors do half the work for you. Billy in Space was my first attempt at a novel during a NaNoWriMo, and I loved the world and story I created so much that I decided to try publishing it.

Before I dive into Billy in Space questions, do you want to plug your webseries? Where’d this project come from?
I would be happy to plug Space Station-19. SS-19 was a project born out of the pandemic. My partner and I were both stuck at home, feeling isolated and bored like everyone else. With all that time on my hands, I decided to turn those feelings into a funny cartoon about a couple of blue collar workers on the edge of space. I wanted to make something that I could produce on a regular schedule, so each episode was only about a minute long and reused the same set and props as much as it could. Right now the show is on an indefinite hiatus while I tie up some other projects, but I’m proud of the 80-ish episodes we have so far, and have plans for future installments down the road. If your readers are interested in a bite-sized mashup of early RedvsBlue and Futurama, they should check it out.

All authors have more ideas running around in their head than they can possibly develop—what was it about this idea that made you commit to writing it? Was this something that was originally intended for Space Station-19, but ended up needing to be told somewhere else? Or did you set out to do something in a new medium?
The idea for Billy in Space actually started out as a video game. It was originally a sort of 2D riff on Dead Space, but as more ideas about the world and story popped up, the more I wasn’t sure I could pull it off as a video game. As to how it relates to Space Station-19, Billy in Space was actually done way before SS-19. It was just my first novel, so taking it from first draft to something I’m comfortable with people reading took a very long time.

I like to find someone other than the protagonist to focus on in my Q&As, and I have to ask about Boris here. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong, but I think he’ll be overlooked by most readers, who’ll fixate on Billy, Andy, Alice, and Janet. Do you actually know his backstory, or is it something you just kept inventing layers for when the opportunity arose? Have you thought about using him as a protagonist for something—or do you think he’s most effective (and funny) as a secondary character?
Boris is one of those characters that started out more as a device than a person, and slowly took shape as he had more interactions with the other characters. Some of my favorite characters in other media are the ones that the audience never really gets to know outside of the weird one-liners that paint a progressively weirder and weirder picture of their life outside the story. Because of that I don’t know that Boris can ever be a viewpoint character, since the comedy comes from that mystery, but that doesn’t mean he can’t grow and change. He could certainly be more of a focus, or even a protagonist if he shows up in later stories, we just probably won’t see the world through his eyes.

How do you approach humor in your stories? Do you work to maintain a balance between it and the action/tension? Does it come naturally? Do you have to come back on a later draft and insert or delete jokes to get it right?
I think every story should be at least ten percent comedy. Humans are naturally funny, oftentimes in reaction to difficult or even terrifying scenarios. Leaning into those natural human reactions, and heightening the stakes and absurdity of what those humans are reacting to is how you get to comedy. Or you can string some funny words together. That always makes me giggle.

It’s pretty clear that you’re into Science Fiction and humor—are there other genres you want to try in the future? Do you spend much time reading/watching other genres, or is SF primarily your thing?
If I had a favorite thing to write it would certainly be scifi-comedy, especially when it leans at least a little into space-horror. That being said, I do have another very early draft of a novel which is a riff on old adventure paperbacks, and I have had an idea for a more traditional fantasy novel that I’d like to get to one day. As for what I read, I am a sucker for most things with spaceships, but I also enjoy reading horror and fantasy. Bonus points for anything that also gets me to laugh.

Let’s play “Online Bookstore Algorithm” (a game I made up for these Q&As). What are 3-5 books whose readers may like Billy in Space?
Billy in Space shares a genre with Will Save the Galaxy for Food, so if you enjoy Yahtzee Croshaw’s work, I bet you’d like it. I’d also compare it to Meddling Kids, for its mix of horror and humor. On the strictly scifi-horror side of things, if you liked the novels Dead Silence, The Luminous Dead, or any of the recent Alien novels I bet you’d enjoy it.

What’s next for Harry L-B, author? More novels, or are you thinking of trying a different medium next time?
I would like to get some more novels out there, specifically some that build on Billy in Space`, but up next might be a few video games. I was just at the Midwest Gaming Classic telling people about my first game, I Wouldn’t, a short, silly-horror escape room type game. After that, my next project will probably be a game that shares a world with Billy in Space and Space Station-19. I’ve started working on it, but it’s in its very early stages at this point, so nothing specific to say right now. If you’re at all curious, be sure to follow me on youtube (HarryLBonYoutube), as you’ll hear more about any of my upcoming projects there first.

Thanks for your time—and thanks for introducing me to Billy, Boris, and the rest. I had a great time hanging out with them.

Billy in Space by Harry L-B: The Most Benign Space Mission Conceivable Goes Horribly Awry

By HCNewton

On April 13, 2023

In Fiction, Science Fiction

Come back this afternoon for a Q&A with the author!

Billy in Space

by Harry L-B

DETAILS:
Publication Date: April 5, 2023
Format: eBook
Length: 223 pgs.
Read Date: March 23-24, 2023

“Sometimes things go so bad you think it couldn’t possibly get any worse. Then, it does. Because life is terrible.”

This is somewhat new territory for me—I’m generally pretty adept at talking about a book’s story/setup without getting into spoiler territory.* I’m not worried about spoiling plot points in this book—I’m worried about spoiling jokes. It’d be really easy for me to describe something here in a way that’s not particularly amusing and then when you get to the point in the book that’s supposed to tickle your funny bone, it’d lose its effect.

* Although an author or two have had different thoughts.

What’s Billy in Space About?

Billy had constantly lived his life in the shadow of Andy—brilliant, effortlessly cool, and genuinely a nice guy, and it grated on him. When it came time to decide on a career path, he swallowed a recruiter’s lines and volunteered to have the surgery to become telekinetic—visualizing a future as a member of a security team, using his abilities to combat injustice.

And instead, he became a “thought-lifter.” Basically, a human forklift working in a ship’s cargo hold. Thankfully, he was on the same ship as his one and only friend, so he wasn’t entirely miserable. Actually, he rather enjoyed his life, certain things would get better. “Billy was nothing if not delusionally optimistic.” He’s desperately outgoing, friendly, socially-inept, and earnest as the day is long.

After weeks of hesitating, and a final push by Andy, Billy asks out an attractive engineer—and is the victim of an industrial accident just as the date is about to start. And that’s the best part of the date. He wakes in a medical bay—the ship is on emergency power, and he can’t find anyone on board—he can find some discarded pieces of crew members, however. So he sets off to try to find anyone alive, find out what happened—and hopefully, find something to wear other than a hospital gown.

Oh, and then space pirates show up.

Boris

Boris could best be described as a man made from a carefully arranged stack of Russian cinder blocks.

Billy’s coworker—and fellow thought-lifter—Boris took a bit for me to warm up to. Initially, he seemed like a one-trick pony—he’s the gruff and laconic anti-Billy. He stands and says nothing, barely tolerating Billy’s attempts at conversation and bonding. Ha-ha, I get it. Can we move on now?

But the further we get into the book, Boris starts contributing in other ways—largely interacting with people who aren’t Billy. His character handles plenty of the action, but he’s also a guaranteed punch-line generator. With one sentence in any situation he can reveal a little about himself that is both incredibly apropos and ridiculous.

I’d compare him to Ron Swanson or Rosa Diaz—at least in the way he works in contrast to the other characters and what has to be a deadpan reaction to almost everything.

The Action Part of the Equation

Popular film and television painted an uncharitable picture of space pirates. In every depiction Billy had seen, they were a rude and nasty lot, their ships’ halls favored an abundance of red lighting, and someone onboard kept a cyborg parrot as a companion. The media was surprisingly accurate on most counts. Billy didn’t think abductions were particularly polite, and his eyes were having difficulty adjusting to a world painted in shades of crimson. He was disappointed by the lack of any cybernetic parrots, but kept his ears open for digital squawking.

Something I try to do when evaluating an action-comedy is to ask what it would be like without the comedy. Does the story hold up? It’s not a deal-breaker for me if the novel/show/movie needs the comedy, but if it can survive while being serious, I give it bonus points.

With a tweak to the purpose of the Space Cutie VII‘s mission (and the ship’s name), in addition to dropping the comedy and Billy in Space would work as a SF-Action tale—might even cross the line into SF-Horror. That says a lot about the plot, the story arcs, and the characters.

The comedy helps heighten the story—I think maybe even makes some of the tense moments more tense (this isn’t a comedy where bad things don’t happen), and the ridiculousness of the characters makes them more engaging. But the fact that the novel could hold up without the chuckles makes me care more about the outcome.

So, what did I think about Billy in Space?

Billy was born on Mars. He grew up on Mars. He went to Mars City High School, home of the Fighting Tunnel-Squids. Growing up, he had been fairly sure he was going to work on Mars, and eventually get eaten by a tunnel-squid on Mars, something that became more and more likely as Martian settlements spread into their natural habitats.

I had a lot of fun with this one, it’s a great mix of silly, SF, and action. Because everyone has to mention Hitchhiker’s Guide when mentioning humorous SF, the jacket copy for this does, too. I didn’t find it that THHGttG-ish, honestly. More of a Futurama (also mentioned in the description), or early Scalzi. Very Red Dwarf, too. Although, that’s something that too few would understand anymore. But for those of a certain age, Billy’s pal Andy is essentially what Ace Rimmer would’ve been had he gone into biology.

When things got hairy, I have to say that I was surprised at how dark the events got—I wasn’t put off by it, I just didn’t assume the light feel of the book up to that point would take such a left turn. But it worked so well. It’s hard to describe the blend of Alien-ish story with the goofiness of Billy and the others. Shaun of the Dead comes kind of close.

I chucked frequently, gasped in surprise at least once, and generally had a good time escaping into the world that Harry L-B created. This was a fun ride and I’d jump on another novel like this without hesitation—you should check it out!

3.5 Stars

RE-ISSUE DAY REPOST: The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson: A Hilarious Fantasy Filled with Adventure and Shenanigans. Definitely Shenanigans.

By HCNewton

On April 4, 2023

In Fantasy, Fiction, Humor

The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True

by Sean Gibson

DETAILS:
Publisher: The Parliament House
Publication Date: December 10, 2020
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 358 pg.
Read Date: March 10-12, 2022

I am, if not the most well-known bard in Erithea (yet), arguably the most talented, and unarguably the cleverest. I also wouldn’t quibble if you suggested that I’m the most beautiful, but that’s just because I’m very agreeable (and beautiful)…

Decades ago, I was sworn to secrecy regarding the true story of the great and terrible “Dragonia,” but recent developments have released me from that promise, and so I can finally tell the tale.

A Quick Bit About the Re-issue

You should probably just read what Sean Gibson said over on his website, but I’ll share a snippet:

Bibliophiles the world over know there’s nothing quite like the feel of a hardcover book in your hands, especially when it’s nattily attired in a gorgeously illustrated dust jacket. It’s so much more than a book—it’s an experience. The story pulsating between the covers, a mystical alchemy of ink and imagination exponentially greater than the sum of its parts, guides you on a journey to an infinity of impossible destinations. When you’re reluctantly ready to return to reality, the stolid feel of those very same covers, just one design element of a marvel of engineering that can’t possibly be improved upon, slowly draws you back—changed, bettered, by the experience, somehow made more whole.

With that spirit in mind (or, perhaps, despite that spirit), Parliament House Press has re-issued this novel in hardcover and brought along Mateusz Wisniewski to provide this dazzling new cover. I liked the original cover, but this one is the kind you want on a hardcover.

I’d love to tell you exactly how snazzy this cover looks in person, but for two days now the tracking information says, “The shipping label has been created. Your package will be picked up by the carrier soon. Check back for updates on your delivery, or sign up for notifications.” Woe is me. You should head over to your local bookstore, Bookshop.org, or wherever you get your books and get your hands on this edition* today!

* Or, like me, an annoying and nowhere-near-as-attractive status update.

Enough about that, let’s talk about what’s behind the cover—as great as the cover is, this is the best part:

What’s The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True About?

This is that true story about Dragonia, told alongside the “official” account so the reader can see how the details were adjusted and tweaked to create the story everyone knows.

The town (or village, depending on who you ask) of Skendrick is being terrorized by a dragon—crops are being ruined, trade is disrupted, and the town is about to fall apart. Desperate, they put out a call for adventurers to come and kill the dragon. But they get no takers—so they go to Plan B. The villagers (or townspeople) pool their meager resources to hire a bard. This bard is to compose a song to make the attempt to kill the dragon sound appealing enough—and its treasure (which may or may not actually exist) enticing enough—to get a band of adventurers to come.

This is where Heloise comes in. She takes the gig and soon gets a new and yet unaccomplished band of adventurers to take up the call to action. I don’t want to get into describing the group, you want to meet them in the book.

They encounter difficulties from without and within; nasty, malodorous geography; orcs and other creatures; and, well, the dragon.

Heloise the Bard

“You’re not half as funny as you think you are, as I suspect you have a very high opinion of yourself.”

“My opinion of myself is in direct proportion to my amazingness,” I said sweetly.

The half-elf, Heloise the Bard is our narrator—as you can tell from the quotations above, she has a fairly high opinion of herself and her abilities. She’s also rather impressed with her hair and certain other physical attributes. Probably her greatest skill is self-promotion.

She decides to accompany the adventurers, to chronicle their journey and the outcome of their clash with the dragon. Her wit and quick thinking prove valuable to their effort and her particular set of skills make all the difference.

She is a hoot. It’d be easy for Heloise to be an annoying, over-the-top character, but somehow Gibson keeps her as an entertaining, over-the-top character. I’ve been trying to come up with a character to compare her to, and I’m failing. Maybe she’s the Fantasy version of Evanovich’s Lula, except Heloise has the skills that Lula thinks she has. Maybe she’s the equivalent of High Fidelity‘s Barry. Somewhere in the Venn Diagram featuring Fantasy, Lula, and Barry, I guess.

She appears in a couple of other books by Gibson, and I’m eager to spend some more time with her.

The Humor

The section could easily be merged with the previous one because the humor displayed in the book is primarily Heloise’s. The jokes are pretty much non-stop—even in the middle of fight scenes, or when death is nigh. The danger is still present, and the combat (and so on) is as deadly as it would be in another book—it’s just surrounded by laughs.

It didn’t take me long before I’d highlighted too many lines to quote—not that it stopped me from going on. My notes on this one are ridiculous. I kept chuckling throughout the reading. I probably would’ve finished the book in 2/3 the time, if reacting to the jokes didn’t make me stop reading for a moment.

If you’ve read The Tales of Pell, you’ve got a good idea for the pace of the jokes—and tone of the book, too.

There’s slapstick, there’s scatological humor, a great Meatloaf (the singer) line, some fantastic bursts of alliteration for the sake of a laugh, some general silliness, clever dialogue, and…honestly, I’m having a hard time thinking of a kind of humor that’s not in there. There’s a running gag (that I’ve alluded to) throughout about whether Skendrick is a town or a village—I can’t tell you how often it’s brought up. And the joke works every time—I should’ve gotten sick of it, and I never did. I don’t know how Gibson pulled that off, but that alone is the mark of a fantastic humor writer.

In addition to The Tales of Pell, if you’ve enjoyed Christopher Healy, Dave Barry, K.R.R. Lockhaven, Peter David, Scott Meyer, Joe Zieja, Jim C. Hines’ Jig the Goblin series, or John Scalzi—you’re going to dig the humor here. And if you dig the humor, you’re going to really enjoy the book. It’s that simple.

So, what did I think about The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True?

You know by this point that one of my main goals in telling this story is to show that the adventuring life isn’t all it’s thought to be. It’s mostly boring, frustrating, dangerous (though not excitingly dangerous), smelly (dear gods, so smelly), and not particularly lucrative. Occasionally, however, it’s exactly how the songs make it sound, and in those moments, it’s easy to see why people—even smart, capable people like Nadi—would devote their lives to doing something so irrational. Let the record show that entering a dragon’s lair for the first time is one of those moments, and it’s fair to say that each member of our intrepid band experienced more than a frisson of excitement as we crept across that threshold.

I think it’s pretty clear that I had a blast with this book, but I should probably make that explicit. I had a blast reading this book.

I think I should not that this is not a book to read if you’re in a “find out what happened and get to the end of the story” frame of mind. This is a “enjoy the trip, not the destination”/”stop and smell the roses” kind of book. The destination/what happens is fully satisfying, but the getting-there is so much better.

In addition to the jokes and the dragon, there is a running commentary on what “the adventuring life” is like outside of the glamorous or exciting bits. A lot of fantasy novels will show bits of it, but not enough of them do—and most don’t do it this way. For example, The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True contains more description of various odors than every 99% of the fantasy novels I’ve read by a significant factor. If this were a scratch and sniff book…well, I can’t imagine anyone would stock it—you just don’t want that in your warehouse/store. Sure, it’s silly talking about realism in a book featuring orcs, halflings, elves, etc.—but this factor does ground the book and give it a seriousness (for lack of a better term) that makes this more than a collection of jokes.

This is the funniest book I’ve read in 2022, and I can’t imagine it’ll face much competition. It’s got it all, go get your hands on it.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

You Took the Last Bus Home by Brian Bilston: Do I Dare Eat Some Kale?

By HCNewton

On March 31, 2023

In General Fiction/Literature, Humor

You Took the Last Bus Home:
The Poems of Brian Bilston

by Brian Bilston

DETAILS:
Publisher: Unbound
Publication Date: April 13, 2021
Format: Paperback
Length: 226 pgs.
Read Date: March 1-29, 2023

Do I need my usual disclaimer about not being a poetry reader here?

Probably not, but I’ll throw it up anyway. This is the fourth time in about 10 years of blogging on this site that I’ve posed about a book of poetry. There’s a reason for that. I typically don’t like them.

There’s also a reason that I had to buy, read, and post about this one—after Facebook’s algorithm inexplicably started showing me his poems for a stretch back in January, I had to read more of them. So I bought this book, and now I have to talk about it. Because I try to do that about every book I read, but primarily because I want more people to have the opportunity to have fun with him.

What’s You Took the Last Bus Home About?

This a lengthy collection of poems (well, maybe not—it’s the lengthiest I own outside of textbooks, anyway) about love, loss, politics, and “everyday places and situations” (as he describes them in the Introduction—which I somehow skipped over until just now). Everyday situations like—someone wanting to borrow a phone charger (and being denied), beards, search engines, playing with a dog, and so on.

Bilston closes the Introduction by saying

I suppose these are not traditionally regarded as being teh stuff of poetry. But there is poetry to be found in anything if you look hard enough.

And Bilston looks that hard.

Playing with Form

One of the best things about poetry is the ability to use form to communicate. To play with the placement of the words on a page, and how they’re presented to get the meaning across—sometimes more effectively than the words used.

Bilston is a master of this.

From decreasing the type size in “Unforseen Consequences” to rotating the text in “Ode to a USB Stick” or something as simple as embracing the traditional shape of a Christmas tree in “Needles” (and then tweaking it), the visual impression of each page got you in the right frame of mind before you started reading.

See also his use of Flow Charts, Org Charts, Excel worksheets, etc.

So, what did I think about You Took the Last Bus Home?

I remember in college classes about poetry there’d be a certain tone of voice used with the phrase, “light verse.” It was eerily similar to the audible sneer used for the term “genre fiction.” And I get that—it’s the same reason that comedies are almost never nominated for an Oscar. It’s not right, but I get it.

But to brush this collection off because Bilston frequently brings the funny is a mistake. This is some really clever work–when he’s funny and when he’s not. The fact that he’s so frequently amusing (to one degree or another) means that when he drops that and goes for serious, earnest, or thoughtful—those are even more powerful (for example, “Refugees”). It shouldn’t be overlooked that he frequently is thoughtful and humorous in the same poem.

I like the creativity, I adore the wordplay, and—as always—I’m a sucker for anyone who makes me laugh/chortle/giggle/smile on the majority of the pages. I audibly laughed at the ninth poem—and several after that. My favorite haiku ever is to be found in these pages (and probably most of the top ten of that list, too*)

* A list that I didn’t realize I’d need/want/have until I started this book.

Did I love every poem? No. Did I skim a few? Yup. But in a collection this size, that’s to be expected, right? Particularly when it comes to someone who isn’t particularly a fan of poetry in the first place. The overwhelming majority of them absolutely worked.

This is a book to spend time with—open it up randomly, or read from cover to cover—whatever. Don’t do it all in one sitting, obviously—although I think it’d be easy to do, I typically read at least two more poems than I intended to per session (usually more than two). But it’s hard to appreciate them if you gorge yourself.

You’re not just going to want to read these yourself—you’re going to want to share these. I also couldn’t help but read a poem to whoever happened to be in the room with me—or make someone else read one that I really appreciated (especially if you needed to see it for full impact). My daughter received several messages from me that consisted of a quick photo of a page or two almost every time I sat down to read this volume.

I can’t say enough good things about this. I’ll be buying more of his work soon.

4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

A Few Quick Questions with…Andi Ewington

By HCNewton

On March 15, 2023

In A Few Quick Questions With...

A couple of hours ago, I belatedly posted about Ewington’s Comedic Epic The Hero Interviews, and now we get to hear a little from the author himself. I’ve had very few less-than-completely pleasant interactions with authors on this side, but some really stand out on the positive side. Andi Ewington fits into that category–in all our interactions over the last few months, Ewington has been kind, patient, gracious, generous, and funny. So it brings me a great deal of pleasure to share a little bit more of him with you all.

Andi Ewington is a writer who has written numerous comic titles including Forty-Five45, Campaigns & Companions, S6X, Sunflower, Red Dog, Dark Souls II, Just Cause 3, Freeway Fighter, and Vikings. Andi lives in Surrey, England with a plethora of childhood RPGs and ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ gamebooks he refuses to part with. He’s usually found on Twitter as @AndiEwington.

Why don’t we start with a quick introduction—who is Andi Ewington, and how did he get into writing? What made him jump from comics to novels?
I’m a creative at heart; initially, I was a graphic designer for over 30 years, designing computer game packaging, advertising and branding. I got into comics with my critically acclaimed debut novel (Forty-Five), published in 2010. For nearly ten years, I built a small comic-writing side hustle alongside my day job, writing for IPs such as Just Cause, Dark Souls, World of Tanks, Vikings, and Pac-Man. In late 2018, I switched from design to writing games full-time before being promoted to Game Director. During this time, I was finding it harder and harder to secure regular comic work, so I published a series of funny tweets about cats and dogs playing Dungeons & Dragons called ‘Campaigns & Companions’. After that, my desire to see my words published as a complete novel consumed me—thus, ‘The Hero Interviews’ was born.

All authors have more ideas running around in their head than they can possibly develop—what was it about this idea that made you commit to it? What’s the appeal to you as an author about the interview structure?
I have a huge affinity for fantasy (having spent endless hours playing Dungeons & Dragons, Middle Earth RPG, Fighting Fantasy, Talisman, and Warhammer) and comedy (watching endless repeats of Blackadder, Father Ted, Alan Partridge, Monty Python). The idea slowly came to fruition after influences from The Incredibles, Creature Comforts, and World War Z—all of whom employed the Q&A format in their narrative. With so many epic fantasy yarns on the market, I wanted to publish something a little different that gave readers small nuggets of information that, when pulled together, create a bigger picture. Plus, you don’t have to believe everything in an interview—sometimes, what’s being said is only one side of a gold coin. I had done something similar with my debut graphic novel, Forty-Five—but The Hero Interviews resonates more with me because it’s written from the heart, with a plethora of personal experiences thrown in.

Between this and Campaigns & Companions, it’s pretty obvious that D&D is a pretty big influence in your mind. Do you trace your interest in storytelling to the game, or was it the other way around (assuming you can trace that in the first place)? What, for you, is the draw of that kind of game?
First and foremost, Dungeons & Dragons was the perfect social game growing up—it allowed me to stay up late with my mates, eat pizza, drink bottles of coke, and roll with laughter at the stupid situations we found ourselves in. Those were amazing days back then—and certainly a massive influence on where I am now. I especially loved subverting a carefully crafted adventure by doing things the DM hadn’t planned. Much of my storytelling spawned from Choose Your Own Adventure/You Are The Hero gamebooks (Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger, Falcon, Lone Wolf). Being an only child meant I needed an escape from the boredom of solitude; those books did more to forge my love of narrative than anything else—especially as they put me central in the story as an active participant rather than a reader dragged along for the ride.

How do you approach humor in your books? Do you work to maintain a balance between it and the action/tension? Does it come naturally? Do you have to come back on a later draft and insert or delete jokes to get it right? (or I guess, insert other material to balance out the jokes?)
I find humour comes naturally; I’m always thinking of funny conversations, gags, one-liners, retorts, or situations—I love making people laugh! So, when it came to The Hero Interviews, it was a very organic process. I’d start with an overall idea, then try to subvert it somehow in a funny way—usually, as I’d work out the scene, I’d find the jokes would write themselves. Sometimes, I’d massage a joke more if I felt I hadn’t stuck the landing or cut it altogether if a beta reader didn’t respond well to the gag. As for action versus comedy, there’s always a delicate balancing act to ensure the jokes don’t get in the way of the plot or the action—killing a funny moment. So, I approached action in two ways—with what information was being shared in the interview and what was happening during the interview. This way, I’d have two opportunities for comedy to appear during an action scene, either through observations or slapstick.

I love a novel with comic footnotes. Can you talk a little about the choice to use that technique—in general, and how you decide when to use a footnote to deliver the joke rather than keeping it in the text? Do you add the footnotes while writing the “main” text or do you go back and add them later?
The footnotes came about after finishing the main draft of the story; I was struggling to further Elburn’s personality, using only questions—but I had just been reading ‘Tales From Small Planets’ by Nate Crowley, and I enjoyed the banter between the editor and the author which developed through the footnotes. I reasoned I could do something similar but have Elburn’s personality shine through the footnotes as off-the-cuff commentary. I know there are over 1700 footnotes, which can be quite a task to negotiate through—but I felt just incorporating them into the Q&A would weaken Elburn’s voice and potentially lose some of the joke’s impact (especially jokes that ran across several other footnotes). Ultimately, I feel it was the correct choice—even though I’m sure a few don’t enjoy the way it pulls them out of their reading experience*.

*If that happened to you, I’m really sorry—but I’m not sorry enough not to do it all again!

This was a long novel—even by the standards of Fantasy novels. Did you consider releasing it in smaller books (like whatshisname did with the thing about the ring)? Did you spend time thinking about the length at all, or was it a case of “this is what it took to tell my story, so that’s as long as it is”?
Oh, for sure, I knew it would be a beast of a book—and the idea of breaking it down into smaller volumes briefly crossed my mind. But, I think if I had, then it would severely hamper the whole experience of cross-referencing interviews with one another. I also wanted ‘The Hero Interviews’ to be the spiritual successor to my debut novel ‘45’, which spanned forty-five interviews—as you probably know, that’s the same number of interviews found inside ‘The Hero Interviews’.

Let’s play “Online Bookstore Algorithm” (a game I made up for these Q&As). What are 3-5 books whose readers may like The Hero Interviews?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
Notes from Small Planets (Nate Crowley)
World War Z (Max Brooks)
Guards! Guards! (Sir Terry Pratchett)

What’s next for Andi Ewington, author?
I’m currently editing a book for a friend of mine; after that, I will start work on the sequel to The Hero Interviews—The Hero Diaries!

Thanks for your time—and thanks for The Hero Interviews, I had a blast with it and I hope you have plenty of success with it.

The Hero Interviews by Andi Ewington: A Thoughtful Fantasy Adventure Shares the Page with 900 Fireball Jokes, 750 Quips about Useless Clerics, 600 Ways to Mock Paladins, and Plenty of Other Comedic Bits

By HCNewton

On March 15, 2023

In Fantasy, Fiction

So this is like a month overdue. I feel really bad about that because Andi Ewington got his Q&A responses back to me in record-time and I paid him back by dithering with this. It’s one of those I started and abandoned several times because it wasn’t right. This isn’t either, but I forced myself to actually finish it—it’s just going to get worse the more I tinker with it.

Oh, yeah, and do check in later this morning for a very nice Q&A with Ewington.

The Hero Interviews

by Andi Ewington

DETAILS:
Publisher: Forty-Five Limited
Publication Date: December 1, 2022
Format: eBook
Length: 925 pgs.
Read Date: January 20-February 11, 2023

What’s The Hero Interviews About?

The child and sibling of heroic adventurers, Elburn Barr, has taken a different path in life—one fit for someone with his particular set of skills (or lack thereof). He is a Loremaster—no spells, weapons, or danger for him, thank you very much. At this point in his life/career, Elburn has set out to understand what makes a hero tick—what is it that drives them, what early influences molded them, how do they keep going on? Does it vary from type to type? Are Barbarians made of different stuff from a Cleric or a Thief? What about a Ranger or a Wizard?

In addition to interviewing various leading examples of each type of hero, he talks to non-heroes, too. Like a farmer whose farm was saved(?) by some heroes from a dragon, the curator of a hero museum, people who run/design dungeons, etc.

We get these interviews in transcript form—with a little introduction from Elburn at the beginning of each, and maybe a little narrative about what’s going on around them during the interview, or what he does after. But primarily, it’s transcriptions of the interviews.

In addition to trying to understand the heroic psyche in general, Elburn’s hoping to understand and maybe connect with his adventurer-filled family. But he has an ulterior motive for all this—his older brother went off adventuring ten summers ago, and Elburn would like to know what happened to him. He’s hoping to find him alive somewhere but will settle for just knowing what happened.

This sounds heavy—but I should stress that this is a comedy. There’s a serious story (or three) being told, sure. But the book is a comedy.

Comic Footnotes

I’m a long-established fan of comic footnotes in novels—see what I’ve said about Josh Bazell, Lisa Lutz, Thomas Lennon, and K.R.R. Lockhaven for example. But Ewington puts them all to shame.

At least in terms of volume—there are almost 2 per page, although I’d have wagered it was higher than that (that’s an average—there are pages with several). Occasionally, it feels annoying to stop the flow of what you’re reading to check it. All I can say is that if you’re feeling that way, just keep reading and then circle back for the footnote after that bit of dialogue or at the end of the chapter—it’s not going anywhere.

On the whole, they work better in the moment without doubling back, so click the link if you’re not at the annoyed point. I did it both ways depending on my mood and can vouch for both methods. Whatever you do, don’t skip them.

You get a good sense of Elburn’s personality and attitude toward his interview subjects from the main text—but it really shines forth in the footnotes. To really understand the protagonist, you need to read them.

But your comedy-per-word ratio is higher in the footnotes, too. In the main text, comedy has to come out of the words, situations, and characters. In the footnotes, Ewington doesn’t have to do that—he can just make the joke. Frequently, that’s all it is—the joke. Neither is a superior joke-delivery method, it’s just easier to get to the funny bit in the footnote.

Audience

Anyone who’s into Fantasy to one degree or another is going to be able to appreciate most of what Ewington’s doing here. There is a pretty solid D&D-basis to everything, however, so the more you understand and/or have been exposed to the game.

The Length

There’s no getting around this point, The Hero Interviews is long. One might argue that it’s too long. I’m not sure I’d agree—but I wouldn’t disagree.

Early on (maybe around the 20% mark), I started to wonder if this thing wouldn’t work better as a trilogy. Break this into (roughly) thirds, add a 1-3 page Epilogue/Prologue to each to connect them and it’s a lot easier to digest. I think it’d work. Check out my Q&A with Ewington to see why he disagrees with that idea. I’m not entirely convinced, but at the end of the day, it’s not that important.

I do wonder how many readers will find their patience pushed by the length—I’d tell them to stick with it because it’s absolutely worth it (but taking a break every few chapters isn’t the worst idea).

A practical downside to the length is that it’s likely cost-prohibitive to publish this in paperback. This is a real shame because everyone I can think of to give this to won’t read it in ebook. (but I’m trying to think of a way to work around that)

So, what did I think about The Hero Interviews?

I hate when people drag out Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett when talking about humorous SF/F, but I can’t get away from this one. For a long time, I’ve said that Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams isn’t so much a novel as it is a series of comic episodes/scenes/bits trying to look like a novel.* As I’ve been trying to come up with a succinct way to talk about this book the last few weeks, I’ve decided that it’s the opposite—it’s a novel trying to look like a series of comic episodes/scenes/lines.

* I feel compelled to add at this point that I love the book, some of my favorite lines/paragraphs/ideas from Adams are in it. But it’s not a good novel.

It takes a while to see the plotlines emerge—it really does seem to be a light-hearted look at D&D clichés, stereotypes, tropes, etc. at the beginning, but eventually, you start to see the story arcs emerging and even start to see Elburn grow and develop. That’s something I didn’t expect to see when I started reading this.

If only because I have memories of interview transcripts and fantasy humor (and sadly, not much else), I expected this to feel like Off to See the Wizard by Clay Johnson, but it really doesn’t. Ewington’s ambitions are larger—and he packs more jokes into his pages. Ewington is also more interested in playing with the tropes and types of the genre, while Johnson was working within pretty well-established types.

Once I got to the interview with Gwenyn, the poor farmer with a field ruined by a dragon corpse left behind by heroes, I knew this book was for me. The Mime Warrior interview was so ridiculous that I had to love it—and I even came around to the least-Conan-like Barbarian (I admit I had a hard time with that one at first blush). Ewington both seems to embrace and relish going for the obvious joke—but the way he gets there, or what he surrounds the obvious joke with—that’s pretty special and creative. I’m not sure that makes a lot of sense, you’re just going to have to read it to see what I’m trying to communicate.

It’s really easy to see why Jodie recommended this one to me for the 12 Books Challenge, and I’m so glad she did (I wanted to, but hadn’t gotten around to buying it until she did). You should pretend that she recommended it to you, too (here, read her post about it). I mean, I’m recommending it to you—but maybe you’ll listen to both of us more than you’d listen to just me.

You’ll laugh; you’ll chuckle; you’ll grin; you’ll shake your head and roll your eyes while wondering, “Did he just find another way to make the same fireball joke?”*; and you’ll have a lot of fun. No better time than the present to go grab this, you’ll be glad you did.

* Yes, yes he did.

4 Stars

The Friday 56 for 2/17/22: I Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This! by Bob Newhart

By HCNewton

On February 17, 2023

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56 of:
I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This!

I Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This! And Other Things That Strike Me as Funny by Bob Newhart

In the piece, I imagined a telephone conversation between the press agent and Abraham Lincoln just before Gettysburg, that I think, in part, would have gone something like this:

Hi Abe, sweetheart. How are you, kid? How’s Gettysburg? … Sort of a drag, heh? Well, Abe you know them small Pennsylvania towns, you seen one you seen ’em all…. Listen Abe, I got the note. What’s the problem?…. You’re thinking of shaving it off? Abe, don’t you see that’s part of the image with the shawl and the stovepipe hat and the string tie?… You don’t have the shawl. Where’s the shawl?…. You left it in Washington. What are you wearing, Abe?…A sort of cardigan? Abe, don’t you see that doesn’t fit with the string tie and the beard? Abe, would you leave the beard on and get the shawl?

Now, what’s this about Grant?… You’re getting a lot of complaints about Grant’s drinking. Abe, to be perfectly honest with you, I don’t see the problem. You knew he was a lush when you appointed him…. Your gag writers… You want to come back with something funny? Maybe an anecdote about a town drunk. I can’t promise anything. I’ll get them working on it.

The Friday 56 for 1/20/23: The Hero Interviews by Andi Ewington

By HCNewton

On January 20, 2023

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56 of:
The Hero Interviews

The Hero Interviews by Andi Ewington

Gwenyn: …These bastards are a heroic pain in the arse. My turnip crop is ruined! How am I supposed to recover from this?”

Me: “I—I don’t know…”

Gwenyn: “That’s not even the worst part of it. The worst part is knowing that while I’m here picking up the pieces of our life, the ‘heroes’ responsible are probably patting each other on the back as they head off to celebrate their success by getting blind drunk in the nearest tavern!”

Me: “I’m sorry—”

Gwenyn: “Why are you apologising? It’s not your fault; you’re not one of those hero types, are you? It’s not your mess that was left here to rot. What am I supposed to do with a giant Dragon corpse? You think I’ve got it bad now, just wait another week—the stench from that thing will be almost unbearable. We’ll be forced to move away until the next summer at the earliest—that’s a large portion of our coin for the season lost to these so-called heroes.”