Tag: Comedy/Satire

Guest Review – Welcome to Night Vale and It Devours! by Joseph Frink and Jeffrey Cranor

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Guest Review, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in NovelLeave a comment

This week as part of my Throwback Thursday articles I let my eternally awesome editor/wife, Alex, reveal what weirdness she has been reading lately with a guest review of two very fun, if odd, books.  Fans of this blog may remember that Alex has previously provided some insightful guest reviews for The Power (soon to be a television series), The Testaments, The Fowl Twins, Pan’s Labyrinth and the latest audiobook versions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  For this latest guest review, Alex dives into the audiobook versions of the tie-in novels associated with the Welcome to Night Vale podcast, written by Joseph Frink and Jeffrey Cranor.  Now, I have to admit that despite Alex’s love of Welcome to Night Vale, I honestly do not know much about it, and I was intrigued to see what stories these books featured.  If her review of the first two books are anything to go by, I am missing out on some crazy, crazy things by not listening to this podcast.

Welcome to Nightvale Cover

Alex’s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Welcome to Night Vale is a long-running sci-fi podcast that publishes new episodes twice a month. Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor have been writing the show together for just over 10 years now, and have so far published three books in the canon. I recently found myself in need of some audio entertainment to accompany some long drives, and I decided the soothing baritone of Cecil Baldwin was just the thing I needed, so I started with the first two books, Welcome to Night Vale and It Devours!

Regular listeners of the Welcome to Night Vale podcast will know exactly what to expect from these books. New fans will need to strap in for some weirdness, ranging from the merely strange, like invisible pie and the Glow Cloud (ALL HAIL), to the truly terrifying, like throat spiders and librarians. Time doesn’t work in Night Vale. Angels are real, but it is illegal to acknowledge them (and certainly don’t lend them any spare change when they ask for it). Mountains are real, but not everyone believes in them. There is a faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home, but she’s not usually violent. The best advice I can give is to simply accept everything the narrative tells you, as any law-abiding Night Vale citizen would do.

The Welcome to Night Vale book chiefly follows the adventures of three such Night Vale citizens. Josh Crayton is able to change his form at will, sometimes appearing as an insect or a sentient patch of haze, sometimes sporting huge antlers or the legs of an octopus. Like all teenagers, he’s just trying to learn how to feel comfortable in his body and figure out who he is—and who his father is. His mother, Diane Crayton, is just trying to protect and connect with her son; it’s not easy being a mother in a town so strange and dangerous. But she also finds herself transfixed by the mystery of a newcomer to town, a strange man in a tan jacket, whose name and face you forget as soon as you look away. The man in the tan jacket has also caught the attention of Jackie Fierro, the pawn shop owner, who has been 19 years old for as long as she or anyone can remember—decades or perhaps even centuries. When things are strange enough even for Night Vale locals to take note, you know that very strange things indeed are afoot.

It Devours! introduces Nilanjana, a scientist who is investigating a series of terrible, massive sinkholes which have started appearing all over town. Nilanjana is a newcomer to Night Vale, and unsurprisingly she hasn’t found it easy to join the community. The other major character, Darryl, is a member of the Joyous Congregation of the Smiling God, a cult-like religion mostly made up of expats from the nearby town of Desert Bluffs. This pair encapsulate the themes of belonging that are so prevalent in this book—the need to belong to a community, even one as strange as Night Vale or as sinister as the Joyous Congregation—as well as the friction between science and religion.

I found that the real treat of these books is that they give you an insight into the internal lives of Night Vale citizens. Since the podcast is almost exclusively presented from the perspective of journalist and community radio host Cecil, a sometimes unreliable narrator, the audience gets only second-hand knowledge of other characters. But since the books take on a more traditional, omniscient style of storytelling, we are treated to a much fuller view of the day-to-day lives and struggles of the people living in this strange town. As such, they very much operate as a character study (especially Welcome to Night Vale, since its protagonists are all pre-existing characters) but there’s also plenty of action to keep the stories moving.

It Devours Cover

Alex’s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Fink and Cranor take care to liberally sprinkle in cameos and references to delight podcast listeners whilst also giving new readers (and those of us who haven’t caught up on the podcast in a while) enough information to go on. At one point in Welcome to Night Vale Carlos the scientist makes an offhand comment about his extensive experience of other worlds, but that he doesn’t like to talk about it. New fans can enjoy this throwaway line as yet another deadpan non-sequitur, but regular listeners will know this refers to a long-running, heartbreaking arc in which Carlos spent a year trapped and isolated in a desert otherworld. It can be hard to tell which elements are simply weird worldbuilding and which are important clues that will assist the characters in their investigations, so the books are full of surprises. The books are also very suspenseful, with the characters facing some kind of peril—physical or psychological—on a regular basis. At one point while listening on a drive, I sat in the carpark for an extra 10 minutes after reaching my destination just to make sure Jackie and Diane made it out of the library alive.

On a similar note, another upshot of the novel format is that the payoff comes much quicker than podcast listeners may be accustomed to. With episodes only released every few weeks, it’s not unusual to have to wait months or even years for some elements to reach a resolution. Here we get a much tighter narrative that arises and resolves itself in a few hundred pages. I would say that It Devours! is the far stronger of the two books, as Fink and Cranor seem to have gotten a better handle on adapting their usual style to the novel format.

Of course the only appropriate narrator for these audiobooks is Cecil Baldwin, who in the podcast portrays Cecil Palmer, the presenter of the community radio show which is the format of most episodes. The books are written in a more traditional novel format but still with the usual Night Vale cadence; when I read the paperback editions when they were first published, I found myself “hearing” Cecil’s voice as I read, so it was a real treat to listen to the audiobooks properly. I also appreciated the use of Disparition’s eerie background music during the chapter interludes, making them feel like they’d been lifted right out of an episode of the podcast.

Overall I really enjoyed the first two Night Vale books, especially It Devours!, but I definitely had the advantage of a fair bit of familiarity with the Night Vale world already. I’m now especially looking forward to finally catching up on the third book, The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home, narrated by my childhood idol Mara Wilson.

Throwback Thursday – For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer4 Comments

Warhammer 40,000 - For the Emperor Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 23 December 2003)

Series: Ciaphas Cain – Book One

Length: 8 hours and 57 minutes

My Rating: 4.75

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I’ve already put up one Throwback Thursday post today, for the cool Warhammer 40,000 novel, Kingsblade by Andy Clark, but the fun doesn’t end there as I am also going back to 2003 and reviewing the hilarious and deviously clever novel, For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell, which is easily one of the funniest Warhammer books I have ever read.

Anyone who has paid the slightest bit of attention to my recent review habits would probably have noticed that I am quickly and doggedly powering through a ton of the top books in the Warhammer 40,000 range of fiction.  Not only did I recently finish off the epic Eisenhorn trilogy by Dan Abnett (featuring Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus), but I have also checked out several cool standalone novels, including Grim Repast by Marc Collins, Deus Encarmine by James Swallow and Sepulturum by Nick Kyme.  All these books are exceedingly impressive examples of Warhammer 40,000 fiction that featured their own unique elements, such as galaxy spanning conspiracies, intense horror elements, or a futurist homage to classic, gritty cop stories.  However, the one thing that they all tended to lack was a substantial and notable sense of comedy.  That is where my next entry comes in as I have finally had a chance to explore the first book in the iconic Ciaphas Cain series by Sandy Mitchell (a pseudonym for author Alex Stewart), For the Emperor, which had me laughing like crazy.

In the millennia when the forces of humanity fought to maintain the Imperium of Man, many heroes have risen from amongst the ranks of the Imperial Guard, gloriously leading mankind’s armies against the traitors, the heretics and the xenos.  Of these, few are spoken of with as much reverence and respect as the famed Commissar Ciaphas Cain, a living legend of duty, honour and courage.  Known throughout the Imperium for his daring exploits that have seen him survive the harshest of battlefields and continually lead his forces to victory, Commissar Cain is considered by many to be one of the greatest heroes of the age.

However, everything everyone knows about Cain is a lie.  In reality, he is a conniving coward who only seeks to avoid the horrors of the battlefield by any means necessary, in order to survive and make it to retirement.  Blessed with remarkable survival instincts, Cain has managed to stay alive against impossible odds many times, which has led many to believe he is a true hero capable of anything.  However, Cain’s ill-earned fame and reputation is a double-edged sword, as he is constantly chosen to journey to the worst battlefields in the Imperium, where his bad luck ensures he is in the thick of the fighting.

His latest mission sees him assigned to a newly formed Imperial Guard regiment suffering from horrific infighting and a lack of discipline.  Determined to install unity and respect amongst his new regiment, primarily so they don’t shoot him in the back, Cain is confident that he has found a relatively safe assignment.  However, his bad luck once again sees him in the thick of it, as his regiment is transferred to the backwater planet Gravalax, where a delicate situation is unfolding.  The inhabitants of Gravalax are attempting to defect to the alien Tau, who come with a message of peace and the Greater Good.  Not wishing to face the Tau and their superior technology, Cain works hard to avoid an upcoming war and ensure diplomacy will prevail.

However, after the Tau ambassador is assassinated and tensions are enflamed across the planet, Cain begins to suspect that there is more in play than he previously expected.  A shadowy conspiracy is hoping to start a war between the Tau and Imperium on Gravalax, and Cain is right in the middle of their plot.  To survive and avoid yet another war, Cain needs to work with a beautiful inquisitor to find out who is behind the attempted carnage before it is too late.  But his investigation reveals a far more dangerous enemy than expected, one that is determined to destroy all before it, starting with the terrified Cain.

Wow, oh wow, now that was a pretty damn fun book.  I had heard many times before how awesome and entertaining the Ciaphas Cain books were, and For the Emperor really did not disappoint.  Featuring a compelling story loaded with clever, dark humour, For the Emperor is a very easy book to fall in love with, and I ended up coming away really impressed with Sandy Mitchell’s amazing writing and comedic ability.

For the Emperor’s narrative itself is pretty interesting as it follows Cain through one of his most notable adventures.  Told in a chronicle perspective from Cain’s own memoirs (which may or may not be the most reliable source of information), you get to see the true Commissar Cain as he finds himself thrust into another adventure.  After a quick and very intriguing introduction, with notes from Cain’s associate, Inquisitor Amberly Vail, the story initially details Cain’s attempt to unify and control the Valhallan 296th-301st composite Imperial Guard regiment (eventually the Valhallan 597th).  These initial chapters showcase many aspects of the compelling protagonist, his deep cunning and determination to avoid damage, while also taking the time to introduce several of the major supporting characters.  The story changes after a few chapters as Cain and his new regiment arrive on Gravalax, where Cain must contend with the Tau, who are influencing parts of the local population.  Unlike most Warhammer 40,000 novels, the story doesn’t revolve around a war between the Imperial Guard and the Tau; indeed the focus on the plot is avoiding the conflict as two rival races attempt to find a diplomatic solution.  Unfortunately, some hidden force is attempting to start a war between the Tau and the humans, and Cain soon finds himself trying to maintain the peace, primarily for his own benefit.  After several intriguing and entertaining side missions, the plot eventually sees Cain and the new Inquisitor Vail lead a small, expendable force into the lair of their true enemy.  While I won’t go into detail about who they face, it results in a series of gruesome and deadly battles, where Cain’s survival skills are really put to the test.  Mitchell features a ton of action, intrigue, and odd-couple team-ups for this final major sequence, and you are really drawn into the intense storytelling, with even Cain’s sense of humour failing to cut through the brutal nature of the conflict.  Everything ends on a compelling, if slightly dark note, and you come away from the story pretty damn satisfied and ready for another intriguing adventure from this hilarious protagonist.

I really liked the fun way Mitchell wrote For the Emperor, as everything is set out to enhance the inherent comedy of the book.  While there is a ton of impressive action, adventure and intrigue, at their core all the Ciaphas Cain books are very light-hearted and add a more humorous spin to the grim Warhammer universe.  Indeed, I was getting some major Blackadder vibes from For the Emperor, as much of the plot sees the supposedly noble protagonist attempting to weasel his way out of actually getting into a fight.  Pretty much every interaction or thought in this book had me chuckling in some way, and I appreciated some of the clever jokes or references that Mitchell scattered throughout.  I also deeply enjoyed the cool chronicle format of the story, as Cain’s antics are made even funnier when you see it from his eyes.  At the same time, Mitchell includes a ton of extra notes and excerpts from other in-universe texts that not only provide intriguing context, but also add to the humour, especially as the intentionally over-the-top opinions and bad writing highlights just how crazy other members of the Warhammer 40,000 universe are.  There are also a series of notes, footnotes and quotes from supporting character Inquisitor Vail sprinkled throughout the plot to provide some additional insights, often in a humorous way.  I always deeply enjoy the use of a good footnote in fiction, especially due to my love of Terry Pratchett’s novels, and I felt that Mitchell utilised them perfectly throughout For the Emperor.  Not only do they provide additional information, but Vail’s footnotes often directly contradict Cain’s opinions and descriptions of events, and ensure a much more complex and complete overall story.

While the focus is often on the humour, Mitchell also does write a pretty compelling military thriller as the main story, which ties well into the wider Warhammer universe.  The focus on the intense conspiracy and the outbreaks of rebellion and war fit into the more humorous feel of the book extremely well, and you get quite an impressive story as a result.  There are also some rather dark moments scattered throughout the novel as well, and they provide a rather interesting contrast to the more comedic elements.  Having the character deal with some heavy moments, like being forced to kill an innocent man, provides some great balance to the story, and despite the lighter tone, you are always reminded just how grim the overlying universe truly is.

I deeply enjoyed Mitchell’s unique take on the Warhammer universe that was featured in For the Emperor, especially thanks to who is telling the story.  Most of the Warhammer 40,000 books you experience either follow a bold warrior or a common soldier, many of whom see the universe through lens of duty or ignorance.  However, the Ciaphas Cain books provide a much more down-to-earth view as the cynical Cain sees events as they truly are and he knows deep down just how deadly the universe and his own comrades are.  I really liked this alternate view of the franchise from a protagonist and it, and the inherent humour of the story, help to make this book really stand out from some other novels.  At the same time, Mitchell adds in some compelling and fascinating insights to the Tau, and other factions to the story, which really help to expand out the universe and ensure that there is plenty there for all Warhammer readers.  The examination of a more diplomatic route from the usually xenophobic Imperium of Man was also pretty damn fascinating, and it really helps to showcase how pragmatic some of Mitchell’s characters are.  This lighter tone, as well as the fun references to some other classic Warhammer 40,000 novels, ensures that all fans of the franchise are going to have an amazing time with this book, and I personally found it to be a welcome change of pace between a few heavier Warhammer novels I have recently read.  For the Emperor would also serve as a pretty good entry point into the Warhammer 40,000 universe, especially as you get a good idea of how crazy everything is, while also getting to have a laugh at it.  As such, this is an extremely good Warhammer novel, and I now fully understand why the Ciaphas Cain books are so beloved by the fandom.

I can’t mention For the Emperor without discussing the awesome and extremely entertaining collection of characters that Mitchell successfully introduces here.  For the Emperor features a substantial and compelling cast, each of whom brings something special to the story and helps to either enhance the humour or the more serious aspects of the book in their own special way.

The most important of these characters is of course Commissar Ciaphas Cain, through whose memoirs we see most of the plot unfold.  A legendary hero of the Imperium, Cain is one of the more unique figures in Warhammer 40,000 fiction, mainly because he doesn’t deserve his inflated reputation.  While he acts the great hero and everyone is in awe of his reputation, in reality he is a craven figure who is actively trying to avoid the universe’s various wars and stay alive.  Thanks to his narration throughout the book, you see him constantly manipulating the situation to his advantage.  Literally every single action he takes is done to benefit him and him alone, with an appropriate explanation or excuse to keep people from getting suspicious.  Even his more heroic actions in the book (stopping a riot, defending the Tau ambassadors, visiting the enemy stronghold) are only done because they serve him in some way or when he can’t get out of doing it without dying or losing his ill-gained fame.  I absolutely loved this unique character feature, as not only is it hilarious to see how he manages to weasel out or manipulate situations but it ensures that he is the complete opposite of the usual gruff and ultra-serious Commissar characters that are such a big part of franchise (Gaunt and Yarrick, for example).

While it would be easy to dislike such a selfish character, you really grow to enjoy Cain and his hilarious and cynical viewpoint of the universe, which is the source of much of the book’s comedy.  It also helps that nearly every one of his actions backfires on him in some way, as his attempts to stay out of the fighting usually see him put into an even worse situation.  His intriguing narration through his journals (which have been seized and classified for political reasons), adds to the comedic and emotional impact of the story, especially as you get to see him weigh his actions with the benefit of hindsight (although he is usually unrepentant).  Of course, Cain is also the textbook definition of an unreliable narrator, and you have to wonder at the truth of his words sometimes.  I did like how Mitchell tried to show that despite his desire to avoid combat, Cain is actually a pretty capable warrior and commander, and that he wouldn’t be as effective a leader if he weren’t trying to keep up his lies.  There are also some flashes of humanity and deeper emotions scattered throughout the book, and you can see that there is a good person in there somewhere, even if it is buried far beneath his instincts for self-preservation.  Honestly, Cain might be my most favourite Warhammer character since Kal Jerico, and I had such a fun time seeing his antics in For the Emperor.

Aside from Cain, I really need to highlight Inquisitor Amberly Vail, who finds herself investigating the same conspiracy Cain gets wrapped up in.  Vail is a very fun character in this book as she not only presents the fictional version of For the Emperor to the reader, but she has a big role in the actual plot.  Vail serves as Cain’s love interest, but she also is the only person in the book who sees right through Cain and knows what he truly is.  Watching her manipulate the seasoned conman is quite cathartic, and the two make an effective and interesting team throughout the book.  However, I felt that Vail’s best contribution to the novel comes in the form of her notes and footnotes throughout the account, especially as they constantly call out Cain for his actions and keep his narration mostly honest by filling in some crucial gaps.  It as also very fun to see the various different versions of Vail that appear throughout the book, as you see both how she presents herself to the reader, and the slightly altered version of her that Cain sees.  This really makes her stand out as a central character in this series and her funny notes and corrections deeply enhanced the already entertaining plot.

Another major character I need to mention is Cain’s aide-de-camp, Jurgen, the Baldrick to Cain’s Blackadder.  A stooped, smelly and scruffy being, Mitchell has made Jurgen as Baldrick-like as possible (including a scene in which he comes up with a cunning plan), and I loved every damn second of it.  Firmly believing that Cain truly is the hero he claims to be, Jurgen faithfully serves Cain, and it is a lot of fun to see the two play off each other, especially as Jurgen is honestly the most honest and likeable character in the entire book.  The rest of the cast, which include schemers, professional soldiers, and various Tau, also have their moments, and I really liked how they were portrayed in the book.  However, they all share one particularly defining feature: they all believe Cain is a hero and are led around by his manipulations.  Watching these generally smart people fall for Cain’s lies is a great part of the book’s plot, and I had so much fun seeing them act the fool in this one specific way.  Overall, though, For the Emperor has some outstanding characters to it, and it will be fun to see how they are utilised in the other Ciaphas Cain books.

Like most Warhammer novels I have the pleasure of enjoying, I chose to listen to For the Emperor’s audiobook format, which I maintain is one of the best ways to enjoy Warhammer 40,000 fiction.  All the best narrative and stylistic elements of For the Emperor comes through at an even higher quality when you listen to them, and you really find yourself getting drawn into the complex story while also laughing at the fun characters.  I felt that the production value behind For the Emperor was particularly impressive, as the audiobook features three separate narrators in experienced voice actors Stephen Perring, Penelope Rawlins and Emma Gregory.  Perring, who I enjoyed last year in the audiobook for Engines of Empire by R. S. Ford, serves as the primary narrator for most of the book as he voices all the characters and action in the chapters of For the Emperor told from Cain’s perspective.  Perring is an extremely awesome narrator and the range of epic voices he creates for the main cast are very impressive and really capture their personalities and unique physical characteristics.  I loved the cynical, tired and falsely noble voice that Perring utilises for the main character of Cain, and you have to mention the slimy and fun voicework for the character of Jurgen as it makes him sound even more like Baldrick.  Perring also narrates a couple of the in-text extracts (those written by a male author), and he ensures that they sound even more pompous and filled with misinformation, than you would get from a simple reading.

While Perring is the main narrator, the other two featured actors have amazing performances in For the Emperor’s audiobook which really add to the overall production.  Penelope Rawlins voices the character of Inquisitor Vail during the parts of the novel she writes, mainly her notes on the events going on and the various footnotes featured throughout the plot.  Rawlins’s take on Vail is slightly different to that of Perring, and you get a stronger sense of her intelligence and power through Rawlins voice, which I felt helps to emphasise that Cain’s perspective might not be the most reliable.  The change in narrator also ensures that the various notes from Vail really pop out in comparison to the main story so you always know when Vail is speaking to correct Cain’s memory of events.  The way that the footnotes are read out exactly where they fall in the text also works extremely well, and it ensures that Cain’s misinformation never gets a chance to sit properly.  The final voice actor, Emma Gregory, also provides a few interesting sections to the audiobook, particularly as she narrates one of the recurring in-universe texts that is quoted, written by an older version of one of the supporting characters (Guardswoman Sulla, who gets promoted to a general in the future). Gregory captures the pride and arrogance of Sulla, as well as her devotion to Cain, perfectly, and I felt that this additional performance was a great part of the production.  All this incredible voice work, as well as the amazing story that it brings to life, ensures that For the Emperor’s audiobook is particularly awesome and really worth listening to.  With a runtime of just under 9 hours, this is a really easy audiobook to get through, and I powered through it in only a couple of days, mainly because of how much fun I was having, and I cannot recommend this format enough.

Look, I think it is clear to see that I loved For the Emperor and had a fantastic time reading this awesome book.  Sandy Mitchell did something pretty special with this first entry in the epic Ciaphas Cain series, and I am now a massive fan of this series and the titular character.  Loaded with so much clever humour, fantastic Warhammer elements, and a strong and surprisingly intense narrative, For the Emperor is pretty much perfect, and there is so much for people to enjoy.  As a result, this book is particularly highly recommended, and I fully intend to get more Ciaphas Cain fun and manipulations in the future.

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Quick Review – Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Comedy/Satire, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery, Quick Review4 Comments

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone Cover

Publisher: Michael Joseph (Trade Paperback – 29 March 2022)

Series: Ernest Cunningham – Book One

Length: 384 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

One of Australia’s fastest rising crime fiction stars, comedian turned mystery writer Benjamin Stevenson, returns with an outstanding standalone book that might be one of the best Australian crime fiction reads of 2022, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.

One of my favourite Australian crime fiction authors now is the exceedingly talented Benjamin Stevenson, who has written some amazing works over the last couple of years.  Stevenson’s writing career began in 2018 when he released the amazing murder mystery Greenlight (which was subsequently released as Trust Me When I Lie and She Lies in the Vines outside of Australia).  A fantastic Australian crime fiction book with true crime elements to it, Greenlight followed a successful television producer who reinvestigates a murderer who was freed thanks to his show.  Stevenson followed Greenlight up in 2020 with the epic sequel, Either Side of Midnight, which saw the same protagonist investigate an impossible murder in what was one of my favourite Australian books of 2020.  Both these readers were pretty damn impressive, but Stevenson has saved his best work for the 2022 release, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, which luckily has an outstanding story that matches the very cool title.

Plot Synopsis:

Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate.

I’m Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I’d killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it’s a little more complicated than that.

Have I killed someone? Yes. I have.

Who was it?

Let’s get started.

EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE

My brother

My stepsister

My wife

My father

My mother

My sister-in-law

My uncle

My stepfather

My aunt

Me

As the title and the intriguing plot synopsis above suggests, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is an awesome read that sees Stevenson serve up an addictive narrative that is one part insane family drama and one part homage to classic detective novels.  I had an incredible time reading this book early on in 2022 and I honestly should have written a review for it well before now.

The plot of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is pretty bonkers as it follows a very damaged protagonist, teacher and crime fiction mega-fan Ernest Cunningham, as he attends one of the most awkward family reunions in history.  Written from Ernest’s perspective as part of an in-universe book, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone sees Ernest reunite with the fellow members of the infamous Cunningham family at an isolated ski resort.  The black sheep of a dark family with criminal connections, Ernest has been invited to attend a special event: the release of his brother Michael from jail after Ernest testified against him.  However, once his brother arrives, a series of murders start to strike the resort, killing off several people.  With the ski resort cut off from the outside by the snow, it falls to Ernest to discover who is killing the remaining guests at the lodge.  However, everyone in his family is a suspect, as all of them have killed someone before, including Ernest, who has just as much motive as the rest.  As the book continues, it becomes very clear that someone in the Cunningham family has killed again, it’s just a matter of finding out which one did it.

I have to admit that I was pretty in love with this book from the opening pages, especially as it becomes clear early on that Stevenson planned to blend the book’s mystery with some great humour and brilliant homages to classic murder mysteries.  Stevenson lays out this story in a fun way that simultaneously focuses on the infamous main family, their complex past and relationships, while also presenting a compelling murder investigation that intentionally steals a lot of cues from classic whodunnits.  Stevenson introduces an outrageous cast of complex characters for the story, and they were very intriguing to follow, especially as they all have deeper issues brought on by the deaths they are responsible for.  The story at time transforms into a very moving and entertaining family drama, which helps to make the story richer and even more amusing.  The mystery itself is very clever, and I loved the multiple compelling twists and reveals that accompanied it as the protagonist is forced to dive back into every terrible event his family has been involved in, including murder, robbery, police corruption and kidnapping, all of which leads to final, devastating solution.  While the identity of the killer is a tad obvious, the reveal of why they are committing their crimes more than makes up for it, and Stevenson came up with one doozy of a motive.  However, the real highlight of the book is the way in which Stevenson sets out Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone in the manner of an in-story chronicle written by the protagonist, which simultaneously takes on every established trope and rule of old-school detective novels and moulds it into itself.

As I mentioned a few times above, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone also acts as a homage to classic crime fiction novels, as Stevenson goes out of his way to simultaneously parody and revere the iconic detective genre.  The book starts with two intriguing elements: the membership oath of the Detectives Club (a secret society of classic crime fiction writers), and Ronald Knox’s ’10 Commandments of Detective Fiction’.  Both of these inclusions acknowledge the general tropes and rules of golden-age detective fiction, and they actually end up being used by the protagonist, and by extension Stevenson, as the main guideline for the mystery.  The author continuously refers back to this list as the novel continues (he even suggests folding this page down so you can revisit it when needed), and I loved how this mystery came together as the author tried to avoid breaking any of these rules.  The author also cheekily informs the reader in advance when in the book someone is going to die with an accompanying page number, ostensibly to allow the reader to jump ahead if needed.  However, as most people will continue through at the normal pace, it heightens the suspense a little as you get closer and closer to the page on which you know a death is going to occur.  Various elements like this, as well as a ton of self-referential internal monologues and discussions about the rules of whodunnits, gives this book an incredible meta feel, which Stevenson uses to full effect to tell a particularly hilarious story.  The author’s background as a comedian is on full display here as he creates an incredibly funny book, even with the continued murders and human tragedy.  These clever references are a great love letter to the classic detective novels, especially as he addresses them in such a satirical way, and all mystery lovers will get a real kick out this book as a result.

Overall, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is an absolutely outstanding book that I cannot recommend enough.  While I have enjoyed Benjamin Stevenson’s mystery novels in the past, I think that Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone is where he finally reveals his full potential.  Not only is the mystery itself brilliant, loaded as it is with compelling characters and a dark family history, but Stevenson finally showcases his impressive comedy skills and uses them to produce a truly delightful and incredibly addictive novel.  The combination of mystery, humour and a clever homage to the classics, is an intoxicating mixture, and it was near impossible to put this book down once you started reading it.  As such, I must give Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone a full five-star rating, and it was one of the most entertaining books I read in all of 2022.  I have so much love for this book and I was very excited when I heard that Stevenson is releasing a sequel in October titled Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect.

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Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Discworld Novels by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, List5 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday required participants to list the top upcoming books on their Fall (Spring down here in the Southern hemisphere) to be read list.  However, I addressed that a couple of weeks ago, so that leaves me with a bit of a free topic this week.  I decided to fill this extra list by looking at one of my absolute favourite series of all time, the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett.

I have long been a fan of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, which, in my opinion, is one of the absolute best series of all time.  Made up of 41 separate novels and running from 1983 to 2015, the Discworld novels are a fantasy institution from one of the most talented authors ever.  Set on a flat world shaped like a disc that travels through space on the back of four elephants, who themselves stand on the back of a giant turtle, this world is filled with all manner of crazy and over-the-top people, creatures, gods and monsters, and this results in an amazing number of stories.  All 41 books feature amazing and highly unique story that perfectly blends outrageous fantasy elements with clever and relentless humour and satire.  I have read every Discworld novel multiple times, and in my opinion, everyone is a masterpiece in their own way.  Heck, I am such a big fan of this series that I even named this blog after a location in the Discworld universe, that’s how much I love them.

While the Discworld novels are never that far from my mind, I have been thinking about them a lot more lately, mainly because I have been featuring some of them on my recent top ten lists.  My lists that highlighted my favourite Books with Magical Schools, Favourite Books Written More than Ten Years Ago and Hilarious Book Titles have all featured a few Discworld books, and it turns out I have a hard time not going on about Pratchett’s work on a weekly basis.  Naturally, this has gotten me thinking more and more about the Discworld books, and I will probably embark on a new re-read of them sooner or later.  However, before I get around to that, I thought I would have a go at listing my absolute favourite Discworld novels, as that will make an interesting list.

Now, why I deeply enjoy this entire series, not all Discworld novels are created equal.  Several shine above the rest in my opinion, whether because they have better jokes, a more compelling plot, or a more impressive and elaborate premise.  As such, I felt reasonably confident that I could choose the ten entries (with some honourable mentions) that I enjoy the most.  I have based this list on several factors, including humour, plot, world-building, characters and many other features.  This allowed me to determine my favourite Discworld books, although I had to make some hard choices to settle on a final top ten, as all of them are very good.  I was eventually able to whittle it down to my list, and I think the results match my overall preference rather well.  While most of them are from Pratchett’s golden years and are in the middle of the Discworld release back, I think there is a good variety here, and that the list below really showcases the outstanding and amazing depth that Pratchett always had.  So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Interesting Times – 1994

Interesting Times Cover

A rambling good read that sees one of Pratchett’s most iconic protagonists visit this world’s version of Asia.  Loaded with some brilliant jokes (the multiple translations of a person’s scream), a ton of fun references to Asian culture, and some outrageous characters, Interesting Times is an excellent read that also offers a little closure for the first two Discworld books.

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Feet of Clay – 1996

Feet of Clay Cover

The third City Watch novel, Feet of Clay is a brilliant murder mystery novel that makes full use of its fantasy and comedy to create an epic read.  Featuring several great mysteries, including a series of murders committed by a Golem and the poisoning of the city’s ruler, you really get dragged into the story while loving Pratchett’s excellent solutions and hilarious inclusions.

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The Truth – 2000

The Truth Cover

Pratchett introduces print journalism to the Discworld in this clever standalone entry.  Following an ambitious reporter who creates Ankh-Morpork’s first newspaper, only to get dragged into a big conspiracy, The Truth is an ambitious and very exciting entry that perfectly parodies everything about newspapers.  Loaded with jokes about everything from dodgy advertisers, stupid human interest pieces, and even featuring a trashy alternate paper, this is perfect for anyone familiar with the crazy newspapers of London.

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Night Watch – 2002

Night Watch Cover

Another exceptional City Watch book is the later entry, Night Watch, which sees Vimes, transported back into the past by magic with a dangerous serial killer.  Forced to relive his traumatic early days on the watch, Vimes must keep his younger self alive while also navigating a dangerous revolution he remembers all too well.  With a compelling narrative that mirrors Les Misérables and some great time-travel elements, Night Watch is one of the more distinctive reads in the series.  While it gets a lot darker than some of the other Discworld novels, it is still extremely addictive, and fits into the rest of the series perfectly

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Top Ten List:

Pyramids – 1989

Pyramids Cover

The first entry on my top ten list is the classic Pratchett novel, Pyramids.  A standalone entry in the series, Pyramids tells the story of a young prince of a river valley kingdom, very similar to Egypt, who returns home after receiving training as an assassin in Ankh-Morpork (the biggest city on the Discworld and a major setting).  Upon claiming the throne, he tries to fight against the tradition of his kingdom, with limited effect, until the kingdom’s overuse of pyramids creates major temporal issues for the entire valley (its all down to bad geometry).  Loaded with so many jokes about ancient Egypt, this is a hilarious fish-out-of-water tale that is very hard to put down.  There are a ton of great moments in this novel, including the best look at the legendary Assassin’s Guild, an impromptu rugby game between the gods over the sun (with commentary from an overexcited priest), and an army of mummies pissed off at being buried without their organs.  I have probably read this Discworld novel the most out of any of them, and I get something new out of it every time I pick it up.  An exceptional, and extremely funny read.

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Guards! Guards! – 1989

Guards! Guards! Cover

One of the more interesting aspects of the Discworld series is the way that Pratchett featured several smaller sub-series which follow specific characters.  My favourite of these is easily the City Watch books, which follow the underpaid and constantly underestimated watchmen of the infamous, crime-ridden city of Ankh-Morpork.  Perfectly blending Pratchett’s typical humour and fantasy elements with hard-boiled detective narratives, the City Watch books are some of the best entries in this series, and I love the unique blend of characters and highly entertaining and enthralling narratives.  The first City Watch entry, Guards! Guards! is definitely one of Pratchett’s best novels, and I constantly rave about it when I do lists about funny books.  Not only does it do a great job introducing several iconic characters who Pratchett would reuse throughout the rest of the series, but it has an outstanding narrative to it.  Following the depleted and useless Night Watch, made up of a drunk captain, a hopeless sergeant and a criminally minded corporal as they attempt to solve a series of murders caused by a magically summoned dragon.  Joined by a new eager, if slightly oblivious new recruit, who definitely isn’t the city’s returning king, the Night Watch embark on an ambitious investigation against cultists, dragon hunters and city’s massive criminal class.  Guards! Guards! is fantastic on so many levels, and there is something for everyone in it.

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Moving Pictures – 1990

Moving Pictures Cover

One of the things that the Discworld novels excel at is parody and satire of certain social, historical or cultural elements, with everything from countries, ancient empires and entire trades lovingly mocked.  Perhaps one of the best examples of this is Moving Pictures, a mostly standalone read that sees the art of film appear on the Discworld, becoming an instant hit.  Soon an alternate version of Hollywood appears, and various characters jump at the chance to make over-the-top films, which are accompanied by a vast array of jokes and references about classic movies, film making tropes and actors.  Naturally for a Discworld book, nothing is what it seems, and the heroes are forced to face off against interdimensional monsters coming out of the screens.  In addition, the iconic Unseen University setting gets some stability as a new Arch-Chancellor arrives, shaking up the wizards.  I love this book on so many levels, especially as Pratchett has so much fun satirising the film industry here.  Everything is lampooned here, such as Gone with the Wind (accompanied with subliminal advertising), King Kong (except a giant woman kidnaps an ape), The Wizard of Oz (the dwarfs of the Discworld will never be the same again), and so much more.  I can’t even count the sheer number of movie references featured here, and I discover a new clever joke every time I read Moving Pictures.  Pratchett also manages to introduce or expand on several great secondary characters who will go on to have major roles in other books in the series, so it turns out to be a surprisingly key book.  Impressive and wonderful on so many levels, Moving Pictures was an easy inclusion for this list.

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Witches Abroad – 1991

Witches Abroad Cover

Another one of the top Discworld sub-series is the Witches books, which unsurprisingly follows a group of witches (Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick), in several unique adventures.  Unlike the characters they are based on from Macbeth, the witches are a force for good and help the local villages primarily with headology (psychology and folk medicine parcelled up with mystical overtones) and the occasional magic.  The witches make for an excellent group of central characters, and Pratchett told some exceptional stories with them.  While Wyrd Sisters and Lords and Ladies are both pretty epic reads, my favourite Witches book is Witches Abroad.  As the name suggests, this book see the three protagonists embark on a holiday to a faraway kingdom (essentially New Orleans), to fulfil a fairy godmother’s last wish.  Along the way they are forced to confront a series of twisted fairy tale scenarios, their own internal bickering, and an evil fairy godmother from Granny Weatherwax’s past.  Armed only with a wand that is permanently set to pumpkin mode, the witches must deploy their usual trickery to save the day.  This entire novel is pretty epic, as it not only captures the protagonists in all their amazing glory, but it has a powerful story that expertly blends humour and drama.  A lot of the narrative focuses on the dark side of fairy tales, and Pratchett has fun satirising so many classic stories in very clever ways.  However, my favourite scene is the fantastic sequence where Granny Weatherwax uses headology to completely destroy a group of card sharks who had conned her friends.  Extremely inventive, memorable and oh so funny, I just had to feature Witches Abroad here.

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Small Gods – 1992

Small Gods Cover

The next entry on this list is in my opinion, some of Pratchett’s best work.  The 13th Discworld novel, Small Gods has a standalone narrative which sees Pratchett examine religion and belief.  The story follows Brutha, a somewhat simple lad who lives in a vast imperial theocracy that is centred around the worship of the Great God Om.  However, Brutha is shocked when he discovers a talking tortoise only he can understand who claims to be the actual Om.  Forced to take the tortoise along on a great adventure, Brutha discovers the corruption at the heart of his empire and must fight to save it, himself, and his god.  This is a particularly clever novel from Pratchett and a very worth addition to this list.  The author pulls together a very thoughtful and captivating read that examines the various pros and cons of religion, worship and gods in a very thoughtful, but still humorous way.  The mixture of theological debate, adventure, and the brilliant satire of religion, results in a very impressive read, and it is guaranteed to leave you both laughing and pensive at the same time.  The book’s main strength is the outstanding interactions of the two main characters, and the growing relationship between an arrogant put powerless god, and his simple but deeply wise believer, sets an impressive tone for the entire book.  I would say that Small Gods is one of the most intelligent and compelling books of the entire Discworld series and I cannot hype it up enough.

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Men at Arms – 1993

Men At Arms Cover

After wowing everyone with Guards! Guards! Pratchett mercifully brought back the City Watch characters and storylines again with a fantastic sequel, Men at Arms.  This book sees a retiring Captain Vimes and his team try and stop a madman who is running around the city killing people with the Disc’s first gun.  Featuring another exceptional mystery that involves assassins, clowns and a literal species war between dwarfs and trolls, Pratchett switches the tone of this book from the hardboiled detective story of Guards! Guards! to a more typical police narrative like Dirty Harry.  Loaded with fantastic cop humour and introducing several great new characters, Men at Arms is just as good as the first City Watch book, while also expertly setting up some story elements for the rest of the series.  Guaranteed to appeal to both fantasy fans and crime fiction buffs, Men at Arms is one hell of a read.

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Hogfather – 1996

Hogfather Cover

All Pratchett fans will know that one of the most surprising loveable recurring characters in the entire Discworld series is Death, the literal grim reaper, who appears in pretty much every book.  Initially shown to as a resolute soul taker, Death evolves into quite a personable and likeable figure who is obsessed with the humans he’s tasked with reaping.  This obsession eventually compels him to adopt a daughter and take on an apprentice, which leads to the first Death book, Mort.  Pratchett wrote several Death novels over his career, many of which dealt with Death’s growing love of humanity, while also involving attacks on reality by outside forces.  While I have a lot of love for Reaper Man and Soul Music, my favourite Death novel is probably Hogfather.  After the Hogfather (this universe’s version of Santa) is murdered, Death steps into the role for unknown reasons.  This forces his granddaughter, Susan, to investigate the disappearance and try to bring back the Hogfather.  This results in an extremely entertaining and silly book that satirises all things Christmas and festive in one fantastic outing.  Most of the humour revolves around Death pretending to be Santa, which leads to all manner of confusion and fear, that is so much fun to see.  Throw in a very memorable villain and a great secondary storyline around the crazy wizards at the Unseen University accidently inventing gods, and this is one of the funniest books in the series.  A very entertaining and compelling Discworld novel, you will never look at Christmas the same again after reading it.

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Jingo – 1997

Jingo Cover

For the next entry on this list, Jingo, I must admit that my choice to include it here might be for more personal reasons, rather than purely on the quality of the book.  That is because Jingo was the first Pratchett book I ever properly read, and it has led to my subsequent lifelong obsession with all things Discworld.  I still have my first copy of Jingo, and it is extra special for me because I managed to get Terry to sign it for me.  So yeah, I might be a little biased when it comes to Jingo, but I maintain it is a worthy addition to this list as it has a brilliant and hilarious story to it.  The fourth entry in the City Watch sub-series, Jingo sees Commander Vimes and his men caught up in a brewing war between Ankh-Morpork and the rival empire of Klatch when both claim a mysterious new island that rose in the ocean between them.  After an attempted assassination of a Klatchian prince occurs on Vimes’ watch, he leads the city watch in an impromptu invasion of Klatch to find the killer and stop the war.  I deeply enjoyed Jingo’s brilliant and very clever story and it was a very worthy addition to the City Watch series.  The humour in Jingo is a bit more subtle than some of Pratchett’s other novels, with most of the jokes satirising British imperialism, diplomacy, politics, and its view of foreigners, with a ton of references to historical wars and conflicts that Britain had against its neighbours.  While some of the jokes are a tad obscure, they are all extremely well set up, and they always get a chuckle out of me.  Throw in some brilliant references about a lone bowman assassin, an espionage mission with Sergeant Colon and a cross-dressing Corporal Nobbs that has mixed success, and the always charismatic Captain Carrot turning into Lawrence of Arabia and arresting two entire armies for breaches of the peace, and you have a really entertaining narrative.  Jingo is always a must read for me whenever I revisit the Discworld universe, as well as being an essential entry in the deeply impressive City Watch books that comes highly recommended.

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The Last Continent – 1998

The Last Continent Cover

Another Pratchett book that I have a little bias for is The Last Continent, which is probably one of my absolute favourite Discworld novels.  The sixth book to feature the cowardly wizzard (not a typo) Rincewind as its protagonist, The Last Continent takes place on the lost continent of XXXX, which is essentially the Discworld’s version of Australia (despite certain assurances from the author that any similarities to Australia are coincidental at best).  This book follows Rincewind after he is tricked into another heroic quest that sees him traverse the continent, often mimicking various Australian folk heroes or cultural icons.  At the same time, the wizards of Unseen University, in an attempt to find Rincewind, get themselves trapped back in time and must escape from an enthusiastic god of evolution with their usual chaotic shenanigans.  Pratchett has a lot of fun with The Last Continent, and there isn’t a single piece of Australian culture or history that he doesn’t make fun of here.  As an Australian myself, I can’t help but laugh at all his fun and well-written Australian jokes and it was interesting to see his British take on my country.  I also have a lot of love for the evolution centred jokes that occur during the secondary storyline, many of which I didn’t fully appreciate until after I studied biology at university.  This is probably one of the better Rincewind novels as well, especially as the character now full appreciates his role in the universe, and his resentment at being dragged into a heroic quest is quite hilarious.  Him, plus the fantastically written Unseen University wizards, make for a sensational cast, and their two storylines come together perfectly.  There is no way that I can exclude Pratchett’s love-letter to Australia from this list, and it will always have a very special place in my heart.

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Going Postal – 2004

Going Postal Cover

The final entry on the list is Going Postal, which I feel is one of Pratchett’s best later books.  Featuring a very different tone from some of his previous books, Going Postal is a very distinctive read that is very hard not to enjoy.  Introducing a new protagonist in Moist von Lipwig, a notorious conman who is captured by Ankh-Morpork’s tyrannical leader, Lord Vetinari, and given two options: death or running the city’s post office.  Reluctantly choosing the later, Lipwig soon lives to regret his decision, as everyone and everything associated with the post office is absolutely crazy.  Forced to use all his talent, skill and instincts as a conman to save the post, Lipwig tries to rise to the occasion, only to contend with the ruthless chairman of a rival company who is determined to kill him.  It is a testament to Pratchett’s writing skill that he could make anything, even the post office, ruthlessly entertaining, as you swiftly fall in love with the hilarious over-the-top employees and associates of this crazy establishment.  Lipwig himself is the perfect protagonist for this book, and Pratchett wrote a brilliant redemptive storyline around him as he attempts to save his new friends with all his old tricks.  While this book is extremely funny, I also felt that Going Postal benefited from a somewhat darker tone than the preceding books, while  Pratchett also examines the benefits and costs of progress and new technology.  This darker tone would persist for the rest of Pratchett’s adult Discworld novels, and I have often thought that Pratchett included it in response to his growing health issues.  As such, I often look on Going Postal with a little sadness, especially as it was probably the best book he wrote towards the end of his career.  However, despite that, Going Postal is probably one of the Discworld books I have read the most and I would strongly recommend it to anyone and everyone interested in this outstanding series.

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So, as you can see from this exceptionally long list, I have a lot of love for the Discworld series and can write a ton about all the books.  While I deeply enjoy all the Discworld novels, the ten featured above are my absolute favourite now, and I cannot recommend them enough, especially if you want a laugh or an uplifting tale to brighten your day.  This is a list I might come back to in the future, especially if I do another reread and re-evaluate my positions.  I have been thinking about trying to read all of them again soon, especially as I recently found out that the Discworld audiobooks have all been re-released, this time with an amazing voice cast, including Colin Morgan, Peter Serafinowicz, Billy Nighy, Andy Serkis and Indira Varma.  As such, stay tuned for more reviews of the Discworld books soon, and I look forward to returning to my ultimate comfort book series.  In the meantime, let me know what your favourite Discworld book is in the comments below.

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K. J. Parker

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books4 Comments

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World Cover

Publisher: Orbit (Trade Paperback – 11 January 2022)

Series: The Siege – Book Three

Length: 352 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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2022 is off to a very good start for me, especially as I have already read an amazing novel that quite frankly may end up being one of my favourite books of the year.  This awesome read was the third and final book in K. J. Parker’s clever and compelling The Siege series, A Practical Guide to Conquering the World.

Over the last few years, I have been having an incredible time reading the incredible and deeply entertaining fantasy Siege series from K. J. Parker.  Parker, a pseudonym for bestselling author Tom Holt, has come up with something very special with The Siege series that combines an interesting new fantasy world with some brilliant humour and intriguing insights into human nature and reactions.  The first entries in The Siege series, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City and How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It, were both exceptional reads and they were among my absolute favourite books of 2019 and 2020 respectfully.  As such I have been eagerly waiting for a long time, and while I was initially disappointed that A Practical Guide to Conquering the World was delayed until the start of 2022, it ended up being such a great read and worth the wait.

The Siege series is set in an alternate fantasy world that bears some interesting similarities to ancient Europe.  The first book in the series, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, introduces the Robur Empire, a Roman-esque empire that is destroyed at the start of the novel by a coalition of enemies.  The one exception to this destruction was the Robur capital, simply known as The City, which was able to survive thanks to the actions of a military engineer and conman who was able to come up with some very inventive defences.  The second book, How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It, was set a few years later and followed a new protagonist, an actor and playwright who is forced to impersonate the City’s figurehead after his death to keep the population’s morale and unity up to keep fighting the ongoing siege.  However, this second protagonist eventually takes control of the city and manages to evacuate it, leading the people to a new life.  The third and final book, A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, occurs during and beyond the events of both the first and second novel (if these books occurred the way they are portrayed) and features a new protagonist in a different land.

Aemilius Felix Boiannes the younger is a minor diplomat and translator assigned to the Robur embassy in the mighty Echmen Empire.  Content to live a relatively blameless life away from the people that wronged him, Felix’s life is forever changed when news of the fall of Robur reaches the Echmen.  Almost killed by the Echmen for no longer having a country, Felix’s life is only spared thanks to a debt owed by barbarian princess.  Determined to no longer live by the whims of others, Felix embarks on an ambitious plan that will reshape all of history.

When the Echmen attempt to enslave the princess’s people, Felix saves her and leads her out of Echmen territory.  Able to convince his new friend to unite the various barbarian tribes, Felix utilises his knowledge as a scholar to lead them to victory over the Echmen.  However, his ambition is not limited to conquering the greatest empire in existence, Felix is determined to take over the entire world and he already has all the tools to do so.  However, not even Felix is able to foresee all the consequences of his actions, and soon the entire world will be turned upside down.  For good or for bad, the story of Felix, the most influential and dangerous man in history, is about to begin.

Well damn, now this was one hell of a read.  Parker has come up with another exceptional read here with A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, combining a brilliant and clever story with incredible humour and an entertaining and compelling look into the human psyche.  Filled with constant laughs, intriguing developments and a truly addictive narrative, this book got an easy five-star rating from me and is near impossible to put down once you start it.

I have had a lot of fun with the great stories that Parker comes up with for this cool trilogy, especially as they are exceedingly entertaining and very unpredictable, even if, due to their complexity and cleverness, they are a bit hard to explain in my inevitable glowing reviews.  Like the rest of the series, A Practical Guide to Conquering the World is a standalone novel that can be read either by itself or as a continuation of the first two books in the series.  This novel is told in the chronicle style and tells the autobiography of the protagonist, Felix, a translator and scholar who finds himself in all manner of trouble when his nation is destroyed while he is in a foreign land.  Able to survive thanks to a recent good deed, Felix is soon dragged into the politics of the nation he is trapped in and attempts to stop the Chinese inspired Echmen empire from destroying and enslaving several neighbouring barbarian tribes.  Forced to put his scholarly knowledge to the test, Felix devises multiple brilliant and unpredictable plans to not only manipulate everyone around him, but to also defeat a massive empire and bend all its power to his ultimate goal of world domination and beyond.  This story goes in some extremely fun directions, and you honestly will not be able to put it down once you start as you become engrossed in seeing what elaborate idea Felix will come up with next.  There are some fantastic ploys and captivating twists scattered throughout this novel, and it is fascinating to see this nobody slowly gain more and more power thanks to his wit and ability to understand people.  I had an outstanding time getting through this story and it is extremely hilarious and very exciting.

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World is part of a larger series which switches protagonists with each entry, providing a new and unique tale of the aftermath of the siege of the City.  This third novel starts around the same time as the first book, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, and covers several years, going past the events of the second book, How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It.  It is really interesting to see how this third book ties into everything, especially as the protagonist only has second-hand knowledge of the events of the prior two novels and, thanks to several clever inclusions in this book, as well as the unreliability of the narrators of the other entries, you’re not even certain those events actually occurred.  While new readers don’t need to have any knowledge of the other Siege novels to enjoy A Practical Guide to Conquering the World, I had a lot of fun seeing the mentions and discussions about the events of these prior books, especially as the protagonist is very disbelieving about what he hears.  The inclusion of a recurring character from the past book increases the connection to the rest of the series, although as she is also rather cagey, you have no idea how reliable her recollection of events is.  I loved how compelling this loosely connected series turned out to be, and it was a lot of fun to see how the entire funny saga come together into one entertaining collection.

Just like with the first two books in the series, A Practical Guide to Conquering the World is set around a single protagonist, with the story reflecting their personal account of what they experienced.  This new protagonist, Felix, is another entertaining and interesting central character, a former soldier who, after making some big mistakes and paying the cost for them, is banished to a diplomatic post in another country.  This, and his ability for languages, ironically ensures that he survives the destruction of his homeland and places him in a unique position for his goals.  I personally really enjoyed the cool story that Parker places around Felix and while there are some notable similarities between him and the other protagonists of the Siege books, mainly the fact that he is a conniving and selfish person with impressive insights into human nature and reaction, I think that there are enough differences to keep readers of the series happy.  I loved the focus on his experience with languages and scholarly research, which he uses to great effect throughout the book, manipulating translations for his advantage and then coming up with obscure or historical solutions to the various problems he faces.  Watching him turn this unique knowledge to his advantage, especially once he is inadvertently placed in the centre of world-shaping events, is really cool, and I loved seeing him succeed in his goals.  Parker adds in a great attempted redemptive arc around Felix, which serves as a surprising driving force for much of what he does.  However, readers do have to take Felix on face value, as, like the previous two protagonists of the Siege books, Felix is a bit of an unreliable narrator who may or may not be altering the story to make himself sound better to history.  The final stinger of the book, which hints at the falseness of Felix’s account, is a clever and amusing touch from Parker, and you will come away wondering just how much you believe this character.

Easily the highlight of this book is the amazing humour that Parker has laced his impressive story with.  Parker has an incredible and wicked ability with subtle comedy which permeates the entirety of A Practical Guide to Conquering the World thanks to the unique abilities that occur within.  Much of this humour is derived from the eccentric protagonists’ impressive insights into the human mind, which allows him to manipulate events and people to his favour.  Thanks to some great setup and some outrageous events, the readers get to see this protagonist subtly manipulate everyone, and his explanations for how he gets away with it and the subsequent reactions are extremely amusing.  At the same time, Parker also satirises large parts of the human experience and culture, including the inefficiencies of bureaucracy, the inevitability of betrayal in the name of survival, the herd mentality of groups of people, the unpredictability of starting your own religion, and the inherent suspicion that everyone has inside them.  All of this comes together quite brilliantly throughout the book, and you will honestly be chuckling straight from the beginning, especially as the first joke, about a massive bureaucracy nearly killing the wrong person due to a case of mistaken identity, is very cleverly put together.

Overall, K. J. Parker really did not disappoint with the third and final entry in his hilarious and impressive Siege trilogy.  A Practical Guide to Conquering the World was just as fun and clever as the first two books, and I had a brilliant time reading this captivating fantasy novel.  Containing a wildly inventive narrative set around a compelling protagonist, you will fall in love with this outstanding book, especially as Parker’s comedic inclusions will keep you laughing.  A Practical Guide to Conquering the World is easily going to be one of the best books of 2022 and if you have not checked out The Siege series yet, do yourself a favour and dive into these hilarious and addictive books.

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Throwback Thursday – The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday7 Comments

The Last Continent Cover

Publisher: Doubleday and ISIS Audiobook (1 May 1998)

Series: Discworld – Book 22

Length: 9 hours and 57 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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This is part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.  For this Throwback Thursday I take a look at one of my absolute favourite books of all time, the incredibly funny and always enjoyable The Last Continent, by legendary author Sir Terry Pratchett.

I have never made it a secret that I absolutely love the works of the late, great, Terry Pratchett, who I consider to be one of the best authors of all time.  I love and adore every single one of Pratchett’s hilarious and captivating novels, especially the entries in the wacky and wild Discworld series, a comedy fantasy series set in an absolutely insane world of magic, monsters and outrageous personalities that lies upon a disc shaped world, borne through space on the back of four elephants, who themselves are on the back of a giant turtle.  I have so much love for this outstanding and hilarious series, and I have read each and every entry in multiple times.  Heck, even the name of my blog, The Unseen Library, is taken from a fictional institution in the Discworld series!  However, despite how much I love the series, I have so far only reviewed one Discworld novel on this blog so far (Shame! Shame! Shame!), Moving Pictures, and this is something I have been meaning to rectify for some time.

I recently did a Top Ten Tuesday list where I looked at some of the funniest books I have ever read, which included several Discworld novels, and this inspired me to do a review for another Pratchett read.  I ended up going with one of my favourite Discworld novels of all time, the incredible and wildly entertaining The Last Continent, which places one of the author’s most iconic characters into the most dangerous places imaginable, Australia.  I am reviewing this book slightly out of the order I originally planned, but I figured reviewing this one now may encourage me to get to others in the future.  I should admit that I have not read The Last Continent recently, but this is one of the many Discworld novels that I have read multiple times, either in its paperback (I’ve actually got a signed copy of this book) or its audiobook format, and at this point I have it pretty much memorised. 

So the first thing I should cover is:

“This is not a book about Australia.  No, it’s about somewhere entirely different which just happens to be, here and there, a bit…Australian.

Still…no worries, right?”

Welcome to EcksEcksEcksEcks (XXXX), the Discworld’s last continent.  Made by a rogue creator who snuck in after the rest of the Disc was created and kept hidden away from its other civilisations by a series of massive storms, XXXX is a deadly and dangerous place.  Filled with some of the most lethal and confusing creatures on the entire Disc and populated by a friendly, if occasionally murderous, group of people, XXXX is a hell of a place to live.  Unfortunately, everything in it is about to die as the water dries out and even the beer is getting hard to find.

Luckily for the people of XXXX, a hero has been found, one who is battling his way through the wastes and towns of the country, his legend growing all along.  But who is this road warrior, sheep shearer, horse wrangler, beer drinker and ballad-worthy bush ranger, and why is he apparently so determined to run away from his heroic destiny?

That man is Rincewind, the Discworld’s most cowardly and inept wizard, who has been bounced from one end of the Disc to the other and been chased by every sort of monster, maniac and seller of regional delicacies you can imagine.  All Rincewind wants to do is go home, and he is determined to avoid any new adventures as a chosen hero, no matter what the talking kangaroo stalking him tries to tell him.  Despite his best efforts, Rincewind once again finds himself caught up in the special craziness of the locals, and if he wants to survive, he needs to find a way to save everyone.  What’s the worst that could happen???

So, as you may be able to tell from the above synopsis, this is a bit of a crazy novel, but it is one that is always guaranteed to make me laugh, especially with its fantastic Australian-based humour.  The Last Continent is the 22nd overall entry in the Discworld series and the sixth book to focus on the character of Rincewind.  I personally have a lot of love for this particular Terry Pratchett novel, and it is probably one of my all-time favourite Discworld novels. 

Pratchett came up with a pretty clever and fantastic story for The Last Continent, which sees several of his established characters get involved in wackiness all around a newly discovered continent.  The main story follows Rincewind as he tracks across the wastelands of XXXX after getting sent there at the end of his previous novel, Interesting Times (there was an accident with a butterfly), and he is now primarily concerned with trying to find a way home.  However, mysterious forces soon work to turn him into the hero who will save XXXX from a thousand-year crippling drought.  Rincewind, who is more concerned with reaching the nearest port, soon gets involved with all manner of road bandits, deadly creatures, drunken locals and an annoying talking kangaroo, all of which lead him to the secrets at the heart of this lost continent.  At the same time, the wizard faculty at Unseen University are faced with a serious problem when their trusty orangutan colleague, the Librarian, falls ill, and they require his real name to work a spell to save him.  However, the only person who knows the Librarian’s real name is Rincewind, and so the faculty blunder their way through a magical portal to find him.  However, in predictable fashion, they find themselves trapped on a weird island thousands of years in the past and forced to deal with an immature and slightly beetle-obsessed god of evolution.  

I really enjoyed both story arcs contained within this book, and Pratchett did an amazing job bringing them together.  Both have some fantastic and weird elements to them and they make great use of the particular adventures and attitudes of their relevant characters.  While Rincewind is forced to run away from all manner of deadly situations you typically see here in Australia (let me tell you, the dropbears and road gangs are murder), the wizard faculty blunder their way through all manner of unique situations, mostly by ignoring what is happening to them.  Each storyline is unique and has some fantastic highlights, but the real strength is the way in which Pratchett combines them together into one cohesive narrative.  Not only are both distinctive arcs perfectly spread out and separated throughout the course of the book, but Pratchett does a fantastic job combining them together in a clever way.  This ended up serving as a great near-final adventure for Rincewind (he’s more of a supporting character in his following appearances), and I think it did a wonderful job wrapping up his main arc.  While readers should probably read some of the earlier Discworld novels featuring Rincewind (especially the preceding Interesting Times), The Last Continent can easily be read alone, and readers will have an outstanding time reading this fun and compelling comedic adventure.

In my opinion, The Last Continent is one of Pratchett’s funniest novels, although I might be somewhat biased by my own personal humour and background.  I always have an outstanding time reading this book and there are so many clever jokes and amusing references that I cannot help but laugh, no matter how many times I hear them.  This book has a lot of Pratchett’s classic humour elements to it, such as the unusual quirks of his various characters and the funny little footnotes, filled with great references and punchlines.  The author goes off on some very entertaining segues during this book, and I love some of the great jokes he came up with, especially those that make fun of Australia.

Now, despite what the author says at the front of this book, The Last Continent is clearly a parody of Australia, and Pratchett clearly enjoyed utilising every single Australian reference or cliché he could think of to craft his funny book.  The continent of XXXX is an over-the-top fantasy version of Australia, with many of the outrageous stereotypes that you would expect, as well as some more subtle choices, and it serves as a truly amusing setting for this book, especially as Rincewind perfectly plays the part of clueless tourist.  While you could potentially discount The Last Continent as merely satirising Australia, I have always seen it as something cleverer, as I think that Pratchett was more making fun of the stereotypes that outsiders came up with rather than Australia itself.  That being said, Pratchett, as a Brit, did take a few good shots, although that’s only to be expected.  As an Australian myself, I always enjoy when comedy writers try to encapsulate Australia in their works, as it is quite amusing to see what they reference.  I always thought that Pratchett did this the best with The Last Continent, as he really dived into so many aspects of Australia life, nature and culture, and there are some truly funny jokes contained within.  Australian historical or cultural icons like Mad Max, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Skippy, The Man From Snowy River, Crocodile Dundee, and Ned Kelly are utilised in this book to great effect throughout The Last Continent, and there are some truly outrageous and clever references and jokes here.

While The Last Continent is filled with many, many funny Australian jokes, a few really stick out to me.  I personally always laugh so hard when Death, wanting to learn more about the continent his elusive prey Rincewind has landed on, decides to ask his library for a list of all the deadly animals on XXXX.  However, this results in him being buried by a massive pile of reference books, including “Dangerous Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, Birds, Fish, Jellyfish, Insects, Spiders, Crustaceans, Grasses, Trees, Mosses and Lichens of Terror Incognita: (Volume 29c, Part Three).  This is followed up by a request for a list of harmless creatures on the continent, and a single card appears bearing the sentence “some of the sheep”.  I love that over-the-top joke about how dangerous Australia’s wildlife is (it is honestly not that bad, although my editor was bitten by a sheep the other day), and that was one of the best ways I have seen it bought up.  I also loved the references to Australian hero worship of notorious criminals such as Ned Kelly or the jolly swagman from Waltzing Matilda.  There are some amazing jokes here, from people attempting to make catchy ballads, to the prison guards providing advice and help on last words and escape possibilities, all of which capture the rebellious Australian spirit.  I particularly liked Pratchett’s version of Waltzing Matilda, which was perfect in its rhyme, its satirical analysis of the original poem, and how it fit into The Last Continent’s narrative:

“Once a moderately jolly wizard camped by a waterhole under the shade of a tree that he was completely unable to identify.  And he swore as he hacked and hacked at a can of beer, saying ‘what kind of idiots put beer in tins?’”

Other great Australian comedic sequences for me include the scene where the Unseen University wizards attempt to design a duck by committee, resulting in the mighty platypus, an impromptu Mad Max road chase with horse-drawn carts and the constant references to a certain line in our national anthem.  All of these jokes, and more, were pretty amazing and I really enjoyed seeing some of the outrageous and over-the-top elements that British culture picks up about Australia.

While I really enjoyed all the fun references to Australia, some of Pratchett’s best jokes in The Last Continent occurred during the secondary storyline that followed the faculty of Unseen University as they go back in time and encounter the god of evolution.  The author uses this part of the book to make comedic observations about time travel, evolution and advanced biology.  Not only does include a particularly hilarious sequence in which someone tries to explain the grandfather paradox to a group of wilfully ignorant wizards, but there are some truly funny jokes about evolution and biology which cleverly reference some advanced concepts and historical basis of the science.  While I read this book years ago, it wasn’t until I took some specific biology classes that I fully grasped just how intelligent some of the jokes in this part of the book are.  I personally love a book which you can come back to time and time again and find some new joke or layer to, and this is the case with The Last Continent, which no doubt still contains elements or references I’ve missed.  All of this results in a comically brilliant read, and The Last Continent remains one of my favourite Disworld reads as a result.

I have always enjoyed the great character choices contained within this book, as Pratchett brings together some old favourites, as well as a few entertaining new ones, to tell the story.  The main character of The Last Continent is Pratchett’s original Discworld protagonist, Rincewind, the cowardly and inept hero who cannot even spell “wizard” properly, but who has served as a world-saving hero on multiple occasions.  Rincewind is always a particularly fun character to follow, not only because he constantly finds himself caught in all manner of unique situations which he heroically tries to run away from (he has become quite the expert at running away), but he has a certain realistic approach to life that allows him to see through the ridiculousness around him and address it in a funny manner.  At this point in the series, Rincewind has been bounced around from adventure to adventure against his will so much that he has developed a bit of knack for knowing when it is going to happen again, including figuring out all the signs someone gives off when they are trying to con him into being a hero.  It proves to be quite entertaining to see Rincewind try to escape from people trying to drag him into the narrative, especially as all his attempts to get out of dangerous situations generally put him in even worse trouble.  It is also really worth seeing Rincewind’s reactions to the various elements of XXXX life, especially as he soon begins to realise that everyone there has some very unusual ideas about how to live and die, most of which he is very opposed to.  I really enjoyed this more mature and somewhat resigned version of Rincewind and I have to say that this is one of my more favourite adventures of his (either this or Interesting Times).  It was definitely great to see the character get a happy ending towards the end of the book for once, which he frankly deserved after his last few adventures.

While Rincewind is tearing it up in not-Australia, Pratchett also dedicates around half of The Last Continent to the characters who form the faculty of the Disc’s premier wizard school, Unseen University.  Many wizard characters have featured in the Discworld books, but this current iteration of the faculty (with the exception of the Librarian) was originally introduced in the 10th book, Moving Pictures, and has remained pretty constant ever since.  This group includes the hunting-obsessed Archchancellor, Mustrum Ridcully; the quite insane Bursar; the incredibly obese Dean; the amusing team of the Senior Wrangler, the Chair of Indefinite Studies and the Lecturer in Recent Runes; the orangutan Librarian (working in a library is dangerous work); and the long-suffering Ponder Stibbons, the youngest member of the faculty and the only one with any common sense.  Pratchett had previously done an amazing job building up all of these characters in prior books, highlighting their unique quirks and issues, including the overwhelmingly stubborn, childish and traditionalist personalities of the older wizards.  This excellent blend of personality types really makes the older wizard characters really amusing and their adventures, especially when encountering strange gods and creators who they generally ignore, are extremely funny.  While an entire book about these characters would potentially be a bit overwhelming, I think that Pratchett got the balance right in The Last Continent, and they ended up serving as a fun counterpoint to Rincewind.  Stibbons was also a particularly good straight-man to his fellow wizards, and the contrast between keen intellectualism and entrenched “wisdom” is a fantastic part of the book.  I rather enjoyed Stibbons arc in this book, especially as you get to appreciate the true depth of his frustration with his fellow wizards, although he does gain a deeper appreciation for them as the book progresses.  Other amusing storylines with the wizards includes the Senior Wrangler’s obsession with housekeeper, Mrs Whitlow, which eventually gets shared with some of the other wizards, and the uncontrollable shapeshifting infecting the Librarian, which makes for some entertaining gags.  I also really enjoyed the fact that much of the book’s plot revolves around the fact that no-one actually knows the Librarian’s name, a fun feature from the previous books, and it was interesting to see the reasons why this was the case.

Aside from this fun collection of wizard characters, Pratchett makes great use of a fine selection of supporting characters, each of whom add some fantastic fun to the overall story.  This includes a very inventive group of new characters, each of whom represent various parts of XXXX life, whether they be depressed operatic chefs, police officers more concerned with getting their charges ballads and famous last stands, bushland drovers, belligerent drinkers, desert-wandering crossdressers in a princess-themed cart and even a crazed road warrior named Mad.  Despite most of them being the result of a punchline or extended joke, Pratchett sets each of these characters up really well and ensures each of them has a fun and satisfying character arc in the book.  I also quite enjoyed the return of fan favourite character, Death, who goes on a bit of a tourist phase through the book.  I really liked Death’s random appearances throughout The Last Continent, especially as he drops some amusing anecdotes about dying in XXXX, and it was also great to see his current viewpoint on Rincewind.  Whereas before he was always determined to catch and kill Rincewind, as he was the one mortal who constantly got away from him, in this book, Death, who no longer has any idea of when Rincewind is actually going to die and is now quite fascinated by him, keeps himself appraised of his progress and is generally friendly to him, even if that freaks Rincewind out.  I also loved the appearance of another member of the extended Dibbler clan, even if the XXXX version was a parody of a certain unpleasant right-wing political figure here in Australia.  The appearance of another ruthlessly mercantile hot-food dispenser with inedible food is a great continuation of a running joke Pratchett has been using for several books, and it is one that really pays dividends in The Last Continent, when Rincewind recounts all the terrible foods he’s eaten over the years from the various Dibblers he has encountered, which then runs into a fantastic diatribe about the dangers of national delicacies, especially XXXX’s meat pie floater (a real meal here in Australia, although there is no way in hell I would ever eat one).  All of these characters add so much to the book’s story, and I love the inventiveness that Pratchett puts into them.

While I have enjoyed all the Discworld novels in their physical paperback format at one point or another, my preferred way to experience a Pratchett novel these days is in its audiobook form.  All of the Discworld novels have been turned into excellent audiobooks over the years, and The Last Continent is no exception.  Narrated by the outstanding Nigel Planer, who ended up narrating over 20 Discworld novels (The Last Continent was the penultimate Discworld book he leant his voice to), and with an easily enjoyable runtime of just under 10 hours, this is a pretty fantastic audiobook that I regularly rush through in not time at all.  I find that all the awesome jokes in this book come across in the audiobook format extremely well, even the jokes traditionally contained within the book’s footnotes, and Planer’s witty voice is always pitched at the best tone to bring out the joke’s potential.  I really appreciate the way in which Planer utilised the same voices for the various recurring characters he has used in all their previous appearances, and each of the voices fit the characters very well.  I also really enjoyed the voices he came up with all the new characters, and it was exceedingly amusing to see him come up with a range of Australian voices and accents and have them belt out a variety of outlandish slang terms.  All in all, this turns out to be an excellent audiobook version of The Last Continent and it is pretty much the only way I enjoy this novel at the moment.

As you can see from the huge review I pulled together above (I have written university essays that were shorter), I really love The Last Continent.  This fantastic Australian parody is easily one of my favourite Discworld novels, and I deeply enjoy the outstanding and entertaining story that Pratchett wove around this outrageous version of my country.  Anyone who is familiar with anything Australian is going to have an incredible time reading this book, and I honestly do not think I could give this anything less than five stars.  A highly recommended read from one of the funniest authors of all time.

Amazon     Book Depository

Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Made Me Laugh Out Loud

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comedy/Satire, List7 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  For this latest Top Ten Tuesday, participants have the fun task of listing their favourite books that made them laugh out loud.

While coming up with list was an enjoyable and entertaining task, this was a topic that I slightly struggled with as I don’t tend to read purely comedic novels.  Instead, I usually get my comedic fix through somewhat more serious books that have funny protagonists or are filled with jokes or excellent humour.  Nonetheless, I was able to pull together a good list in the end filled with some amazing reads that always leave me laughing.  I did end up having to feature multiple books from the same authors to fill this list up, but these guys are just so funny it was hard not to.  So, with that, let us get on to the funny stuff.

 

Honourable Mentions:

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra by Sarah Kuhn

Doctor Aphra Audio Cover

 

Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Best Left on the Drawing Board by Vince Houghton

Nuking the Moon Cover

With luminous foxes and exploding bats, this fun non-fiction book is proof that reality is sometimes stranger, and more hilarious, than fiction.

 

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde

Early Riser Cover

 

Footrot Flats by Murray Ball

Footrot Flats Cover

An amazing comic strip I loved in my childhood thanks to my fun grandfather.  This cool New Zealand comic still holds up even after all these years and makes me laugh like crazy every time I read it.

 

Top Ten List:

Jingo by Terry Pratchett

Jingo Cover

I do not think that anyone is going to be too surprised that I have featured several books from the utterly hilarious and indefinably clever Terry Pratchett.  Pratchett is easily my favourite author of all time, and I have so much love for his amazing Discworld series, the novels of which I have read and re-read time and time again, and each of them always makes me laugh.  I ended up including five Discworld books on this list, which I honestly think is me showing restraint, as I could have filled up three separate lists purely with Discworld novels.  The first of these books is one I am particularly fond of, Jingo, which sees the Ankh-Morpork City Watch attempt to stop a war.  Filled with all manner of jokes about war, political assassinations and jingoism, while also featuring an hilarious boat chase in unusual weather, Captain Carrot turning into Lawrence of Arabia and an entire battlefield arrested for causing an affray, this book never fails to amuse me, and I always laugh while reading it.

 

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde

The Constant Rabbit Cover

The second entry on this list was last years awesome and captivating release from Jasper Fforde, The Constant Rabbit.  Set in an alternate version of England filled with anthropomorphic rabbits, Fforde has come up with an outrageous narrative that is both fantastically funny while also serving as a clever send up of current British politics.  I laughed at so many scenes during this book, including a great court sequence, that The Constant Rabbit easily made this list and is really worth checking out.

 

The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett

The Last Continent Cover

The next Discworld novel to appear on this list is The Last Continent, a very amusing novel that pits Pratchett’s main protagonist, the cowardly wizard Rincewind, against the terrors and horrors of that most dangerous of places, Australia (although the author is very clear to state that this is not a book about Australia, it just seems, in some places, very Australian, so no worries, right?).  Naturally, Rincewind manages to run into every single dangerous Australian stereotype you can think of, including road gangs trying to steal a mad dwarf’s hay, talking kangaroos, drop bears, a chronic lack of rain and, worst of all, a local delicacy (a pea soup pie floater, shudder!).  The Australian jokes and references come thick and fast throughout this book, which become even more entertaining when viewed from the point-of-view of someone born and raised in Australia.  At the same time, the wizards of Unseen University engage in their own separate adventure, which sees them lost in the past (potentially killing their own grandparents) and forced to contend with a sex-obsessed god of evolution (once someone explains what sex is to him).  All of this makes for a hilarious and captivating read that is easily one of my favourite Discworld books, and one which I will always have a good laugh at.

 

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K. J. Parker

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City Cover

There was no way that I could not include the impressive and captivating Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City on this list.  Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, which was one of my favourite books of 2019, tells the story of a desperate and comical siege of a major fantasy city.  Told from the perspective of a very unreliable narrator, this book sees the protagonist defend his city with the most effective weapon he has, bluffs and lies.  This is an outstanding book, and readers are guaranteed to giggle at every single manipulation, con and elaborate subterfuge that is deployed to save the city.

 

Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett

Moving Pictures Cover

A Discworld book that is perfect for movie buffs, Moving Pictures examines what happens when a new form of entertainment comes to this crazy world, giving a whole new meaning to the term “movie magic”.  There are so many great jokes and references in this compelling and exceptional book, that multiple re-reads are a must to see just how clever Pratchett really was.  Highlights include the introduction of multiple amazing characters, a reverse King Kong moment and a very entertaining Gone With The Wind parody (to this day I cannot hear the words “Blown Away” without thinking about this book and sniggering).  An impressive comedic treat.

 

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Redshirts Cover

A Star Trek parody written by science fiction genius John Scalzi was always going to be an amazing read, and it proves to be utterly hilarious.  I loved all the fantastic jokes made about Star Trek in this book, and it was extremely funny to see the adventures of an Enterprise equivalent ship told from the perspective of the doomed redshirts.  I had some good laughs as I powered through this book and it is an incredible comedy read to check out.

 

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

Pyramids Cover

Another long-time favourite Discworld novel of mine is the outstanding Pyramids, which serves as a comedic adventure in an ancient Egyptian facsimile.  Pratchett came up with some fantastic sequences for this book, and I always chuckle at the scene with the various sun gods fighting for their prize like a football while a priest does commentary: “It’s noon! It’s noon!”.  An utterly hilarious novel.

 

A Shot in the Dark by Lynne Truss

A Shot in the Dark Cover

This next excellent entry on this list is A Shot in the Dark, Lyne Truss’s novelisation of her genius Inspector Steine radio show.  This serves as an amazing take on this fantastic radio show and I loved the comical premise which sees a new police constable be reassigned to the seemingly crime free Brighton, only to discover something very sinister is lurking just around the corner, ready to offer him a cup of tea.  A very funny and entertaining read that got a lot of laughs out of me.

 

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Guards! Guards! Cover

The fifth Discworld novel on this list is the exceptional Guards! Guards!, which serves as the introductory book in the City Watch subseries.  This is an outstanding read that presents a fantasy parody of classic crime fiction novels, by having a severely understaffed police force attempt to arrest a summoned dragon.  There are so many clever comedic scenes in this book, but I personally laughed the hardest as the descriptions of the heroic and naïve Captain Carrot arresting the head of the Thieves Guild.  One of Pratchett’s best and funniest books, this is a great one to check out if you want to laugh out loud.

 

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It by K. J. Parker

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It

My final entry is How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It, the sequel to Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City that I featured above.  This excellent and amazing read (which was one of my favourite books of 2020) continues the story started in the first novel, although this time it follows an actor who manages to con his way to the top of the besieged city using stage techniques.  This was another hilarious and exceptional read that really made me chuckle multiple times.



That is the end of this list.  I think it came together really well and I liked the different novels I decided to feature, even if it was a tad Pratchett heavy (not that there is anything wrong with that).  All the above novels come highly recommended and are definitely worth reading if you are in the mood for a funny and laugh provoking read.

The Salvage Crew by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Science Fiction5 Comments

The Salvage Crew Cover

Publisher: Podium Audio (Audiobook – 27 October 2020)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 8 hours and 21 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon     Book Depository

Come for the Fillion, stay for the story!  In this review, I check out the wildly entertaining audiobook version of The Salvage Crew, written by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and narrated by actor and science fiction icon Nathan Fillion.

In the far future, a small salvage crew is about to embark on the mission of a lifetime.  It was supposed to be a simple job: travel to an alien planet and salvage an ancient UN starship.  However, from the very start everything goes wrong.  The three-man team, led by a young and still relatively human computer intelligence, is far from the most effect group, made up of outcasts with some serious personality issues.  However, their incompatibility is the least of their problems, especially once they make planetfall.

The crew quickly discover that their job is going to be far harder than expected.  The planet they have arrived on, Urmahon Beta, is full of all number of problems, such as harsh conditions, a lack of useful resources and unregistered megafauna that could crush them all with ease.  Forced to forge through this unexplored and hostile world to their goal, it soon becomes clear that they are not alone.  A rival crew of dangerous and heavily armed mercenaries made planetfall before them and has the potential to wipe out the crew with little effort.  However, something is very wrong with them, and not everything is what it seems.  The salvage team is about to discover that Urmahon Beta contains a massive secret that has the potential to change all of humanity, if it does not kill them all first.

The Salvage Crew is an interesting and captivating new science fiction novel from author Yudhanjaya Wijeratne, who debuted back in 2017 with the intriguing-sounding science fiction novel, Numbercaste.  I have to admit that I was not familiar with Wijeratne’s writing before The Salvage Crew, and the main reason that I decided to check out this book was because the audiobook was narrated by Nathan Fillion, who I am a major fan of.  However, I am extremely happy that I decided to check this novel out as it turned out to be an excellent read that featured a clever and compelling science story, with some fantastic characters and unique science fiction elements.  This, combined with Fillion’s exceptional narration, produced an impressive novel which I really enjoyed listening to.

Wijeratne has come up with an outstanding story that follows a small team as they try and overcome a series of unexpected dangers and challenges upon an isolated planet.  The author presents a cool and enjoyable narrative for The Salvage Crew, and I liked how it started out with the crew attempting to pull together a base on the planet and gather the resources needed to survive and then complete their task.  Naturally, things quickly go downhill for the characters, as they encounter all manner of challenges and surprises that hit hard and fast throughout the book.  There are a lot of cool and exciting moments throughout the plot, including a fun new version of the Charge of the Light Brigade, and the protagonists experience a lot of heavy and traumatising experiences throughout the book, some of which are quite horrific in nature.  Wijeratne lays all these events out in a compelling and logical manner and the story flows along at a great pace.  Some of this was apparently assisted with a random generator that helped Wijeratne to work out when certain events occurred in the book, which apparently worked out quite well, as I personally wouldn’t have changed the order of anything.  The end of the novel somewhat veers away from the science fiction exploration/adventure elements that defined the start of the book, and it gets quite a bit metaphysical, which could potentially lose some readers.  I myself had a good time following these intriguing plot changes, though, and I liked where the story ended up in the end.  Overall, I really enjoyed the compelling story that Wijeratne featured in this book, especially as at times it could either be wildly funny, extremely exciting or somewhat disturbing.  This blend of cool story elements resulted in an impressive read which is definitely worth checking out.

On top of this impressive science fiction narrative, I also have to point of the great characters that the story is set around, primarily the character of the Overseer.  The Overseer, also known as Amber Rose or OC by his crew, is a former human whose brain was uploaded into a computer and who now exists as an artificial intelligence.  Most of the story is told from OC’s perspective, and he is the primary first-person narrator of the book.  Despite now being a machine, OC is a very human character, with a fun and extremely likeable personality that ensures that The Salvage Crew is a very entertaining read.  Much of The Salvage Crew’s humour and comedy comes from OC’s narration, as he provides the reader will all manner of fun observations and witty jokes, including one particularly charming Jeeves and Wooster impersonation.  OC is also an amateur poet, regaling the reader and the other characters with a series of short poems that help to capture the events or the feelings that flow through OC.  These poems, which are ironically AI-generated (Wijeratne used a computer program to come up with them), add a quirky and artistic side to this character, and they end up having a surprising impact on the overall story.  As well as being a humorous narrator, OC serves as the emotional heart of the book.  Despite the fact that his transformation to an AI was supposed to make him more efficient and less concerned with the fates of his assets, OC is a very caring being, who is extremely protective of his human crew and is determined to bring them all back safe.  Watching him attempt to stay in control and save everyone is very heart-warming and it is extremely hard not to deeply appreciate him as a character as a result.  The events of The Salvage Crew also ensure that OC faces some deep and searching questions about whether he is a machine or a man, and these intriguing self-examinations ended up becoming a major part of the books plot.  I really enjoyed this complex and impressive character, and I had an amazing time seeing how his story arc unfolded.

The Salvage Crew also focuses on three other substantial characters, namely the human crew that OC drops down onto Urmahon Beta with.  These characters, Simon Joosten, Anna Agarwal and Milo Kalik are interesting people in their own right, each with their own unique and damaged personalities that makes them outsiders.  These characters are primarily shown through the eyes of OC, which adds a bit of a slant to their characterisations, although Wijeratne does also include a couple of interludes told from these characters perspectives which expands on their personalities.  These characters add a lot to the story, helping OC to achieve his goal, while also providing some compelling drama to the narrative as their issues and different personalities come to a head.  All three of these characters go through a substantial amount of trauma throughout the book, and they do not deal with it well, breaking down mentally and physically, while also clashing with OC and each other.  Watching these characters struggle to remain alive and sane becomes quite intense at times, and you really cannot help but feel sorry for each of them and hope that they survive the events of this book.  I felt that these side characters provided an interesting counterpoint to the AI character OC, especially as they helped to highlight how much humanity OC has actually lost, despite outward appearances.  The inclusion of these three compelling characters was a great touch by Wijeratne, and it helped to produce an emotionally rich overall narrative.

I also quite enjoyed the excellent science fiction elements that Wijeratne came up with for this cool book.  There are a lot of amazing science fiction inclusions throughout The Salvage Crew, and Wijeratne makes sure to utilise a lot of realistic and practical technologies.  You really get a sense of what a futuristic team of salvagers would experience and what tools they would bring to the table, and I had an amazing time seeing this depiction.  The alien world that Wijeratne utilises as the main setting for this book is also rather cool, and it serves as an excellent challenging location for the characters.  Apparently, Wijeratne used computer models/generators to come up with this planet and some elements of the book, such as what weather the characters experienced, was randomly chosen.  The author also comes up with a much wider universe in which the book is set, presenting the reader with a somewhat grim future, riven with war, over-expansion and planets negatively impacted by greedy, profit-orientated corporations.  This proves to be a bit of a grim view of the future, although it fit the overall tone of the novel extremely well.  Wijeratne shares these additional universe elements slowly throughout the course of the book and it proves to be an interesting counterpoint to the events occurring on Urmahon Beta.  The Salvage Crew also features some deep and fascinating examinations of Artificial Intelligence, as well as some other scientific elements/theories, which, without going into too many details, are quite essential for the plot of the book.  I really enjoyed these cool science fiction elements, and it is clear that Wijeratne put a lot of thought into creating his universe.

As I mentioned above several times, I ended up listening to the audiobook version of The Salvage Crew, which was narrated by the amazing and incredible Nathan Fillion.  Now, I never had any doubt that I was going to enjoy Fillion’s narration of this book and I was not disappointed in any way, shape or form.  Fillion drags listeners in from the very beginning with a very amusing introduction about how he has sanitised his voice for the listener’s protection, and the audience is pretty much in the palm of his hands from there on out.  Thanks to his excellent and compelling narration, the novel moves along on at a quick and exciting pace, allowing the listener to get through the entire story in quick succession and ensuring that there is not a significant lull in the production.  Fillion’s voice is perfect for this great story, and I really liked how he dived into the main character, the former human and current AI, Amber Rose/OC.  Thanks to his quirky personality and fun sense of humour, OC honestly felt like he was specifically written to be played by Fillion, who does an amazing job bringing him to life throughout the audiobook.  I really loved how Fillion portrayed this great central character, and the reader becomes a lot more attached to OC because of this excellent narration.  Fillion also does a good job portraying the other major characters in the novel, although he mostly uses the same voice for everyone, which occasionally made it hard to work out who was speaking.  Despite that, listeners can follow the story perfectly, and it proves to be extremely hard to get lost listening to the story.  The Salvage Crew has a run time of nearly eight and a half hours, and thanks to how awesome this format is, listeners can generally breeze through it in relatively short order.  This is an audiobook you could easily get through in one extended session, and it would be a perfect book to listen to on a long car ride.  I really loved this audiobook, and I would highly recommend this format to anyone interested in checking out The Salvage Crew.  I cannot talk up Nathan Fillion’s narration enough, and to be frankly honest, it ultimately knocked my overall rating of The Salvage Crew up a few points.

The Salvage Crew by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne is an impressive and captivating science fiction novel that takes the reader on a wild ride to the darkest frontier of human exploration.  Featuring an intense adventure on an alien planet that goes horribly wrong, The Salvage Crew makes excellent use of amazing characters, clever science fiction inclusions and a compelling plot to produce an awesome novel that is hard to put down, especially when narrated by the incredible Nathan Fillion.  As a result, The Salvage Crew comes highly recommended, especially in its audiobook format, and I am extremely keen to see what Wijeratne writes next.

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How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It by K. J. Parker

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books14 Comments

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It

Publisher: Orbit (Trade Paperback – 18 August 2020)

Series: The Siege – Book Two

Length: 357 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Prepare to laugh like crazy with How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It by K. J. Parker, an intensely funny and clever fantasy read that was one of my most anticipated releases of 2020.

Several years after their home fell under a brutal and prolonged siege, the inhabitants of the City have settled into a new way of life.  There may be a vast army camped on the plains outside and the occasional catapult shot may demolish a house or two, but that does not mean that people cannot make some money and get on with their lives.  This includes Notker, an acclaimed actor, skilled lookalike and mediocre playwright, who scrapes a living by impersonating the rich and powerful of the City at parties while trying to get someone to pay him money for his latest play.  However, what Notker does not know is that fame, opportunity, and a rather large boulder are about to land in his lap.

When the City’s greatest hero and nominal leader, Lysimachus, secretly dies, his followers/handlers, desperate to stay in power, recruit Notker to play the role of a lifetime.  Impersonating Lysimachus, Notker continues to act as the city’s figurehead, allowing life to go on, and he even begins to think he has a handle on this simple job, until someone tries to murder him.  Now he finds himself in the midst of a brutal and ongoing power struggle as the various power players in the city attempt to manipulate him for their own ends resulting in him being crowned as Emperor of the entire Robur Empire (or what is left of it).

As Notker attempts to find some sanity within his home, he begins to understand what a fragile position the City is in.  With enemies surrounding them and the besiegers slowly overcoming the City’s defences, Notker needs to choose between making a run for it or trying to save the City.  But what difference can one very good actor make in a war?  If Notker has anything to do with it, everything!

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It is another spectacular and extremely entertaining fantasy novel from legendary fantasy writer, K. J. Parker.  Parker, a pseudonym of bestselling author Tom Holt, has written a vast catalogue of books over the years, including a substantial collection of humorous and satirical fantasy novels.  I first really got into Parker’s work last year when I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the awesome Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, a very funny novel that focused on a conniving engineer as he thwarted a massive army through guile, tricky and a substantial amount of BS.  Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City was an amazing read and it was easily one of my favourite books of 2019.  As a result, I have been eagerly keeping an eye out for any additional releases from Parker and was very excited when I saw that How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It was coming out.  I was especially intrigued when I learnt that this latest Parker novel was some form of sequel to Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, and I was very, very happy when I got my copy of this latest book.

This new novel from Parker proved to be an extraordinary read and it was easily one of the funniest novels of 2020.  The author writes a clever, fast-paced and addictive story that utilises the author’s unique sense of humour to create a very entertaining piece of literature.  This is a very enjoyable read, and fans of Parker’s work will love that How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It is a sequel to Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, continuing some of the great storylines from the prior book.  I had an outstanding time reading this book and it gets an easy five-star review from me.

Parker presents another brilliant and witty story for How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It that follows the adventures of another unlucky and jaded protagonist as he tries to survive the chaotic events unfolding around him.  Just like with Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, this novel is written purely from the perspective of the protagonist as he chronicles his actions and personal history into a historical text.  This results in a very fast-paced and hilarious story, as the main character bounces from one bad situation to another, encountering plotters, ambitious politicians, angry crime bosses, dangerous invaders and one particular fierce actress who serves as Notker’s leading lady.  I absolutely loved the various outrageous and challenging situations that the protagonist finds himself in, and Parker does a fantastic job presenting them in a humorous way, showing how silly everything is and the various, clever and well-written solutions to these problems.  The entire story goes in some very fun and compelling directions and this ends up being an overall excellent narrative that is extremely well written.  I was able to predict the overall conclusion of the story somewhat in advance, but Parker did an amazing job setting it up and it resulted in a very entertaining and satisfying conclusion.  This was such an amazing story and I had an absolute blast getting through it, laughing my head off the entire time.

As part of this awesome and entertaining story, Parker sets up a whole new protagonist for this novel, Notker the liar.  Notker is another fun protagonist in a similar vein to the main character of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, in that he is a self-serving and opportunistic individual who is mostly looking out for his own wellbeing.  This changes once he takes on the assignment of impersonating the dim-witted but charismatic Lysimachus and soon finds himself responsible for the safety of the city.  While at first he is mostly trying to survive and find a way to escape from all the insanity and backstabbing that is his life, once he becomes more aware of the situation facing the City and the danger it is really in he begins to take on more responsibility, manipulating everyone so that they can start fighting a more effective war.  I really liked seeing this protagonist attempt to take control of the situation surrounding the City, especially as he appears to be one of the only sane people around.  Watching his various incredulous reactions to the problems presented to him and his various solutions, which are a combination of common-sense responses and brilliant but out-there tactics, is really entertaining.  I especially loved how Parker played up the actor/screenwriter aspect of the character as many of his greatest tricks are derived from theatre techniques, such as selling something to a crowd, misdirection or the value of good lighting.  There is also a great underlying aspect to the character as he pretends to be Lysimachus and he needs to strike a balance between responses that Lysimachus would have done and his own common sense and craftiness.  This compulsion to act like Lysimachus actually becomes a major problem for Notker as he enjoys being the heroic former gladiator and soon begins emulating him instead of acting in his usual manner of self-preservation.  All of this results in another complex and likeable central character who the reader cannot help but root for as he attempts to survive.  I really liked how Notker’s story progressed and it was a real joy to read about him from start to finish.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about this book was the way in which it acts as a fantastic and humorous follow-up to Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City.  How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It is set in the same city as the author’s 2019 release, and the story begins a few years after the events of this proceeding novel.  This new novel mostly presents a new story, told from the perspective of a different protagonist, but it does have a lot of connections to the previous novel.  The individual Notker is impersonating, Lysimachus, was a side character in the first novel, serving as a bodyguard to the original protagonist.  In this book it is revealed that following Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, Lysimachus, a champion gladiator and a revered public figure, was given all the credit for the original protagonist’s efforts following his death.  Parker does a fantastic job revealing this to the reader, and it is extremely fitting in the scope of the first novel as this original protagonist was always getting overshadowed and overestimated.  The author makes sure to really drive this point home by completely excluding the name of the previous protagonist throughout How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It, just to emphasise how no one in the city truly remembers who he was or what he did, which is pretty darn hilarious.  The novel contains a number of fantastic references to the events that occurred with the previous book, including giving Notker a copy of the previous protagonist’s memoirs (which formed the basis of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City).  Notker of course then provides his own witty two cents to this memoir, providing a writer’s critical analysis, including doubting some of the events that occurred, such as the coincidence around the protagonist being the childhood friend of the mastermind of the siege.  All of this definitely adds a lot to the book’s overall humour, and it is always entertaining to see an author make fun of his own work.

Despite these fun references and the continuation of some story elements from Parker’s previous book, How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It is very much its own novel, taking the reader on a whole new fun adventure.  As a result, you really do not need to have read Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City first, although it is a lot of fun to see the previous book’s events lampooned in this novel.  Indeed, due to the fact that the protagonist and point-of-view character has no idea of the full events of the previous book, you get a good overview as everything is explained to him, which is fun.  Overall, this serves as a very entertaining sequel to this amazing previous book and I will be interested to see if Parker decides to continue the story in some way, which I have no doubt will be another incredible read.

How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It is a truly awesome and enjoyable read, and author K. J. Parker lived up to all my expectations with this book.  Not only does it contain a captivating and addictive narrative anchored by a likeable and complex main character, but it is also intensely funny.  I loved every second that I spent reading How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It, and this was without a doubt one of the best books that I have read this year.

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Throwback Thursday – Redshirts by John Scalzi

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Throwback Thursday13 Comments

Redshirts Cover

Publisher: Audible Frontiers (Audiobook – 5 June 2012)

Series: Standalone

Length: 7 hours and 41 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

Prepare to dive into one of the most meta and entertaining novels you will ever read with Redshirts by John Scalzi, a fun and clever Star Trek parody that explores what it must be like to be a background character in a science fiction series.

John Scalzi is a well-established and highly regarded science fiction author responsible for a number of impressive and expansive series.  Some of his best-known works include his Old Man’s War series, his Lock In novels and his The Interdependency series, the last of which I have been eying off for a couple of years now and have been meaning to check out.  Each of these series sounds really exciting and have received a lot of positive praise from readers and reviewers.  In addition, Scalzi has also written three standalone novels, each of which has a very fun concept behind it, including the focus of this review, Redshirts.  While I am extremely interested in some of Scalzi’s other works, the moment I found out that he had written a Star Trek parody novel told from the perspective of a redshirt, I grabbed myself a copy of its audiobook format and I have been looking for a chance to listen to it.  Last weekend I had a long car trip with my wife/editor Alex, and we decided that listening to Redshirts would be the perfect entertainment for the drive.

Redshirts takes place in humanity’s far future, aboard the flagship of the Universal Union, the starship Intrepid.  The Intrepid is the pinnacle of human ingenuity and exploration, containing only the most talented crew and scientists that humanity has to offer.  In all respects it seems like the perfect posting for newly commissioned Ensign Andrew Dahl, but it does not take long for Dahl to suspect that there is something seriously wrong aboard the Intrepid.  Not only does the lab that Dahl is assigned to have a magical box which solves every major problem that the ship runs into (with only seconds to spare, without fail), but the entire crew is terrified of the captain and his senior officers, actively trying to avoid them and the near constant away missions.  The crew has come to realise that the away missions are guaranteed to be lethal, with any crew member who joins likely to die while the senior officers constantly walk away without a scratch (with the exception of the unlucky Lieutenant Kerensky).  Now a great deal of energy is place into avoiding an away mission at all cost, with new transfers to the ship kept in the dark until it is too late.

As Dahl and his friends begin to realise the full extent of the terror that has engulfed the ship they attempt to find some sort of answers for what is going on.  However, the more deadly adventures that they go on the more obvious it becomes that some mysterious force is controlling their actions and causing their deaths.  With the lives of every crewmember aboard the Intrepid at stake, Dahl and his friends are left with only one crazy plan, to hunt down the beings controlling them and convince them to stop no matter the cost.  However, what happens when these expendable redshirts end up meeting their own creators?

I am going to say right of the bat that both Alex and I absolutely loved this book and we had an incredible time listening to it.  A good indication of how much we enjoyed it can be seen in the fact that we easily and eagerly powered through it during the two halves of our car trip without any breaks, laughing our asses off the entire time.  Redshirts is an extremely funny and clever novel that acts as both a parody of and a love letter to the Star Trek television show.  Scalzi has come up with a truly awesome and enjoyable novel that combines an amazing amount of humour and parody with a clever and heartfelt story.  This results in a memorable and addictive tale which you cannot help but enjoy, especially if you are a major fan of Star Trek.

For this great novel, Scalzi has come up with a very compelling and enjoyable story that acts in many ways like a unique combination of Galaxy Quest, The Cabin in the Woods and The French Mistake episode of Supernatural.  The story focuses on Ensign Dahl and his friends as they begin to work out the issues aboard the Intrepid.  This is a very fast-paced narrative and the reader is soon introduced to all the mysterious events occurring on the ship, from the terrified crew, the weird science, the exceedingly dangerous and improbable away missions and the strange characters who seem to have the answers.  All of this is shown to the reader in a very clever way, and while you are expecting many of these events occur, especially if you are familiar with Star Trek, seeing these characters react to the various odd occurrences with realistic shock and scepticism is a great source of entertainment.  Following the initial introduction, you get several chapters of the protagonists humorously traversing a chaotic ship full of self-aware redshirts desperately trying to avoid their fates.  The various attempts by the characters to understand what is going on and change their fates are amazing, if a little tragic in places, and this is a very comedic part of the book loaded with some of the best jokes at Star Trek’s expense.  The story then takes a very interesting change of direction as the protagonists undertake a desperate plan (inspired by a classic Star Trek film) to save the ship and prevent their upcoming deaths.  This third part of the book is exceedingly meta, and fans of both Star Trek and surreal, self-referential fiction will love where the story goes and various clever character interactions that occur.  These distinctive parts of the book come together extremely well and form an intricate and captivating overall narrative that fits a lot of story elements into a relatively short novel.  I had an amazing time listening to this complex story, as not only did it make me laugh, but it also made me care about the various characters who are introduced throughout the course of the book (something which the author is aware of and sadistically exploits at times, especially with that last joke at the end of the main story).

In addition to the main story, Scalzi also features three substantial codas at the end of the novel.  These codas are essentially short stories that follow side characters the protagonist meets during the course of the main narrative.  While I would normally be a little concerned about some concluding material taking up so much space from an already shortish novel, these codas are extremely well written and contribute a great deal to the book.  Titled Coda 1, 2 and 3, the codas are told in the first, second and third person narrative respectively, and contain some truly impressive and touching character-driven narratives.  These extremely clever codas really dive down into the psyches and emotions of their respective characters, showing their own complex histories and how their encounter with the protagonist had such a major impact on them.  Of the three, my favourite is probably Coda 1, which is easily the funniest, containing a very humorous series of blog posts, although Codas 2 and 3 are both emotionally rich and heart-warming.  While some readers may be tempted to skip these codas after the main story is finished, I would very strongly recommend checking each of these out as you are guaranteed to come away being extremely attached to each of these great side characters and also feeling a lot better after hearing each coda’s happy ending.

While Redshirts also has its own unique and captivating story at its heart it is an extremely funny parody of the iconic Star Trek television show.  Scalzi is clearly a fan of the series as he expertly works all manner of fun jokes and references to the show into the novel.  The Intrepid and its bridge crew are clear parodies of the Enterprise and the main characters of The Original Series, and Scalzi does an amazing job working his narrative around them, emphasising all their iconic character traits and showing just how ridiculous they and their actions are to the eyes of a normal person.  This includes the captain’s dramatic tone and way of over exaggerating events, and the poor junior officer with a Russian accent who gets the crap kicked out of him every single episode and yet is fully recovered by the next adventure without a hint of injury or PTSD.  Redshirts contains all manner of references or parodies to the over-the-top, badly written or ridiculous elements of the show, and Scalzi lovingly features and critiques them in an amazingly funny way; everything from the evolutionarily questionable alien monsters, the repetitive space battles (those poor people on decks six to twelve!) and the high death toll of the normal crew.  The highlight of the book has to be the terrified and disbelieving reactions that each member of the crew has to the events going on around them, and the fun and exaggerated attempts to survive them.  I also really loved the comedic metafiction elements of the book, which allowed Scalzi to take some humorous shots at the writers and creators of shows like Star Trek.  While this humour is obviously geared towards Star Trek fans, you really do not need to have a lot of in-depth knowledge of the series to appreciate the humour.  Anyone who has a passing knowledge of Star Trek and its tropes will find this book deeply amusing and hilarious and you are guaranteed to have a fun time getting through it.

While I absolutely loved Redshirts’ story, I did find that the dialogue was a little clunky in places.  While most of the conversation is quite fun and snappy, the overabundance of dialogue tags and the extreme overuse of the word “said” gets repetitive and distracting, especially in scenes where the conversations fly thick and fast.  In some heavy dialogue scenes, “character 1 said”, “character 2 said”, “character 3 said” repeats about 20 times in a minute, which is really distracting.  If Scalzi had used more variety in indicating which character said what, this book would have been pretty damn perfect.  But the story and the comedy were strong enough to overcome most of these issues, and I chose to focus on them instead.  However, I can easily see other readers getting a little frustrated with this, which would be a real shame as this is a very fun book.

The audiobook format of Redshirts ran for 7 hours and 41 minutes, although it is a closer to six hours if you decide to skip the codas at the end of the book.  This was an extremely easy audiobook to listen to quickly and we absolutely flew through it.  One of the main reasons that we were so interested in this book is because the audiobook is narrated by Wil Wheaton.  Now, there is obviously a lot of appeal to Wil Wheaton, or any cast member of a Star Trek television show, getting involved in a parody like this, but Wheaton did a pretty good job narrating this audiobook.  Wheaton had a great voice for this novel, and he was able to keep the audience’s attention through the entirety of the story.  While he did not really change his voice from character to character, the listener was generally able to tell when someone new was talking (ironically thanks to the author’s overuse of “said”).  Wheaton was, however, extremely adept at expressing the relevant emotions of the characters through his voice, and the fear, anger, frustration and sheer disbelief of the protagonist and the people he encounters really shines through.  I also really enjoyed his portrayal of the Intrepid’s senior crewmembers, each of whom is a parody of the main characters from Star Trek: The Original Series.  I particularly had a lot of love for the Captain’s “dramatic voice” that Wheaton did, which really captured the over-the-top tone Kirk had when he was excited or animated.  Overall, the audiobook format is a fantastic way to enjoy Redshirts and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in checking this novel out.

Redshirts by John Scalzi is a masterful and hilarious novel that presents the reader with a wonderful and clever parody to the classic Star Trek television series.  While there are some style issues associated with the dialogue, the story is loaded to the brim with all manner of great jokes, interesting characters, compelling plot elements and a whole lot of meta comedy.  An absolutely fantastic read that will appeal to all manner of Star Trek fans or people in need of a good laugh, Redshirts comes highly recommended and I can guarantee that Wil Wheaton’s audiobook format will serve as a great form of entertainment for a long road trip.

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