Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky

On December 30, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comedy/Satire, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction5 Comments

Publisher: Tor (ebook – 6 June 2024)

Series: Standalone

Length: 369 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The line between man and machine is about to blurred in the most hilarious of ways as one of the world’s best science fiction authors, Adrian Tchaikovsky, presents the brilliantly satirical novel, Service Model.

The last couple of years have seen me really get into the writings of acclaimed author Adrian Tchaikovsky, whose work in the fantasy and science fiction genres has been truly amazing. While Tchaikovsky has written many books over the years, I am more familiar with his recent works, including the novella Ogres, one of my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels, Day of Ascension, and his first two Tyrant Philosophers novels, City of Last Chances and House of Open Wounds, both of which were amongst my favourite books of 2023. 2024 has proven to be a particularly big year for Tchaikovsky, as he has released four separate books. The first of these, Alien Clay, was a compelling and memorable science fiction adventure on a deadly prison planet filled with unusual alien life, and I had a great time with it. I also made sure to check out the brilliant and fantastic novel, Service Model, which had a hilarious plot behind it that I just couldn’t turn away from.

In the far future, the remnants of humanity are utterly reliant on artificial labour and service. Living in estates completely staffed by robots and advanced computer systems, the remaining humans have every aspect of their lives taken care of. But what happens when their robot servants find new and dangerous ideas loaded into their heads?

Charles is the loyal body robot to one of these humans. Content to serve and enact the often confusing and contradictory orders of his master, Charles’s life is one of routine and protocol. That is until one day an apparent fault in his programming causes him to murder his master. Now without an employer or a purpose, Charles is forced to leave the household and embark on a journey into the wider world, one he never knew existed. Here, despite all his expectations, he encounters a crumbling world in which all the humans are gone and the robots that remain are stuck completing illogical or impossible tasks.

After a chance encounter with a mysterious and self-determined figure, Charles embarks on a new mission, to find new employment as a body servant and once again gain purpose. However, finding a suitable employer in this new world is tricky as every potential boss is dead, insane, or trapped within their own contradictory tasks. It soon becomes apparent that if Charles is to once again find a suitable purpose in life, he must either find the cause for humanity’s fall or take everybody down with him.

Service Model was a very clever, entertaining and compelling science fiction adventure that I could not get enough of. Featuring Tchaikovsky’s trademark satirical wit and unique outlook on all manner of life, Service Model was a particularly awesome read that was equal measures funny and tragic, but all entertainment. A fantastic and inventive novel I had to give a full five-star rating to.

Tchaikovsky really went out of his way to produce a hilarious and intense story about life, decisions and the crumbling future in Service Model, and I loved every single mad second of it. Set around the unlikely protagonist, Charles (later rechristened Uncharles), Service Model starts with Charles satisfied with his existence as a body servant, until he unexpectantly kills his master. Forced to leave the manor, Charles journeys towards the repair yard, only to discover that the world is nothing like he expected, and that everything built by humans is failing, taking the robots down with them.

Faced with nothing but inconsistencies and illogical fellow robots, Charles embarks on a quest to find a new human master or some form of purpose. Assisted and occasionally hindered by the strange robot The Wonk, who is definitely not a human in disguise, Charles encounters the many unlikely and unusual examples of continued society left in the world, from an illogical attempt to keep human society going (essentially a human zoo), a group of insane librarians (more insane than typical librarians), rival robot armies, and other outrageous occurrence of robotic life. The book pretty much revolves around Charles and The Wonk discovering these societies, learning their flaws, and then trying to find a way to help or escape their respective crazy ideas. There are a ton of highly amusing interactions and outrageous scenes throughout this intense quest, and I loved some of the wonderfully weird scenarios that emerged as Tchaikovsky utilises his considerable imagination to envision the grim future. Everything ends on a very interesting note, as the protagonists find the answers they are looking for, even if it’s not what they wanted, and there is a hopeful conclusion that fits the recurring themes of Service Model perfectly and leaves the reader thoughtful going out.

Service Model ended up being an outstanding and complex standalone science fiction novel that perfectly combined a fun adventure story with the author’s cynical humour to create a powerful and inventive read. Tchaikovsky utilises a unique writing style for this book, that seeks to really drive home the robotic nature of the main protagonist to the reader. While this does result in some aesthetic and stylistic choices that some readers might not enjoy, especially around the dialogue, I personally felt that it fit the story perfectly and was a clever way of expressing the thoughts and motivations of the unusual point of view protagonist. You really begin to appreciate the programmed, yet changing, mindset of Charles as the book continues, and it proves interesting to slowly see this robot realise just broken the world around him is. There are some surprisingly deep emotional moments captured within this tale of automated life, especially tied around the great characters of Charles and The Wonk, and it was fascinating and touching to see how they developed together. As such, Service Model proves to be a multi-layered and complex read, and it proves very hard to pull away from it at times.

One of the main reasons that I enjoyed Service Model so much was the fantastic and intelligent humour that Tchaikovsky infused his story with. Like with most of Tchaikovsky’s more light-hearted books, much of this humour is tied into the author’s cynical view of humanity and the future, and I loved once again seeing the author’s take on how doomed we are. In Service Model, a lot of this humour is tied into the failure of systems, overreliance on technology and human shortsightedness as the various robot characters try to enact the various incomplete, ill-advised or just plain insane commands of the former human masters. There are so many examples of Charles or other robots trying to complete these instructions to the best of their ability, only to bring greater chaos or misunderstanding to those around them, and it is fun, if a tad depressing, to see these events unfold. Tchaikovsky throws in even more insane occurrences of this, as certain robots have taken their former illogical instructions or existing systems too far, resulting in elaborate quests, wars or other activities, often for a broken or non-existent purpose. Seeing the protagonist explore these events and either try to navigate them or find their place within them results in some very absurd but clever moments, and I liked how Tchaikovsky played these events for laughs while also using them to show the protagonist just how broken the current way of thinking is. I really enjoyed this dark humour, especially as the author uses it to make you think at the same time, and it helped to turn Service Model into quite an entertaining and captivating read.

Adrian Tchaikovsky continues to shine with this brilliant and addictive science fiction read. Bringing together a compelling and moving story of self-discovery with some fantastic humour and a post-apocalyptic setting loaded with disorganised and distressed robots, Service Model keeps you laughing while also hitting you in the feels. I had an exceptional time with Service Model, and it was a true pleasure to read. I cannot wait to check out more of Tchaikovsky’s books in 2025, and my next stop will have to be the outstanding Days of Shattered Faith.

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Waiting on Wednesday – Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler

On December 4, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this latest Waiting on Wednesday post I look ahead to Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler, which is sure to be one of the most entertaining fantasy books of 2025.

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Earlier this year I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the hilarious novel, How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler, the first book in the Dark Lord Davi duology. This book was an intriguing and clever fantasy comedy that followed a funny, if slightly cracked protagonist, Davi, who has found herself stuck in a dark fantasy realm where she is the prophesised saviour of the human Kingdom. However, saving the Kingdom proves to be a near impossible task and Davi finds herself constantly dying and being reborn, often at the hands of the interchanging Dark Lords who come to power to oppose her. After centuries of painfully dying in this time loop Davi finally snaps and decides that if you can’t beat them join them. This leads Davi on a dangerous journey into the wastelands containing the continent’s various non-human races as she embarks on an ambitious plan to become the Dark Lord herself.

I had such a great time reading How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying, as Wexler wrote a particularly hilarious, meta, and occasionally dark tale around this fantastic premise and his eccentric protagonist. I honestly laughed myself silly the entire way through How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying, and I also appreciated the intriguing and clever storytelling that the author was adding in. As such, I have been curious to see how Wexler planned to finish off his duology for a while, and it looks like we’re about to see it in May 2025 with the sequel, Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me.

Plot Synopsis:

Dark Lord Davi rules the kingdom, but she must now break the time loop that binds her in this hilariously bloody conclusion to the Dark Lord Davi duology.

Davi has left the horde behind her, hoping to find a peaceful solution to keep the Kingdom from being destroyed this time. But her plan to guide the Kingdom to peaceful prosperity is thwarted when she finds her usual love interest, Prince Johann, already married and the bloodthirsty Duke Aster running the government. Johann’s new husband is everything Davi is not, but he holds a key to the one mystery she can’t solve – the origins of the time loop that has entrapped her.

With restless armies at her doorstep, Duke Aster reaching for power, and an ancient magician hounding her every turn, Davi must scheme her way to peace and uncover the truth behind her curse if she is to break the spell that binds her once and for all.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me looks set to be a particularly awesome sequel to the first Dark Lord Davi book, and I love the fun direction that Wexler is apparently taking the story. Returning Davi to the Kingdom as a reluctant conqueror rather than a saviour is a nice touch, and I love the idea of seeing the protagonist attempt to deal with the politics she is so familiar with from a different direction. At the same time, it sounds like there is going to be some entertaining romantic shenanigans and dark political manoeuvres as Davi tries to save everyone, only to run into the typical problems of human nature. This cool new plot idea really works as a follow up to the previous book, and I cannot wait to see how Wexler brings this duology to an end. I am especially curious to find out how and why Davi is caught in her fantasy time loop, and I am hoping for an especially crazy or ironic background premise.

Honestly, after how much fun I had with How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying this year there is no way I will not be grabbing Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me as soon as I can. This first book had so much going for it, and I really grew to enjoy Django Wexler’s style and entertaining ideas. As such, Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me is now one of my most anticipated books of 2025 and I have no doubt I will have a blast getting through this comedic sequel.

Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder by K. J. Parker

On December 3, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books3 Comments

Publisher: Orbit (Trade Paperback – 5 December 2023)

Series: Corax Trilogy – Book Three

Length: 323 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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One of the masters of comedic fantasy, K. J. Parker, ends his fantastic Corax trilogy on an outstanding note with Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder.

As we get to the end of 2024, I’m desperately trying to finalise reviews for books I read earlier in the year. This includes the third and final entry in the Corax trilogy by K. J. Parker, which I enjoyed a few months ago. Parker, a pseudonym of author Tom Holt, released his entire Corax trilogy in 2023, which follows a resourceful and ill-fated rogue, Saevus Corax, as he finds himself in all manner of trouble. Set in the same universe as the author’s The Siege series, which featured Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (one of my favourite books of 2019), How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It (one of my favourite books of 2020) and A Practical Guide to Conquering the World (one of my favourite books of 2022), this was a trilogy with a lot of potential, and I eagerly grabbed all three books the first chance I could.

While I managed to get all three of the Corax novels last year, I only had the chance to read the first novel, Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead before 2023 ended. This first entry in the trilogy was pretty damn incredible, and I loved the wonderful and highly entertaining story it contained, especially as it was masterfully layered with Parker’s trademark humour. Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead got an easy five-star rating from me, and it ended up being one of my favourite books of 2023. I quickly got onto the second book in the series, Saevus Corax Captures the Castle, earlier this year, and just like the first entry, it proved to be a remarkable read that I had a wonderful time with. As such, I made sure to read the final book in the trilogy, Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder, as quickly as I could, and it proved to be great reading whilst away on holiday. I regret not writing something about Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder sooner, as it was an outstanding and epic read that I could not put down, but hopefully I can make up for it now.

After years of schemes, daring cons, an unwilling coronation and other unfortunate adventures, Saevus Corax is still stuck doing the only job he’s good at, battlefield salvage. Unglamourous and often disgusting work, it provides a basic living for his large crew of outcasts and rogues as they tour their world’s many scattered battlefields, rescuing and repurposing everything they can recover from the dead. However, Corax’s band are about to encounter the only thing that can make their business unprofitable, a massive total war that threatens to burn the entire continent.

Seeing the signs of upcoming mass conflict, Corax and his crew attempt to flee to safer climates where they can still potentially make a living. However, Corax finds his plan to escape thwarted by the family he has long tried to run away from. His sister, Phantis, has finally caught up with him, but instead of the vengeance she always promised, she needs his help to survive a coup gone bad. Despite his reluctance to get involved, Corax attempts to help, only to get dragged into even more danger.

Soon, with war coming closer and various factions seeking to kill him and claim the many bounties on his head, Corax is forced into one final scheme to get enough money to retire and escape from everything. Reuniting with his old flame, the beautiful con artist Stauracia, Corax attempts to find a long-lost treasure that could solve all his problems. But with betrayal coming from all sides, can Corax survive the chaos to come, or has he finally encountered a situation that even he cannot think his way out of?

Parker continues to showcase why he is the master of hilarious fantasy fiction, as Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder was another amazing read with a captivating and unique plot behind it. Masterfully wrapping up the Corax trilogy with a dark and entertaining story, Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder had me hooked the entire way through and, just like all the other books in the series, it gets a full five-star rating from me.

This third Corax book proved to be an excellent read, with Parker taking his audience on a final wild ride of schemes, betrayal and family drama, as Saevus Corax comes face to face with all his demons. While easily enjoyed as a standalone novel, Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder is best read after the rest of the trilogy, especially as many of the ongoing storylines and character relationships come to an end here. The plot of this book is epic and entertaining, as war, his ongoing conflict with his family and a desire to finally live a normal life drive Corax towards one final scheme while also trying to wipe away the sins of his past. However, as this is Corax, nothing goes to plan, and he soon encounters multiple setbacks and conflicts that he is forced to overcome in his typical resourceful way. However, this time Corax experiences some truly devastating betrayals and dark moments that destroy him in a way never seen before. Parker really lays in the clever twists for this last book in the trilogy, and you will not be prepared for some of the dark routes he goes. I felt that the big betrayal halfway through the novel was pretty impactful, although the final twist of the knife from his worst enemy at the end was the most heartbreaking. Everything comes to an impressive end that, while satisfying, fits within the tragic narrative that is the protagonist’s life, and honestly could the author really have left this series on a true happy ending?

The author continues to utilise the writing style and intriguing setting that made the first two Corax books and the preceding Siege trilogy so successful. While this similarity in style and substance does deal a certain dose of repetition to this third book, I still have a ton of fun reading them, and Parker makes it work so well in the context of his story. Utilisng a chronicle format from the perspective of the protagonist, Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder recounts the events of this final adventure, once again loaded with Corax’s distinctive and often satirical commentary and observations on events. The author relies heavily on twists, betrayals and deep intrigues throughout the plot, all of which are carefully pulled together, explored and savagely roasted by the protagonist as he experiences them. The continued cynicism and sarcastic take on the world that Corax witnesses and human nature in general brings in much of the book’s humour, and it is hard not to enjoy Corax’s unique thoughts. This first-person perspective is such an effective storytelling method for the series, and I love how it enhances the humour of the story while also serving as a good tool for exploring the various aspects of the semi-fantasy/alternate history world that the author is setting so many of his books in. Parker’s style really fits the complex narratives of deception, lies and betrayal that are the hallmark of the Corax series, and I am so glad that he set out this novel the way that he did.

The final Corax book was just as character focused as the previous entries, and I appreciated how Parker brought his various character arcs to a final close in Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder. Most of the focus remains on titular perspective protagonist, Saevus Corax, and it was great to see his unique story come to an end. A typical Parker protagonist, in that he is clever, funny, unrepentantly cynical and just a little bit tragic, Corax has been a great figure to follow, especially due to the elaborate schemes and complicated history that define his life. Constantly analysing the world and relying on the predictability of human nature, Corax is a dangerous person, especially when dealing with the various people trying to manipulate him as he tries to do the right thing. While he is usually able to outsmart everyone, several betrayals in this book really get under his skin, and he ends up being particularly rash and devastated at times. Despite this, he is still the clever, surprisingly honest, and often thoughtful figure that you have come to love in the previous novels, and I really appreciated seeing how his story concluded in this final Corax novel.

Aside from the protagonist, Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder features an interesting range of supporting characters, many of whom have a complex relationship with the protagonist. The most prominent of these is the manipulative force of nature, Stauracia, a con-artist who has a lot of history with Corax. Corax and Stauracia play off each other perfectly, and I always enjoy seeing their unique form of courting involving cons, lies and deceit. Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder is the book that really defines their relationship, and it was awesome to see their chemistry on full display as they try to work together for the ultimate final score. The rest of the cast is pretty fun as well, with the highlight being Corax’s sister Phantis. Parker has spent the entire trilogy hyping up Corax’s family as dangerous antagonists, and the author didn’t disappoint when it came to finally featuring one. Phantis is an incredibly selfish, vindictive and manipulative figure, and it was great to see the fantastic scenes between her and Corax, which amped up the family drama. While I was slightly disappointed we didn’t get to meet another member of Corax’s family that has been talked about a lot, Phantis was more than enough for this book, especially as she hits Corax where it really hurts in some of the darkest scenes of the book. Throw in the recurring background characters from the previous novels, including Corax’s band of scavengers, and this proves to be a great cast with a lot of fun features. However, readers are warned not to get too attached to any of them, as Parker has final book killing fever and deals with several characters in intriguing ways, especially as many are tempted by betrayal and their own sinister schemes.

In the end, Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder was yet another outstanding and deeply clever novel from K. J. Parker that I honestly cannot rave about enough. Providing its own addictive and funny narrative, while also bringing the entire Corax trilogy to a fitting end, Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder was an epic read that proves near impossible to turn away from. Parker is such an impressive author, and I look forward to seeing what he produces next, especially as he appears to have a new series starting in mid-2025.

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Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

On November 29, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery, Throwback Thursday14 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1989)

Series: Discworld – Book 8 / City Watch – Book One

Length: 13 hours and 29 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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I recently revisited one of my favourite books in Terry Pratchett’s iconic Discworld series, Guards! Guards!, and I just had to review it to showcase how much fun this series can be.

I have never made any secret of the fact that I love all things Terry Pratchett as the Discworld books were one of the formative series of my youth. A massively popular series set on a flat world carried through space on the back of a giant turtle and four elephants, the Discworld books present a range of unique fantasy adventures, backed with exceptional comedy and satire. This series is so much fun, and I honestly love every single Discworld book, having read them all multiple times, usually while laughing myself silly. Indeed, I am such a big fan of this series that I named my blog after a location in the universe. Despite my overwhelming love for this series, I haven’t reviewed many Discworld books (the exception being Moving Pictures and The Last Continent). That changes with my review of the outrageously funny Guards! Guards! which I recently enjoyed while on a road trip.

Guards! Guards! is a particularly entertaining addition to the Discworld series that I have a lot of love for. Serving as the first book in the City Watch sub-series, Guards! Guards! sees Pratchett blend his typical fantasy and comedy elements with a complex murder mystery. This book follows the ragtag city watch of this world’s main recurring city, Ankh-Morpork, as they try to solve a series of deaths caused by a monstrous murder weapon. Due to its brilliant and hilarious story, as well as the fact that it perfectly sets up the rest of the awesome City Watch books, I generally consider Guards! Guards! to be one of my absolute favourite Discworld novels, and I have featured it in various Top Ten Tuesday lists over the years.

On the fantastical and impossible Discworld no place is more dangerous, corrupt or morally unhealthy as the legendary and stinking city of Ankh-Morpork. The Disc’s largest city, Ankh-Morpork has many terrors haunting its urban depths, where life is cheap and death lurks around every corner. However, not even the hardest criminals, deadliest wizards or most manipulative politicians are prepared for an ancient and malevolent creature that is about to be unleashed upon the city.

A shadowy secret brotherhood has engineered an elaborate plan to seize power in Ankh-Morpork through use of an unlikely weapon, a dragon. Summoning a fully formed fire-breathing dragon to cause terror, the brotherhood hopes to use the resulting carnage to bring in their own puppet to control the city. However, the dragon has its own ideas about what sort of terror it wants to bring down on humanity.

With the rest of the city powerless against the dragon, it falls to the ramshackle Ankh-Morpork Night Watch and its depressed captain, Sam Vimes, to try and stop it. The only problem is the Watch are the biggest joke in the city, incapable of standing up to normal crime, never mind carnage caused by magical dragon. But with an unnaturally keen new recruit guilting them into action, and a terrifying dragon fanatic with a crush on Vimes keeping them in line, the Watch is going to try and save the day, even if no-one wants them to.

Guards! Guards! still reigns supreme as one of my top Discworld novels from the always impressive Terry Pratchett. Featuring a unique plot, loaded with an outstanding mix of mystery, humour and fun fantasy elements, Guards! Guards! brilliantly sets up one of Pratchett’s best sub-series while presenting its own epic and powerful story. An exceptional read from start to finish, this book gets a very easy five-star rating from me, and I love it so damn much.

The plot of Guards! Guards! is so damn clever and is peak Pratchett in its inventiveness and impressive characters. Presenting an entertaining and humourous noir murder investigation in a fantasy series, Guards! Guards! has a lot of moving parts to it, including some impressive character-driven story arcs, all of which come together beautifully for a particularly intense and insane story. Starting off very strong with some great introductions to various key characters, including the young and keen Carrot Ironfoundersson, who journeys to the massive and corrupt city of Ankh-Morpork to join the Night Watch, providing fresh blood, irrepressible honesty and uncontrolled enthusiasm to the small squad of rejects and failures currently staffing it. Carrot’s arrival corresponds with the start of a bold conspiracy, as a secretive mystic brotherhood plots to dethrone the Patrician and take over the city. The initial scenes of this book are extremely good, and I love how Pratchett expertly sets up the entire narrative with some hilarious moments, including the opening sequence with the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night, whose petty ideology shows you just what sort of criminal minds we are truly dealing with.

Things go in a chaotic direction as the Night Watch, led by the drunk and depressed Captain Vimes, witness a direct murder by dragon and begin their own investigation into the matter. Pratchett expertly pivots the story around from its comedic fantasy start into a complex police procedural/noir murder investigation, as the protagonists try to find out why the dragon is terrifying the city and who benefits from the apparent crime. At the same time, several great character arcs emerge, including a truly nice, if unconventional romance, new friendships, and a fun analysis of dragon mythology. There is a great twist about halfway through the book as the down-and-out Night Watch witness an interesting change to the classic dragon fantasy tale that sees a unique king take over the city.

The final third of the book is some of Pratchett’s strongest writing, as Vimes identifies the true culprit and must work to undo the damage they caused. There are some great moments in this last part of the book as Pratchett presents his own unique and hilarious take on classic fantasy tropes, including the famed million-to-one shot, the heroic rescue, and the successful defeat of a dragon. I felt that the identity of the main villain of the story was very clever, and Pratchett sets it up well with subtle clues, although if you know Pratchett’s thoughts on certain government positions it’s not too surprising. Still, the final confrontation between the protagonists and this villain is great, and being literal has never been so deadly. Pratchett leaves Guards! Guards! on a hopeful note, and it’s impossible not to come away with a smile on your face.

Pratchett was really on-point when it came to writing Guards! Guards! and I loved how perfectly it came together. As with all books in the Discworld series, Guards! Guards! features an exceptional mixture of fantasy and humour elements, as the unusual and cynical Discworld produces some unusual situations, layered in with a great plot and some fantastically complex characters. A lot of the humour is derived from classic fantasy scenarios that are taken up to 11 and shown in outrageous manners, accompanied by sarcastic comments from the characters as they witness them. For example, this book serves as an ode to the guards and watchmen from classic fantasy fiction, and there are some funny scenes when these self-aware guards realise how expendable they are in a fantasy story. However, Guards! Guards! also features a brilliant third element as Pratchett also features a compelling crime fiction read, accompanied with an addictive murder mystery.

The blend of fantasy and crime fiction elements works incredibly well, and it is highly entertaining to watch a serious investigation consider magic, suddenly appearing dragons, and the unique background setting of Ankh-Morpork. I also loved how many clever and subtle jokes Pratchett was able to weave in because of these crime fiction inclusions, and he ends up lovingly roasting so many classic tropes from police procedurals and noir detective novels. Despite having read this book many times, I still laugh like crazy at all the humourous moments in Guards! Guards!, especially as you always discover a new joke or pun you previously missed. I honestly don’t have time to list all the funny scenes in Guards! Guards!, but favourites include the various meetings of the petty and mostly incompetent Elucidated Brethren, Carrot’s naïve overreactions upon discovering crime in the city, and various musings on how to achieve a perfect, million-to-one chance. Pratchett once again expertly backs up his humour in Guards! Guards! with a series of entertaining footnotes spread throughout the book, that prove to be nearly as much fun as the main story. These brilliant footnotes contain additional jokes, sarcastic comments, or interesting expansions of the Discworld universe, and they always bounce off the main story perfectly, providing extra laughs and food for thought where necessary. I really cannot emphasise just how well this blend of genres worked with Pratchett’s unique and endearing humour, and it proves impossible not to have an exceptional time while reading this book.

As with most Discworld books, Guards! Guards! works exceedingly well as a standalone novel, and I feel that anyone wanting a laugh could easily jump in and follow the story without any issues. Due to its early position in the shared Discworld universe, you don’t have to know anything about the other entries in the overarching series to jump right in, as Pratchett goes a tad light on some of the more outrageous Discworld elements. As such, I consider Guards! Guards! to be one of the very best entry novels to new Discworld readers. It also proves to be a brilliant first book in one of Pratchett’s best sub-series, and so many key details of the subsequent City Watch books are introduced here. This includes some excellent early looks at the chaotic city of Ankh-Morpork and key recurring characters in the larger universal plot. Ankh-Morpork is a great background setting for Guards! Guards! and it was the first book completely set within the bounds of the city. I loved seeing this crazy city in even more detail, and all the fun elements set up here help to make it an epic setting. As such, this is a great book for any Discworld reader, new or old, and it’s one of my favourites for very good reason.

As with pretty much all of Pratchett’s works, the key things that made Guards! Guards! so impressive were the amazing and unique characters that were featured throughout the plot. Pratchett had a real knack for producing complex, multi-layered figures who can be both comedic and tragic at the same time, and who you couldn’t help but love. Guards! Guards! was a particularly good example of this, as Pratchett featured a range of brilliant and entertaining characters who would go on to be become major recurring figures in the Discworld canon. Indeed, Guards! Guards! is one of the most significant books for new characters, and it is frankly amazing how many exceptional major and iconic figures were introduced here. Each of these characters were so well written, and you have to love both their specific arcs in this book, as well as how they were expanded on in later works.

The most prominent character in Guards! Guards! is Captain Samuel Vimes. A cynical and damaged man whose habit of calling out social inequities has seen him assigned to the joke position as head of the Night Watch, which he deals with by drinking vast amounts of alcohol. A parody of every hard-drinking cop and private eye in classic noir fiction, Vimes starts the book with no prospects and too many dead friends. Given new purpose when the dragon appears in the city, Vimes turns his innate rebellion to a purpose and tries policing and detecting. Pratchett does an exceptional job setting up Vimes here in Guards! Guards!, and it is no wonder he goes on to be one of his top protagonists. Vimes’s depressed investigative method proves quite successful, and it was entertaining to watch Vimes attempt to solve the case while sarcastically calling out his fellow citizens’ base stupidity and selfishness. Pratchett also sets up an impressive redemption arc around Vimes, which comes about through a combination of trusted colleagues, romance, and a renewed determination to uphold the law. While he ends the book still irritated with the world, the road forward to Vimes doing bigger and better things is well established, and you really get drawn into his arc as a result.

Another impressive character is naïve and innocent City Watch recruit, Carrot Ironfoundersson. Due to his complex home situation and a late life revelation that he’s human rather than a dwarf (being six and a half feet tall wasn’t a clue to him), Carrot is sent to Anhk-Morpork with a desire to become a watchman, which he incorrectly believes is a noble calling. Thanks to his literal personality and highly moral upbringing, Carrot proves to be an anathema to the lawless folks of Anhk-Morpork, as he comes to town bringing justice, enforcing obscure laws, and actually arresting thieves: “change your ways”. A brilliant parody of ultra-righteous fantasy kings, Carrot serves as an outstanding comic relief for much of the book, especially when it comes to his wholesome interactions with the exceedingly criminal inhabitants of the city. However, beneath his comedic cover, Carrot is written as a complex figure of change, and his ability to inspire the other characters, either through guilt or determination, leads to some big moments. Pratchett did an amazing job with Carrot in Guards! Guards!, and it was fascinating to see how he evolves from his initial innocent personality, to a more clever, but still determined, character.

Aside from Vimes and Carrot, the other two watch characters are Sergeant Fred Colon and Corporal Nobby Nobbs, both of whom are excellent and solid comedic characters. The stereotypical fat sergeant and dodgy corporal, Pratchett has fun setting them up as unassailable fixtures of the Night Watch as they do the jobs nature intended for them, and I love how they play off each other. While Colon has some hilarious scenes, including his attempt at archery and his various ill-timed run-ins with the dragon, you can tell that Pratchett had a lot more fun writing Nobby. While not all his over-the-top characteristics from the series are shown in Guards! Guards!, Nobby is still a particularly entertaining figure. Between his coarse language, petty criminal mindset, and uncharacteristic foppish behaviours, every scene with Nobby is highly amusing, and I love how Pratchett expanded off clever stereotypes about lifetime corporals to create this wayward figure.

Outside the members of the City Watch, there are a fantastic array of figures who help to make Guards! Guards! a particularly enthralling story. This includes one of the few female characters in the book, Sybil Rankin, a dragon-loving heiress who ends up being Vimes’s unlikely love interest. Deliberately written as the direct opposite of a noir femme-fatale in both personality and appearance, Sybil is a force of nature, using her accumulated nobility to pull the Night Watch, especially Vimes, into her orbit. It proves impossible not to like Sybil as you watch her confidently go after Vimes or try to put the dragon to heel, and she ends up being one of the most complicated female characters that Pratchett wrote (which is saying a lot when you think of some of his other great female characters).

The other major character that I want to separately highlight is the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, Lord Havelock Vetinari. While he has appeared in previous Discworld novels (notably Sourcery), this is the first book that showcases him as a full character. Generally depicted as a Machiavellian mastermind and one of the few people capable of controlling the chaotic city, Vetinari has some great early scenes. However, it’s not until the second half of the book when you realise just how fantastic a character he is. Deposed by the false king, Vetinari initially appears to be completely powerless in the dungeons, until Vimes is thrown in with him and begins to realise that he is still in control, especially as he’s managed to cultivate a new intelligence network (procured by providing wartime strategy to magical rats), while also getting locked in a dungeon specifically designed to keep him safe. His subsequent scenes tormenting the book’s real antagonist and talking about the nature of humanity with Vimes really cement him as an impressive figure, and the seeds for his many later inclusions as the Disc’s ultimate political mastermind are well sown here.

While I know I’ve been going on a bit about characters (blame Pratchett for being such a good writer), I just need to highlight a few more figures who have a great role in Guards! Guards!. This includes the Librarian, one of Pratchett’s most iconic characters, who proves to be just as much fun outside of a wizard focused book, and it was entertaining seeing him interact with a separate group of friends. You get a great introduction to the character of Cut-My-Own-Throat Dibbler, whose mercantile tendencies are on full display here. The unusual swamp dragon Errol proves to be an unlikely pet, and his arc about finding love and his true form was particularly heartwarming. Finally, I must mention the book’s great antagonist, who fully embraces the mad tendencies that his position demands. While I won’t go into too much detail about who he is, I will say I loved seeing his various internal rants about the world, and the scenes with his incompetent henchmen were so damn funny. All these characters, plus even more hilarious figures, are instrumental to so much of Guards! Guards! brilliant charm and humour, and after being introduced to them here, it’s impossible not to follow them on their full journey.

I have had the pleasure of reading Guards! Guards! in a couple of different formats over the years, but to my mind the best way to enjoy this book, and indeed any Discworld novel, is on audiobook. The Discworld audiobooks are something very special, and I find that the unique stories, excellent humour and elaborate characters really come across when read out by a passionate narrator. With the recent re-release of various Discworld audiobooks, there are now two different unabridged versions of Guards! Guards! fans can enjoy, and I want to highlight them both here.

The first Guards! Guards! audiobook is the original version with the talented Nigel Planer, who narrated 22 of the original 23 Discworld audiobooks. Guards! Guards! is one of his best performances, and it set the scene nicely for many of his subsequent Discworld audiobooks, especially as he settled on a lot of key character voices and tones here. While it has been a little while since I’ve listened to Planer’s version of Guards! Guards!, I have enjoyed it so many times it is permanently engrained in my head (I used to grab the tape cassette version out of my local library all the time). Planer, who does all the voices himself, really captures the essence of Pratchett’s storytelling and excels at expressing the author’s unique humour through his vocal work. I also felt that his portrayal of many of the key characters was second to none, and he really brought to life all the City Watch protagonists, as well as some other long-running figures, in some impressive ways. He would revisit many of these voices in multiple subsequent performances, and it is a testament to his skill that the initial tones he came up with here, worked so well in the later books. I frankly have so much love for Planer’s original take on Guards! Guards!, which definitely still stands the test of time, and his excellent and heartfelt voice work defines many of the City Watch characters for me.

While Nigel Planers original version is perfect, current Discworld fans may be more familiar with the latest audiobook production of Guards! Guards!, which was part of a recent re-recording of all the Discworld books. These new audiobooks each feature a different famous British performer voicing the main plot, while acclaimed actors Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy have key roles in every single production. While these have been out for a little while, I only just listened to my first one . Coming in at a runtime of 13 and a half hours, which is a tad longer than the roughly 10-hour long Planer version, this Guards! Guards! audiobook was extremely fun, and it served as excellent entertainment on a recent road trip.

The new version of the Guards! Guards! audiobook is primarily voiced by British radio and television personality Jon Culshaw. Culshaw is amazing in the role, and I was deeply impressed with his take on the Guards! Guards! characters. Each unique character comes across extremely well in Culshaw’s capable hands, and I enjoyed his take on their unique characteristics and eccentric personalities. He perfectly showcased protagonist Samuel Vimes’s drunken despair and depression, while various other key members of the watch, such as the extremely keen Carrot and the more cautious Colon, are shown extremely well. I also felt that Culshaw did an incredible job with several complicated figures from the story, such as the infamous watchman Nobby Nobbs, who Culshaw gifts a gruff and weaselly voice that sounded a lot like David Bradley or Jon Pertwee. His Lord Vetinari is also amazing, and the deep and threatening tones really capture the character’s dangerous nature. Finally, I felt that his take on the main female character, Sybil Ramkin, was just perfect, and you really got the full blast of her big personality and excessive aristocratic characteristics. Many of the other side characters were also perfectly portrayed to my mind, and I must highlight the excellent way in which he disguised the voice of the main antagonist during some key secret society scenes.

Culshaw’s primary narration is well backed up by Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy in their respective roles. Serafinowicz provides the voice of Death whenever he appears in this audiobook, which works out extremely well even with Death’s relatively minor role in Guards! Guards!. Serafinowicz has an exceptional Death voice, and hearing it suddenly appear throughout Guards! Guards! is so damn epic, especially during one scene where Death is hiding amongst the soon-to-be deceased. Nighy, on the other hand, narrates the various footnotes. Nighy was a perfect choice for this, and his calm, consistent tones, echoing Peter Jones’s similar role in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio and TV editions really highlighted the subtle comedy of these footnotes. I felt that all three of these distinctive actors really vibed together in the Guards! Guards! audiobooks, and the switch between them was seamless, allowing for a particularly awesome listen. Throw in an interesting short afterword about fantasy elements by acclaimed author Ben Aaronovitch, and this proved to be a remarkable and compelling audiobook I could not get enough of. While Nigel Planer’s original narration of Guards! Guards! is always going to live in my head rent free, I felt that this new version more than lived up to the hype surrounding it, and I really appreciated the unique and powerful performances these new narrators brought to the table. Frankly both of the audiobook versions comes highly recommended by me, and it is impossible to be dissatisfied by them at all.

Whew, well in case you could guess from this massive review (it got away from me), I love Guards! Guards! and I have some very strong feelings for it. One of Terry Pratchett’s best Discworld novels, Guards! Guards! is the perfect blend of fantasy, crime fiction and humour that you could ever want, and I always get wrapped up in its elaborate story. A wildly entertaining and comedic novel from start to finish, Pratchett added so much heart to this book, and you get drawn into the impressive characters and compelling, crime fiction plot. A brilliant start to the City Watch subseries, Guards! Guards! is so damn good, and I know I will be reading it many more times in my life. I can think of no better way to emphasise just how amazing Guards! Guards! is than to mention that I used it to introduce the Discworld to my wife, who is now powering through the series on her own. So do yourself a favour and check this book out now!

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Waiting on Wednesday – Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead by K. J. Parker

On June 14, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I take a look at an upcoming fantasy novel that I am particularly excited for, the sure to be hilarious novel, Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead by acclaimed author K. J. Parker.

Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead Cover

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I am always in the mood for a fantasy novel that utilises humour and comedy to enhance the story, and to my mind few current authors manage that as well as exceptional talent K. J. Parker, a pseudonym of author Tom Holt. Parker/Holt has been delighting authors for over 35 years and his intriguing reads blend his unique sense of humour with some elaborate and well-thought fantasy or historical fiction scenarios. I have only so far had the pleasure of reading one of his trilogies, but that was more than enough to make me a massive of his.

This series was the very clever and captivating The Siege series, which includes some of the funniest books that I have ever read. Set around a siege of a massive city, all three books told a unique story of its long and deadly besiegement, that were loosely connected to each other and told from the perspective of a different unreliable narrator. The first book in the series was the very impressive Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (one of my favourite books of 2019), which saw an amoral engineer take command of the city’s defences and use a mixture of mechanisms and bluffing to keep out the enemy. This outstanding read was followed up by the extremely funny How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It (one of my favourite books of 2020). Set years after the events of the first book, this sequel followed an actor in the still besieged city tasked with impersonating a dead war hero, and who then uses his position to take over everything. Parker masterfully finished the trilogy off last year with A Practical Guide to Conquering the World (one of my favourite books of 2022). This outstanding finale saw a scribe and scholar from the city manage to use his unique array of obscure knowledge, as well as a strong understanding of basic human nature, to overthrow a nation and then the entire world in a brilliant sequence of manipulation and cleverness. I have so much love for this exceptional trilogy, and I really grew to enjoy Parker’s unique sense of subtle humour and the fantastic and entertaining stories he was able to craft using it.

Due to how much I enjoyed The Siege trilogy, I have been keen to see what cool series Parker would right next, and boy does it look like he has something very special planned for us, with his upcoming Corax trilogy. Starting in a few months’ time with Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead, this intriguing new trilogy looks to follow another complex protagonist as he finds himself stuck in a deadly situation.

Plot Synopsis:

There’s no formal training for battlefield salvage. You just have to pick things up as you go along. Swords, armor, arrows – and the bodies, of course.

Over the years, Saevus Corax has picked up a lot of things. Some of them have made him decent money, others have brought nothing but trouble. But it’s a living, and somebody has to deal with the dead.

Something else that Saevus has buried is his past. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite succeed.

I have to say that I am already really in love with this cool sounding book and I have some very high hopes for Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead. An adventure novel that follows a battlefield scavenger is going to be very intriguing, and you know that Parker will really dive into the unique elements of this trade, with fun anecdotes looking at the best and worth moments the protagonist has experienced. Having a compelling protagonist like this at the centre of the novel will ensure that Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead is going to be a very fun read and I look forward to seeing what sort of compelling and entertaining plot the author can come up with to match him. I have no doubt it is going to be something pretty damn awesome especially when combined with Parker’s brilliant humour and relatable observations about the human condition.

Based on how much I enjoyed Parker’s previous series, there is no way that I am missing this fantastic new trilogy, especially as Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead sounds so damn good. It also looks like Parker has plans to release all the books in quick succession, as the titles and covers for the rest of the Corax trilogy have already been released. Both the second book, Saevus Corax Captures the Castle, and the third book, Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder, already have 2023 release dates, and if that holds true, then hopefully we can read the entire trilogy in the space of a few months. If this is the case, I am very, very excited, as I have no doubt all three are going to be pretty exceptional. I look forward to finding out what new craziness and fun Parker has cooked up in his new trilogy, and I fully expect Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead, and possibly its two sequels, to top my best books of the year list for 2023.

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

On February 1, 2022June 14, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books12 Comments

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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The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde

On July 27, 2020April 11, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books7 Comments

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (Trade Paperback – 2 July 2020)

Series: Standalone

Length: 307 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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From the insanely creative mind of one of fiction’s cleverest authors, Jasper Fforde, comes The Constant Rabbit, an incredible comedic satire featuring human-sized anthropomorphic rabbits in an alternate version of modern-day England.

Jasper Fforde is an awesome and fantastically inventive author who has a very distinctive and enjoyable writing style. I have been a fan of Fforde’s work for years, and his Thursday Next books were a favourite series of mine when I was growing up (I should really go back and reread those). I was also lucky enough to receive a copy of his 2018 standalone novel, Early Riser, which was certainly one of the more unique and entertaining books that I read that year. While I do love Fforde’s writing, I have to admit that I was initially a little wary when I heard that his new book was going to be about rabbits as I assumed it was going to be a kids’ book. However, once I realised that it was going to be another crazy adult standalone novel, I made sure to get a copy, especially once I found out it was a satire on UK politics. I am extremely glad that I got a copy of this book as The Constant Rabbit turned out to be a truly remarkable novel with a complex and enjoyable story.

In the year 2020 there are over a million anthropomorphic rabbits living in the UK thanks to a mysterious event 55 years previously. These rabbits can walk, talk, think and have developed their own unique culture and society. While the rabbits on the whole are a polite and peaceful group, many in England, including the ruling United Kingdom Anti-Rabbit Party (UKARP), fear them and are planning to forcibly rehome them to a new Mega-Warren in Wales. Before the planned rehoming occurs, one rabbit family moves into the quiet and cosy village of Much Hemlock, much to the concern of the villagers. Convinced that this rabbit family will cost them their chance at the Best Kept Village award, the citizens of Much Hemlock attempt to force them out, but the family matriarch, Mrs Constance Rabbit, is having none of that and resolves to stay in the village.

Surprisingly, the rabbits soon find support from their neighbours, Peter Knox and his daughter, Pippa. Peter, an employer at the Rabbit Compliance Taskforce, the organisation tasked with policing and controlling the rabbit population, quickly becomes infatuated with Constance and begins to question everything that he thinks he knows about rabbits. However, with plans for the upcoming rehoming accelerating, Peter soon finds himself in the midst of a complex battle for freedom and control, and his actions will have surprising impacts on the entire future of the country.

Wow! Just wow! Now this was one hell of a fun read. Fforde has absolutely outdone himself with this latest book which proved to be an exceptional and amazingly clever piece of fiction. The Constant Rabbit is a captivating and widely entertaining novel that drags the reader in with its creativity and humour until they become enthralled with the unique story that it contains. I had an incredible time reading this book and I ended up laughing myself silly throughout it due to Fforde’s clever and distinctive style of humour. This book gets a full five stars from me and it truly was a thumping good tale.

The Constant Rabbit is told from the first-person perspective of human Peter Knox as he recounts some of the historical events he witnessed. This was a truly remarkable story that follows a mostly blameless and ordinary small-village inhabitant as he navigates a complex and controversial world of rabbits and rabbit-hating humans. This turns into quite a compelling tale about a battle for freedom, recognition and human stupidity, as the protagonist witnesses both sides of the struggle. There are some great moments of drama, excitement, action, and romance throughout the book, which come together extremely well in a compelling and entertaining manner. Fforde features some unique story elements throughout this book and introduces the reader to a series of enjoyable characters who are caught up in these crazy events. These memorable characters include Constance Rabbit, a resourceful and clever rabbit who serves as a major moving part of the plot and the protagonist’s main love interest. There is also a Lugless, an outcast rabbit who, after having his ears cut off in a ceremonial fashion, has turned against his own kind and now works for the Rabbit Compliance Taskforce, and Mr Ffoxe, an anthropomorphised fox, who serves as the book’s vicious main antagonist and the head of the taskforce. However, most of the character development is reserved for main protagonist Peter Knox, who goes through some serious redemption throughout the course of the story following some troubling events in his past. His association with his rabbit neighbours really changes him, especially once he starts to see how crooked and petty humans are in comparison, resulting in him making some surprising decisions. This is a gripping narrative and I really enjoyed all the wonderful and weird directions that the author took it.

Another fantastic aspect of The Constant Rabbit is the distinctive and intelligent sense of humour that permeates every page of this book. I personally found this novel to be deeply funny, and I ended up laughing myself silly at several awesome jokes. Much of the humour revolves around the ridiculous situations, the outrageous personalities, and the clever parodies of life in modern day England, all of which are considered normal in this version by the characters. Seeing these various events or people occur in the novel is itself entertaining, but when combined with the witty and dry observations of the protagonist, the rabbit characters or the narrator through his footnotes, it becomes an absolute riot of fun and comedy. There are some amazingly funny jokes and sequences throughout this book, although the part I laughed the hardest at had to be a farcical murder trial in which a man’s innocence or guilt was determined by whether they had brought an owl with them to the murder scene. Other great jokes included lines about the rabbits’ inability to tell humans apart (most rabbits apparently cannot tell the difference between Brian Blessed and a gorilla), fun observations about rabbits in popular culture (spoilers, the rabbits are unimpressed) and the inclusion of rabbit versions of films and books. I also had to have a laugh at the author’s description of a potential anthropomorphic event occurring at the city of Goulbourn in Australia (which is quite near to me), and all I have to say about that is I very much doubt my government could organise a secret massacre of a group of drunken wombats, much less hunt down a whistleblowing sheep. That being said, the Big Merino statue in Goulbourn does totally exist and it is the town’s defining feature (which tells you quite a lot about what life in Goulbourn must be like).

One of the things that I most like about Fforde’s books is the way that he comes up with a whole new alternate universe for each of his works. All his works are set in alternate versions of England that is specific to that series, all with a number of noticeable differences between the fictional and real worlds. The version of England that The Constant Rabbit is set in was altered by an unexplained event 55 years earlier that turned a group of rabbits (as well as some other animals) into human-sized sentient beings who have gone on to create a large society of over one million rabbits which has its own culture and ideals. This in turn has led to a much different version of the UK, with significant social and political differences as humanity tries to come up with new ways to adapt to the rabbits. This is such a fantastic and out-there concept, but it works surprisingly well as a setting for this amazing and clever story. There are so many intricate details associated with this new, rabbit inhabited England, and Fforde does an outstanding job welding together this new universe and showcasing all of its features. While several key elements of this new world were introduced right at the start of the book, many were not identified until later, when they became relevant to the plot of the story. I felt that this was a great way of presenting all the major aspects of this world, as it ensured that the reader was not overwhelmed right off the bat. Fforde also includes a number of footnotes and short, out of narrative paragraphs at the start of each chapter, to provide intriguing and often hilarious anecdotes and descriptions of parts of rabbit culture or other inclusions from this world. All the clever inclusions and distinctive variations from the real world prove to be a fascinating and entertaining part of the book and I had a wonderful time seeing what wacky and inventive things Fforde would come up with next.

Another thing that I really appreciated about this book was the way that Fforde used his overly ridiculous story and setting to successfully satirise racist politics in modern day England. Anyone even vaguely familiar with some of the political and cultural issues in the UK will really appreciate what Fforde is trying to achieve with his story, and there are some great parables throughout it. The whole ‘us vs them’ mentality surrounding the issues of rabbit rights is a clear send-up of racism and anti-immigration policies and mentalities that have infected the country. Having peaceful, hardworking and tolerant rabbits and their supporters be targeted by bigoted idiots is very relevant and you cannot help but think of real-world examples of such behaviour. The ruling UK political party, UKARP, is an obvious parody of the right-wing party UKIP, equipped with its own version of Nigel Farage. Fforde really does not pull any punches and portrays them as an incompetent, intolerant, and power-hungry political party who are determined to forcibly rehome and contain all the rabbits as their main political ideal. This book contains some terrifying, if probably accurate, depictions about how a ruling party like UKARP would act when it came to people it did not like, such as putting the ultimate anti-rabbit group (in this case anthropomorphised foxes) in charge of control and monitoring the rabbits. There are some other great elements of satire throughout this book, and English readers in particular will probably get the most out of The Constant Rabbit as a result. Overall, I thought it was a great piece of satirical fiction and I had a blast seeing the author highlight all these social issues in his own special way.

The Constant Rabbit is an outstanding and incredible novel that proves to be boundlessly entertaining and deeply funny. Jasper Fforde did an incredible job writing this novel and readers are in for an awesome and memorable read that will have them laughing for hours. This is such an impressive and inventive novel, and I am highly recommending it to anyone who is after a boundlessly entertaining read that contains a real sense of comedic fun and some excellent satirical observations.

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