Paul Nylund Nylund itibaren Straid, Ballyclare, Newtownabbey BT39 9WF, UK
Easy read, interesting though.
PERSONAL REVIEW: I was pretty unimpressed...but I think it's just not my type of book. I never got into Douglas Adams or Monty Python either. I wonder if a lot of the humor just went right over my head...it was too dry, or to wet, or something...anyhow, although I could see where the humor was, I just wasn't finding it funny. Additionally, story alone was pretty dull stuff. A man buys a kingdom...it's not what he expected...he goes from person to person asking for help and then it all ties nicely together in the end. A simplistic conclusion for a simple book. I expected more, but I suppose I should have looked at the juvenile males who were exhorting it's virtues and aligned my expectation with their idea of 'good' instead of mine. That's one of the dangers of working in a middle school, I guess. MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARIAN REVIEW: Boys in my library love this book, so I had to read it. Anything that gets boys reading gets a star bump just for having been written. Although I didn't enjoy the humor, a lot of my students have told me that they laughed out loud at this book. I think I'll have to ask them which parts those were. :) It's a long book for most kids, so I am continually impressed that they finish it. It has a main character that is not a teen - so what do they find to connect with? I guess it's just the adventure. This book reads like a D&D module: simple plot, tightly tied band of characters, a strange mix of creatures...what's not to love if you're a boy?