Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Genre:
Comedic Fiction/ Fantasy/ Parody
Approximate
word count: Words: 25-30,000
words
Availability
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Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
“When he was a child, Bob Craton's teachers often remarked
(not always favorably) about his day-dreaming. He spent much of his time lost
in his own imagination, often creating elaborate elementary school tall-tales,
and the habit never went away as he grew up.
At age fifty-seven, he retired early (a euphemism for 'got
laid off') and had time to put his tales on 'paper' (an ancient product now
replaced by digital electronics)... Many
people think he is bonkers for believing that fictional characters talk to him,
but he calls it creativity and remains unrepentant.”
Description:
In this novella a bitchy faery Princess recruits a motley crew to
assist her on a journey back home to Faëoria. A famous warrior-hero Aretino
Searle, who is now a drunk; an unlucky wizard, they call Pinkie; and a clever
thief named Mausi (not pronounced mousy) who is on the lam. This small troupe
is joined by a stable boy, who turns out to be an educated goblin named George,
and a cowardly ogre named Loudt (not pronounced Lout).
“Along the way they tame a dragon,
steal a Magic Sword, evade Imperial soldiers, fight demons, fire their author
and banish a pompous narrator. Being a bitchy little brat, she doesn't tell
them what . . .uh oh, she's looking at me. Did I mention that her icy blue eyes
can freeze a man's bloo . . . ”
Appraisal:
This is a unique fun story. When the narrator and the author started
bickering at each other and arguing with the characters I had to laugh. Of
course then the editor had to get his two cents in.. The characters don't mind
telling any of them to get off their backs and let them get on with their
scripts. Until they reached the point where they threw the scripts out and
proceeded the way they thought best.
Each of these off-beat characters are well developed and
had their own endearing qualities. Well except for the Princess, there wasn't
much about her that was endearing but she was entertaining. My two favorites
were George, he was a bit of a nerd (who doesn't love nerds?) and Loudt, the kind-hearted
ogre. They had a true friendship that will last forever and I enjoyed their
dialogue. I also think Mr. Craton did a great job handling the other
character's banter, they all played off each other well.
The plot was creative and had a good pace. There was
action, adventure, and drama galore as this small band of misfits traveled the
countryside and mountain terrain. My only complaint is there was not a climatic
ending, perhaps if Queen Mab and the Princess had matched wits at the end I
would have felt more satisfied. Coming back home is never as easy as this
homecoming was. Someone should have had to eat crow, don't you think? Then
perhaps the others could have headed back home feeling like the Princess got
her just desserts. Or am I just being mean and showing my true colors?
Bob Craton makes many references to other epic fantasies, fairy
tales, pop-culture, and famous works of literature throughout the story. There
were few stones left unturned and I found it very entertaining. I have read
very few satirical parodies and I found this one a nice change of pace.
FYI:
The author warns at the beginning that “this text contains Naughty
Words not suitable for children, puppies, and other gentle beings.” While there was a lot of swearing there were
no F-bombs dropped at all.
Format/Typo
Issues:
I only found a small number of proofing errors. Most were minor,
except near the end Loudt was mistakenly called George.
Rating:
**** Four stars
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