Release Date: 02/06/11
SYNOPSIS:
Polly, an average, completely ordinary property lawyer, is convinced she's losing her mind. Someone keeps drinking her coffee. And talking to her clients. And doing her job. And when she goes to the dry cleaner's to pick up her dress for the party, it's not there. Not the dress - the dry cleaner's. And then there are the chickens who think they are people. Something strange is definitely going on - and it's going to take more than a magical ring to sort it out.
REVIEW:
For me Tom Holt is one of those authors who can, like Robert Rankin, take the bizarre and unusual, add a good dollop of the weird, a dash of decent prose and then add a huge spoonful of humour and create a wonderful mayonnaise title that works well for everyone. Unfortunately, like any mayonnaise, it doesn’t matter how much time or love you put into it if the damn thing splits you’ve got to start from scratch.
For me this title was one that had huge potential, it blended realities, broke its way through the walls holding it back and literally blew the whole thing apart and that’s where it lost me. I had up until that point been really enjoying this book, the characters were vivid, the tone light and above all else I love the author’s humour, but as things ended up more complex, the less I started to follow everything to the full and as such began to care less and less about the characters. It’s a great shame when that happens as finishing a book or absorbing what’s happening can become more than a chore and can leave you thinking why the hell do I bother.
That said it does have some saving moments but my favourite series is going to remain the JWW series featuring Paul Carpenter. Although I still want a book with Dennis’ Mum and the lead character.
BOOK BLURB:
The year is 2017. Lucy Pavlov is the CEO of PavSoft Industries, home of a revolutionary operating system that every computer in the world runs on. Her personal wealth is immeasurable, her intelligence is unfathomable, and she’s been voted ‘Most Beautiful Woman’ for three years running. To put it simply – she has it all.
One thing, however, is not quite right in Lucy’s life. She doesn’t realize it yet, but she is in fact a bomb.
And not just any old bomb. Lucy is a very big, and very smart bomb, and her mission is to blow up the planet known as Earth.
REVIEW:
As a reader I love a tale that brings something a little different to the readers imagination, especially when a certain sense of humour is added. In this vein there are few who usually please as much as Tom Holt. His humour is to the point, pretty spot on and quite dry which works sometimes and badly misfires at others. Within this offering Tom is pretty much at the top of his game as the reader is presented with an offering where, if you’d think about the scenario, would be pretty much what you’d expect when you took Murphy’s Law into account.
Funny, beautifully written but above all a tale that I had a hell of a time putting down until I’d turned the final page. A good bit of fun.
BOOK BLURB:
There are all kinds of products. The good ones. The bad ones. The ones that stay in the garage mouldering for years until your garden gnome makes a home out of them. Most are harmless if handled properly, even if they do contain traces of peanuts. But some are not. Not the ones that contain traces of magic. Chris Popham wasn't paying enough attention when he talked to his SatNav. Sure, she gave him directions, never backtalked him, and always led him to his next spot on the map with perfect accuracy. She was the best thing in his life. So was it really his fault that he didn't start paying attention when she talked to him? In his defence, that was her job. But when 'Take the next right' turned into 'Excuse me,' that was when the real trouble started. Because sometimes a SatNav isn't a SatNav. Sometimes it's an imprisoned soul trapped inside a metal box that will do anything it can to get free. And some products you just can't return.
REVIEW:
The latest novel from Tom Holt sees a new branch of JWW in this offering that really does keep on ticking the boxes for the reader. Whilst occasionally his writing loses it a bit on subsequent novels featuring the same characters each crisp new adventure really will tick the readers boxes. You want levity? Yep. You want a twisted plot? Yep. You want a believable character who’s about as clued in as you and I? Yep. Definitely a lot of fun and continues the success of others in the series. If you haven’t read The Portable Door then make that your must purchase for next week. You’ll laugh, you’ll route for the hero and above all you’ll become a fan of Tom’s work.
BOOK BLURB:
It touches all our lives; our triumphs and tragedies, our proudest achievements, our most traumatic disasters. Alloyed of love and fear, death and fire and the inscrutable acts of the gods, insurance is indeed the force that binds the universe together. Hardly surprising, therefore, that Frank Carpenter, one of the foremost magical practitioners of our age, felt himself irresistibly drawn to it. Until, that is, he met Jane, a high-flying corporate heroine with an annoying habit of falling out of trees and getting killed. Repeatedly. It's not long before Frank and Jane find themselves face to face with the greatest enigma of our times: When is a door not a door? When it's a mousetrap.
REVIEW:
If there’s a guy in the market who has done for the Urban fantasy what Terry Prachett has for Fantasy then its Tom Holt, his writing is not only humerous but also full of great characters that you can’t help but fall in love with. Each has their own quirks and goals along with a vulnerability that really does appeal to the reader. Its good fun, its an adventure on its own and Tom is always top of my reading pile when he lands as the pure escapism within just keeps you glued to the last page.
Release Date: 02/06/11
