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confessions_of_a_bookaholic's review against another edition
4.0
Paul Carpenter knows he doesn't really want the promotion J.W. Wells and Co have given him, but he also knows he can't turn it down. All he can do is hope that he is so horribly bad at pest control that they reassign him quickly. The firm seem to think he is a born hero though, and convincing them otherwise proves easier said than done.
I'm a big fan of Tom Holt, but for some reason I always find his books hard to review. Probably because they're a bit nutty and unconventional, which is part of the fun.
This is book 2 in the J.W. Wells and co. series, and follows on very closely from the first book. Being totally honest I enjoyed this one quite a lot more. The first book is great for setting up the world and giving us an idea of how J.W. Wells and co. operate, whereas this one takes the world and characters we already know and builds on them. In terms of the plot it wouldn't matter if you hadn't read book 1, but it does give you a good background.
I love how Holt takes things we see in our everyday life and really pushes them to the extremes. This book takes a good look at the way businesses operate, and where their priorities lie. Thst might make it sound boring, but trust me it's anything but! Once you throw in goblins, fey, a bit of magic and a few dragons amongst other things then chaos is guaranteed to follow.
Paul is the sort of character that would normally really irritate me - he's totally hapless and a complete wet blanket, but for some reason it works here and I actually quite like him. I think because despite everything he refuses to give up on what he feels is right.
Overall this was a really enjoyable read. Tom Holt is becoming one of my favourite authors. He has a dark and very satirical sense of humour, and it really shows in these books.
I'm a big fan of Tom Holt, but for some reason I always find his books hard to review. Probably because they're a bit nutty and unconventional, which is part of the fun.
This is book 2 in the J.W. Wells and co. series, and follows on very closely from the first book. Being totally honest I enjoyed this one quite a lot more. The first book is great for setting up the world and giving us an idea of how J.W. Wells and co. operate, whereas this one takes the world and characters we already know and builds on them. In terms of the plot it wouldn't matter if you hadn't read book 1, but it does give you a good background.
I love how Holt takes things we see in our everyday life and really pushes them to the extremes. This book takes a good look at the way businesses operate, and where their priorities lie. Thst might make it sound boring, but trust me it's anything but! Once you throw in goblins, fey, a bit of magic and a few dragons amongst other things then chaos is guaranteed to follow.
Paul is the sort of character that would normally really irritate me - he's totally hapless and a complete wet blanket, but for some reason it works here and I actually quite like him. I think because despite everything he refuses to give up on what he feels is right.
Overall this was a really enjoyable read. Tom Holt is becoming one of my favourite authors. He has a dark and very satirical sense of humour, and it really shows in these books.
jmhobbs's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent follow up. I was a bit irked at the beginning of the book because it seemed like the main character was going to do some stupid things that would make me hate him, but it turned a corner fast and he redeemed himself. Bit of a sad ending, but obviously a set up for another book.
vickyc94's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
unsquare's review against another edition
4.0
Another entertaining book by Tom Holt, although I got a bit bogged down in the middle. This is the middle book in a trilogy, and wasn't quite as entertaining as the first one, but was still worth my time. I'll have to track down the third book to get a resolution to the story, although the reviews on amazon.com seem to think #3 isn't as good. So far Tom Holt seems like a hit-and-miss author. The other two books I've read by him, Flying Dutch and Faust Among Equals, were alternately entertaining and terribly mediocre, in that order. However, something made me pick up "The Portable Door", and I'm glad I did. Holt seems to do better with a nebbishy Englishman for a protagonist, as opposed to Faust or the captain of The Flying Dutchman. I'm imagining that it's a sort of "write what you know" phenomenon. Anyways, I've got two other (non JW Wells trilogy) books by Holt waiting in the wings, so it'll be interesting to see how they turn out. He's just entertaining enough that I'll keep checking out his other writing, but he's no Terry Pratchett, not by a long shot.
chrudos's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
thesgtrekkiereads's review against another edition
4.0
I actually loved this more than the first. couldn't put it down. can't wait to start the next..Maybe I'll eat some custard whilst I'm at it
thestoryofts's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
theatlantean's review
4.0
Enjoyed this one. Better than the first. Some great character writing, too. Ricky and Benny, being my favourites. Slightly annoying that so much remains unanswered for so long, and one or two loose ends are bothering me, but otherwise, exciting and fun.
sarah42783's review
4.0
I'm sorry but I can't review this book. Not that I don't want to or that I'm too lazy to bother, it's just that the whole thing is so all over the place you'd have to be as insane as Tom Holt to try and review it. What? You think "all over the place" = bad book? Well, you've obviously never read anything by Tom Holt before.
Yes, sanity is greatly overrated in Tom Holt's world. I still haven't decided if the guy should be locked in an insane asylum for life or given a lifetime residency at Mensa. Because you have to be either supremely talented or totally deranged to write stuff like this. Then again, there might be another explanation: Tom Holt has a Crazy Magic Box. He throws every single wacky idea floating around his little head in the box, says a few magic words and tada! A coherent story is automatically sent to his publisher. Yep, that must be it. And I'm pretty sure that without the help of the Crazy Magic Box most readers would probably look like this after going through one of Holt's books:
Take this story for example. It's about a guy called Paul Carpenter. Just your regular type of guy. He works as a clerk for J.W. Wells & Co. You know, your typical, boring, 9 to 5 job. Nothing special, right? Right. Nothing special except that his bosses are magical practitioners. The kind that turn their employees into staplers and photocopiers when they misbehave. Well, they do that on good days, you don't want to know what happens on bad days. Then again, every day seems to be a bad day for Paul lately. Especially since he started interning in the Pest Control department. I mean, no one bothered to tell him he was now in the Hero business. And that he'd be expected to oversee wyvern regulations. But I have to admit Paul proved quite resourceful in that particular matter. Hey, who would have thought the bum was mightier than the sword? Not you, I bet. Well let me tell you, bums are as underrated as insanity.
Working for JWW has its perks too. Look at Paul here: he has a temperamental company car named Monika. Monika is German (obviously) and speaks English with a terrible accent but she's a pretty decent GPS. And likes playing hangman. And she can read thoughts, too. Pretty nifty, huh? Yes, it is. Except when Monika breaks down in the middle of the countryside. Good thing there are car repair shops managed bycreepy lovely 12-year-olds. How else would you make it back to the office before 5pm? And believe me, you don't want to be at the office after 5pm. I mean, the goblin cleaning crew is quite freaky efficient but doesn't really see sanitation the way us poor humans do.
Apart from that, working at JWW is pretty cool, I don't know why Paul keepsfreaking out complaining. His job is all kinds of awesome: he has a portable door in his pocket, gets to visit the Bank of the Dead and enters filling cabinets with spiral stone staircases. He also gets to use pens, screwdrivers, chalks and watches as preemptive weapons. The office receptionist even has the hots for him! Too bad she's kind of pregnant. And his boss' mother. And a nymphomaniac. And a goblin. But hey, you can't have everything, can you? Besides, she's much friendlier than that evil, obnoxious bicycle with a Moses complex that keeps insulting people and issuing death threats.
She's also a tinsy bit less disturbing than Countess Judy di Castel'Bianco, the head of the Glamour department. Everyone in the office knows she's a truly nasty piece of work that shouldn't be trusted any further than you can sneeze her through a blocked nostril. So really, things could be worse. Paul could get mixed up in a Fey civil war or something. Oh, wait, he kind of did. But that's to be expected when you work for a bunch of crazy goblins, small giants and regular-size dwarves. It's pretty much part of the job description. Like being chased by hundreds of malicious, grinning children (think Stephen King moonlighting as script editor for The Brady Bunch). Or crossing the path of Grendel's freaky aunt. You know same old, same old, just another day at the office.
This is silly. This is crazy. This is funny. This is all over the place. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Tom Holt. 95% of the people on this planet consider Terry Pratchett their comic fantasy god. Mine is Tom Holt. His books can be hit or miss but the wacky never disappoints. The guy's got insane stuff for every taste:
► You like Norse mythology? Read [b:Valhalla|704273|Valhalla|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1415589742s/704273.jpg|2179268].
► You like pacts with the devil? Read [b:Faust Among Equals|1125863|Faust Among Equals|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1181199489s/1125863.jpg|576399].
► Interested in the Holy Grail? Read [b:Grailblazers|1404044|Grailblazers|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1183335429s/1404044.jpg|1394267].
► You like dragons and patron saints? Read [b:Paint Your Dragon|1125889|Paint Your Dragon|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1334334010s/1125889.jpg|2504736].
► You like talking bombs, doom and destruction? Read [b:Blonde Bombshell|7302394|Blonde Bombshell|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344269323s/7302394.jpg|8684965].
► Interested in ghostly adventures at sea? Read [b:Flying Dutch|722086|Flying Dutch|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1301626461s/722086.jpg|708324].
► You like giants and the dark ages? Read [b:Expecting Someone Taller|1034167|Expecting Someone Taller|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1293580400s/1034167.jpg|1020490].
And the moral of this review is: you want nutty? You want senseless? You want weird? You want totally absurd and completely irrational? Read Tom Holt.
Yes, sanity is greatly overrated in Tom Holt's world. I still haven't decided if the guy should be locked in an insane asylum for life or given a lifetime residency at Mensa. Because you have to be either supremely talented or totally deranged to write stuff like this. Then again, there might be another explanation: Tom Holt has a Crazy Magic Box. He throws every single wacky idea floating around his little head in the box, says a few magic words and tada! A coherent story is automatically sent to his publisher. Yep, that must be it. And I'm pretty sure that without the help of the Crazy Magic Box most readers would probably look like this after going through one of Holt's books:
Take this story for example. It's about a guy called Paul Carpenter. Just your regular type of guy. He works as a clerk for J.W. Wells & Co. You know, your typical, boring, 9 to 5 job. Nothing special, right? Right. Nothing special except that his bosses are magical practitioners. The kind that turn their employees into staplers and photocopiers when they misbehave. Well, they do that on good days, you don't want to know what happens on bad days. Then again, every day seems to be a bad day for Paul lately. Especially since he started interning in the Pest Control department. I mean, no one bothered to tell him he was now in the Hero business. And that he'd be expected to oversee wyvern regulations. But I have to admit Paul proved quite resourceful in that particular matter. Hey, who would have thought the bum was mightier than the sword? Not you, I bet. Well let me tell you, bums are as underrated as insanity.
Working for JWW has its perks too. Look at Paul here: he has a temperamental company car named Monika. Monika is German (obviously) and speaks English with a terrible accent but she's a pretty decent GPS. And likes playing hangman. And she can read thoughts, too. Pretty nifty, huh? Yes, it is. Except when Monika breaks down in the middle of the countryside. Good thing there are car repair shops managed by
Apart from that, working at JWW is pretty cool, I don't know why Paul keeps
She's also a tinsy bit less disturbing than Countess Judy di Castel'Bianco, the head of the Glamour department. Everyone in the office knows she's a truly nasty piece of work that shouldn't be trusted any further than you can sneeze her through a blocked nostril. So really, things could be worse. Paul could get mixed up in a Fey civil war or something. Oh, wait, he kind of did. But that's to be expected when you work for a bunch of crazy goblins, small giants and regular-size dwarves. It's pretty much part of the job description. Like being chased by hundreds of malicious, grinning children (think Stephen King moonlighting as script editor for The Brady Bunch). Or crossing the path of Grendel's freaky aunt. You know same old, same old, just another day at the office.
This is silly. This is crazy. This is funny. This is all over the place. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Tom Holt. 95% of the people on this planet consider Terry Pratchett their comic fantasy god. Mine is Tom Holt. His books can be hit or miss but the wacky never disappoints. The guy's got insane stuff for every taste:
► You like Norse mythology? Read [b:Valhalla|704273|Valhalla|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1415589742s/704273.jpg|2179268].
► You like pacts with the devil? Read [b:Faust Among Equals|1125863|Faust Among Equals|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1181199489s/1125863.jpg|576399].
► Interested in the Holy Grail? Read [b:Grailblazers|1404044|Grailblazers|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1183335429s/1404044.jpg|1394267].
► You like dragons and patron saints? Read [b:Paint Your Dragon|1125889|Paint Your Dragon|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1334334010s/1125889.jpg|2504736].
► You like talking bombs, doom and destruction? Read [b:Blonde Bombshell|7302394|Blonde Bombshell|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344269323s/7302394.jpg|8684965].
► Interested in ghostly adventures at sea? Read [b:Flying Dutch|722086|Flying Dutch|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1301626461s/722086.jpg|708324].
► You like giants and the dark ages? Read [b:Expecting Someone Taller|1034167|Expecting Someone Taller|Tom Holt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1293580400s/1034167.jpg|1020490].
And the moral of this review is: you want nutty? You want senseless? You want weird? You want totally absurd and completely irrational? Read Tom Holt.