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lelandbuck's review against another edition
3.0
Monty Python veteran Eric Idle takes on much of the serious, philosophical issues of comedy in the context of a rather odd, slightly Douglas Adams, space story. It is interesting, witty and full of smart little insights and one-offs, but as a whole rather messy. I would recommend it to fans of Idle and Monty Python, but not many others.
birgits_bookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
Hat mir nicht wirklich gefallen :/ und lustig würd ich es auch nicht nennen...
mehitabels's review
4.0
"Ask me the secret of comedy."
"What is the secret of--"
"Timing."
"In a perfect universe 'T.S. Eliot' would be 'toilets' backwards. But it is an imperfect universe. It is flawed. It has tears and holes and big gaps of nothing, and a strange fungus, called life, which begins to grow wherever there is water. So sadly it's only 'toilest' backwards which is not quite so much fun."
"What is the secret of--"
"Timing."
"In a perfect universe 'T.S. Eliot' would be 'toilets' backwards. But it is an imperfect universe. It is flawed. It has tears and holes and big gaps of nothing, and a strange fungus, called life, which begins to grow wherever there is water. So sadly it's only 'toilest' backwards which is not quite so much fun."
julieacf's review against another edition
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
larsinio's review against another edition
4.0
More of a 3.5 than a 4, but theres enough creativity here to warrant the bump up. I can see why a lot of readers might hate on this book - they expect the irreverence , quirkiness, and weirdness of Douglas Adams (and not actual comedy), and something to do with mars.
This book has very little to with Mars. The book has a lot to do with being a tribute to comedy in a sci-fi setting. The title itself is an homage to the long running "Road to..." series. The banter of Alex and Lewis echoes great comedy partnerships of the past and especially those originating from the Vaudeville era.
I know im speaking heresey here but, the Douglas Adams arent funny, but have an interesting plot for the most part. This book is the inverse - less interesting plot, but very funny with many actual *laugh out loud* parts.
However the comedy itself has little to do with Scifi. THe most genre-invoking aspect is Carlton's thesis on the theory of comedy intersperesed throughout the story, as told by an unreliable narrator who is slowly going crazy. The plot is reasonable enough, but theres a bit too much of it in the last act. There is a noticeable hit in the quantity of comedy here, just to turn out all the action sequences and plot points. It ultimately ends a bit abruptly.
Overall this book is a bit of a jumble, but it was enjoyable to burn through the book quickly and I always looked forward to picking it up again. A good effort from someone who isnt a scifi author.
This book has very little to with Mars. The book has a lot to do with being a tribute to comedy in a sci-fi setting. The title itself is an homage to the long running "Road to..." series. The banter of Alex and Lewis echoes great comedy partnerships of the past and especially those originating from the Vaudeville era.
I know im speaking heresey here but, the Douglas Adams arent funny, but have an interesting plot for the most part. This book is the inverse - less interesting plot, but very funny with many actual *laugh out loud* parts.
However the comedy itself has little to do with Scifi. THe most genre-invoking aspect is Carlton's thesis on the theory of comedy intersperesed throughout the story, as told by an unreliable narrator who is slowly going crazy. The plot is reasonable enough, but theres a bit too much of it in the last act. There is a noticeable hit in the quantity of comedy here, just to turn out all the action sequences and plot points. It ultimately ends a bit abruptly.
Overall this book is a bit of a jumble, but it was enjoyable to burn through the book quickly and I always looked forward to picking it up again. A good effort from someone who isnt a scifi author.
elysareadsitall's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a lot of fun. There's a robot writing a theory of comedy, a comedy duo who gets involved in a terrorist plot by accident, and a narrator who keeps breaking into the story to rant about his ex-girlfriend. The story moves quickly and is exciting and funny. It has hints of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Since it's a ridiculous space romp, it's become one of my favorite reads of the year.
brynnnn's review against another edition
2.0
Look, I love Monty Python just as much as the next reasonable person but you're much better off just reading some Douglas Adams instead.
missnicelady's review against another edition
1.0
The robot's name is Carlton. I had to pick it up.
Actual review (9/23/10): Just...no. I was expecting Douglas Adams-style light sci-fi and humor, but Idle's tone is all over the place here. There's a robot writing a dissertation on comedy, and a bunch of sub-Catskills comedians, and Idle's own theories about comedy (which seem borrowed and not terribly insightful), and Idle's theories about women (which are kind of appalling*), but then also murders, conspiracies, and dog defenestration. And that's just in the first 100 pages, which is as far as I got before giving up. Life is too short for dull books.
*Idle states in the book that women aren't funny because they can't bear to be laughed at. I think what's probably closer to the truth is that men don't think women are funny because MEN can't bear to be laughed at. Not to generalize, of course, but it's true, right? Also, how could anyone who worked with Carol Cleveland for decades not think women are funny? Dude has issues.
Actual review (9/23/10): Just...no. I was expecting Douglas Adams-style light sci-fi and humor, but Idle's tone is all over the place here. There's a robot writing a dissertation on comedy, and a bunch of sub-Catskills comedians, and Idle's own theories about comedy (which seem borrowed and not terribly insightful), and Idle's theories about women (which are kind of appalling*), but then also murders, conspiracies, and dog defenestration. And that's just in the first 100 pages, which is as far as I got before giving up. Life is too short for dull books.
*Idle states in the book that women aren't funny because they can't bear to be laughed at. I think what's probably closer to the truth is that men don't think women are funny because MEN can't bear to be laughed at. Not to generalize, of course, but it's true, right? Also, how could anyone who worked with Carol Cleveland for decades not think women are funny? Dude has issues.
theoclarke's review
2.0
On LibraryThing I wrote: 'The theory of comedy is intriguing. There are funny jokes. It would even be possible to write a funny book about the theory of comedy. Wrapping this in a space age murder mystery and conspiracy thriller is just too much, however. Perhaps it is possible but the mixture does not succeed here.'
corvinus's review
3.0
Not as funny as I expected, still managed a few chuckles. Entertaining in bits. Don't expect too much.