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Old 03-03-2013, 06:54 AM   #31
Rev. Bob
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Tom Holt, Jasper Fforde

Douglas Adams is widely regarded as having been THE writer for comedic SF, on the strength of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its sequels. No big surprise there, as he captures that sort of "logical surrealism" that makes Monty Python so fun. Ask just about any SF reader, and they've at least heard of him.

What I don't get is why Tom Holt hasn't made the same jump; almost nobody I've met has heard of him, unless it's from me - yet he's published over two dozen books that are very "Adamsesque," and his latest book, Doughnut, just came out.

The bulk of Holt's work is modern-day fantasy, usually in the form of follow-ups to or reinterpretations of classic myths and legends. Expecting Someone Taller is a sequel to the Ring Cycle. Flying Dutch examines why the captain of the Flying Dutchman is of utmost importance to the stability of the global economy. Only Human is a story about Jesus Christ's younger and also-divine brother, Kevin. Here Comes the Sun shows what can happen when one skimps on maintenance for the (mechanical) sun. Yes, they're as brilliantly insane as they sound.

Two important notes, though. First, he's written some "historical fiction" that is neither funny nor surreal; these have more traditional covers than the "stick figure" or "simple/cartoon" covers of his funny stuff. Second, The Portable Door was the first of seven (maybe eight, as I don't know about Doughnut yet) in a series, where the other books are independent.

Jasper Fforde is likewise British and quirky, but more serious. His "Thursday Next" books take place in a world where authors are the role models that athletes are today, going to a show means you might be one of the lucky few who gets to play a role, and - by the way - it's possible to enter the Bookworld and affect the plot, especially if you've got the original manuscript. The "Nursery Crimes" books are a spinoff series, and "Shades of Grey" is a bizarre tale of a world where social status is determined by what colors you're able to see.

Both are well worth reading, if you like odd British writers.
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