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Summary: HAHAHAHA
Review: This is a laugh out loud book. Even if I wasn't laughing out loud, I at least maintained a smile throughout this book. So, if you want a witty, hilarious read, this is the book.
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Summary: What Can I Possibly Say!
Review: This is by far one of the most witty, intelligent, non-standard fantasy book that I have read in a long, long while! What Can I Possibly Say? WOW! Peter David - YOU ARE THE MAN! Apropos, not the true hero, nor the reluctant or unitentional hero, is the main focus of this book. Apropos turns everything about the standard hero on its head, what other books have tried to accomplish and failed. Apropos is a scoundrel, a rogue, a coward, an unrepentant, selfish, self-centered you-know-what. In short, everything you loathe and hate in a character. Everything you love to despise! Everything that David Eddings' character Althalus (Redemption of Althalus), strove to be but miserably failed at.Apropos' moments of heroism are selfish and self motivated. Lying comes as naturally to him as breathing. A firm believer in "every man for himself" and "no good deed goes unpunished", he is everything a cowardly villian should be - but he's not! With him the lines of hero and villian are truly blurred, as are cowardice and bravery, truth and lies, self and selflessness (although with this last quality its more self). I won't spoil the book for you by pointing out specific actions on his part. But if you are the type of person who enjoys, wit, humor, sarcasm, adventure, horror, betrayal, redemption, despair, defeat, victory, and a host of other emotions and actions, then this is the book for you. Apropos is the main charcter, but by no means the only one of interest. There is also the Princess Entipy, who turns the standard princess-in-distress, pure-as-a-dove, euphemism on its head. Try psychotic-do-not-turn-your-back-on and you would be closer to the truth. There is also Tacit, the hero's hero, the righteous, deserving, pure-of-heart character who MUST triumph at the end. Normally I would pull for such a character and cry foul at his unjust treatment, but for some reason (Apropos) I couldn't do it. For a recently (to me) discovered author, Peter David has been catapulted to my "A" list of fantasy authors. To say that I am eagerly awaiting getting my hands on "The Woad To Wuin" is an understatement. Do yourself a favor and get this book. The only regret you'll have is that the book ends!
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Summary: Infectious fun within is certainly apropos!
Review: To comic book fans, Peter David is the writer who makes The Incredible Hulk incredible and puts the super in Supergirl. To Star Trek fans, David is known as the co-creator of the New Frontier series and author of the New York Times best-seller, "Imzadi". But this book has NOTHING to do with any of this, for it's Mr. David's first original novel in several years. It's also about the age of chivalry, and a cowardly young man named Apropos, the bastard son of a tavern wench and an unknown father, who may or may not be of royal blood. Born with a deformed leg and a mischieveous attitude cynically weened on the pompous airs of knights and royalty, Apropos' presumed lowly existence suddenly gains purpose when his mother is murdered one night while 'servicing' a mysterious customer. Shortly afterward, he journeys to the king's palace, where in seeking vengence, Apropos inadvertently becomes squire to the most inept knight in the kingdom, the aging Sir Umbrage of the Flaming Nether Regions. However, Apropos' sudden ascent to notariety does not sit well among other aspirers of noble station. But a scandalous incident soon moves Apropos closer towards an unintended destiny that his mother seemed to have foretold. Armed with irreverent puns and a plethoria of memorable characters, this tale not only skewers the divisions of class structures, but the idea that one's greatness is hereditary. Many of the skirmishes between Apropos, his acquaintances and his adversaries center around preconceived public myth versus one's personal desires and responsibilities. And as Apropos weasels through each situation, one senses his growing unease at possibly becoming what he had loathed. There's an inner rivalry and distrust towards heroic idealism, as if aspiring to selflessness is the stuff of idiots and lunatics. Often juxtiposing the humorous with the horrific, Apropos' adventures meet with surprising twists of fate, leaving one breathless over what might come next. The tale is told in a breezy first person narrative, with relatively few lapses into self-indulgence. Mr. David's penchant for strong female characterization is also in fine form here, with memorable portrayals of mothers, wives, and the amorously-minded. And the title character of Apropos is a magnificent rascal, who compares favorably to like-minded compatriots Flashman or Blackadder. SIR APROPOS OF NOTHING is a rare treat of satire for those who always thought that the proclaimed feats of the knights of old seemed a bit greasy.
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