Fool on the Hill

Rating:
Summary: Promise later fulfilled
Review: This first novel of Mr. Ruff's clearly shows the potential he would later fulfill in his second novel, "Sewer, Gas, & Electric". "Fool on the Hill"s greatest strength is its compelling characters. These were people (and animals and sprites) I genuinely enjoyed reading about, from the secret pothead/concerned father Walter Smith to the aptly-titled Bohemian Minister of Bad Taste, Z.Z. Top. If this book had a weakness, it was in the predictability of its plot. Despite an interweaving of storylines as diverse as Luther the dog's search for Heaven and the battle of the Sprites against the mutant Rats, any well-read follower of fantasy could see where all the roads would lead from pages away. And yet, in spite of the plot's obvious turns, "Fool on the Hill" is a marvelously good read. Where else do references from Greek mythology and Shakespeare intertwine seamlessly with Tolkien and Richard Adams but in the writing of Matt Ruff?

Rating:
Summary: You don't have to be a Cornellian.
Review: You don't have to be a Cornellian to enjoy this book, although it does help. Ruff has a unique writing voice that he uses to give life to a band of characters that is quite divergent from your average band of heroes and villains. Without falling into the traps of many modern fairytales (such as pointless angst and overwrought raw emotion), he manages to create an intriguing tale based in world that is real but... a little off. You get it all in this book; love, violence, drink recipes, and references to obscure works of modern fiction. And best of all, both Ithaca and Cornell really exist, so if you have never been there, you can visit and see how the reality matches the vivid picture that Ruff draws in your mind.