Rating: 
Summary: And you thought Nuclear waste was bad?
Review: The book is magic-as-technology. Instead of world wars, there are "sorcerous wars". Instead of nuclear waste, there is magical waste, and that goes in the toxic spell dump. Lots of stuff goes into the toxic spell dump. Of course, magic requires magicians. Gods require priests. Priestly politics can be just as bad as real life politics. Gods fight gods. Sometimes they do it in your backyard. I think you get the idea. The hero fixes such a problem, in the midst of a great deal of irreverent, droll humor that makes about 1 laugh/page. My only favorite Turtledove book. He should write more of this kind of book. He should also be commended for his census-taking monastery... (deleted spoiler) brothers, indeedy! (har!)
Rating: 
Summary: A really deep look into a modern magical world
Review: The story is about our modern, 20th-century world... if magic worked. Magical creatures communicate through the ether, Neptune maintains the oceans, Angles City has a choking lint problem from the flying carpets, the government spooks are real spooks, and tiny orange-sucking vampires are hurting the fruit crops. This story is a great fantasy/detective story as Turtledove makes today's luxuries and technologies work through magic
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining
Review: This is a very inventive book. The broad outlines of the plot are pretty predictable, but the details are not, and they are funny. The explanation of how devices based on technology would work if they were "powered" by imps, sylphs and demons of various types are eye-opening. They are also a commentary on "mechanical" society. This book may be funnier for people well acquainted with the L.A. area, but most other people will pick up the references.
Rating:
Summary: Great entertainment!!
Review: This is not one of those tales that's compelling enough to keep you up at night, but it's worth finishing. Full of humor and lots of really lame puns, you might get a chuckle or two out of it.
Rating: 
Summary: Cute, light reading
Review: This is not one of those tales that's compelling enough to keep you up at night, but it's worth finishing. Full of humor and lots of really lame puns, you might get a chuckle or two out of it.
Rating:
Summary: Light but fun reading; I've re-read it many times
Review: This is one of the first Turtledove books I read, and I consider it one of his best. The premise of an essentially modern world built out of fantastic components is played out to the hilt, and, while the jokes are funny and worth a second or third re-reading just to make sure you've caught them all, it still has a solid story underneath with characters that I found engaging and sympathetic. For years since I've kept this on my bedside table in case I had trouble sleeping and wanted some light, but quality entretainment and humour to help me to sleep. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Light but fun reading; I've re-read it many times
Review: This is one of the first Turtledove books I read, and I consider it one of his best. The premise of an essentially modern world built out of fantastic components is played out to the hilt, and, while the jokes are funny and worth a second or third re-reading just to make sure you've caught them all, it still has a solid story underneath with characters that I found engaging and sympathetic. For years since I've kept this on my bedside table in case I had trouble sleeping and wanted some light, but quality entretainment and humour to help me to sleep. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Mmmmm, Cool! Thoughtful!
Review: What if the world ran on magic instead of mechanics? What if you had phone imps instead of phone lines, flying carpets instead of cars, sorcware (sorcery) instead of software, virtuous reality instead of virtual reality? And you had toxic spell dump sites that had to be monitored by the Environmental Perfection (yes, perfection) Agency?
I picked this book up thinking that it would be comic fantasy in the vein of Piers Anthony or Terry Prachett. And, there was humor in it, but it was more than that. Apart from the oblivious puns and fun with translating our world into a world of magic (the nightmare of traffic flying in rush hour, evil alarm clock imps...), Turtledove explores the consequences of that kind of world.
David Fisher is an EPA agent, assigned to investigate possible leaking from the Devonshire dump site, in part because of an increase of birth defects in the surrounding area. The most devastating birth defect is aphysica, being born without a soul. In this world the Other Side is very real and all the religions have their actual spiritual counterpart. The gods and whatnot need adoration to survive, so sometimes religions that lose adherents became endangered, and artificial temples and worshippers are made to save the entity. Fisher gets deeper and deeper into what turns into a plot to revive one of the most evil spirits in both Worlds.
I was surprised by this book and enjoyed it. It's not "literary" fiction, but an entertaining and thoughtful read.
| 
