Expecting Someone Taller

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Summary: Very Funny Update to Wagner's Ring Cycle
Review: Ever wonder happened to the ring of the Nibelung after Gotterdammerung? Check this book out for a very funny update of the Ring to see how the hapless Malcolm inherits the all-powerful ring and becomes reluctant ruler of the world in modern-day England. He must confront contemporary incarnations of Alberich, Wotan, and some very seductive Rhinemaidens. The book is a good short (228 pages)fantasy novel that is lots of fun even if you don't know the Ring (and even funnier if you know the Ring well). It is great fun!

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Summary: Great stuff!
Review: Holt is great. Some of his newer works aren't as solid IMO. But this one, Who's Afraid of Beowulf? and Flying Dutch are a must read!

Rating:
Summary: Light-hearted, highly readable, very enjoyable
Review: I read this book slightly apprehensively, in that I am not an opera buff, nor am I familiar with Wagner's Ring Trilogy. But I gotta tell ya, once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. I really enjoyed Holt's pacing, and found the book to be humorous without requiring any knowledge whatsoever of who or what the characters are supposed to be. Just a really good read.

Rating:
Summary: Amusing, Slightly Dry with a twist
Review: This book kicks a*s!! My brother who is in collage gave me this boook to read when he was done w/it. I got it when I was about 11 bu couldent get all the way through it until this year when I read it for extra credit it Language arts

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Summary: This is a Keeper - and it needs one, too
Review: Those of you who pay attention to my reviews will notice that I gave this puppy a four-star rating, and I almost never do that. If four and a half were possible, that's what I'd put in.

Expecting Someone Taller riffs on Wagner. Fortunately, for those of you who ran out of video-tape or patience somewhere around the middle of the Ring Cycle, and aren't real sure what was happening in the parts you did watch, Tom Holt provides a plot summary. This tells you all you need to know about the Ring, and saves those who do not love opera from feeling that the whole thing has gone right over their heads.

This book is convulsively funny. Malcolm Fisher runs down a badger whose dying words are, "Funny, I was expecting someone taller." I opened it on my evening commute some years ago, and transferred to a bus full of people who had not been conditioned by smothered giggles to ignoring me. I read the line (I know I shouldn't quote, but I just can't resist), "Thank you, Please come again." I laughed out loud, and didn't stop laughing for several blocks. My fellow passengers, needless to say, were astonished.

Tom Holt does that to you. He knows his material, and has a great deal of fun ringing changes on it, and adheres to a certain mad logic. This one, especially, is very, very good. My copy is taped together. I still laugh when I re-read it. Yes, it's mad, but it's immense fun, and I recommend this whole-heartedly.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable takeoff on Wagner's Ring
Review: You don't have to be familiar with Wagner's Ring cycle to enjoy this book, but it doesn't hurt--you'll get a few more of the jokes.

Malcolm Fisher, a nerdish Englishman, runs over a badger who just happens to be a disguised Giant who possesses the Ring of the Nibelung, as well as the magical Tarnhelm, allowing him to change his shape. Before Malcolm has time to do more than make a few experiments with his new possessions, he finds himself pursued by gods, dwarves, and amorous Rhinemaidens and Valkyries, and finds himself locked in a power stuggle with chief god Wotan. Can Malcolm overcome his retiring nature and the gods?

The allusions and takeoffs on the Ring operas are the funniest part of this book. But don't worry if you haven't seen them--a plot summary is included.

Highly recommended. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable takeoff on Wagner's Ring
Review: You don't have to be familiar with Wagner's Ring cycle to enjoy this book, but it doesn't hurt--you'll get a few more of the jokes.

Malcolm Fisher, a nerdish Englishman, runs over a badger who just happens to be a disguised Giant who possesses the Ring of the Nibelung, as well as the magical Tarnhelm, allowing him to change his shape. Before Malcolm has time to do more than make a few experiments with his new possessions, he finds himself pursued by gods, dwarves, and amorous Rhinemaidens and Valkyries, and finds himself locked in a power stuggle with chief god Wotan. Can Malcolm overcome his retiring nature and the gods?

The allusions and takeoffs on the Ring operas are the funniest part of this book. But don't worry if you haven't seen them--a plot summary is included.

Highly recommended. Enjoy.