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malikasbooks's review
5.0
I love love loved this book. The part where the agent is describing the High Fantasy "Formula" had me audibly chuckling on a crowded public train. This book is both a loving tribute and a very sharp satire of the genre, but it goes way beyond that. Very funny, very thrilling, very unexpected. I didn't love the ending - way too dark for my romantic heart.
vegantrav's review
4.0
Flights of fancy? Or insanity? Or merely fantasy?
What is going on with Philip Murdstone? He is visited (or is it all in his head?) by Pocket Wellfair, a Greme (an elf-like or gnome-like creature). Pocket helps Murdstone revive his ailing literary career by writing a fantasy novel for Murdstone, which Murdstone publishes under his own name. Of course, Pocket isn't doing this merely from the goodness of his own heart: in exchange for the fantasy novel, Murdstone must deliver a powerful amulet to Pocket.
* * *
The Murdstone Trilogy, which laughs at us with its title as it is a stand-alone book, is a bit of darkly whimsical, noirish magical (or, in keeping with the book, magickal) realism (or pseudo-realism).
There is nothing of great import in The Murdstone Trilogy; it's not one of the best books of the year, but it is certainly very good, and I cannot count the number of times I laughed out loud.
The Murdstone Trilogy is a delight--a nice bit of escapist fun, perfect light reading for the holidays.
What is going on with Philip Murdstone? He is visited (or is it all in his head?) by Pocket Wellfair, a Greme (an elf-like or gnome-like creature). Pocket helps Murdstone revive his ailing literary career by writing a fantasy novel for Murdstone, which Murdstone publishes under his own name. Of course, Pocket isn't doing this merely from the goodness of his own heart: in exchange for the fantasy novel, Murdstone must deliver a powerful amulet to Pocket.
* * *
The Murdstone Trilogy, which laughs at us with its title as it is a stand-alone book, is a bit of darkly whimsical, noirish magical (or, in keeping with the book, magickal) realism (or pseudo-realism).
There is nothing of great import in The Murdstone Trilogy; it's not one of the best books of the year, but it is certainly very good, and I cannot count the number of times I laughed out loud.
The Murdstone Trilogy is a delight--a nice bit of escapist fun, perfect light reading for the holidays.
hdbblog's review
This started out really promising, as a tongue in cheek poke at Fantasy writing. It devolved quickly into something mean and spiteful though, alas. I can't finish this.
pcro99's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
dani1491's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have rarely felt so conflicted whilst reading a book about whether I am enjoying it or not.
By the end, I found every chapter to be brilliantly written. The language is erudite and funny. The story an amusing parody and yet not.
I had a hard time following the overall arc of the story, chapter to chapter. The narrative shifts erratically, we are left wanting for more plot, and as much as the characters are a well-reflined balance of cliche and subversion I find it hard to engage with them.
Overall I have no doubt that there are people who will absolutely love this book, which is well written, I just wasn't sure I was one of them.
By the end, I found every chapter to be brilliantly written. The language is erudite and funny. The story an amusing parody and yet not.
I had a hard time following the overall arc of the story, chapter to chapter. The narrative shifts erratically, we are left wanting for more plot, and as much as the characters are a well-reflined balance of cliche and subversion I find it hard to engage with them.
Overall I have no doubt that there are people who will absolutely love this book, which is well written, I just wasn't sure I was one of them.
trin's review
2.0
First, let me state the obvious: publishing this book as YA was definitely a mistake. It is extremely not YA: the subject matter is far too adult (and I don’t just mean all the drinking and masturbation, but the concerns of the characters) and the vocabulary would likely put 99% of YA readers off. This, for example, is the very first paragraph:
(I mean, what teen does not what to read about badgers ripe and rank with estrus?)
So the question becomes, is it worthwhile to ignore this poor publishing decision and treat this book as an adult novel? I was excited to read it and find out: as you can see from the above passage, the writing is very, very British (and once people start exchanging dialogue, becomes more so), and that’s a style of humor that I really enjoy. I am also myself an avid fantasy – and even YA fantasy – fan, while recognizing that both those genres are ripe for parody. I was looking forward to seeing them affectionately skewered.
Unfortunately, there is nothing affectionate about this book. It’s the story of Philip Murdstone, a once critically acclaimed, now washed-up author of sensitive, realistic books for teens (much like Peet himself wrote). His agent, Minerva, convinces him that the only way to salvage his career is to hop on the YA fantasy bandwagon. But Philip’s research into the genre leaves him disgusted, so he goes and gets tanked at the local pub, then passes out amongst an assembly of mysterious standing stones. There, he dreams the entire opening to a fantasy saga, narrated in the voice of a goblin-esque creature named Pocket. When Philip finishes transcribing this first part of the novel, he is visited by Pocket himself, who promises to provide Philip with the rest of the story – if Philip will retrieve a magical amulet in return.
This makes up the first third of Peet’s novel, and it’s a very enjoyable beginning. There are some incredibly sharp, clever sentences, and plenty of dry, English wit. Peet is quite brutal with his subjects – fantasy and YA literature, the publishing industry in general, and yokels of the English countryside – but so too can be, say, Kingsley Amis or David Lodge or Edward St. Aubyn. I never laughed out loud, but my lip curled in frequent amusement.
Philip’s channeled novel, Dark Entropy, is of course a monster success, and therefore, obviously, must become the first of a trilogy. To write the next two volumes, Philip enters into increasingly complicated and dangerous deals with Pocket – and what he’s writing begins to take on a sinister edge as well. At this point, also, Peet’s novel also becomes increasingly convoluted. There are passages from the points of view of the crazy, thumb-sucking sisters who run the local library and speak entirely in dialect. More and more of the fantasy world intrudes on the plot, and unfortunately – though possibly intentionally? – for something being hailed as “the next Harry Potter” AND winning literary awards, it sounds just dreadful. To a degree that I, who know perfectly well that utter dreck can hit it big, didn’t quite buy Dark Entropy’s success. (Also, like The Murdstone Trilogy itself, it is clearly NOT YA.) And most unfortunate, we start to see the dark side of a certain type of old-school British humor creep in: a bit of racism. Most certainly some classism. A really uncomfortable scene of (also just confusing) transphobia. And definitely a hearty dose of sexism.
When you get right down to it, the book just feels mean. Nasty. This is perhaps not the nicest thing to say, considering that the author is now deceased, but it reads like the work of a very, very bitter older writer who thinks the younger generation is producing nothing but trash. Kids these days!!! It also doesn’t have anything interesting or new to say about publishing – “agents are the worst!” – or about the genre at which it is poking fun. I think you have to know, and even like, a subject to really parody it well. It will mean you understand its conventions, its weak spots and strengths. The movie Galaxy Quest is a superior example of this. But from reading The Murdstone Trilogy, it seems to me that Peet has likely done little more exploration of fantasy than his protagonist—just enough to lance the giants of the genre. (Terry Pratchett, at least, he refrains from completely savaging.)
I began this book with excitement and finished it with a bad taste in my mouth. Instead of an affectionate parody, it's a novel about a terrible person having terrible things happen to him, while inflicting upon the world terrible books. What Peet never seems to have understood is that the world is terrible enough already. Good fantasy illuminates the bad, or allows you to envision something better. Even when it's sort of goofy, even when it's for kids, I'd so much rather read that.
The sun sinks, leaving tatty furbelows of crimson cloud in the Dartmoor sky. From somewhere in the bracken, tough invisible ponies huff and snicker. Final calls: rooks croaking homeward, a robin hoping for a last territorial dispute before bedtime. Voles scuttle to holes, their backs abristle with fear of Owl. It is early spring. Lambs plead for mothers. Below ground, badgers, ripe and rank with estrus, prepare themselves for the night’s business. A fox flames its ears and clears its throat.
(I mean, what teen does not what to read about badgers ripe and rank with estrus?)
So the question becomes, is it worthwhile to ignore this poor publishing decision and treat this book as an adult novel? I was excited to read it and find out: as you can see from the above passage, the writing is very, very British (and once people start exchanging dialogue, becomes more so), and that’s a style of humor that I really enjoy. I am also myself an avid fantasy – and even YA fantasy – fan, while recognizing that both those genres are ripe for parody. I was looking forward to seeing them affectionately skewered.
Unfortunately, there is nothing affectionate about this book. It’s the story of Philip Murdstone, a once critically acclaimed, now washed-up author of sensitive, realistic books for teens (much like Peet himself wrote). His agent, Minerva, convinces him that the only way to salvage his career is to hop on the YA fantasy bandwagon. But Philip’s research into the genre leaves him disgusted, so he goes and gets tanked at the local pub, then passes out amongst an assembly of mysterious standing stones. There, he dreams the entire opening to a fantasy saga, narrated in the voice of a goblin-esque creature named Pocket. When Philip finishes transcribing this first part of the novel, he is visited by Pocket himself, who promises to provide Philip with the rest of the story – if Philip will retrieve a magical amulet in return.
This makes up the first third of Peet’s novel, and it’s a very enjoyable beginning. There are some incredibly sharp, clever sentences, and plenty of dry, English wit. Peet is quite brutal with his subjects – fantasy and YA literature, the publishing industry in general, and yokels of the English countryside – but so too can be, say, Kingsley Amis or David Lodge or Edward St. Aubyn. I never laughed out loud, but my lip curled in frequent amusement.
Philip’s channeled novel, Dark Entropy, is of course a monster success, and therefore, obviously, must become the first of a trilogy. To write the next two volumes, Philip enters into increasingly complicated and dangerous deals with Pocket – and what he’s writing begins to take on a sinister edge as well. At this point, also, Peet’s novel also becomes increasingly convoluted. There are passages from the points of view of the crazy, thumb-sucking sisters who run the local library and speak entirely in dialect. More and more of the fantasy world intrudes on the plot, and unfortunately – though possibly intentionally? – for something being hailed as “the next Harry Potter” AND winning literary awards, it sounds just dreadful. To a degree that I, who know perfectly well that utter dreck can hit it big, didn’t quite buy Dark Entropy’s success. (Also, like The Murdstone Trilogy itself, it is clearly NOT YA.) And most unfortunate, we start to see the dark side of a certain type of old-school British humor creep in: a bit of racism. Most certainly some classism. A really uncomfortable scene of (also just confusing) transphobia. And definitely a hearty dose of sexism.
When you get right down to it, the book just feels mean. Nasty. This is perhaps not the nicest thing to say, considering that the author is now deceased, but it reads like the work of a very, very bitter older writer who thinks the younger generation is producing nothing but trash. Kids these days!!! It also doesn’t have anything interesting or new to say about publishing – “agents are the worst!” – or about the genre at which it is poking fun. I think you have to know, and even like, a subject to really parody it well. It will mean you understand its conventions, its weak spots and strengths. The movie Galaxy Quest is a superior example of this. But from reading The Murdstone Trilogy, it seems to me that Peet has likely done little more exploration of fantasy than his protagonist—just enough to lance the giants of the genre. (Terry Pratchett, at least, he refrains from completely savaging.)
I began this book with excitement and finished it with a bad taste in my mouth. Instead of an affectionate parody, it's a novel about a terrible person having terrible things happen to him, while inflicting upon the world terrible books. What Peet never seems to have understood is that the world is terrible enough already. Good fantasy illuminates the bad, or allows you to envision something better. Even when it's sort of goofy, even when it's for kids, I'd so much rather read that.
katykelly's review
4.0
This was sitting in my library 'to read' pile when the sad news came in of Mal Peer's death. I'd read some of his young adult work and had been curious to see what he wrote for adults.
It's a departure. I do wonder if he cast himself in the title role of Philip Murdstone, a formerly successful writer of 'serious' works for children who has been gradually left behind by modern technology and current trends in genre. He's on the edge of poverty when his agent Minerva Cinch calls a meeting and requests (strongly) a fantasy novel to formula, a last chance for him to win back an audience. Philip is appalled, as well as stumped. He hates fantasy and has no idea how to start.
In a turn that takes the novel in an unexpected and very strange direction, help comes from a creature directly out of a fantasy land, and a masterpiece of fantasy writing results. but of course Minerva wants a trilogy.... and the story delves even deeper into fantastical realism and humour.
I'm not a huge fan of fantasy myself, so the sections that mock the genre appealed. I did find the blurring of genres a little confusing at times, but I went with it and was glad I did. I sometimes had no idea what was going on. But I did in fact, love it. I loved seeing Murdstone's success, his writing, the wonderful and creepy librarians in the village library (who made me think of Pratchett's/Gaiman's Good Omens). I loved the great descriptions of all the subgenres in fantasy and the world's reactions to the books.
It's playful, witty and bizarre as hell. I think though that Peet managed to create a book both for fantasy fans and those not endeared to the genre, which is no mean feat.
It's a departure. I do wonder if he cast himself in the title role of Philip Murdstone, a formerly successful writer of 'serious' works for children who has been gradually left behind by modern technology and current trends in genre. He's on the edge of poverty when his agent Minerva Cinch calls a meeting and requests (strongly) a fantasy novel to formula, a last chance for him to win back an audience. Philip is appalled, as well as stumped. He hates fantasy and has no idea how to start.
In a turn that takes the novel in an unexpected and very strange direction, help comes from a creature directly out of a fantasy land, and a masterpiece of fantasy writing results. but of course Minerva wants a trilogy.... and the story delves even deeper into fantastical realism and humour.
I'm not a huge fan of fantasy myself, so the sections that mock the genre appealed. I did find the blurring of genres a little confusing at times, but I went with it and was glad I did. I sometimes had no idea what was going on. But I did in fact, love it. I loved seeing Murdstone's success, his writing, the wonderful and creepy librarians in the village library (who made me think of Pratchett's/Gaiman's Good Omens). I loved the great descriptions of all the subgenres in fantasy and the world's reactions to the books.
It's playful, witty and bizarre as hell. I think though that Peet managed to create a book both for fantasy fans and those not endeared to the genre, which is no mean feat.
trkravtin's review
A hilarious black comedy about publishing. I started a hashtag, #malpeetvocabularybuilder, for all the words that were new to me. Smart, snarky and reflective of the crazy world of writers, agents, publishers and readers.
henrycat4199's review
5.0
I liked this one, despite my haughtiness towards writing about writers. Good premise and the fantasy elements thicken.
retiredlibrarylady's review
2.0
Sort of a send-up of fantasy series, it's over the top and left me cold. Phillip Murdstone is pressured by his agent to write fantasy since his novels about troubled boys aren't in demand any longer. He doesn't like fantasy and retreats into the whiskey bottle, where he meets the strange being Pocket Wellfair. They make a deal; Pocket writes/dictates the novel, which is a screaming success. Needless to say, there then must be two more. No fantasy can come in less than a threesome, right? Things go from bad to worse as Phillip tries desperately to write them himself but ends up making deals with... mysterious creatures, and becomes a gibbering idiot. Many others have enjoyed it, but not I.