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missnatalieann's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't quite know what to expect heading into this book other than Mr. Martinez has a pretty good sense of humor in his writing. This was fun, it moved at a good pace for me and didn't linger on any one thing for too long. Connie has a great snarky sense of humor that I absolutely love in a character as well as being an all-around badass. I would love to read about any of her past (or future or alternate: reality, universe, or timeline) adventures that she mentions throughout this book.
mssunnyskies's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
katturkey's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Just wasn't for me. Almost DNF,
but it picked up/became relevant for me nearer the end.
but it picked up/became relevant for me nearer the end.
bmg20's review against another edition
DNF @ 32%
“I’m Constance Danger Verity. I’ve defeated magical Nazis in four different alternate realities, and saved the King of the Moon from a literal army of ninja assassins. I can do anything. Why the hell can’t I do this?”
“This” = quitting the job of being the savior of the world.
Yes, Constance Verity was blessed as an infant by a fairy godmother who bestowed upon her the ability of mastering anything she puts her mind to. Anything. But she’s done with that life and all she wants is to get an office job and have a normal life, one that doesn’t involve vampire Al Capone, leprachaun kings, or turtle dragons. Whatever that is.
I really enjoyed this one at first because it had a super quirky sense of humor added into some pretty crazy urban fantasy. But those quirky levels kept rising further than I thought was possible. The formulaic clichés are piled on page after page and while I can see the appeal, it just wasn’t my preferred type of humor. We veered quickly into screwball territory. Constance Verity should have been delved into more because she was an interesting individual and one that I would have enjoyed learning more about. For the most part though we learn about the adventures she’s undertaken, the creatures shes battled, and the ways she’s saved the world. But we find out little about her personally as the story continues the focus on the plentiful quirky tropes instead.
“Are you trying to be a tough guy?” asked Connie. “If so, I’d recommend putting down the snow cone.”
Tia took a bite of her ice. “But it’s so good. I don’t know what they put in it – “
“Buzazabog blood.”
Tia examined the crimson shavings in her hand. “I thought it was some kind of space cherry.”
“Nope. Blood.”
Tia shrugged. “As long as it’s not artificial sweeteners, I can live with it.”
“I’m Constance Danger Verity. I’ve defeated magical Nazis in four different alternate realities, and saved the King of the Moon from a literal army of ninja assassins. I can do anything. Why the hell can’t I do this?”
“This” = quitting the job of being the savior of the world.
Yes, Constance Verity was blessed as an infant by a fairy godmother who bestowed upon her the ability of mastering anything she puts her mind to. Anything. But she’s done with that life and all she wants is to get an office job and have a normal life, one that doesn’t involve vampire Al Capone, leprachaun kings, or turtle dragons. Whatever that is.
I really enjoyed this one at first because it had a super quirky sense of humor added into some pretty crazy urban fantasy. But those quirky levels kept rising further than I thought was possible. The formulaic clichés are piled on page after page and while I can see the appeal, it just wasn’t my preferred type of humor. We veered quickly into screwball territory. Constance Verity should have been delved into more because she was an interesting individual and one that I would have enjoyed learning more about. For the most part though we learn about the adventures she’s undertaken, the creatures shes battled, and the ways she’s saved the world. But we find out little about her personally as the story continues the focus on the plentiful quirky tropes instead.
“Are you trying to be a tough guy?” asked Connie. “If so, I’d recommend putting down the snow cone.”
Tia took a bite of her ice. “But it’s so good. I don’t know what they put in it – “
“Buzazabog blood.”
Tia examined the crimson shavings in her hand. “I thought it was some kind of space cherry.”
“Nope. Blood.”
Tia shrugged. “As long as it’s not artificial sweeteners, I can live with it.”
seang81's review against another edition
3.0
Wow. Wow I say. There's a lot going on here - previous adventures that involve saving the world, ninjas, detective skills, hidden portals...and so much more. It's a difficult novel to review for me as there's so many jokes/surreal situations that it all becomes a blur/overwhelming at points. So, as this is the shortest review i've ever done, i'd say this novel is for fans of Robert Rankin, Douglas Adams (to a point), Tom Holt...you get the idea. I'm intrigued to read the next, I just hope it doesn't pack in so much so I can enjoy the jokes without blacking out! It's a solid 3 from me.
pilebythebed's review against another edition
4.0
A Lee Martinez specialises in a kind of fantasy comedy that riffs on a range of fantasy, science fiction literary and movie tropes. His 2013 novel Emperor Mollusk Versus The Sinister Brain centred around a super villain the book before that 2012’s Chasing the Moon was a comic hero’s journey fighting a range of monsters. But it is his 2016 book and first of a trilogy The Last Adventure of Constance Verity, a book on similar themes, that is now likely to be his breakout as it is being made into a movie with Awkwafina in the lead role.
Constance Verity has been an adventurer since a fairy godmother put an enchantment on her when she was seven. Since then she has constantly been on the go saving the world and then the universe from a range of monsters, robots, cults and conspiracies. But now Connie has had enough, she wants the enchantment lifted so she can live a normal life. And the only way she can do this, against the advice of best friend Tia, is to kill the Fairy Godmother who enchanted her in the first place. This puts her on a path of what may well indeed be her last adventure, if she can indeed give adventuring up, but also a nested, complex weave of conspiracies within conspiracies which will make her reassess her whole life and the choices that she has made.
The balance between comedy and action is a difficult one to walk. But Martinez has plenty of material to work from ranging from Doctor Who to James Bond to Indiana Jones to Robert Langdon to any one of a myriad of Marvel or DC heroes and well beyond. Much of the fun here is how Martinez riffs on the huge canon of adventure stories, allowing readers to fill in the gaps and manges to build it into a fairly coherent (although often confusing given the number of reverses and double reverses) narrative. And there is so much of this material around that it seems that it is hard to know when to stop.
While ostensibly constantly deconstructing the hero narrative, Martinez has to deliver one in order for the enterprise to work. But he builds this journey around Connie’s existential crisis so that it all works as a piece.
Constance herself is a great character and it is not hard to see the appeal. Frighteningly competent in the adventuring world but craving a normal, humdrum life in which she can have a job, go on dates and kick back in front of the television after a long day. In relief to this is her best friend and sometime sidekick Tia who has such a life and can not understand what Connie sees about it that is appealing. The two are surrounded by a few other amusing side characters, a host of villains deliberately from central casting (complete with well designed lairs).
While some of the adventure stories that Martinez references have a comic element, there is not a lot of good comic adventure fantasy/scifi. And while this narrative falters from time to time, it is anchored around an engaging heroine and delivers a rattling tale with its tongue firmly embedded in its cheek.
The Last Adventure of Constance Verity is the first book of a trilogy. The second, Constance Verity Saves the World came out in 2018 and is also getting a release in anticipation of both the film and the third book in the series Constance Verity Destroys the Universe due out later this year. Which is all to say that fans of this book will have plenty more to look forward to and if the movie works, more of those too.
Constance Verity has been an adventurer since a fairy godmother put an enchantment on her when she was seven. Since then she has constantly been on the go saving the world and then the universe from a range of monsters, robots, cults and conspiracies. But now Connie has had enough, she wants the enchantment lifted so she can live a normal life. And the only way she can do this, against the advice of best friend Tia, is to kill the Fairy Godmother who enchanted her in the first place. This puts her on a path of what may well indeed be her last adventure, if she can indeed give adventuring up, but also a nested, complex weave of conspiracies within conspiracies which will make her reassess her whole life and the choices that she has made.
The balance between comedy and action is a difficult one to walk. But Martinez has plenty of material to work from ranging from Doctor Who to James Bond to Indiana Jones to Robert Langdon to any one of a myriad of Marvel or DC heroes and well beyond. Much of the fun here is how Martinez riffs on the huge canon of adventure stories, allowing readers to fill in the gaps and manges to build it into a fairly coherent (although often confusing given the number of reverses and double reverses) narrative. And there is so much of this material around that it seems that it is hard to know when to stop.
While ostensibly constantly deconstructing the hero narrative, Martinez has to deliver one in order for the enterprise to work. But he builds this journey around Connie’s existential crisis so that it all works as a piece.
Constance herself is a great character and it is not hard to see the appeal. Frighteningly competent in the adventuring world but craving a normal, humdrum life in which she can have a job, go on dates and kick back in front of the television after a long day. In relief to this is her best friend and sometime sidekick Tia who has such a life and can not understand what Connie sees about it that is appealing. The two are surrounded by a few other amusing side characters, a host of villains deliberately from central casting (complete with well designed lairs).
While some of the adventure stories that Martinez references have a comic element, there is not a lot of good comic adventure fantasy/scifi. And while this narrative falters from time to time, it is anchored around an engaging heroine and delivers a rattling tale with its tongue firmly embedded in its cheek.
The Last Adventure of Constance Verity is the first book of a trilogy. The second, Constance Verity Saves the World came out in 2018 and is also getting a release in anticipation of both the film and the third book in the series Constance Verity Destroys the Universe due out later this year. Which is all to say that fans of this book will have plenty more to look forward to and if the movie works, more of those too.
margotfoster's review against another edition
5.0
I'm a big fan of A. Lee Martinez, I picked up a copy of [b:Gil's All Fright Diner|225606|Gil's All Fright Diner|A. Lee Martinez|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386921255s/225606.jpg|218511] at Borders on a whim. Ever since I've been taken by his ability to portray people living normal lives in extraordinary and supernatural circumstances. Who cares if there's an Alien in your closet or ghost in your garage, life goes on.
Enter Constance Verity, she's already living the supernatural life, battling aliens, saving the universe no culture shock. As we meet her she's ready to take a break from saving the world, but first she's got to hunt down her fairy godmother.
Martinez takes us on another romping, funny, and occasionally absurd adventure with characters that are frequently flawed, grounded and relateable. An enjoyable read. Amazon tells me we'll have a sequel next year.
Enter Constance Verity, she's already living the supernatural life, battling aliens, saving the universe no culture shock. As we meet her she's ready to take a break from saving the world, but first she's got to hunt down her fairy godmother.
Martinez takes us on another romping, funny, and occasionally absurd adventure with characters that are frequently flawed, grounded and relateable. An enjoyable read. Amazon tells me we'll have a sequel next year.
wyrmdog's review against another edition
5.0
Martinez has a way with light, comedic fantasy that clicks for me better than just about any other writer out there. Since Monster, I've been enthralled with everything he's written. Then I found out there is going to be a series? Sign me up.
Constance Verity is snarky, action-packed fun featuring a heroine with at least as many adventures predating our acquaintance as Raymond Reddington has accumulated. But Connie is a superhero, a superspy, a mystery...woman. She's in the mold of Remo Williams, the inheritor of a legacy of hyper-competence and magic and boundless adventure.
Very little I can say will do this book justice. It's full of wit and humor, easter-eggs, dragons, living planets, cults, murderous fairy godmothers, doomsday machines, and ninjas. Oh, and a poetry slam.
I don't know what to say about this other than get it, read it, experience the joy that is Martinez and Verity. And look out for Tia. She may just steal the show.
Constance Verity is snarky, action-packed fun featuring a heroine with at least as many adventures predating our acquaintance as Raymond Reddington has accumulated. But Connie is a superhero, a superspy, a mystery...woman. She's in the mold of Remo Williams, the inheritor of a legacy of hyper-competence and magic and boundless adventure.
Very little I can say will do this book justice. It's full of wit and humor, easter-eggs, dragons, living planets, cults, murderous fairy godmothers, doomsday machines, and ninjas. Oh, and a poetry slam.
I don't know what to say about this other than get it, read it, experience the joy that is Martinez and Verity. And look out for Tia. She may just steal the show.
danicamidlil's review against another edition
3.0
Too much back and forth. I don't want to be special! I do want to be special! On the other hand, I don't want to be special!
ARGH!
ARGH!
merchant_of_mishaps's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0