Go big or go gnome. The New York Times bestselling authors of Kill the Farm Boy welcome you to the world of Pell, the irreverent fantasy universe that recalls Monty Python and Terry Pratchett.
“A complete delight, as fluffy and fun as The Lego Movie and as heartfelt as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”—Locus
War is coming, and it’s gonna be Pell.
On one side stand the gnomes: smol, cheerful, possessing tidy cardigans and no taste for cruelty.
On the other side sit the halflings, proudly astride their war alpacas, carrying bags of grenades and hungry for a fight. And pretty much anything else.
It takes only one halfling bomb and Offi Numminen’s world is turned upside down—or downside up, really, since he lives in a hole in the ground. His goth cardigans and aggressive melancholy set him apart from the other gnomes, as does his decision to fight back against their halfling oppressors. Suddenly Offi is the leader of a band of lovable misfits and outcasts—from a gryphon who would literally kill for omelets to a young dwarf herbalist who is better with bees than with his cudgel to an assertive and cheerful teen witch with a beard as long as her book of curses—all on a journey to the Toot Towers to confront the dastardly villain intent on tearing Pell asunder. These adventurers never fit in anywhere else, but as they become friends, fight mermaids, and get really angry at this one raccoon, they learn that there’s nothing more heroic than being yourself.
In No Country for Old Gnomes, Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne lovingly tweak the tropes of fantasy and fairy tales. Here you’ll find goofy jokes and whimsical puns, but you’ll also find a diverse, feminist, and lighthearted approach to fantasy that will bring a smile to your face and many fine cheeses to your plate.
No Country for Old Gnomes is a new humorous fantasy co-written by Delilah Dawson ( Blud) and Kevin Hearne ( Iron Druid Chronicles). The second book in the Pell world, it's a standalone novel and can be read without prior familiarity with the earlier book. Due out 16th April 2019 on Random House's Del Rey imprint, it's 416 pages and available in hardback, ebook, and audio formats.
I originally picked this one up because, although I hadn't read the first book, I had enjoyed books by both of the authors previously. For fans of their other works, this book is completely different. It's absolutely full of every punny in-joke imaginable. There isn't a single cultural reference which can't be wrangled, hog-tied, and contorted into a joke. Everything from the title of the book to the chapter header quotes are fair game. I found the unrelenting in-your-face attempts at clever repartee wearying. There's an almost aggressive undertone to the humor in the book.
The blurb compares it to Monty Python and Pratchett's Discworld. The difference is that both MP and Pratchett had a much defter touch with humor (even punnery and slapstick) and an instinctual understanding of varying the rhythm and construction of their humor. This book speeds along at breakneck velocity fish-slapping the reader for 400+ pages.
It is a moderately fun read and I did enjoy it enough to look for the first book in the Pell world and likely pick up the third book, The Princess Beard, when I get the opportunity.
Three and a half stars. I can recommend it to readers on the hunt for extreme farcical silliness. The art and formatting as well as the typesetting are up to a very high standard.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
