Customer Reviews

Every Inch a King

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One of the funniest books I've read for a long time.
As with his "Derlavi" and "Dettina" series, Turtledove has taken real events, moved them to a world with magic instead of technology, and changed the names and compass points. But where the "Derlavi" series which began with "Darkness Descending" was a very dark account of World War Two, and the "Dettina" series which began with "Sentry Peak" was an account of the American Civil war with a mixture of military history and whimsy, this story about a circus clown who managed to get himself crowned King of Albania is farce from beginning to end.

Because the outrageous events described in this book have been discreetly omitted from serious history books about the founding of the nation of Albania, I had not previously heard of them. However, it was not all that hard to recognise the background of the book as a pretty accurate account of the situation in the Balkans just before World War One, and it didn't take long to look them up. To my astonishment, I discovered that apart from the references to magic, dragons, etc the plot of the book appears to be essentially accurate.

When Albania broke away from the Ottoman Empire in 1913, they offered the throne to Halim Etti, a nephew of the Ottoman sultan. His photograph was published abroad, and a German clown called Otto Witte noticed that he closely resembled Etti. Witte arranged to have a telegram sent from Istanbul to the head of the Albanian army announcing the arrival of the prince. Then he set off for Albania with a sword-swallower called Max Schlepsig - some sources say Hoffman - playing the role of his aide-de-camp. The pair of imposters arrived in "borrowed" theatre costume uniforms and were saluted by the port authorities. They proceeded to Tirane, where Witte was crowned on 13 August and enjoyed the next five days by setting up a harem and declaring war on Montenegro.

I won't say any more about what really happened to avoid spoiling the book, but this is an absolute gem.

As with Turtledove's Dettina series, one of the most entertaining exercises for the reader is working out what the names mean - mostly country names in this case. Some are very easy and some quite hard. I won't give them all away, but two middle-difficulty examples to give an idea is that Macedonia is referred to as "Fyrom" and America as "Vespucciland."

Explanation: When Macedonia broke away from Yugoslavia they had to call themselves the "Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia" or FYROM to avoid upsetting the Greeks. And of course the eponymous explorer whose gave his name to the New World continents was Amerigo Vespucci ...

If you enjoy humorous fantasy stories like those of Piers Anthony, or if you have enjoyed any of Turtledove's other more whimsical pieces, you will love this book.

Being consistently funny is about the most difficult of literary feats. Turtledove manages it here without (visibly) breaking a sweat. The lowest response-meter anywhere in this one was a broad grin!

Best of all, it's based closely on real history; most of this stuff (the magic aside) actually happened.

I heartily recommend this book.

One night after a stellar performance given by Dooger and Clark's Traveling Emporium, circus performance Otto of Schlepsig reads in the paper that the temporary ruler of Shqiperi wants the Hassockian Empire to send Prince Hallim Eddin to be their new king. Accompanying the article is a picture of the prince who could be Otto's identical twin. Not one to miss such an opportunity, Otto and his friend Jim the sword swallower head for Shqiperi.

On the trek they have to first fight off a sea serpent and a vampire which they ultimately do. When they arrive, Otto, masquerading as the prince, orders Essad Pasha to introduce him to the army. He also wants the treasury and his harem moved to his palace after he is crowned king. He shows Essad Pasha in various ways that he will not be a puppet ruler and earns respect for that. Otto shares everything with Jim but his friend worries that they will be found out and if they don't come up with a plan of escape if circumstances warrant, they will be killed.

EVERY INCH A KING is a delightful, straight forward fairy tale that will definitely enchant the audience. The main character is an anti-hero scammer and con artist, who doesn't have a mean bone in his body and would be a good ruler given the chance. Readers will adore him and hope he doesn't get himself killed. Fans of Harry Turtledove's epic alternate histories should know he is a great fantasist of smaller scale alleged events as well.

Harriet Klausner

This is one of the best Harry Turtledove books I've read. For one thing it was funny. And the concept was ridiculous, but it worked in a delightful way. You won't want to put the book down when you start to read it.

He's a trapeze artist for one of the worst circuses in the world, but when he sees in the newspaper that a small kingdom is looking for a king--and that their candidate looks exactly like him--Otto of Schlepsig decides to become Prince Halim Eddin and to play the role of his life. Along with sword swallower-turned aide-de-camp, Otto heads to the new nation of Shqiperi, bamboozles the general who holds actual sway, entertains the harem (with the help of a well-paid wizard and the oversized sword swallower, Max, and actually gets himself crowned.

Once officially crowned king, Otto does his best to act like a king--and not just in the bedroom. Because Shqiperi's boundaries were drawn by the major powers without much reference to the wishes of the locals or their neighbors, war threatens--and Otto goes ahead and declares war on an insulting neighbor. For a while, in fact, it looks as if he's going to war with everyone in the region.

Author Harry Turtledove takes a break from serious alternate history in a truly funny romp that may remind readers of the fantasy fiction of another era (e.g., The Mad King by Burroughs or Hope's Prisoner of Zenda. Like these books, Turtledove sets his story in a version of the Balkans during the period of the Balkan wars (1912-1913), wars which formed a major part of the lead-up to World War I. In Turtledove's world, though, magic works, dragons and wizards are forces to be recognized, and jokes about trolls hiding under bridges just might turn out to be no-so-funny or funnier than the teller had imagined.

Readers looking to take a break from fantasy that sees itself in all-to-serious terms might just find EVERY INCH A KING to be every inch a treat.

Turtledove is always a bit hit or miss for me. It is hard to argue his mastery or his essential grasp of history. Unfortunately sometimes his books read a little like history and this book was one of those. I can pinpoint nothing bad about this book. The characterization and setting were both very good. I just found it a little too dull to read it all the way through. I gave up about halfway through the book when the main character had yet to even reach the country that he intended to hoodwink. There was a lack of momentum that gave me no inclination to keep reading or to pick up the book again once I had set it down. I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did if I hadn't brought it on a trip. The humor of the book is also very dry to match the pacing. If you like a slow build up, lots of realism, and dry wit in your fantasy this book will probably serve your needs. If you require a little more action and suspense to keep you reading you may want to try one of the author's other books.