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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A++++++ would read again!, August 21, 2011
Do you know how it feels like to find a nugget of gold in a stream of trash? It feels like reading Fairfaxe.
As ridiculous as the book description sounds and as devoid of information as the book cover displays, this novel is a nugget of literary gold. Do not let either the description or the cover stop you from tasting the words within these pages. It is well worth the price of admission. Don't believe me? Then at least trust Amazon's 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Why the 5-stars?
1. Brilliant storytelling. Where else would you find an intellectual dog-like creature journeying through a world fraught with stupidity? Yup, only here.
2. Memorable characters. The antagonists still haunt my dreams--2 months after having read this novel.
3. Beautiful setting. Ever walked around the coast of Central California? If not, google Big Sur and Monterey. Now imagine travelling in a fantasy world that magnifies their beauty.
4. Absurd plots. Like the reviewer before me, I laughed on several occasions--apparently graves and rocks contain comedic magic.
-L
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I wish this book had been around when I was 12, May 10, 2011
This review is from: Fairfaxe (Kindle Edition)
Because of my job I read a lot of non-fiction, but I'm a fan of this author's puppet movies so I was curious what his book would be like. I was glad that Amazon said who he was in the product description, otherwise I would not have thought he was the kind of guy who would write a fantasy novel for smart kids. I read the preview PDF at his site that they've since taken down and I enjoyed myself far more than I expected. The intellectual spirals he has going on in his puppet films has been entirely transplanted into a world something like The Neverending Story [Blu-ray]. I remember Stephen King did the same thing with The Eyes of the Dragon, and I loved that book when I was around 12 or 13, so I wish this had been around back then. I find it hard to take fantasy seriously in my adulthood. When non-fantasy writers suddenly decide to write fantasy novels, it tends to be much better because they see it fresh. They don't just imitate and churn out copycat books like Eragon and all that other hack stuff for the mass market (tried to read Eragon, couldn't get into it at all). How to summarize? The main character is a complex thinker, way too much than is good for him. He's got what we would call coffee brain (though he drinks tea). I wish I had the writers chops to write a real review here, but the whole thing is that Fairfaxe is an over-thinker. I agree with Amazon's description, it was like The Dark Crystal [Blu-ray], but the main character is a nervous, coffee-brained bookish doggie semi-hero. There is also lots of action, but nothing that takes it out of PG-rated territory. (maybe PG-13 because of some violence?) I'm going to give this five stars because someone else gave it four and I think the book should get 4.5 stars. Got to think these things through, Amazonians. :P
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A fantasy novel framing a character study, May 8, 2011
This review is from: Fairfaxe (Kindle Edition)
Unlike most fantasy novels, "Fairfaxe" is less about Tolkien-esque world-building and more about intense, pointed character studies. That isn't to say the world is dull and muted; on the contrary, it's filled with little cultural hooks that beg for further exploration. Still, the focus is squarely on the people who inhabit it, who, unlike typical fantasy characters, are not merely cut from archetypical wool; they're much more diverse and human and accessible than the broad-stroke generalizations that typically plague the genre. Fairfaxe is not made of iron with a steel resolve, or a bewildered neophyte tasked with fulfilling an overwhelming destiny; he's a frightened, middle-aged intellectual with a childlike thirst for adventure that somehow keeps pushing him on. Likewise, the townsfolk he meet aren't preoccupied with the monsters over in other lands, or with whatever looming threat there appears to be; they're average people living normal lives, just trying to get by. And the antagonists, when you do meet them, simply defy easy categorization.
As with Mr. Newcomb's films, there are nihilist/existentialist undertones that add more than a tinge of dark comedy to the work. For instance, there's a scene where Fairfaxe attempts to straighten a gravestone in a hillside cemetary that has an unfortunate outcome, but Fairfaxe's reaction lends the situation a sad humor that gives the situation an emotional weight it otherwise wouldn't.
This is a thoughtful and well-written piece of literature that is well worth your time.
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