Customer Reviews

Gnome Man's Land

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This novel is Friesner at her very best. A rift develops between here and the "other side" and the traditional spiritual companions of mankind are back in our world. These entitities spread out seeking humans of compatible ethnocultural backgrounds and move in with them. The protagonist, Tim Desmond, a teenager of Irish ancestry, is joined by a drop-dead gorgeous (and naked) Banshee. Tim's mother, of Russian descent, draws the attentions of a Bannik, the Russian spirit of the bathhouse. T'ing Hau Kaplan winds up with an Ancestral Spirit, a Mongol warlord named Bu, etc. Soon the world is elbow deep in lares, penates, leprechauns, kelpies, brownies, goblins, sprites and the like. The plot moves at a hell-bent-for-election pace, and Friesner's wry control of language has never been better.

...To write a novel as hilarious as this one. I can't imagine how _Gnome Man's Land_ was ever allowed to go out of print; it's one of the most hysterical, unbelievable things I've ever read, and a book I find myself coming back to again and again. The characters, the plot, the parodies--all are priceless, and the message of the ending equally so. I have never seen anyone better than Friesner at delivering a moral without spoiling the spirit of a humorous story. Not only will the reader quite possibly be in tears from laughter, but he or she should come away from this book with a sense of having read something meaningful as well as entertaining.

Five stars aren't enough. I'd give this one ten if I could. If you can find a copy of _Gnome Man's Land_ anywhere, snap it up--and then hunt down the two sequels, _Harpy High_ and _Unicorn U._ They'll all be worth your wait!

Wow. Pure, nonstop comedy. Whether or not you're a comedy fan, you'll enjoy the skewering of traditional fantasy figures. Rarely does a book move me to laugh out loud, but Friesner is the best in the field.

arrived in slightly worse condition than expected, but arrived fast.

We purchased this book for our son for Christmas on a recommendation from someone else. However, the cover art is definitely not family-friendly, and a quick glance at the text revealed language that would be offensive to nearly any Christian. If the book were made into a movie, it would have a PG-13 rating at the very least, just on the basis of profanity. If language and nudity concern you, this book is not for you.