Customer Reviews

The Gnomewrench in the Dwarfworks

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

 

 

This is a pretty good read. It does not have but one battle scene and it is not a big part of the book. Destruction is easy. It is the building that is tough. O'Donohoe has captured the feel of the builders in our country during World War II.

The only possible criticism I would have is that it does not capture the certainty of the period. At that time there was RIGHT and there was WRONG.

The Dwarves and Gnomes in the story are well put together and make much more sense than some of the books have put forward.

O'Donohoe writes a pleasingly different kind of fantasy novel. He doesn't stick to your typical sweeping epic fantasy saga, a la Jordan, Tolkien, Tad Williams, Eddings, etc., but rather uses some imagination to open up the field. Here he solidly combines historical fiction, myth and fantasy in a tale of dwarves, gnomes and World War II. As always, he combines humor and drama, and relies upon realistic characters, something often left out in speculative fiction. His attention to detail, including such things as discussion of the 1944 World Series, is appreciated. Very much recommended.

This is a modest and entertaining book. Avoiding the usual tendency of fantasy novels to have epochal, and usually overwrought, clashes of good and evil, this is a clever fantasy with historical elements. The idea is that magic and magical creatures exist in the modern world. In this case, the author integrates magical metal working dwarves with the WWII war effort. Some good humor and period detail. The plot is a little loose but this is worthwhile entertainment.

What a fun book! A Knutter, or a Sprauge de Camp in WWII Rhode Island. Great dialects and a whacky cast of charaters in a factory. I think i worked there... They're all mad.... and then they get an order from some dwarves that are trying to modernize their own factory. And the Dwarve's factory is full of whackos too...hehehehhehhehehhehe... plus you get your blues playing truck driver and a chilling visit from the "Flying Dutchman"... Mr. O'Donohoe just sold a few more books to me...

The premise of the book was unusual and full of potential. Unfortunately, the story was a meandering mess. The author appeared uncertain as to which plot line to pursue and the result is a boring story. There was not enough character development of the dwarves or the gnomes. Although the gnomes were supposed to be the "bad guys", the author failed to make them menacing and they came off as merely "cartoonish". Give this clunker a wide berth.