Customer Reviews

The Last Coin

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This has to be some of the most fun I've had reading a fantasy novel in a long time. Like his peer Tim Powers, Blaylock is more concerned with taking bizarre events and contrasting them with his equally bizarre yet oddly lovable cast, with everything taking place against a backdrop of complete normality. He lacks some of the lyrical prowess of Powers (who is highly recommended for anyone who likes Blaylock) but easily makes up for it with memorable characters, Andrew had to be one of the more strikingly defined people to come out of fiction in the last ten years and he'll make you laugh at him and root for me all at the same time, perhaps because we can all identify with him just a little. And Pennyman is a totally ruthless villain, completely charming but with a black heart indeed. The book centers mostly around the bumbling dance between Pennyman and Andrew, who isn't quite sure until nearly the end just what he's going up against or what the stakes really are, but the supporting cast is equally brilliant and all loopy in a fun way. This is a great introduction to the nutty world of Blaylock and almost certain enjoyment for anyone tired of the fantasy worlds of elves and multi-volume world shattering quests.

Several years ago, I sat down and tried to read this book. At the time, it just didn't click for me (maybe it was my mood--who knows?). When I finally came back to it last week (after exposure to a couple of other Blaylock novels), I was immediately caught-up in the magic.

Quirky, at times almost insane, characters band together to battle an evil man who is intent on hording the 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas to betray Christ. When the coins are all together in one place, the person who owns them will wield untold power. In the midst of trying to start a bed and breakfast inn, the hero, Andrew Vanbergen, realizes that he has come into ownership of the last coin of the title and engages in a battle of wits with the mysterious Pennyman, who owns the other 29.

James P. Blaylock, along with his friend Tim Powers, is a master of this sort of thing, drawing together a wide array of seemingly-unconnected incidents and historical allusions into a conspiracy that makes a lot of sense. Coupled with quirky characters and humourous incidents, this is a marvelous, memorable novel.

Like most of Blaylock's contemporary fantasies, this book left me with the odd but pleasurable sensation that the author was either a scant few inches from discovering the secrets of the Universe, or he was a complete idiot. Although I've met Mr. Blaylock on two or three occasions, I still can't make up my mind. In either case, this book is one of my very favorites. Only Blaylock would pit a delightfully quirky would-be Innkeeper like Andrew Vanbergen against the demonic Pennyman when the fate of the world hung in the balance. The plot, including its absurd references to the current street address of Judas Iscariot, is so wildly improbable that I have to suspect that it's true. This book is a must-read for anyone who's ever wondered if miracles and toaster ovens can co-exist in the same kitchen. Oh, and if you happen to run into Mr. Blaylock... ask him about the pig.

Jeff Edwards, Author of "Torpedo: A Surface Warfare Thriller"

I rank this book and Blaylock's THE DIGGING LEVIATHAN as his best creations. Both are filled with extraordinarily quirky characters and superb writing. These books show just how much of a craftsman Blaylock is, also revealing the extent of his literary imagination. If American fantasy ever grows out of its Romantic sword-and-sorcery obsessiveness, then James Blaylock's novels might be the forerunners of a new American fabular fiction. No one else--not Orson Scott Card, not Dean Koontz, sorry folks--is doing what James Blaylock is doing.

I read this novel along with Winter Tides and All the Bells on Earth, and this novel far surpasses the others. Blaylock's sense of humor is at its best here, making this one of the most unique novels I've read.

I have to confess, I am not here to "critique" this book--I am here to rave about it. First, though, I must warn that this is not for everyone. Some people simply do not get Blaylock; they don't see his point. This book, like most of his early work, does not have "plot", precisely. Not in any traditional sense. It is not linear. The characters do not act in a rational manner. Impossible things are constantly happening, and this, of course, is what the book is about.

The Last Coin is heir to books like The Digging Leviathan, and was really the last such book that Blaylock wrote before he "came of age", or grew up, as I tend to see it. His later works are much more serious, a little more cold, and not quite so charming. His writing keeps getting better with every book, though--check out Winter Tides and tell me you don't envy the gift of such beautiful prose.

My face got sore from grinning while I was reading this. There simply has never been anything like this written by any other author. The people who look to Blaylock thinking he is another Tim Powers should forget about this book. (Blaylock's better). Titanic forces are at work, but they settle their differences in some petty ways. Joke nickels pounded into the floor, rubber squids, gag letters in the newspaper... I could go on. But it would be better if you read the book for yourself. I passed this one around when I was done with it. Blaylock is a brilliant artist who deserves to be read, and a handful of his other novels are just as good. Don't deprive yourself!

I just want Mr Blaylock to know that even though I read The Last Coin many years ago, decades even, and have read it several times since, I've never forgotten what a perfect treasure this book is. In my closing middle age now, I'm currently putting together a list of books I want on my bookshelf and this is one of them. It's a precurser to The Da Vinci Code to say the least. A mind-blowing, fantastic, fun as hell kind of read that anyone could ask for. Thank you so much for this book!! I've read all your other books - and am always pleased with those also - but The Last Coin will remain my most favorite. Just wanted you to know.

This novel is just plain fun. The characters are whimsical and endearing, even the evil Mr. Pennyman. The plot is serious, the consequences of failure dire, but what is the fate of the known world compared to the satisfaction of prank calling your mortal enemy?

There are unexpected insights into human nature everywhere, but they are never shoved in your face. You can spot them if you want or stroll merrily on past. There are moments of brilliant literalism, for example a horrendously ill wind, that doesn't blow any one any good and in fact saves our intrepid hero hours of work scraping paint.

It's an easy read and you keep turning the pages just to see what happens next. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys sticking rubber octopuses in the toes of socks, stealing the toy out of the cerial box, and going to bed in the hopes that the kitchen will miraculously clean itself over night.

This isn't for everyone, but it is entertaining. Yes, there are some goofy scenarios w/ some ridiculously quirky comedic characters that don't always act rationally, but so what. It's entertaining & sure to make you laugh.

Anyways, this is for people who want to be entertained while at the same time immerse themselves in a place that's not that dif. from where they live.

No one can accuse Blaylock of being formulamatic. The well rendered story line had me guessing where he was going with this apocalyptic fable. Andrew's bumbling passive-agressive personality rivals Inspector Clouseau for compentence acheived through ineptitude. Andrew battles arch-enemy Jules Pennyman with an hilarious alliance of turtles, pigs and house cats. There is no literary precedent for Blaylock's magical story telling gifts. This is the most fun you will have waiting for the end of the world.