Only Human [Paperback]

Tom Holt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2004

Something is about to go wrong. Very wrong. What do you expect if the Supreme Being decides to get away from it all for a few days, leaving his naturally inquisitive son to look after the cosmic balance of things? A minor hiccup with a human soul and a welding machine soon leads to a violent belch, and before you know it the human condition—not to mention the lemming condition—is tumbling down the slippery slope to chaos.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Tom Holt: 'Uniquely twisted ... cracking gags' Rob Grant, THE GUARDIAN, 'Frantically wacky and wilfully confusing ... gratifyingly clever and very amusing' MAIL ON SUNDAY, 'Frothy, fast and funny' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY, 'Dazzling' TIME OUT, 'Wildly imaginative' NEW SCIENTIST

About the Author

Tom Holt is the author of such comic fantasy classics as: Expecting Someone Taller, Who's Afraid of Beowulf?, Flying Dutch, Ye Gods!, Overtime, Here Comes the Sun, Grailblazers, Faust Among Equals, Odds and Gods, Djinn Rummy, My Hero, Paint Your Dragon and Open Sesame

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group (December 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857239490
• ISBN-13: 978-1857239492
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 4.2 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,291,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant moment away from a busy schedule, September 19, 2003

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Only Human (Paperback)

There is no God.

At least, not for the next few days. OK, it takes "deus ex machina" (emphasis on the "machina") to get the story going. After that, it was a happy few hours of reading. The characters are enjoyable: a vicar having a devil of a time (or vice versa), a milling machine with a great personality, ...

My professional "must read" pile is approaching knee-deep right now. I really can't take much time off. Every know and then, though, I need to read something like Holt. It's a little vacation for me, a half-hour at a time. "Only Human" is a nice place for that little (very little) vacation.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Expecting something better, April 23, 2001

By 

Daniel J. Fawcett (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Only Human (Paperback)

After hearing high praise for Tom Holt, I decided to give him a try. I picked this book at random, and I was sorry I did. The plot, which is thin, was a loose idea around which several vague (and often un-funny) comedy skits orbited. Worse still, the plot is the same one that every thirteen-year old develops after reading Douglas Adams for the first time... God goes on vacation, hilarity follows. Well, laughter follows. Well, mild chuckling follows.

Not that it was a total loss... the idea of Hell having embassies on Earth is interesting. However, I will not be recommending this book to friends any time soon.

I can only say one positive thing about Only Human. It wasn't God-awful. In fact, it was cute in parts. I will be giving Tom Holt another try, and read Expecting Someone Taller or Who's Afraid of Beowulf. But this one will sit at the bottom of my bookshelf, next to the Piers Anthony books, collecting dust.

5.0 out of 5 stars Still more Holt !, September 12, 2009

By 

GUSR19 "JimE" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Only Human (Paperback)

OK, I admit it my reviews for Tom's books are short, but I think he is an author you either hate or love ! I love his work, although some is better than other, so all I will ever say will be positive. Read and be assimilated ;-)