Customer Reviews

Thraxas

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I've always been interested in the minor fantasy sub-genre that deals with private investigators in magical settings. The big hitter in this category is Glen Cook with his Garrett series, but there have been other single entries where characters have had to play the role of detective (Sir Kay, for instance, in Phyllis Ann Carr's underrated "Idylls of the Queen", or the P.I. in the quirky Fred Ward movie "Cast A Deadly Spell").

"Thraxas" is the first novel in a British series that so far comprises three volumes. (This edition was originally published overseas as two separate books.) It relates the adventures of the titular hero, a disgraced and fallen former Senior Palace Investigator whose affinity for the bottle has seen him reduced to straitened circumstances. Now an overweight and middle-aged drunkard and glutton, he takes on cases from low-lifes and those who are really desperate.

The adventures take place in a small Roman-flavored corrupt city-state with a minor degree of magic. Dragons, elves, and fairies are about, and sorcerers abound, but only the most magically adept can carry around more than a couple of spells at a time, so matters are just as often settled by wit or steel as by enchantment.

The mystery in the first half of the book isn't altogether that great, but the one explored in the second half is rather more compelling. More interesting is Thraxas' sidekick, Makri, a young former gladiator who escaped from years of combat in the orcish slave pits and who now is diligently studying rhetoric and philosophy at the local equivalent of a community college. And who also likes to unleash massive havoc when helping out her friend in his investigations.

Because the two parts were originally published separately, there's a degree of repetition in the latter portion of the book, where the author has to remind us of things that took place in another book in the U.K. but that in the American edition occurred just a few pages ago. Also, he has an annoying habit of Capitalizing things that Don't need to Be capitalized. But aside from those quibbles, this is a solid work with a nice cast of characters and a light and droll tone. For fans of fantasy private eyes, this is well worth the price.

The real name of the author of this series is
Martin Millar. You can go to http://www.thraxas.com/
to see what sort of fellow Thraxas is.
There are seven books in the series
so far, and the eighth is to be published in Spring 2005.
Each one seems better than the preceding to me.
This edition contains the first two.
The Thraxas stories have been translated into several
languages and have a worldwide following.
Unlike many science fiction and fantasy works, in these
stories you get to know the characters through their own
dialog and actions rather than second-hand through
descriptions. Anyway, Martin Millar is amazingly creative
and I eagerly await the next installment!

. This is the first book in a popular British series that seems to have reached ten books so far, starting in 1999, although the first US printing was in 2003. I wouldn't agree with the Guardian's "Blindingly funny!" quoted on the cover, but it's amusing enough and a rather different take on a fantasy-mystery in a Classical-like setting. Thraxas was an investigator for the king of Turai until his fondness for strong drink and low company got him fired; now he scrapes out an existence as a private investigator who's very good at what he does, at least as long as he can stay sober enough to function. Turai is an extremely corrupt city, so it isn't surprising that the royal princess wants to hire him to recover some "letters", or that her brother the crown prince is involved in drug smuggling, or that the traditionally incorruptible elves are acting in a very peculiar manner. With the help of his half-human, quarter-elf, quarter-orc sidekick, the beautiful female warrior Makri, and the sometimes help, sometimes hindrance, of Hanama, the head of the Assassins' Guild, Thraxas manages to bring things to a satisfactory resolution (well, fairly satisfactory), including a last-minute payoff of a gambling debt that was otherwise going to get him offed. There's a good deal of humor, though it's more in the Tom Holt or Glen Cook line than Terry Pratchett or Robert Asprin, if you've read those authors.

This was not the worst fantasy novel I've read, but it wasn't the best either. The cover marketed the book as being funny, but I didn't find anything laughable in it. If you are looking for a laugh, don't buy this book. If you are looking to be mildly entertained, check it out from a library. I can't honestly recommend anyone who loves fantasy to buy this book. There are a great number of better authors out there.

One of the most annoying things about the series is that the author has about 3 or 4 "catch phrases" that get over used by every character in the story. It get's really tiring to read "I'll come down on you like a bad spell." for the 30th time.

The plot is not original and the story wonders all over the place . The main character is clever enough to figure every thing out in the last couple of pages, even though he acts like a complete idiot through the entire book and can't put 2 and 2 together when the answer is staring him in the face.

You might love the book or you might hate it. Me? I think it's "so so" with nothing outstanding to recommend it.

I read it in one rush - something I do not with many books.
As mostly the blurb blurts blurring words. Its not comedy but humorous and self-ironical sword & sorcery.
So if you look for a Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin, Ester Friesner, Robert Asprin, Tom Holt or something like that - this book is none of that. But it's a little bit like Simon Green.

The plots are OK, but it is not the laugh-romp promised by the cover blurbs. I know it never is, but there was very little comedy about this. It had its moments, but Thraxas will never take a permanent place in the halls of fantasy.

I love these books. My husband and I read them together. They're just a riot! I think it's a shame that they're not more readily available and mainstream.

Very funny. This one made me laugh out loud several times. Thraxas is a man you want at your side. Although maybe not when you are having pizza, or it is your shout and you are trying to keep up. :) Despite a lot of fondness for various narcotics, intoxicants and baked goods, Thraxas knows where his towel is. The half-orc with the pointy ears does cause him many problems, but is incredibly good at the slayage when he needs a hand.

I like this book and was sufficiently entertained to actually finish it. (If you knew me personally, you'd know that was high praise.) If you're looking for a rich fantasy world, noble deeds and thought provoking themes--forget it! This is just fun. Not "hilarious" like the cover says, but definitely amusing throughout. I liked the main character, Thraxas, and his own honest assessment of his character and physical state. (Who could completely hate a guy who insists that no one sleep on his couch because he may need it himself if he can't make it all the way to his bed?)
Generally, I despise anachronisms, but Martin Scott makes "modern" dective story superimposed on a fantasy background work for me.
You can usually sucker me into a novel if the characters are good. That is, the characters must HAVE character. I much prefer characters that tend toward the more sterotypical comic book types than those that are so "deep" they bore me to sleep.
This book doesn't take itself too seriously and is even handed. Martin Scott knows what he wants to accomplish and does it nicely.
Pick up Thraxas. You'll know in a few pages whether you'll like it or not.

The Thraxas series is Fantasy's answer to Nero Wolfe ... with Archie Goodwin rolled in for good measure. A larger than life detective with a great supporting cast (his female sidekick rocks!), Thraxas is the first book in hopefully a long series. Thraxas' world is an intriguing mix of Humans, Elves and Orcs - a fantasy noir lite mix of magic with tongue-in-teeth humour and few politically correct reservations at all. A great light read : highly recommended.