Wish You Were Here [Mass Market Paperback]

Tom Holt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1999

It was a busy day on Lake Chicopee, where an eclectic bunch of sightseers and tourists had the strange local residents rubbing their hands with delight. Among them was a young man from England, who was there because he knew about the legend of the ghost of Okeewana and what she promised.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tom Holt is the author of such comic fantasy classics as WHO'S AFRAID OF BEOWULF?, EXPECTING SOMEONE TALLER and OVERTIME. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Orbit Book Co. (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857236874
• ISBN-13: 978-1857236873
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,238,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A practical overview on wish-granting..., April 17, 2001

By 

Rhys-Michael (Phoenix, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wish You Were Here (Mass Market Paperback)

This amazingly well-constructed tale brings into focus several modern archetypes (as well as some absurd intruders from various other realms best left unmentioned) and follows them as they clash sharply with a leftover element from the realms of fantasy. This book is amazing-- even for the masterweaver Tom Holt, who regularly entwines elements of the ancient sagas with the problems of being able to find your car keys.

In Lake Chicopee, Iowa, remains one of the last wonders of the world-- anyone who falls into its waters gets his dearest wish granted. This would be wonderful for people who found it... if anyone falling into the water actually understood it was magic. Unfortunately, the only notice given is from a frustrating rustic old man who simply insists the place is "haunted".

On a busy day (when this story takes place) four different people have fallen into the waters of the lake-- overtaxing the multi-formed entity responsible for granting the wishes. On this particular busy day, not only have four people fallen into the lake, but an "inspector" has shown up to check the accounts and see how the wish-granting has been getting on for the last few centuries. And as if that wasn't bad enough, one of the people who has fallen in knows all about the lake and has a secret wish to fulfill!

In the true fashion of a Grimm tale or any good morality play, Holt insures that people get what they wish for but in such a way as to insure they will never ever wish such a thing again consciously and have no choice but to become very happy about their former lives. This element is key in providing the character development which drives the tale and makes it so real and poignant.

This book is a treat for Holt's fans and if you have never heard of Tom Holt at all then this is the perfect introduction to him. I warn you not to read it in public because people will stare at you as you laugh helplessly and loudly. From the first page to the last line, Holt uses every arrow in his comedic quiver and one surreal scene paves the way for the next sublimely ridiculous event.

Don't forget to pay attention to the invisible indian!

2.0 out of 5 stars Some fun moments, but a little disappointing; the visual flow was horrible in the Kindle edition, April 4, 2011

By 

Chameleiana (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wish You Were Here (Kindle Edition)

This is the second book I've read by Tom Holt and was a little disappointed. I think the premise was interesting and there were some fun moments; it was a diverting read, but nothing great. The Kindle price was < $9when I bought it, so for the price it wasn't too bad of a read.

There was one thing, though, that made reading the Kindle edition difficult: there were HUGE spaces between paragraphs. Now, I do have the typesetting on my Kindle one size larger than the font that came pre-set, so this may have had some impact, but it really broke up the flow of the storyline to have a total of 3 paragraphs, each only 1-2 lines/sentences, on one page in many places. I felt the visual flow could have been MUCH better than it was. This caused me to deduct a star from my rating.

4.0 out of 5 stars rather fun, December 8, 2003

By 

Susan R. Grant (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wish You Were Here (Mass Market Paperback)

Wish You Were Here has a clever premise, which I won't belabor as the other review has it covered. I found myself returning to each section eagerly to see what would happen next. It is somewhat different in style than Holt's earlier books- not quite as smart-assy- if one will forgive the expression, and the humour is well integrated with the plot and characters. The end of the book was, perhaps, not all that the development part of the book promised, but overall the book was so enjoyable that it was forgiveable.