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101st out of 109 books
—
112 voters
Falling Sideways
by
Tom Holt
From the moment Homo Sapiens descended from the trees, possibly onto their heads, humanity has striven towards civilization. Fire. The Wheel. Running Away from furry things with more teeth than one might reasonably expect—all are testament to man's ultimate supremacy. It is a noble story and so, of course, complete and utter fiction. For one man has discovered the hideous...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
December 1st 2004
by Little, Brown Book Group
(first published 2000)
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David Perkins, a nebbishy computer programmer is in love with a woman .. unfortunately, this woman was burned at the stake 400 years ago & his only "contact" has been thru a portrait at a local art gallery, which he swears has stuck its tongue out at him more than once.
He comes upon a bizarre little shop - Honest John's House of Clones, and soon afterwards, discovers that a lock of hair of his beloved's is up for auction. This seeming coincidence (and a great many others) have been perpetra...more
He comes upon a bizarre little shop - Honest John's House of Clones, and soon afterwards, discovers that a lock of hair of his beloved's is up for auction. This seeming coincidence (and a great many others) have been perpetra...more
Precis: Very randomly, the plot involves cloning, and being threatened, and bizarre happenings. basically the plot changes constantly, the story twisting into something else, just when you think you have it pegged. Sorry, that's my best shot.
When I was in my early twenties, I discovered Terry Pratchett and became a fan of that genre. I am not sure what it is officially called, but comic fantasy seems to cover the case well. I read this book in the spirit of nostalgia, and the book served me wel...more
When I was in my early twenties, I discovered Terry Pratchett and became a fan of that genre. I am not sure what it is officially called, but comic fantasy seems to cover the case well. I read this book in the spirit of nostalgia, and the book served me wel...more
Tom Holt's books are crazy and convoluted. The ultimate in humorous escapism, I enjoy his humor at the end of a day (after working in a humorless industry). I liked this book, but the plot in this one took so many twists and turns that my head was spinning by the end. Tom Holt is either a genius, insane or on drugs - or maybe all three. I like the writing style, it's pretty much like the dry conversational humor of a British sit-com. Here is an example of the style (a verbose way of saying he ca...more
Holt is really funny, but I feel like the story got away from him here. It seemed like he was making up the rules of his universe as he went along, simply to further the plot. I liked the two main characters, David and Phillipa, and would have enjoyed more interaction between them instead of so much exposition of the weird reality that David finds himself in as the book progresses. It also had a fairly long and drawn-out ending that could have been better. Overall, I'd say this book started stro...more
Really quite disappointing. The premise had promise (heh), and there is some funny stuff in there, but Holt has one unforgivable tick that made me ready to throw the book against the wall. He tells a lot and shows little. Healthy chunks of the book are solely one character giving another exposition. And lying, to boot. Which means he has to devote another chunk of the book with more exposition giving the truth (maybe). I’m all for unreliable characters and not giving the reader the unvarnished t...more
Along the lines of the Terry Pratchett version of sci-fi humor, this book has an enormously improbable origin story for the human race. We've been engineered by frogs. Frogs? FROGS.
The humor escaped me every so often. Tom Holt is EXTREMELY BRITISH and a lot of his references were very cultural, but I got enough that I actually laughed out loud a couple of times, which always says something about a book. I'd like to read more by him.
The humor escaped me every so often. Tom Holt is EXTREMELY BRITISH and a lot of his references were very cultural, but I got enough that I actually laughed out loud a couple of times, which always says something about a book. I'd like to read more by him.
This book is hilarious in a British-humor way. I was laughing the whole way through. The running inner dialogue and all the "rivet rivet" business cracked me up!
I actually found it at a used bookstore for $1 and bought it without even knowing the plot--which, by the way, is completely spazzy. Really, it was the cover that caught my eye. It may have also been this sentence on the back cover: "It is a noble story and so, of course, complete and utter fiction."
I just love British humor. You should...more
I actually found it at a used bookstore for $1 and bought it without even knowing the plot--which, by the way, is completely spazzy. Really, it was the cover that caught my eye. It may have also been this sentence on the back cover: "It is a noble story and so, of course, complete and utter fiction."
I just love British humor. You should...more
I absolutely loved this book. Every few pages new twists are thrown in. It starts out in what seems to be a realistic universe, and then as you get deeper into the story the realism unfurls to reveal a bizarre world. I was constantly re-evaluating what I had read trying to make sense of what was happening. It reminds me of Neil Gaiman in some ways. A wonderful and funny book for when you are tired of reality.
Story was fun, and I especially enjoyed the language.
"There were no other signs of life, and it was as dark as the dreams of lawyers."
"It's one of life's minor tragedies that the eggs never get to see the omlette."
"...suspicion drained from his face like brine from a tin of crab meat."
"It was the sort of house you could only live in if your complexion and hair colour didn't clash with the curtains."
"There were no other signs of life, and it was as dark as the dreams of lawyers."
"It's one of life's minor tragedies that the eggs never get to see the omlette."
"...suspicion drained from his face like brine from a tin of crab meat."
"It was the sort of house you could only live in if your complexion and hair colour didn't clash with the curtains."
Very funny but absolutely crazy book. Twist and turns come so thick and fast you don't know what's up and what's down, but clearly that's intentional, and gives empathy for the main character who is in the same situation. Didn't take me long to read it as I wanted to keep reading and see what insane twist would come next.
Generally speaking I enjoyed the way ideas like free will were presented in a comic way. And the book was funny (not haha funny, but amusing). I liked Blonde Bombshell better, maybe just because it was the first one I read. Easy read, lovely for a beach or random weekend.
Its a good book, you should read it.
Its a good book, you should read it.
Holt has a talent for putting a new spin on the usual tropes of a genre, soaking said tropes in that famous British strain of absurdist humour while he's at it. He sets his sights on science fiction in this volume, producing a work that would have done the late great Douglas Adams proud.
An interesting take on how the world was made. Holt does tell a good story, and his imagination is out of this world, in Homeworld actually, so his books are always interesting. The reveal usually covers about five pages, which can get a bit tedious for both the reader and the protagonist, and we still have his prototype of the nebbishy hero, but that's what you have to expect with Tom Holt. Overall a good read that could probably cut about 75 pages.
Tom Holt, author of Expecting Someone Taller, Barking and Flying Dutch has written another absurdist variation on a fairy tale. This one is loosely based on the Frog Prince. Funny slapstick with kissing frogs, aliens, gods and clones.
I got about a third of the way thru this and gave up - didn't care about the characters or the story. I like books that make you think but I had trouble even figuring out what the point of this book was.
Well...I'm not sure how memorable this was since I just finished it last week and couldn't remember the title. If I recall, it was vaguely funny but turned weirder and weirder towards the end.
The first book by Holt I read was Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages. It was an awesome book. This one was not as good. It was very confusing and I'm not sure that it actually made sense.
Aug 07, 2011
Samantha Balmes
added it
Very strange sci-fi in the modern world. An entirely new take on time travel, aliens, and alternate realities. A perfect read for anyone who loves Tom Robbins with a more sci-fi twist.
Weird for the sake of weird, which is o.k. if you're looking for some escapist fun. This was an easy, fast read - although I wish there were more laugh-out-loud moments.
The first book i read by tom holt was interesting enough to keep me going through but wasn't enthralling. this book falls a little below that. i finished it but it really felt like he wrote the entire thing as a train of thought with no direction, no connections, nothing to make me feel empathetic or sympathetic for the characters. every so often he would write in some lengthy monologue which tied up things, explained things away, tried to make sense of the previous nonsense. it was tiring and n...more
One of the strangest books i have ever read. Every page brought something new to the story. Just when you think you have it figured out something changes!
My first taste of Holt. I loved the quick wry wit and oblique social commentary, but just over halfway thru I couldn't wait for the thing to be over.
This might not have been the beat book to read to introduce myself to Tom Holt. It's quirky and the humor is rather absurd, but the overall feel of this book is like a runaway car or bicycle: you have to finish it because it would be even more excruciating to start reading and not know what happens.
Liked this more than some other Tom Holts - a good light read with plenty of frogs and minimal plausibility.
Started OK, but boring and badly written. SUCH a disappointment after Expecting Someone Taller.
This was the WEIrdeST book I have ever ever read. I laughed alot......Is GOD a frog???
Over the top but a fun read once you get into it. A good book to read along with others
Very funny! Douglas Adamsesk!
I'd recommended this to any fans of dry British humor.
I'd recommended this to any fans of dry British humor.
It starts with a man staring at the portrait of a 17th century witch and the convoluted plot involves alien frogs, clones and green goo. It's confusing but funny and Tom Holt has the Douglas Adams touch when it comes to description.
At one point the protagonist is felled by a giant frog which sits on his back chatting about how important it is to stay in touch with your inner tadpole.
At one point the protagonist is felled by a giant frog which sits on his back chatting about how important it is to stay in touch with your inner tadpole.
The best Sci-fi book I've ever read! Full of surprises!
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Tom Holt (Thomas Charles Louis Holt; born September 13, 1961) is a British novelist.
He was born in London, the son of novelist Hazel Holt, and was educated at Westminster School, Wadham College, Oxford, and The College of Law, London.
Holt's works include mythopoeic novels which parody or take as their theme various aspects of mythology, history or literature and develop them in new and often humor...more
More about Tom Holt...
He was born in London, the son of novelist Hazel Holt, and was educated at Westminster School, Wadham College, Oxford, and The College of Law, London.
Holt's works include mythopoeic novels which parody or take as their theme various aspects of mythology, history or literature and develop them in new and often humor...more
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“Telling lies is a bit like tiling bathrooms - if you don't know how to do it properly, it's best not to try.”
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“Not only had he lost the only girl he'd ever loved, he'd lost her in duplicate, like some heartbroken but highly efficient civil servant.”
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Jan 14, 2012 06:15am