Tom Holt is a respected comic fantasy writer, whose only other work I was previously aware of was Who's Afraid of Beowulf? So I was pleased to have this novel recommended to me, if only to see if Holt's inventiveness extends just to witty parodic titles like Faust Among Equals, Paint Your Dragon and Grailblazers.

The answer is, it doesn't. This is a rich smorgasboard of a book, amusing and thoughtful at the same time. The hero, Paul Carpenter, goes for interview at a distinctly dodgy firm where h More...

Getting a Kindle for Christmas seems to have provoked a bit of a spurt of light reading. This may be something to to do with the Kindle—the instant downloads probably lend themselves to impulse buying—but I think it's also to do with Christmas. I'm not in the mood for anything too demanding.

This book is quite good fun, fun enough that I read the next one in the series as well, but I think with these books where the everyday world collides with the strange have a bit of a diminishing return. Init More...

This is a brilliant book from a writer I enjoy but find rather hit and miss. Like others have mentioned, this is Tom Holt very much 'on form', with a well-written story full of wonderful wit and likeable characters. Paul Carpenter is the typical Holt pathetic main character, who starts a very strange office job with a sour-faced girl, who he happens to falls for and refrains from quitting his insane job to stay with. Together they tackle the insanely boring tasks they're set and eventually becom More...

I've come late to the Tom Holt party, but I'm glad I finally made it. This is the first book of his that I have read and I definitely intend to try more.

It is the story of Paul Carpenter, and how he takes a mysterious job in a mysterious firm where mysterious goings-on occur. I found it always interesting, a nice quick read and lightly humourous. I wouldn't say there were many laugh out loud moments, but I chuckled more than once or twice!

I think one of my favourite passages can best sum up the More...

Holt’s prose has a very English feel to it, and would very familiar to anyone used to reading “hilarious” British humorous writing, in the tradition of Punch and Radio 4. Actually, it’s less offensive than it sounds, but reminded me a lot of the novelisation of Jabberwocky, or Time Bandits. Another thing it reminded me of, that odd little film that appeared before Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, the one about the office building that turns into a sailing ship. I can’t remember what it was ca More...

I've never read a Tom Holt before, but, I after reading this one I would try another.

This one had an interesting mix of office humour, fantasy, light hearted romance...a mixed bag you might say? The highlights include a door, a stapler, piles of spreadsheets, and sexually aggressive goblins.

I have a feeling I've lost a few of you already.

The overall story is vast. Very vast. It starts out with Paul attempting to get a job as a clerk at some 'business' called Wells & Co. He doesn't really wan More...

I quite liked this book, it was a very original concept, really quite funny in parts, and it had some really good characters.

Short review: Luckless, poorly educated, young man who spends his time watching television (*smiling* not something you'd mention at a job interview) goes for a job at a small but prestigious firm. His interview skills (or lack there of) is really quite funny. He gets the job, as does a very similar young lady.

Their tasks are a bit monotonous at first, but the firm is ce More...

It starts off with two rather depressing characters and rapidly draws you into the story. At first you wonder what time period it takes place in but soon realize the old and new are due to it being set in London. It starts off perfectly normally but slowly evolves to include a strange love story and wierd goings on. The author definitely has an active imagination and the characters are a hoot.

Sięgając po Toma Holta spodziewałem się dobrej rozrywki i lekkiej historii. Oczywiście pełnej fantastycznych wątków i groteskowej fabuły, która da mi sporo wytchnienia od cięższych tematów. I tak faktycznie się stało (częściowo).

Od pierwszych stron poznajemy perypetie nieudacznika życiowego, Paula Carpentera, który wybrał się na rozmowę o pracę. Wypadł podczas niej fatalnie, ale paradoksalnie otrzymał posadę i został urzędnikiem w firmie zajmującej się nie wiadomo czym. Żeby nie było nudno, będz More...

Tom Holt has a way with words that can create an amazing world of humor, craziness and delights, but in this book he took forever to do it. I liked the beginning, many parts in the middle and the ending, but many times I felt like I was walking in pudding to move along.

The story is about Paul Carpenter, an unassuming man, who is hired as a trainee for the JW Wells Co in London. Another trainee, Sophie Pentingell, is hired the same day and the two of them are put into the same office (with a door More...

What a fun book! Tom Holt had been recommended to me since I like Terry Pratchet and Neil Gaiman, and his writing is very much like theirs. Smart and snarky and English.
Enjoyed this book very much. But didn't realize it was the start of a series - this author does have other non-series books, but now I'll have to go and purchase the rest in this series before I can go explore the rest!
This story was also taken from an idea from Gilber & Sullivan's "Sorcerer" which also has me interested in More...

Very funny, laugh-out-loud book. Sitting on a tram or bus reading this book is a terrific way to keep the whole seat for yourself...
Unless, of course, the Crazyperson (TM) sitting next to you is also giggling, but without the aid of Tom Holt's writing.
The book is, effectively, a love-in-the-office story with a kick. Not usually my sort of fare, but the office the unwilling potential couple work in is not exactly what it seems. The ensuing journey is actually very entertaining until the very end More...

Oh man, what fun! A very British fantastical comedy. The fantasy part is woven in very slowly and very carefully, so you almost don't notice it's happening until you look around and everything is swords and sorcerers and epic duels instead of your dull office and the missing stapler and the photocopier that never seems to work. The brilliance of this book is how those things tie together. And god, so funny! I was laughing out loud all the way through. Well written, great characters, and a unique More...

Well... it’s a good book. Not brilliant, not ground breaking, not exactly mind-blowing but, I’ll give it this, quite funny and with a nice concept that was more or less well achieved.
If you want to have a general idea of how this feels think “The Office” meets “Harry Potter”. To expound this idea, imagine a bunch of “The Office” characters working and living in a Potterverse firm and you might begin getting the general vibe of this.

The passing might not be everyone’s cup of tea, as we slip slowl More...

Paul Carpenter is a bit of a sad case. Socially inept, living alone, a succession of unrealised crushes (he falls in love with practically every girl he meets), he has no job and no money. When he applies for a mundane job he doesn't want and promptly fluffs the interview, he doesn't expect to be offered employment. Neither does he expect that the thin, hostile girl to be taken on at the same time and end up being put into the same office with her.

And the job is boring but as time goes on and he More...

While in Japan on holiday, a friend of mine gave me this for my Birthday. I started reading a bit of it on my remaining days and finished it whilst on the plane. I think had I read it on the ground outside of the tour, the result would have been the same. I couldn't put it down.

The story centers around the H.W. Wells company, of which Paul Carpenter has been recently brought in as a consultant. What he doesn't know is exactly what the company does, but after his first Troll attack, he quickly fi More...

This is the first Tom Holt book I'd ever read. Found his style amusing and the story fascinating, though a bit slow at first. I'll definitely get and read more by him! What I enjoyed most about this story is that I didn't know what to expect, and couldn't wait to discover how the story progressed. Have already ordered the sequel, as I must know what happens :) Funny and touching at times, and strange too. So refreshing to find a different sort of book!

I had read a number of Tom Holt books before, but I had found them to be VERY hit & miss. Some were funny and clever and kept you wanting to read more, others felt like a real chore to read - slow and dull and the supposedly "funny" bits just weren't.

This book, however, seems to have been the start of a new string of excellent books from him, all that have a lot of fun, all well-paced and all brilliantly funny. Long may it continue!

Very pleasantly surprised by this impulse buy. Consequently, I now have new professional aspirations for employers. A really fun and funny ride, figuring out what is going on at JWW through the first half of the book and then coming to terms with where exactly the story is taking you, and of course, whether Paul and Sophie will get together in the end. Loved it and a quick read if you are in the mood for a humorous foil to the everyday office grind.

Weak.

Just weird(you aren't even sure it's magical) stuff happens for a LONG time. The "Portable Door" isn't found for probably 3/4 of the book.

The main character was a whiny guy. Most of the book is him whining about women(especially one woman).

The "action" doesn't take place until the end.

The book is supposed to be funny. I guess some people find it funny. It's the kind of "bad thing happens, guy who kind of expects it whines" funny. I laughed VERY FEW times throughout this book. More...

This was the first TH book I read, and I thoroughly enjoyed the oddness of it. Real life situations, with fantasy/sci-fi additions. I have read other books of his now, but this remains my favourite. I was into it from the first page (unlike some of his other stories), and kept enteratained all the way through. It took me about a week to read.

I listened to this book as an audio book, which is a new experience for me. But I had a long car ride and thought I'd give it a try. I haven't enjoyed other audio books. This one was enjoyable. It was silly, weird, funny and a great companion. I even finished it up when I returned and was no longer in the car, something I didn't expect to do.

This is an enjoyable book - just enough fantasy to be palatable for the common reader. Holt has a way of making his heroes out of nebbishly people, the unexpected anti-hero. This is a second reading of this book for me, and I enjoyed it just as much the second time around. I'm sure I'll pick it up again in a few years.

What an absolute gem of a fantasy novel! I've somehow managed to miss out on reading any Tom Holt in the past. All that is behind me now after this fantastic silly smart little book fell into my lap. I love the author's hilarious turns of phrases, unexpected yet simple plot lines and smart sense of humour. This book was likely written for a geek to take on holiday for the plane. Mindless fun!!

Purchased in a local charity shop whilst i was looking for some more Terry Pratchett,this was a great alternative to find.Very funny public sector fantasy.Loved the two main protagonists and i'm surprised this series hasn't been snapped up by movie studios or at the very least the BBC yet.

Very funny fantasy, set in contemporary London. First of a trilogy, followed by "The Portable Door" and "Earth, Air, Fire, and Custard".

The job interview, near the beginning of the book, set the tone. It is absolutely hilarious and so dreadfully realistic that it hurts to read it.

An enjoyable read. Comes across as what I tend to see as somewhat standard British comedy (no doubt due to my lack of experience in all~things~British).

Without giving away the story, I'd say that Tom Holt has a knack for hiding neat little bits of philosophy and life lessons in his comedy, and I appreciate it, even if the main characters are a bit too "Ziggy" for me. ("Oh Ziggy, will you ever win?").

Still, good enough that I'll certainly read through the entirety of this series.

3.5 stars:
This is the tale of an unemployed British guy who keeps getting turned down for jobs, and is surprised when he's called back after horribly botching the interview. Turns out he's just what they're looking for. But figuring out what the company does, how the nonsense they ask him to do is of any use, and whether or not the sullen girl who started on the same day really fancies him are not easy jobs, and only lead to more questions.

It turns out that, as in Gilbert & Sullivan's The So More...