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57th out of 82 books
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21 voters
My rating:
add to my books
The Elfin Ship
Mass Market Paperback, 337 pages
Published
July 12th 1982
by Del Rey
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This is an old favorite which I read first when I was nine or ten. When trouble downriver from Twombly Town seems set to prevent holiday trading, Master Cheeser Jonathan Bing sets out on a raft, accompanied by the learned Professor Wurzle, the simple Dooly, and his faithful dog Ahab, to take his cheeses to the elves. Jonathan finds far more trouble than he bargained for, though, getting mixed up with trolls, goblins, skeletons, and a mysterious dwarf with a magical watch.
Blaylock is ...more
Blaylock is ...more
This book was very odd. I kept feeling like something was going to break loose and happen all the way through the story, and yet...it didn't. There were no women in this story anywhere, not even mentioned. I suppose all the people in this world are hatched in a lab somewhere. And the men all bumbled around doing very stupid things, except for one Elf named Twickenham. He needs to break lose from these losers.
For the first 4 chapters of this book, the most interesting character ...more
For the first 4 chapters of this book, the most interesting character ...more
I liked this book mainly for it's ability to make the imagery of a single troll on the shore line seem scary. That and making plans to storm a castle always go better after lunch. It's a good natured story that builds to a suspenseful conclusion then goes on its merry way.
really fun fantasy book about a cheesemaker, a scientific quack, a dunce, and a dog, who takes a river voyage and their adventures
Blaylock's fantasy is about as far as you can get from the typical elves, dwarves and dragons fare. Quirky and original.
Blaylock offers a very whimsical and domestic approach to fantasy, with a regular guy central character accompanied by a pretentious but mostly clueless professor, an excitable village idiot, and a dog whose eating and sleeping Blaylock finds endlessly interesting. Goblins and trolls are horrific but can actually be vanquished with a blow from a stout tree limb. There's some original inventive thought here, but the tone is as unheroic as it could be; it's like all Pratchett's silliness without...more
What a hoot! I love hobbit like characters (but that is where the similarities end)! Bing is a character after my own heart. He is the master cheeser and is sent on a mission to save the town from what could be a disastrous Christmas. Mind you, this is NOT a Christmas story. It just happens to be at that time of year when all chaos breaks out for Twombly Town. There is a river rafting adventure with goblins, dwarfs, elves, a magician, and more. Buffoonery chaos is how I can best describe this fu...more
Read this book as a young adult, and truly I think that was the intended audience. Its almost Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn's adventures on a fantasy riverboat, but in a possibly even more light hearted and humorous vein. If you have kids aged in their teens and they like reading fantasy, give them this. Its worth a chuckle or two.
Delightful. A very British sort of fantasy world and something of a fairy-tale story, with large stakes which never become quite clear to the protagonist. LoTR without any of the angst or proto-religion.
Almost like Tolkien, where he would describe things and events to almost the last detail... but at least it was almost comical. Almost. So the pace was fairly slow, but it was kinda interesting.
Blaylock's debut is delightfully quirky and funny, though some might find it slight. The fantasy adventures of a master cheeser and an Elfin ship. What fun!
One of those books I read and enjoyed as a late teen and now afraid to re-read for the chance of finding out it's not as good as I remembered.
Nenangs
rated it
Recommends it for:
children-fantasy fans
Shelves:
fantasy-magick-scifi,
foreign-language
Entertaining book.
I would've finished the book much-much earlier, if only the font is not too small to my liking and if there had been not so much work to do in the office. :)
I would categorize this book as a children fantasy book. With the main theme of the story is good winning over evil, the book gave me the feeling of The Two Towers (LOTR) adopted for children, added with humourous scenes all over the story. I know it's not an adoption of Two Towers, no questions about that...more
I would've finished the book much-much earlier, if only the font is not too small to my liking and if there had been not so much work to do in the office. :)
I would categorize this book as a children fantasy book. With the main theme of the story is good winning over evil, the book gave me the feeling of The Two Towers (LOTR) adopted for children, added with humourous scenes all over the story. I know it's not an adoption of Two Towers, no questions about that...more
Terminally whimsical. Equal parts derivative and original. Blaylock's writing style is facile but flawed. The typos sprinkled throughout were distracting. The tip of the hat to Jerome K. Jerome made me grin, but for the most part it was a winsome book I'll not long remember.
Blaylock's first novel is Fantasy at its most whimsical. It greatly increased my appreciation of cheese.
An old favourite, in fact I think I'll read it again...
Jake
marked it as to-read
Meril
marked it as to-read
Saskia
marked it as to-read
Suep
marked it as to-read
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James Paul Blaylock is an American fantasy author. He is noted for his distinctive style. He writes in a humorous way: His characters never walk, they clump along, or when someone complains (in a flying machine) that flight is impossible, the other characters agree and show him why he's right.
He was born in Long Beach, California; studied English at California State University, Fullert...more
More about James P. Blaylock...
He was born in Long Beach, California; studied English at California State University, Fullert...more
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