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Banned Underground #1
The Amulet of Kings
Take one Dark Lord, one off-white witch, two teenagers, one dwarf blues band and a jazz- loving Bog troll. Mix. Wait for the explosion of laughter...
What could be worse? Having to take a holiday in the (rainy) Lake District in the Northwest of England, with an aunt who turns people into frogs for a hobby? Or battling the local Dark Lord, whose attempt at world domination starts with the nearby underground Dwarf Mansion, and its enormous collection of used pizza boxes? Or getting involved with a jazz-loving bog troll and his dwarven Rhythm and Blues band? Or is it being miles from a McDonalds? The teenagers find out as they fall into a Mad, Mad World, so close to our own that you can't tell the difference.
What could be worse? Having to take a holiday in the (rainy) Lake District in the Northwest of England, with an aunt who turns people into frogs for a hobby? Or battling the local Dark Lord, whose attempt at world domination starts with the nearby underground Dwarf Mansion, and its enormous collection of used pizza boxes? Or getting involved with a jazz-loving bog troll and his dwarven Rhythm and Blues band? Or is it being miles from a McDonalds? The teenagers find out as they fall into a Mad, Mad World, so close to our own that you can't tell the difference.
176 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2011
28 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 21, 2012
I don’t know why I didn’t read this book ages ago – funny fantasy is so far up my street it’s practically sitting on the doorstep. I think the blurb put me off and I expected a weak knock-off of Pratchett’s Band with Rocks In. I’ve been wrong before. (Often!) The story was built from classic fantasy components; witches, mages, dwarves, dark lords, the Tuatha; and was embellished with some wonderfully witty humour and decorated with musical allusions. A couple of teenage siblings are packed off to stay with their Auntie in the Lake District. She has some strange powers and give the kids a couple of pendants to wear which come in very useful as they get embroiled in a battle under the Lakeland fells.
I have to say though, that I don’t like footnotes outside of a technical work. In almost all cases the material they contain is better used in parentheses so as not to hold up the flow of the story. There are many characters, so I didn’t feel I got to know any very well but of course this is the beginning of a series so there’s still time for that. I don’t want to sound as if my minor quibbles coloured (colored!) my view of the book though. Its light-hearted nature made it a joy to read. The author expresses himself well and clearly and he evidently enjoys and delights in the word-play he uses to entertain us.
Will Macmillan Jones has a clever, jolly wit and it makes his work very enjoyable. I shall be following this series with interest!
I have to say though, that I don’t like footnotes outside of a technical work. In almost all cases the material they contain is better used in parentheses so as not to hold up the flow of the story. There are many characters, so I didn’t feel I got to know any very well but of course this is the beginning of a series so there’s still time for that. I don’t want to sound as if my minor quibbles coloured (colored!) my view of the book though. Its light-hearted nature made it a joy to read. The author expresses himself well and clearly and he evidently enjoys and delights in the word-play he uses to entertain us.
Will Macmillan Jones has a clever, jolly wit and it makes his work very enjoyable. I shall be following this series with interest!
January 17, 2014
This is a very amusing book with all the right ingredients to make for some seriously funny comic fantasy. There are Pratchetty parallels in the form of a psychotic Fridge which eats... well... like the blob, it eats pretty much everything in its path. However, it actually reads a little bit like a Goon Show script - except that underneath all the one-liners and corny jokes this book has more of a plot than a Goon show.
Here is an author who is definitely channelling Spike Milligan and possibly even Cosgrove Hall. It contains some cracking throw away lines "I know it's live yoghurt but is it meant to come when it's called?" and some very silly jokes. There are lots of daft - and deft - musical allusions and if you're of a certain age you find yourself lyric/song spotting in no time.
Behind all this larking about is some powerful writing, strong characters and a clever interweaving of this world with a fantasy version. And there's Grizelda's cooking... and the curry eating and apparently wind-powered goat which can also be used as a lethal weapon. The writing gets funnier and funnier as the book goes on which suggests that the next one will be even better.
Two small marks against:
One, American spelling (booo hiss). I suppose it's only a matter of time before we're all spelling colour without the U and getting water out of faucets but, Canute like, I am trying to hold back the tide. And the fact I finished this book, even though it is written by a British author, and even though it is for sale in Britain spelled in American, without throwing my kindle into the pond, is testament to the quality of the writing.
Two, the footnotes. It never crossed my mind that I'd have trouble with those. I rather like them in a print book, but on a Kindle M T Spanner-hands here gets into all sorts of trouble. I kept jabbing the wrong buttons with my giant thumbs and losing the place or jumping back to the wrong chapter and generally stuffing it all up. Initially this did detract from my reading pleasure but as time went on I got a bit less hopeless and my footnote-related angst faded.
Summing up, then. I don't think I can knock stars off for my own xenophobic hang ups and technological ineptitude. So this book gets five stars. And I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes cheesy jokes and a good giggle. It's not deep - which, in my view, only counts in its favour - and it's a cracking bit of light fluff. Recommended.
Here is an author who is definitely channelling Spike Milligan and possibly even Cosgrove Hall. It contains some cracking throw away lines "I know it's live yoghurt but is it meant to come when it's called?" and some very silly jokes. There are lots of daft - and deft - musical allusions and if you're of a certain age you find yourself lyric/song spotting in no time.
Behind all this larking about is some powerful writing, strong characters and a clever interweaving of this world with a fantasy version. And there's Grizelda's cooking... and the curry eating and apparently wind-powered goat which can also be used as a lethal weapon. The writing gets funnier and funnier as the book goes on which suggests that the next one will be even better.
Two small marks against:
One, American spelling (booo hiss). I suppose it's only a matter of time before we're all spelling colour without the U and getting water out of faucets but, Canute like, I am trying to hold back the tide. And the fact I finished this book, even though it is written by a British author, and even though it is for sale in Britain spelled in American, without throwing my kindle into the pond, is testament to the quality of the writing.
Two, the footnotes. It never crossed my mind that I'd have trouble with those. I rather like them in a print book, but on a Kindle M T Spanner-hands here gets into all sorts of trouble. I kept jabbing the wrong buttons with my giant thumbs and losing the place or jumping back to the wrong chapter and generally stuffing it all up. Initially this did detract from my reading pleasure but as time went on I got a bit less hopeless and my footnote-related angst faded.
Summing up, then. I don't think I can knock stars off for my own xenophobic hang ups and technological ineptitude. So this book gets five stars. And I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes cheesy jokes and a good giggle. It's not deep - which, in my view, only counts in its favour - and it's a cracking bit of light fluff. Recommended.
April 26, 2012
I'll be honest, I've never been a huge fan of comedy fantasy. Perhaps it's a sense of protectiveness I have about the fantasy genre- after all, it's just gagging for someone to take the piss out of it.
But this book surprised me at how much I enjoyed it. I think the author has a great affection for the fantasy genre. It comes across in his plot and his prose. He's taken great care to build a background secret mystical world that hangs together very well. The various dwarves, faeries, wizards, trolls and witches that populate it interact wonderfully and the story is engaging and well-paced.
But this is, after all, a work of comedy. So how does that fair? Very well. The jokes fly at you thick and fast, varying from wince-inducing puns, to inane dialogue, to pop culture references, to great music gags. It made me laugh at loud in places and some of the characters are priceless: my personal favourites are the Edern, High Elf managers who talk about the Board and CEOs. And the authors love of music hits you from the first page and doesnt let up.
The footnotes definitely work better in the print edition than the kindle version, although the links in the latter were OK (just distracting).
Eager to read the sequel, which has just come out. An easy 5 stars here.
But this book surprised me at how much I enjoyed it. I think the author has a great affection for the fantasy genre. It comes across in his plot and his prose. He's taken great care to build a background secret mystical world that hangs together very well. The various dwarves, faeries, wizards, trolls and witches that populate it interact wonderfully and the story is engaging and well-paced.
But this is, after all, a work of comedy. So how does that fair? Very well. The jokes fly at you thick and fast, varying from wince-inducing puns, to inane dialogue, to pop culture references, to great music gags. It made me laugh at loud in places and some of the characters are priceless: my personal favourites are the Edern, High Elf managers who talk about the Board and CEOs. And the authors love of music hits you from the first page and doesnt let up.
The footnotes definitely work better in the print edition than the kindle version, although the links in the latter were OK (just distracting).
Eager to read the sequel, which has just come out. An easy 5 stars here.
April 25, 2012
I loved this book it had me in stitches all the way through! It's a book you can't skim read because you'd miss so much it is that packed with laughs. I've just had the second book in the series delivered 'The Mystic Accountants' I can't wait to read it too :)
November 4, 2011
A wonderful world of trolls and elves, set in a familiar world and written with just the right amount of humour to keep you reading, and chuckling throughout.
September 10, 2014
This is where Lord of the Rings meets the Goons - with a generous measure of Bill Bailey stirred in. Normally in the first book in a series the author spends time developing characters, but there's nothing so boring as 'normal' here. Witches, wizards, goblins, dwarves and more are all hurled at the reader, carried along on a tidal wave of humour. Be prepared to be bombarded with painful puns, excruciating one-liners and musical in-jokes. There is a storyline in there; look carefully and you'll spot it amid the writhing mass of wisecracks. I had to read it in small doses so that I didn't become immune to the humour and waste any chuckles.
Can this intensity of joke-telling be maintained through a series? We shall see.
Can this intensity of joke-telling be maintained through a series? We shall see.
January 15, 2013
Jo Brand once said the advantage of writing a comic novel was you only had to be funny once a page. What she did for the rest of the page isn't recorded, but it probably explains why she remains a stand-up and serial panellist rather than a prominent comic novelist. The density of comedy in a novel is a matter for the individual novelist (and many of them, no doubt, agonise over it) but it most would agree that a book which is largely and intentionally unfunny isn't a comic novel (a novel which is largely unintentionally unfunny can still be a comic novel - just a very bad one).
All of which makes it no easier to decide whether a book can be... let's not say too funny, but too densely comedic - almost as if it had been written not by Jo Brand but by Milton Jones.
Whether or not the jokes fall flat isn't quite the issue, but when a character can barely speak a line - even in the direst peril - without making a joke it may be pushing too far. And nobody can write that many jokes without some of them falling flat, even if the fall does produce an amusing squeaking noise.
The Banned Underground is definitely toward the Milton Jones end of the scale, endlessly punning without provocation and unfortunately falling flat more often than a pancake flipper with a nervous disorder. If you concentrate, there is a plot underneath the jokes, even some characters, but the jokes tend to get in the way. Unfortunately they also tend to get in the way of the editing process, so we get strange inconsistencies like someone entering a room silently and shouting at the same time or moving slowly with ease (because most people can't move at less than a sprint without effort). You can see what the author was trying to say, but you feel that he thought the jokes were more important than the mechanics of the writing. And it's a shame, because underneath all that are some interesting ideas and genuine novelty. In the end, it felt like the author even gave up writing puns - an arbitrary aphorism like "out of the frying pan into the fire" is not made into a joke simply by following a sentence in which someone else says "frying pan" - and I gave up reading.
If you view the book as something for a teen reader - someone at the stage where they still buy joke books - this may prove a hit. People hoping for an alternative Pratchett or Holt may find it just a bit too draining.
All of which makes it no easier to decide whether a book can be... let's not say too funny, but too densely comedic - almost as if it had been written not by Jo Brand but by Milton Jones.
Whether or not the jokes fall flat isn't quite the issue, but when a character can barely speak a line - even in the direst peril - without making a joke it may be pushing too far. And nobody can write that many jokes without some of them falling flat, even if the fall does produce an amusing squeaking noise.
The Banned Underground is definitely toward the Milton Jones end of the scale, endlessly punning without provocation and unfortunately falling flat more often than a pancake flipper with a nervous disorder. If you concentrate, there is a plot underneath the jokes, even some characters, but the jokes tend to get in the way. Unfortunately they also tend to get in the way of the editing process, so we get strange inconsistencies like someone entering a room silently and shouting at the same time or moving slowly with ease (because most people can't move at less than a sprint without effort). You can see what the author was trying to say, but you feel that he thought the jokes were more important than the mechanics of the writing. And it's a shame, because underneath all that are some interesting ideas and genuine novelty. In the end, it felt like the author even gave up writing puns - an arbitrary aphorism like "out of the frying pan into the fire" is not made into a joke simply by following a sentence in which someone else says "frying pan" - and I gave up reading.
If you view the book as something for a teen reader - someone at the stage where they still buy joke books - this may prove a hit. People hoping for an alternative Pratchett or Holt may find it just a bit too draining.
July 15, 2012
BEC'S REVIEW
The Banned underground is a fantasy story set in modern times, but it’s not a serious one. Rather the whole story is supposed to be amusing and comical, and while some bits were funny, most of the time I was left wondering what I was reading and just feeling overall that this book is trying too hard to be quirky, funny and different. A lot of the jokes fell flat and there were times when it all became a bit too much, especially when trying to keep up with the jokes and the play on words left me confused as to what was actually happening.
Though to give this book a chance, perhaps its better suited for young adult readers, or even older children who would find the constant play on words funny. Perhaps I’m too used to serious fantasy books to give this one full credit. Whatever the reason, this book was not one I overall enjoyed, although I could see what it was attempting to do.
However don’t let me put you off. The book may be hilarious and I just don’t get it. It could be that it’s just not my sense of humour. And there were some parts of the story I did enjoy, though none that caused me to literally laugh out loud. If you are into quirky fantasy stories, or want something a bit different, or like funny stories then this one may be for you. Check it out and don’t let me own experience be the judge for you.
The Banned underground is a fantasy story set in modern times, but it’s not a serious one. Rather the whole story is supposed to be amusing and comical, and while some bits were funny, most of the time I was left wondering what I was reading and just feeling overall that this book is trying too hard to be quirky, funny and different. A lot of the jokes fell flat and there were times when it all became a bit too much, especially when trying to keep up with the jokes and the play on words left me confused as to what was actually happening.
Though to give this book a chance, perhaps its better suited for young adult readers, or even older children who would find the constant play on words funny. Perhaps I’m too used to serious fantasy books to give this one full credit. Whatever the reason, this book was not one I overall enjoyed, although I could see what it was attempting to do.
However don’t let me put you off. The book may be hilarious and I just don’t get it. It could be that it’s just not my sense of humour. And there were some parts of the story I did enjoy, though none that caused me to literally laugh out loud. If you are into quirky fantasy stories, or want something a bit different, or like funny stories then this one may be for you. Check it out and don’t let me own experience be the judge for you.
December 8, 2012
Bad puns abound in this novel by Will Macmillan Jones, and while I can sometimes enjoy a bit of that, I have to say that overall I find myself somewhat disappointed by The Banned Underground.
The novel is meant to be a bit of frivolous time-killing fun (and nothing wrong with that) as the author himself told me. I encountered Jones doing a signing in my local Waterstones and got chatting.
It was good to shoot the breeze with a fellow author, and while doing that I was flicking through his book; some of the snippets I thus randomly read made me chuckle, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Alas, subjecting it to a proper sit down read, I found the book didn't measure up to expectations.
The novel is inventive and well-written, but as I progressed through the story, it began taking me back through the years to childhood; the feel of it became reminiscent of some of the kids' TV I saw way back when. Perhaps I missed something, but I didn't get the impression that The Banned Underground was aimed at a young audience. (Perhaps the young at heart?)
I suspect -- although I haven't put it to the test -- that my ten-year-old niece might enjoy the book and its rather childish (I thought) humour. As an adult, I began to find it all a little tiresome.
The novel is meant to be a bit of frivolous time-killing fun (and nothing wrong with that) as the author himself told me. I encountered Jones doing a signing in my local Waterstones and got chatting.
It was good to shoot the breeze with a fellow author, and while doing that I was flicking through his book; some of the snippets I thus randomly read made me chuckle, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Alas, subjecting it to a proper sit down read, I found the book didn't measure up to expectations.
The novel is inventive and well-written, but as I progressed through the story, it began taking me back through the years to childhood; the feel of it became reminiscent of some of the kids' TV I saw way back when. Perhaps I missed something, but I didn't get the impression that The Banned Underground was aimed at a young audience. (Perhaps the young at heart?)
I suspect -- although I haven't put it to the test -- that my ten-year-old niece might enjoy the book and its rather childish (I thought) humour. As an adult, I began to find it all a little tiresome.
June 5, 2014
In the first book of the series, we meet the goodies (Chris and Linda, Ben and Grizelda, Fungus and the Banned), the baddies (Ned and the Watches, the Grey Mage, Caer Surdin), and an assortment of other characters (the Edern, the Tuatha, the Bodgandor, and various dwarves and trolls) who all take part in a war to seize the Helvyndelve, home of the dwarves, and the Amulet of Kings, the power source for the whole place. Naturally, chaos ensues and, just as naturally, the results are hilarious.
Full of jokes both good and bad (which makes them all the better, in my opinion), as well as a whole slew of rockin’ tunes, this book has it all: good food, good friends, good fun, and a good baddie in need of defeat (unless, of course, you ask him). I first encountered this book – and its brilliant author – when it was up on authonomy, so I was beyond excited to find out that it had been picked up for publication. I read it in only a few days – I couldn’t put it down.
Full of jokes both good and bad (which makes them all the better, in my opinion), as well as a whole slew of rockin’ tunes, this book has it all: good food, good friends, good fun, and a good baddie in need of defeat (unless, of course, you ask him). I first encountered this book – and its brilliant author – when it was up on authonomy, so I was beyond excited to find out that it had been picked up for publication. I read it in only a few days – I couldn’t put it down.
Want to read
March 3, 2012I started reading this book on authonomy quite a while ago and enjoyed what i read. Looking forward to finishing it.
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