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Banned Underground #5
The SatNav of Doom
Abandon all hope all ye who go looking for The Satnav of Doom
The country's economy is in trouble. No change there, you might well say. But this time it's because the Dark Lord has taken an interest. Deep within their Fairy Hill, the Edern are building a new International Economic Forecasting Device, and the Dark Lord fancies hacking into the system. Or, indeed stealing it outright if it works.
His latest plot to win control of the Dwarf Mansion has been foiled, and he is in need of funds to buy off his wizarding colleagues. Can his assistants help him to get the Money For Nothing?
The country's economy is in trouble. No change there, you might well say. But this time it's because the Dark Lord has taken an interest. Deep within their Fairy Hill, the Edern are building a new International Economic Forecasting Device, and the Dark Lord fancies hacking into the system. Or, indeed stealing it outright if it works.
His latest plot to win control of the Dwarf Mansion has been foiled, and he is in need of funds to buy off his wizarding colleagues. Can his assistants help him to get the Money For Nothing?
200 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2013
About the author
Will Macmillan Jones
56 books164 followersI'm a just sixty (honest) poet, novelist and oral storyteller working in the shadow of The Black Mountain, in the mist and myth haunted land of Wales. When not writing I'm usually lost (with the help of a GPS) on top of a mountain, looking for dragons. I haven't found one yet, but it's only a matter of time...
I'm a speculative fiction writer, with emphasis on horror, fantasy and now sci fi. I've also some pedigree in Flash Fiction, which is both challenging and tremendous fun to write - and maybe to read.
I'm a speculative fiction writer, with emphasis on horror, fantasy and now sci fi. I've also some pedigree in Flash Fiction, which is both challenging and tremendous fun to write - and maybe to read.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 6, 2013
Will MacMillan’s latest offering in the Banned Underground series is yet another hugely enjoyable tale.
The Government is struggling to find the way out of the Recession and is working on a system with the Edern. They have a computer linked to a time-travelling SatNav that can predict future events. The Grey Mage (think Evil Lord) wants to hack into that system and use it for himself. He sends his henchmen (Bill and Ben – yes, Mr MacMillan Jones, I got it.) to corrupt it with a virus during a fund-raising event where the Banned Underground are playing.
Confusion and comedy fuse as chaos ensues. The humour comes at you thick and fast in this book. It is choc block full of puns and laughs. You need your wits about you to pick up on the musical references and subtle gags but luckily this reader was on fire that day. It is both slapstick and subtle. And, watch out for the twist at the end. It is very good.
The characters are huge fun. Amusing episodes populate the pages. Dai, the bass playing dragon is love-sick and keeps setting fire to things when he huffs. The Dark Lord, in spite of being evil, is terrified of his wife, Poison Ivy, and the SatNav’s gloomy attitude that reminded me a little of Marvin the paranoid android, in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, all had me laughing out loud.
Light, enjoyable and an easy read although I would suggest you read the preceding books before this as characters are developed throughout the series.
I so wish my SatNav was as much fun as this one. Oh, and don’t forget to put your wages on Madcap Harry!
The Government is struggling to find the way out of the Recession and is working on a system with the Edern. They have a computer linked to a time-travelling SatNav that can predict future events. The Grey Mage (think Evil Lord) wants to hack into that system and use it for himself. He sends his henchmen (Bill and Ben – yes, Mr MacMillan Jones, I got it.) to corrupt it with a virus during a fund-raising event where the Banned Underground are playing.
Confusion and comedy fuse as chaos ensues. The humour comes at you thick and fast in this book. It is choc block full of puns and laughs. You need your wits about you to pick up on the musical references and subtle gags but luckily this reader was on fire that day. It is both slapstick and subtle. And, watch out for the twist at the end. It is very good.
The characters are huge fun. Amusing episodes populate the pages. Dai, the bass playing dragon is love-sick and keeps setting fire to things when he huffs. The Dark Lord, in spite of being evil, is terrified of his wife, Poison Ivy, and the SatNav’s gloomy attitude that reminded me a little of Marvin the paranoid android, in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, all had me laughing out loud.
Light, enjoyable and an easy read although I would suggest you read the preceding books before this as characters are developed throughout the series.
I so wish my SatNav was as much fun as this one. Oh, and don’t forget to put your wages on Madcap Harry!
October 9, 2013
First a disclaimer or declaration of interest; I might be classed as a mate of Will’s and am published by the same publisher. So you have been warned.
Right, the book, I read it, not quite in one sitting, and enjoyed it immensely. It takes the tale of the Banned Underground further, but this time it concentrates on the adventures of The Watchers; Ned, Bill and Ben. (Does this mean that Ned is ‘the weed’?)
This book really advances the various characters who until now had been peripheral; Edie gets a cameo role, we see more of the Eldern and how they interact with each other, and we even get to see the inner workings of government laid bare.
If you like the others in the series you’ll enjoy this and find yourself waiting eagerly for the next.
Right, the book, I read it, not quite in one sitting, and enjoyed it immensely. It takes the tale of the Banned Underground further, but this time it concentrates on the adventures of The Watchers; Ned, Bill and Ben. (Does this mean that Ned is ‘the weed’?)
This book really advances the various characters who until now had been peripheral; Edie gets a cameo role, we see more of the Eldern and how they interact with each other, and we even get to see the inner workings of government laid bare.
If you like the others in the series you’ll enjoy this and find yourself waiting eagerly for the next.
September 28, 2013
This is the fifth short novel in the continuing contemporary fantasy series featuring the rock band The Banned Underground. The band members include four dwarfs, a green bog troll, and a bass playing dragon. In this episode, we find them as almost a backdrop to the main plot in which the British government is working with the Edern (think elves or fairies) to develop a future-telling system that will help the government pull the British economy out of trouble. The Dark Lord wants to hack into this system for his own (evil) purposes, and he sends a team to the ostensibly secure Edern laboratories during a fund-raising event at which the Banned are playing. The Dark Lord’s minions are there to install a computer virus. Meanwhile, the dwarves are after those same minions for an unpaid bar tab. (Confused yet?)
Mayhem ensues.
The SatNav of Doom is a comic slapstick farce along the lines of Robert Asprin or Piers Anthony, full of puns, word-play, and references to old rock tunes. Now, I can’t say this kind of humor normally has great appeal for me. I’m more of a science fiction than a fantasy reader, and when I do read humorous fantasy, I prefer something with a bit more satirical or philosophical content (e.g. Terry Pratchett), but in the subgenre this book represents, it’s pretty good. The characters are all clowns, but they can be funny in a burned trousers kind of way (Yes - there is such a scene). The copy editing is adequate, and whereas the prose is sparse and could not be considered literary in any sense, it is serviceable for the type of book this is. I also enjoyed the Doctor Who twist at the end.
I will caution that some may not ‘get’ some of the references (old rock songs and Doctor Who, for example). Also, this is not the book to start with in the series because the character development occurs mainly in the previous offerings.
Disclosure: I received a pre-publication promotional copy of the eBook edition from the author.
Mayhem ensues.
The SatNav of Doom is a comic slapstick farce along the lines of Robert Asprin or Piers Anthony, full of puns, word-play, and references to old rock tunes. Now, I can’t say this kind of humor normally has great appeal for me. I’m more of a science fiction than a fantasy reader, and when I do read humorous fantasy, I prefer something with a bit more satirical or philosophical content (e.g. Terry Pratchett), but in the subgenre this book represents, it’s pretty good. The characters are all clowns, but they can be funny in a burned trousers kind of way (Yes - there is such a scene). The copy editing is adequate, and whereas the prose is sparse and could not be considered literary in any sense, it is serviceable for the type of book this is. I also enjoyed the Doctor Who twist at the end.
I will caution that some may not ‘get’ some of the references (old rock songs and Doctor Who, for example). Also, this is not the book to start with in the series because the character development occurs mainly in the previous offerings.
Disclosure: I received a pre-publication promotional copy of the eBook edition from the author.
November 9, 2013
This is the fifth book in The Banned Underground, a hilarious series featuring blues-playing bog trolls (and a dragon), a Dark Lord (the Grey Mage), the Watches (who do the Grey Mage's bidding), and a host of other characters. In The SatNav of Doom, we revisit old favorites (Grizelda makes a welcome appearance and the romance between Dai and Gloria heats up) and we meet the SatNav of Doom. I loved the satnav jokes in the previous books, and having run into my own issues with GPS technology, I thoroughly enjoyed the addition of his new, powerful, joke-cracking SatNav. There are a few running jokes in this book that never get old (at least in my opinion)--the Grey Mage's fear of his wife Poison Ivy, the Watches' dire warnings when one of their own decide to find a girlfriend, the government's ineptitude in handling the economy (horse race's anyone?)--and a few new themes readers will enjoy. Overall, I enjoyed reading this newest addition to the series and look forward to the next installment.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews