cpark2005 reviewed In The Land Of The Penny Gnomes by Wesley T Allen
Review of 'In The Land Of The Penny Gnomes' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This is the second portal fantasy that I’ve read recently and like the other I read and reviewed, I enjoyed this one. I may have to stop saying I dislike the subgenre. In the Land of the Penny Gnomes is a hilarious read that pokes fun at tropes in a very Pratchett-esque way. It is lighthearted and funny and might serve as the perfect palate cleanser between more dense or epic reads.
Wesley T. Allen is a geek, and that shows throughout In the Land of the Penny Gnomes. There are so many side references to geekdom that I’m sure I missed some. There were dozens of laugh out loud moments for me throughout the book. I’ll happily admit that I am a geek too, so the humor here, the poking fun at tropes, the absurdity of it all really worked for me. In addition to the comedy, which …
This is the second portal fantasy that I’ve read recently and like the other I read and reviewed, I enjoyed this one. I may have to stop saying I dislike the subgenre. In the Land of the Penny Gnomes is a hilarious read that pokes fun at tropes in a very Pratchett-esque way. It is lighthearted and funny and might serve as the perfect palate cleanser between more dense or epic reads.
Wesley T. Allen is a geek, and that shows throughout In the Land of the Penny Gnomes. There are so many side references to geekdom that I’m sure I missed some. There were dozens of laugh out loud moments for me throughout the book. I’ll happily admit that I am a geek too, so the humor here, the poking fun at tropes, the absurdity of it all really worked for me. In addition to the comedy, which is where this book really shines, I thought the characters were well differentiated. They had unique voices and characteristics that made them likeable. It’s true, some were caricatures, but they were deliberate caricatures. There is a lot of laughter to be had with this one. And the footnotes! Oh my goodness, they might be the best part. I kind of want footnotes in my own life now. Allen has given us a wonderful lighthearted romp.
No book is perfect, however, and In the Land of the Penny Gnomes is no exception. For starters, there are a good number of typos throughout the manuscript (happily, these can be easily corrected, and I believe the author is working to do that). More importantly, I felt like there were moments when things worked out a little too smoothly for the characters. This is a bit of the conceit of this sort of comedy, but I felt like a little more narrative tension might have improved certain moments. Allen also has a tendency to avoid specifying the speaker when someone interjects. This isn’t a huge criticism, but it did mean that when interjections happened, I didn’t know who the speaker was until some blocking clued me in.
I really enjoyed this read. Being more of an epic fantasy fan, someone who loves in depth magic systems and complex plots, I didn’t know how I’d react to this when I picked it up. But I ended up liking it a good deal. There are still some jokes that I’m chuckling at. If you’re a geek looking for a light comedic/satirical read to poke fun at some tropes—and somehow include both fantasy and computer geek jokes—give this one a shot. 4/5 stars.
5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – I liked it, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing