Don't have a curry before... it's too late!
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And of course, the thing to avoid is eating curry in between lagers, reading this ALOUD with dramatic florishes (some of which were frankly, unprintable, and certainly unreproducible in this splendid on line journal) in your student flat before a rapt and drunk audience of students who know all your bad habits, and avoid embarrasments that they will tell their children and grandchildren about. Yes, and I expect this book was written in the same way.
I think the introductory text (the one which doesn't involve hairy toes) is roughly about the same level of lunacy as the book proper, but the fact is, I have no doubt that it it perfectly true; a pair of down and about writers alternate betwen emergency supplies of dog biscuits and sleepovers in the library (been there, done that) and surrender their writing careers to a desperate plan of salvation that includes vissitudes in aid of helpless fictional species, bypassing the local libel laws, characters strangely reminiscent of nearly everyone on my course (only smaller and smellier). Yes, I'm thinking about Tim Benzadrine here folks!
So it goes, and if you can read the bit with Lavalier and the brick wallpaper lined tree without falling over and spilling lager all over the communal radio, which then spectacularly explodes, then you did better than me.
I think.
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Showing its age
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I found this both dated and dull... the humour is rather broad and clumsy, as a work of parody it seems to demonstrate a prejudicial a view of generic fantasy rather that a keen appreciation of Tolkien. No doubt there is much in Tolkien that is worthy of parody - this book doesn't deliver it; it's just a collection of ill-aimed cheap shots. It also feels like it was written over a weekend.
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Outrageously funny!
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In this outrageous parody of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, we get to follow the preposterous antics of an unbelievable group of misfits out to unmake a ring, and destroy an evil power. Goodgulf the wizard leads Frito, Spam, Moxie, Pepsi, Stomper the Ranger (he has many names), Bromosel, Gimlet the dwarf and Legolam the elf across Lower Middle Earth, as they dodge the evil pig-riding Nozdrul, foul Narcs and other baddies, on their way to dark Fordor. As you can tell from the summary above, this book is not to be taken seriously! It is outrageously funny! Can a reader ever forget the four boggies meeting with the wild Tom Benzedrine and his magical lady Hashberry? No! Indeed, hardly a RPG session passes when one of us does not quote from this hilarious tome: "'Then we must head east,' said Goodgulf gesturing with his wand to where the sun was setting redly in a mass of sea-clouds." This book is laugh-out-loud funny, and should be read by every fan of the great Tolkien. I recommend it wholeheartedly!
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well above average
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dont get me wrong i am very much an obsessive fan of LOTR and i very often read it but this book is still very good and still very funny. everyone seems to think that an obsessed fan of LOTR cannot like BOTR but they are wrong i do not like BOTR as much but this is still very good and if you do not have a sense of humour well then thats just your problem. you can still be a fan of LOTR to like this book so dont listen to any of the bad comments (or some of the good ones either) because ppl seem to think that we arent capable of enjoying a good read such as this.
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If you like LOTR you shouldn't like this.
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I hated it, but for some perverse reason I made myself read the whole thing. And no, it wasn't a case of 'I couldn't put it down', it took weeks of hard labour!! A couple of paragraphs.... and my mind would wander away.
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