An interesting angle
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Barking is a clever approach to the werewolf genre - werewolf lawyers. It's strictly comedy with frequent insightful wit along the way. However, at times Holt does tend to pad out chapters with unnecessary internal monologue. The story itself weaves a line which occasionally slips in to confusion rather than the intended chaos, although there are plenty of recaps to keep the fast paced story in focus. Barking has plenty of magic moments, some very well though out narrative and some top quality originality. Barking is a recommended, if lengthy, read.
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An excellent addition to the Tom Holt catalogue!
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I've been reading Tom Holt on-and-off for many years now. I like to think of Tom Holt and Terry Pratchett as opposites: Pratchett writes about an imaginary, fantasy world into which he injects real-life elements. Holt writes about the real world, and then injects fantasy elements into it. If you've ever mused: 'I wonder what the world would be like if [insert fantasy creature here] really existed' then Tom Holt books are probably for you.
Holt used to be a lawyer and so this book, which pivots around several law firms that aren't enirely what they seem, is accutely observed. The humour is sharp, yet subtle and the characters are well-developed. There's also lots of fun to be had trying to pick out all the little clues hidden in the names of people and places. The start is somewhat slow, but that simply kept me turning pages, wanting to know where the story was going. It's a great story with some very original twists. If you've enjoyed Holt books in the past you'll love this one. If you've never read his work before, why not start here?
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My favourite Tom Holt (so far)
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I've been a Rankin fan for over 20 years but only discovered Tom's work last year. Since then I've worked my way through the back catalogue. I thoroughly enjoy all his work but Barking, for me is without a doubt one of his best. Read it!
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Someone probably is
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Although in the usual Tom Holt way out fantasy mode, I found this to be one of his very best. A move away from goblins, and into another theme altogether. Couldn't put it down, an excellent read
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Tom continues his wonderful world building
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For years I absolutely adored Terry Pratchetts writing but I always wanted something a bit more real world with the fantastical elements. This is something that Tom Holt does in spades, blending the fantastical with real world humour and although my favourite work of his is the Portable Door series this new, individual novel is now a close second.
As you have come to expect with his work, the humour is fast, the antagonist a person who like us is thrown into the deep end with no idea which way is up and as the tale progresses we're left trying to figure out what the hell is going on. It all makes sense by the end of the novel of course, but the journey to get there is something in the telling. Its cracking. If you want something funny to keep you going and also want something that not only entertains but will make you laugh as well as keep the pages turning to the last then this is a tale (or tail in some points) worth the reading. Observational humour has never been finer and as such possibly will make the reader look at their dog a bit funny trying to figure out what the hell its doing. Are those eyes hiding a human intelligence or is it a case of its just the dog. You'll forever keep guessing now.
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