BLURB:

After a particularly violent fall from grace involving a recklessly homicidal umbrella, Philias Switchmoat the Third took a vow of horizontality. Never again would he resort to the vertical. But that wasn’t going to stop him from leaving his mark on the world.

Not even the hordes of undead zombies, a sexually deviant Priest, an aggressively threatening government official, murderously incompetent hotel staff, a malevolent cat and the combined efforts of the Metropolitan Police’s elite SWAT team were going to stop him from doing that.

MY THOUGHTS:

I originally reviewed this book in April 2012.

I started reading this book with high expectations, and it was a bit of a disappointment. It is a funny book, witty and clever, but maybe it is a bit too clever. I couldn’t understand very well some of the jokes and satirical remarks. This book hasn’t got a real plot. It deals with the crazy adventures of Philias Switchmoat the Third, and how he decides to go horizontal for the rest of his life. But that’s all the plot that you get. The rest of the book are isolated episodes in which we can get a clear view of the eccentricity and madness of this peculiar character.

If you are fond of absurd and witty stories, you will really like this book. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t love it. It is entertaining to read, but it didn’t have me hooked or didn’t make me stay up late to keep on reading it. The language and style used are a bit difficult, maybe to match the personality of the main character; that contributed to my not enjoying it as much as I would have enjoyed it is the language had been an easier one.

The rest of the characters in the story are flat and with predictable behaviours. Philias Switchmoat is a bit more elaborate, but it is not a complex character.

Since the book is rather short, I will recommend it to those of you who are looking for an entertaining, quick read, suitable for a plane flight or for a train trip.

For all that, I give this book… 3 tea cups!