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3.0
Blackadder. This was the thought that recurrently popped into my head as I read this book. Just as in the British sitcom, we have our selfish anti-hero, Dick (befitting name, let me tell you), an arrogant little brat of eighteen who hates his father, King Ulaf, with utter vehemence. He even has a loyal sidekick, his own Baldrick if you will, a servant by the name of Crispin.
Prince Dietrich is constantly dreaming of the day when he can overthrow Old Fart and rule in his place. By the looks of it, it will be a long time before he ever does. If the King has his way, he would sooner have a camel ruling his realm rather than giving the throne to his rightful heir. In a word, their relationship is venomous. Our story begins at one of those turbulent encounters of theirs, when King Ulaf announces that Dick is to marry Amadea in hopes of uniting both realms.
The Prince isn’t left with much of a choice and immediately departs to meet his betrothed. But, of course, being the disagreeable and mischievous man that he is known to be, Dick gets himself embroidered into a series of humorous mishaps. These tend to be slightly exaggerated situations, with obvious insert-track-laughter-here moments. This may sound condescending, but I don’t mean it in a bad way at all. If there is one thing I don’t like about a book is that it takes itself too seriously when it shouldn’t, and I think Igor Ljubuncic did a good job of steering away from it. I often found myself amused at the absurdities that the group finds along the way.
The narrative is fast-paced and easy to read. Though humorous, it’s probably not for everyone. It’s dark, cynical, and full of innuendos. If you want to read about noble knights and charming princes, don’t bother with this book. Dick is far from the ever-so-perfect heroes depicted in so many books. He is charmless, tactless, impolite, sarcastic, and unattractive. He is that one person who is constantly thinking of breasts. That one person who laughs every time he farts (and is probably kind enough to ensure everyone around him smells what he must think is the most wonderful odour in the world). Sometimes, it’s fun to hate a character. Dick is one of those characters. (And, to be fair, you don’t always hate him).
One of the negatives I found was the dimension of the characters. To me, they lacked depth and variety. Everyone was either a milder version of Dietrich, or not developed enough. I would have liked Eva to have more personality. They are supposedly so contrasting that it would have been interesting to see how their interaction affected each other.
Prince Dietrich is constantly dreaming of the day when he can overthrow Old Fart and rule in his place. By the looks of it, it will be a long time before he ever does. If the King has his way, he would sooner have a camel ruling his realm rather than giving the throne to his rightful heir. In a word, their relationship is venomous. Our story begins at one of those turbulent encounters of theirs, when King Ulaf announces that Dick is to marry Amadea in hopes of uniting both realms.
The Prince isn’t left with much of a choice and immediately departs to meet his betrothed. But, of course, being the disagreeable and mischievous man that he is known to be, Dick gets himself embroidered into a series of humorous mishaps. These tend to be slightly exaggerated situations, with obvious insert-track-laughter-here moments. This may sound condescending, but I don’t mean it in a bad way at all. If there is one thing I don’t like about a book is that it takes itself too seriously when it shouldn’t, and I think Igor Ljubuncic did a good job of steering away from it. I often found myself amused at the absurdities that the group finds along the way.
The narrative is fast-paced and easy to read. Though humorous, it’s probably not for everyone. It’s dark, cynical, and full of innuendos. If you want to read about noble knights and charming princes, don’t bother with this book. Dick is far from the ever-so-perfect heroes depicted in so many books. He is charmless, tactless, impolite, sarcastic, and unattractive. He is that one person who is constantly thinking of breasts. That one person who laughs every time he farts (and is probably kind enough to ensure everyone around him smells what he must think is the most wonderful odour in the world). Sometimes, it’s fun to hate a character. Dick is one of those characters. (And, to be fair, you don’t always hate him).
One of the negatives I found was the dimension of the characters. To me, they lacked depth and variety. Everyone was either a milder version of Dietrich, or not developed enough. I would have liked Eva to have more personality. They are supposedly so contrasting that it would have been interesting to see how their interaction affected each other.
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