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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
When one of the citizens of Pine Cove commits suicide, the town psychiatrist Val decides to switch everyone's antidepressants for placebos. What Val doesn't realize is that around the same time a sea monster named Steve has come to town and worked his mojo on their serotonin levels. Many of the residents of Pine Cove are now terribly horny and seeking companionship wherever they can find it. This includes Molly, a former actress now crazy person, who comes across Steve after he had a run in with an exploding oil tanker. In the strangest relationship ever, Molly and Steve start wrecking havoc in Pine Cove. Steve has to eat after all! Constable Theo tries to investigate everything from the suicide to the disappearances, but it hindered by the fact that the county sheriff doesn't want Theo investigating anything. Throw into the mix the old blues singer who had a runin with Steve once before and Pine Cove has become a horny, crazy town.
I picked this one up after listening to Serpent of Venice. It wasn't nearly as good, but it was still entertaining. The situations Christopher Moore thinks up get more and more bizarre. A love affair between a sea monster and an actress, sure. An old bartender who has replaced so many body parts she is basically the bionic woman, why not. A pharmacist who goes along with Val's scheme because he dreams of sex with sea animals, ok. A town full of people who worship and willingly sacrifice themselves to a sea monster, if you want. It just gets stranger and stranger in Pine Cove. It is funny and inventive and pretty silly.
I picked this one up after listening to Serpent of Venice. It wasn't nearly as good, but it was still entertaining. The situations Christopher Moore thinks up get more and more bizarre. A love affair between a sea monster and an actress, sure. An old bartender who has replaced so many body parts she is basically the bionic woman, why not. A pharmacist who goes along with Val's scheme because he dreams of sex with sea animals, ok. A town full of people who worship and willingly sacrifice themselves to a sea monster, if you want. It just gets stranger and stranger in Pine Cove. It is funny and inventive and pretty silly.
This book was strange on so many levels. A large lizard driving everyone mad with lust in a town already halfway to crazy makes for an entertaining read.
Alright - it's not as good as Lamb. How could it be? I mean, Lamb is kind of spectacularly wonderful. And I'd been warned that this one was a little disappointing in comparison.
So I just pretended that it was a brand new book by a guy who had nothing to do with Biff, Christ's childhood Pal and I had a grand old time with it.
It's wacky. It's fun. Like Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and a comic book rolled up in one irreverent ball.
So I just pretended that it was a brand new book by a guy who had nothing to do with Biff, Christ's childhood Pal and I had a grand old time with it.
It's wacky. It's fun. Like Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and a comic book rolled up in one irreverent ball.
Not my typical read. I am guessing this story is what they call comical writing. Somewhat entertaining, a few laughs but over all I found it to pretentious, a parody of the small town America, and overall just not that funny.
Summary:
Pine Cove Oregon suffers a major crisis when the town psychiatrist, Val Riordan who has been carelessly issuing prescriptions instead of dealing with the real mental problems of her patients suffers from guilt and substitutes all of her patients' anti-depressants with placebos. At this same time, by coincidence, human-generated environmental activity stirs a prehistoric sea-beast from its underwater keep to come ashore.
In addition to its ability to change form, the beast exudes a pheromone that inspires uncontrollable lust among the residents of Pine Cove and also lures some of them as prey. After mistakenly trying to mate with a fuel truck (causing an explosion), the beast hides in a trailer park, attracting the curiosity of local crazy lady and former B-movie star Molly Michon, who builds a rapport with the injured beast.
Meanwhile, Theophilus Crowe, the town constable, investigates a strange suicide, the activities of his corrupt boss, and his adversely affected marijuana habit. When the beast (whom Molly has named "Steve") starts eating residents of Pine Cove and interfering with Theo's boss's meth business, Molly (who has become romantically involved with the beast) and Theo band together to make possible the beast's safe escape and to take down the boss at the same time.
BREAKDOWN STAR REVIEW:
Storyline: I give 4 out of 5 stars due to it unique and creative story.
Writing style: 2 out of 5 stars. Not terribly well written. Cetainly Mr. Moore writes better than me but I would expect more of an intelligent conversation in the works that I read.
Depth/Inspiration: 2 out of 5 stars. This story is a comedy and a parody of Small town America. Those that can't make it in the big city or are hiding away from the stresses of congestion. There is no depth or inspiration in this story only a brief getaway from reality. It is an easy read one that isn't there to provoke much contemplation.
Entertainment/Education value: 3 out of 5 stars. Definitely entertaining and dear God I hope no educational value. Possibly even worth a reread down the road for me.
Summary:
Pine Cove Oregon suffers a major crisis when the town psychiatrist, Val Riordan who has been carelessly issuing prescriptions instead of dealing with the real mental problems of her patients suffers from guilt and substitutes all of her patients' anti-depressants with placebos. At this same time, by coincidence, human-generated environmental activity stirs a prehistoric sea-beast from its underwater keep to come ashore.
In addition to its ability to change form, the beast exudes a pheromone that inspires uncontrollable lust among the residents of Pine Cove and also lures some of them as prey. After mistakenly trying to mate with a fuel truck (causing an explosion), the beast hides in a trailer park, attracting the curiosity of local crazy lady and former B-movie star Molly Michon, who builds a rapport with the injured beast.
Meanwhile, Theophilus Crowe, the town constable, investigates a strange suicide, the activities of his corrupt boss, and his adversely affected marijuana habit. When the beast (whom Molly has named "Steve") starts eating residents of Pine Cove and interfering with Theo's boss's meth business, Molly (who has become romantically involved with the beast) and Theo band together to make possible the beast's safe escape and to take down the boss at the same time.
BREAKDOWN STAR REVIEW:
Storyline: I give 4 out of 5 stars due to it unique and creative story.
Writing style: 2 out of 5 stars. Not terribly well written. Cetainly Mr. Moore writes better than me but I would expect more of an intelligent conversation in the works that I read.
Depth/Inspiration: 2 out of 5 stars. This story is a comedy and a parody of Small town America. Those that can't make it in the big city or are hiding away from the stresses of congestion. There is no depth or inspiration in this story only a brief getaway from reality. It is an easy read one that isn't there to provoke much contemplation.
Entertainment/Education value: 3 out of 5 stars. Definitely entertaining and dear God I hope no educational value. Possibly even worth a reread down the road for me.
What can I say? I loved it.
Another amazing story from Christopher Moore. Fabulous characters. Entrancing plot. I couldn't put it down. I'm glad Steve got a happy ending.
Another amazing story from Christopher Moore. Fabulous characters. Entrancing plot. I couldn't put it down. I'm glad Steve got a happy ending.
A hilarious breath of salty air during a stressful time of the year! I especially loved the “Skinner the Dog” character & his references to the other characters-Food Guy, Tall Guy, etc. This tale was just the perfect distraction and had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. Lighthearted summer read, a welcome bit of silliness any time of the year!
I really liked this particular story in the "Pine Cove" series by Christopher Moore. Within the first couple of tracks I caught my self laughing out loud and just the little zingers that some of the characters throw out are awesome. Moore has such a bizarre sense of humor and his stories are so "out there" that it's hard to forget this is about a giant prehistoric "chameleon-like" lizard who has sex with a tanker truck and all kinds of other weird things. It's just fun. Pure fun.
I particularly liked near the end when Mavis (owner of the local bar) calls the pharmacist Flipper because she finds out that he has a fetish involving sex with marine animals. It's just too funny. I can't do it justice by just typing my random thoughts about it but I really enjoyed this one :) Each character is great in their own way. I also really liked Nailsworth aka "The Spider" who is the info-brain of the Pine Cove/San Junipero County Sheriff's office. I listened to this as an audiobook and I love the narration. The voice given to The Spider reminded me of Droopy Dog. If you've ever seen "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", it reminds me of when Eddie takes the elevator (run by Droopy Dog) in Toon Town and Droopy says "Your Floor, Sir." "Have a Nice Day, Sir." Obviously you can't tell the tone by my typing but perhaps you get the idea.
I'm slowly coming to the last two of Christopher Moore's books and I can't wait for more ;)
I particularly liked near the end when Mavis (owner of the local bar) calls the pharmacist Flipper because she finds out that he has a fetish involving sex with marine animals. It's just too funny. I can't do it justice by just typing my random thoughts about it but I really enjoyed this one :) Each character is great in their own way. I also really liked Nailsworth aka "The Spider" who is the info-brain of the Pine Cove/San Junipero County Sheriff's office. I listened to this as an audiobook and I love the narration. The voice given to The Spider reminded me of Droopy Dog. If you've ever seen "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", it reminds me of when Eddie takes the elevator (run by Droopy Dog) in Toon Town and Droopy says "Your Floor, Sir." "Have a Nice Day, Sir." Obviously you can't tell the tone by my typing but perhaps you get the idea.
I'm slowly coming to the last two of Christopher Moore's books and I can't wait for more ;)
Another great absurdist every man story. Everything you want from Christopher Moore.
A nice sequel to Practical Demonkeeping. Enough mentions of the original characters and settings to tie it in, but this story completely stands alone. Sorry to rate Christopher Moore 4 stars instead of 3, I have liked his other books even more than this one, but he's so funny and interesting that I can't help it. Ready to read book #3 in the series, it's Christmas-themed, so a bit late...