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A review by thebakersbooks
No Country for Old Gnomes by Delilah S. Dawson, Kevin Hearne
4.0
4/5 stars — a standout in both fantasy and humor
No Country for Old Gnomes may be packed with puns, but the storytelling craft evident in its character construction and witty prose is no joke. Just like its predecessor, the novel ranges from wordplay and slapstick to discussions of fantasy racism in the space of a sentence—and it does so smoothly and successfully.
Like Kill the Farm Boy, No Country for Old Gnomes features a large and varied cast. This time around, there's a bee-loving dwarf, a nervous but determined ovitaur, two gnomes (one goth and one regular), one unusually peaceable halfling, and a gryphon exiled for her penchant for eating Egges. Although each member of the adventuring party has different aims, they agree that someone needs to put a stop to the halfling organized crime ring terrorizing defenseless gnomes. (King Gustave the ex-goat is back, also seeking to restore peace to his kingdom and restore the gnome refugees to their homes and puddings.)
Again, the humor was precisely my cup of tea. In addition to tons of groan-worthy puns, there were three Star Wars jokes (that I noticed), several references to Lord of the Rings, and a magnificent dunk on a certain large coffee chain known for burning their beans. I especially enjoyed Gerd's sections, because the gryphon language is styled as a mixture of the antiquated tendency to vary spellings and add random letters at the speaker/writer's whim and modern social media-speak, including capitalizing words whenever one feels like it. (As in the previous book, whether others will enjoy this humor is mostly a matter of personal taste. I loved it, but your mileage may vary.)
My final verdict: No Country for Old Gnomes is a fun, lighthearted book that I definitely recommend. It can be read without the first book, although cameos from some of the Book 1 characters are likely cooler with context. As with Kill the Farm Boy, I'd recommend this to those who like humor that ranges from high- to lowbrow, as well as readers who enjoy poking fun at "traditional" high fantasy tropes.
**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
No Country for Old Gnomes may be packed with puns, but the storytelling craft evident in its character construction and witty prose is no joke. Just like its predecessor, the novel ranges from wordplay and slapstick to discussions of fantasy racism in the space of a sentence—and it does so smoothly and successfully.
Like Kill the Farm Boy, No Country for Old Gnomes features a large and varied cast. This time around, there's a bee-loving dwarf, a nervous but determined ovitaur, two gnomes (one goth and one regular), one unusually peaceable halfling, and a gryphon exiled for her penchant for eating Egges. Although each member of the adventuring party has different aims, they agree that someone needs to put a stop to the halfling organized crime ring terrorizing defenseless gnomes. (King Gustave the ex-goat is back, also seeking to restore peace to his kingdom and restore the gnome refugees to their homes and puddings.)
Again, the humor was precisely my cup of tea. In addition to tons of groan-worthy puns, there were three Star Wars jokes (that I noticed), several references to Lord of the Rings, and a magnificent dunk on a certain large coffee chain known for burning their beans. I especially enjoyed Gerd's sections, because the gryphon language is styled as a mixture of the antiquated tendency to vary spellings and add random letters at the speaker/writer's whim and modern social media-speak, including capitalizing words whenever one feels like it. (As in the previous book, whether others will enjoy this humor is mostly a matter of personal taste. I loved it, but your mileage may vary.)
My final verdict: No Country for Old Gnomes is a fun, lighthearted book that I definitely recommend. It can be read without the first book, although cameos from some of the Book 1 characters are likely cooler with context. As with Kill the Farm Boy, I'd recommend this to those who like humor that ranges from high- to lowbrow, as well as readers who enjoy poking fun at "traditional" high fantasy tropes.
**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**