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A review by ravenousbibliophile
The Dragon with the Girl Tattoo by Adam Roberts
3.0
Blurb: The Spoof that could be the Real thing.
My decision to begin reading this book was predicated on one thing and one thing only: The name and cover-art. And given some of the other books that I've begun reading for similar reasons, I'm glad this book wasn't a disappointment like the others. However, this wonderful spoof on the book that it alludes to in its title is not all humor and laughter.
Adam Roberts does a splendid job of 'dragonizing' everything in the universe. Be it names of buildings, people or hormones. But he hasn't sacrificed the darkness of the original story, nor has he spun the darkness for a comedic effect, and that in my view was prudent. Since at the heart of this spoof is a true mystery. One that is intriguing and gripping despite being a bit predictable. However, for all the positives of the story, I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed by the final-third of the book.
A minor criticism that I have to offer against this book is its verbosity in certain areas. Areas where verbosity was neither required as a comedic instrument, nor did it play a big part in progressing the story. It was quite simply verbose. So much so that I found myself skipping through pages of tedious description to arrive at the interpersonal dialogue that pushed the story forward. However, the verbosity can be overlooked when enjoying the humor. And the quality of humor is wonderful. What cannot be overlooked however, is the gross negligence on behalf of the writer when it comes to the protagonist. And that's my major criticism.
The character of Lizbreath Salamander is everything one would come to expect from a book titled, "The Dragon with the Girl Tattoo". She's fierce, she's intelligent, she's eloquent and in the grand-scheme of things she's perhaps the least developed in terms of characterization. To be fair, none of the characters in the book are too developed. In fact, for the most part, I didn't feel the need for character development and was merely content with enjoying the eccentricities and inter-personal banter. With Lizbreath however, I felt she deserved more. Much more. She's a beautiful character and unlike the others that are either spoofs of the characters from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo or spoofs of character-archetypes, Lizbreath holds the same gravitas that Lisbeth did in her story, and that merited a much more respectable treatment.
All in all, its a fun read. It's decently paced and despite it mishandling for its main character it'll still leave you with a smile on your face and the desire for a sequel.
My decision to begin reading this book was predicated on one thing and one thing only: The name and cover-art. And given some of the other books that I've begun reading for similar reasons, I'm glad this book wasn't a disappointment like the others. However, this wonderful spoof on the book that it alludes to in its title is not all humor and laughter.
Adam Roberts does a splendid job of 'dragonizing' everything in the universe. Be it names of buildings, people or hormones. But he hasn't sacrificed the darkness of the original story, nor has he spun the darkness for a comedic effect, and that in my view was prudent. Since at the heart of this spoof is a true mystery. One that is intriguing and gripping despite being a bit predictable. However, for all the positives of the story, I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed by the final-third of the book.
A minor criticism that I have to offer against this book is its verbosity in certain areas. Areas where verbosity was neither required as a comedic instrument, nor did it play a big part in progressing the story. It was quite simply verbose. So much so that I found myself skipping through pages of tedious description to arrive at the interpersonal dialogue that pushed the story forward. However, the verbosity can be overlooked when enjoying the humor. And the quality of humor is wonderful. What cannot be overlooked however, is the gross negligence on behalf of the writer when it comes to the protagonist. And that's my major criticism.
The character of Lizbreath Salamander is everything one would come to expect from a book titled, "The Dragon with the Girl Tattoo". She's fierce, she's intelligent, she's eloquent and in the grand-scheme of things she's perhaps the least developed in terms of characterization. To be fair, none of the characters in the book are too developed. In fact, for the most part, I didn't feel the need for character development and was merely content with enjoying the eccentricities and inter-personal banter. With Lizbreath however, I felt she deserved more. Much more. She's a beautiful character and unlike the others that are either spoofs of the characters from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo or spoofs of character-archetypes, Lizbreath holds the same gravitas that Lisbeth did in her story, and that merited a much more respectable treatment.
All in all, its a fun read. It's decently paced and despite it mishandling for its main character it'll still leave you with a smile on your face and the desire for a sequel.