What do You think about You Don't Have To Be Evil To Work Here, But It Helps (2007)?
I really enjoyed this book. It's not 'deep literature' by any stretch of the imagination - and as such was absolutely perfect reading for a rather stressful 'silly season' over Christmas and New Year.I actually found myself chuckling a few times while reading it, and though I found the ending a little confusing, just sat myself down, held on and enjoyed the ride! Sometimes you read the right book at the right time... and this piece of fluff was timed perfectly for me!I've never read a Tom Holt novel before but I will definitely watch out for his other works in the future.
—Lynn
This is the second Tom Holt book I've read and I was entertained by both. If we could do partial star ratings, I'd actually give this a 3.5. As with the other book of his I read, this book started off slow. Unlike books like Harry Potter or the Sookie Stackhouse series, which lay a groundwork for the level of fantasy and magic in book 1 and build off of that in subsequent books, each of Holts books stands alone and so there's a long period where you find out what part of this world is just like reality and which parts are a little hinky and that bit of this book was a rather dry. The pace picked up later in the book and it ended up being a fun if silly read.
—Marnie
This is the second Tom Holt book I've read, and I'd review it the same as the first. Holt tries to be a set-in-the-modern-world Pratchett, but he can't quite measure up. The jokes and quirkiness are a little forced, and the plot gets lost in convoluted or unexplained twists. Holt seems to think that setting his fantasy stories in the "real" world means he doesn't have to set up a magic system, but this just creates a confusing and unfinished-seeming setting. Entertaining enough (and I DO love the dig at true love that this entire novel takes), but nothing worth getting excited about.
—Al
