Drew T. (drewblood) reviewed on 4/19/2006 + 4 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

Many of you may be familiar with Mike Nelson as the second host of Mystery Science Theater 3000. It was by happy accident that I recognized his name on this book at a library sale and snatched it up. It's really quite good.

Essentially the story is a bit of a literary comedic caper. Ponty Feeb is an obscure author of dry history books with titles like Old von Steuben Had a Farm: The German-American Settlement of the Midwest. Sick of being a financial failure he sets about to write a "beach" book that will make him some money at the expense of his self respect.

But he can't sell it. He's too old and uninteresting to sell an adventure book so he enlists a young and dim coworker to sell it, which he does. Problem is he hasn't read it and mistakenly pitches the story of a 6' killer rat as non-fiction.

Hilarity ensues as the protagonists attempt to cover their tracks and avoid discovery by a rival best-selling author, the gung-ho governor, and the naked Danes.

The book is funny without being totally slapstick. It's extra fun if you've spent any time in Minnesota. There are a lot of jokes and characters that are especially recognizable to Minnesotans. I really enjoyed the story and the humor was just what I was looking for. It's a good light read that should appeal to both people who enjoy genre fiction and for people who like to see it lampooned.

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