"Lighthearted fantasy"
While sitting at home, thirty year old failed actor Al
Breen sees a cat on his window ledge. He is shocked when
the feline talks to him and he follows him outdoors into a
nearby shack where he loses consciousness. When he comes to
he is in another world and the cat has changed into its
true shape of master wizard Merv, the advisor to Castle
Furley in the land of Flemp. The king had the wizard summon a knight (the wizard
obviously made a mistake) to travel to the kingdom of
Mornnnnnnn to rescue his kidnapped daughter Megan from the
ruler of that realm. Accompanying Al is Megan's betrothal
Nigel the nervous who leads him into the enchanted forest
where they are almost eaten by trolls, taken prisoners by
the fairies, agree to kill the dragon in exchange for their
freedom and get help from a witch who helps them make hot
air balloons to take them to Mornnnnnnn. Once there, they
team up with the rebel leader Baldric who guides him past
the many traps of the castle, praying that they won't get
caught or killed in one. Readers who like a lighthearted fantasy filled with
slapstick humor, witty repartee and a hero who knows he is
a nerd will adore this unusual, original and charming tale.
The protagonist makes no bones that he is a coward and
wants nothing more than to go home and it is not bravery
that leads him from one victorious adventure to another but
pure luck and a little help from a mostly absentee wizard.
Marc Bilgrey takes readers on a wacky trek where danger
lurks around twist in the road. Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted October 15, 2005
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted January 25, 2007
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Al Breen is an unemployed New York actor who wants to spend a quiet summer on Cape Cod writing a play. But his plans are interrupted by a talking cat who zaps him into a medieval world where Al is mistaken for a brave warrior (hey, it could happen to anyone). Al is then forced by a king to undergo a dangerous quest to rescue a beautiful princess. (Why don’t beautiful princesses have better security?)
Al and his new partner, Nigel, an inexperienced knight, must battle a whole host of horrifying creatures including evil trolls, a monstrous dragon and other scary things too numerous to mention. (In fact, there’s so many, we forget them ourselves.) Anyway, all this culminates in a final showdown with a deadly sorcerer (is there any other kind?) who can only be reached through a secret underground maze built to kill all who enter it. (I’m getting the shivers just thinking about it!)
There’s also a really cool wizard in this story. Well, actually he’s not in the story that much. But when he is in, he’s sort of cool in a kind of wizardly-like way. Look, the point is this story has everything in it you could possibly want—fantasy, adventure, magic, and oddly enough, a number of unexplained references to dental floss.
So jump into your boots, strap on your sword and join our heroes as they journey to a nail-biting, sweat-provoking, edge-of-your-seat, fast-paced climactic conclusion you’ll never forget. (Well, at least for an hour or two.) But don’t take our word for it. 80 billion readers can’t be wrong. (Misguided, confused, perhaps a bit unbalanced, but not wrong.)
Well, what are you waiting for? Stop reading this and start reading the actual book. I said read it, not flip through it looking for the dirty parts. (Sure, now you’re interested.)
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