Book Review: "The Wrong Stuff" by MT McGuire

The Wrong Stuff by M.T. McGuire

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Book Info: Genre: Science Fantasy Epic Thriller
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of British comedy AND epic fantasy AND science-fiction/fantasy thrillers AND good stories! Well... most people, I think.
Trigger Warnings: violence, repression, torture and murder (implied/offscreen as well as actual/onscreen)

My Thoughts: Based on the page count on my Nook, this second book in the K'Barthan trilogy is about twice as long as the first.

I managed to go through the whole first book without really noticing it, but then Corporal Puneschment showed up, and I suddenly realized that General Moteurs was a pun. As well as Sir Robin Get, and DI Phillip Softone. I think DC May Gurney might be, too, but I'm not sure. As should be well obvious by now, I'm sort of dim about things like that.
Don't always catch really subtle things. And of course we don't learn General Moteurs' first name until this book (it's Ford)... Anyway, there were times during the book when I wanted to shake The Pan for his obstinate inability to see the obvious... and then I would remember General Moteurs, and realize The Pan and I are really two of a kind... Alas, The Pan is for Ruth, and what an adorable couple they make!

Anyway, I loved this second book in the series. The Pan really comes into his own, and while we don't have quite as much of the delightful Ava and Gladys and Their Trev, Lucy was a great addition, and we had more Big Merv. Not to mention we learn a lot more about him, and about the Grongles and Grongolia in general. I can really see the growth of the writer here, and can not WAIT for book 3! This is like if a heroic epic fantasy were mixed with a science-fiction thriller, and I just love the dry British humor intertwined. Really, very highly recommended.

I have a number of McGuire's short stories I would like to read, but because I'll be in and out all day, and it will be difficult to do the reviews properly, I'll have to put those off for another day. However, watch for my reviews of those soon.

Series Information: The K'Barthan Trilogy
Prequel: Unlucky Dip, review linked here where formatting allowed.
Book 1: Few are Chosen, review linked here where formatting allowed.
Book 2: The Wrong Stuff
Book 3: One Man, No Plan tentatively scheduled for Christmas 2013

Disclosure: I received a copy of this e-book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: The Pan of Hamgee is not a natural knight in shining armour. Yet he has escaped from police custody in K’Barth, switched realities and foiled Lord Vernon’s attempt to kidnap Ruth, the Chosen One from the Festival Hall. Pretty good, he thinks.

However, Ruth thinks otherwise. Being pursued by Lord Vernon is bad enough. Now, thanks to The Pan, she’s on the run. They are both alive, of course, but with Lord Vernon on their tail neither of them can be sure how long for.

To save her life The Pan must introduce Ruth, the woman of his dreams, to the person prophesied to be the man of hers. And he knows he must do it fast. Before Lord Vernon finds her. But the gentleman in question is in hiding and no-one knows where. Can The Pan find him? And if he does, can he bring himself to unite them?



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Book Review: "Few are Chosen" by M T McGuire

  

Few Are Chosen
by M.T. McGuire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Book Info: Genre: Science Fantasy Thriller
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: fans of Monty Python, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and other zany British comedy
Trigger Warnings: violence, murder (implied)

My Thoughts: Do you like Monty Python, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and the like? You do! *gasp* So do I! That's awesome, call me, let's do lunch.

Now, as to this book. It's quite a crazy quilt. You have parallel universes, gangster Swamp Things, a Hamgeean with eyes on the back of his head, snurds (like flying cars), and all other sorts of things.

Speaking of, have you ever wondered what a snurd chase would look like? Wonder no longer.

Anyway, the book is completely full of absolutely ludicrous nonsense, like this: “He'd told her his name was Robin Get, 'like Stan, only without the z'.” And of course you have to love Ada and Gladys, the Grongles, and the K'Barthans idea of religion, which is basically “Be decent to each other.” (Now that's a religion I can get down with...)

At any rate, if you like absolutely ludicrous nonsense all tied up in a most interesting story of alternate worlds, parallel dimensions, fight for freedom, and a hero that would much rather just live in peace with a nice ale and hot supper, then you really need to read these stories. Really fun stuff!

Series Information:
Prequel: Unlucky Dip. I thought I had this, but it turns out the version I downloaded actually contained the wrong file. I have the corrected version and will read it next!
Book 1: Few are Chosen
Book 2: The Wrong Stuff
Book 3: One Man: No Plan, tentatively scheduled for release around Christmas 2013

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: The Pan of Hamgee isn't paranoid. There must be some people in K Barth who aren't out to get him; it 's just that, right now, he's not sure where they are. His family are dead, his existence is treason and he does the only thing he can to survive: getaway driving. As if being on the run isn't bad enough, when he finds a magic thimble and decides to keep it, he unwittingly sets himself on a collision course with Lord Vernon, K Barth's despot ruler. Unwillingly, The Pan is forced to make choices and stand up for his beliefs; beliefs he never knew he had until they were challenged. But faced with a stark moral dilemma, will his new-found integrity stick? Can he stop running?



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Some Fun with M.T. McGuire

Lo, many moons ago, I did talk to and accept from M.T. McGuire a fun little tome called Few are Chosen, book 1 in the K'Barthan Trilogy. Then, because it was also part of the series, I took Unlucky Dip (free on Smashwords!). Then I took hundreds and hundreds more, and poor M.T. McGuire ended up buried in the onslaught....

Well, enough is enough! I now have the next book in that series, The Wrong Stuff, and a couple random shorts, so I'll be doing my best to have a marathon of M.T. McGuire stuff soon! But until then, I thought it would be fun to share some cool pictures with you related to the K'Barthan Trilogy!  So., here you go, some pictures related to the K'Barthan trilogy and the books therein.  You can find out more by following any of the links!  Books available on Smashwords and any other places e-books are sold.