Book Report: Falling Sideways, by Tom Holt

Tom Holt belongs to a group of people I love: British humorous fantasists. Douglas Adams was the first I discovered, and Terry Pratchett is the one I admire most. Tom Holt falls somewhere in the spectrum between the two.

I want to like Falling Sideways. I do. It's got frogs and a beleaguered protagonist and a lot of jokes about Windows 98. And some very clever and unexpected similes, which is half the fun in these books.

However, it all just doesn't work for me. Sorry. The plot is complex and contradictory and although being confused is mildly enjoyable at times, I reached the end of the book and thought, "I don't think the payoff was worth wading through the rest of the story."

Ulysses Rating: 2 - I had some trouble with this.