Little People

by Tom Holt

I was eight years old when I saw my first elf'

... And for unlikely hero Michael it wasn't his last. Michael's unfortunately (but accurately) named girlfriend Cruella, doesn't approve of his obsession with the little people, but the problem is that they won't leave him alone. And who can blame them when it is his own stepfather who is responsible for causing them so much misery? Oh yes. Daddy George knows that elves can do so much more than the gardening.

LITTLE PEOPLE is the hilarious new comic novel from Tom Holt.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Urban Fantasy, Comedy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Comic Fantasy

381 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Tom Holt (Thomas Charles Louis Holt) is a British novelist.
He was born in London, the son of novelist Hazel Holt, and was educated at Westminster School, Wadham College, Oxford, and The College of Law, London.
Holt's works include mythopoeic novels which parody or take as their theme various aspects of mythology, history or literature and develop them in new and often humorous ways. He has also produced a number of "straight" historical novels writing as Thomas Holt and fantasy novels writing as K.J. Parker.

Reviews

[Hope · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a hard one to rate because I really liked it up until the very end, which I found unsatisfying and frankly unbelievable. I know that sounds strange, I mean I bought into elves and other worlds and hoards of strange happenings, but in the end Holt seems to get human nature wrong. He wouldn't have to change much, but he leaves one or two important questions unasked and I was disappointed, especially since I enjoyed the rest of the book quite a lot.

[Mike Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom Holt is the English equivalent of Christopher Moore. The big difference is that Mr. Moore puts setup/punchline sets in his chapters, while Mr. Holt is much more subtle and restrained. Douglas Adams is an apt and accurate comparison. Where they are alike is that they both are not shy about setting up outrageous situations but then living within the constraints set up. They also are both very very funny and well worth reading.

This is his first book (or at least the earliest of his works that our library has) and is a little weak plot-wise. It is still funny but there are long periods where in an effort to make his plot work it gets less funny.

On the other hand it is well worth the read just for the gratuitous shots at Microsoft.

[Jakub · Rating 1 out of 5]

I seem to have enjoyed a Tom Holt's novel at one point in the past. Having read "Little People" I can't imagine why. Our "hero", Mike Higgins is a wimp even by Holt's standards, he's not even a nerd. Nerds are smart. As usual, he has a hyper-competent, smart girlfriend who's too good for him, and as usual he's a Destined Hero who's totally incompetent. Other characters don't even get names, except for Daddy George, our "villain" who has no depth, no motivation and no actual competence.

I really need to learn when to put down a crappy book.

[Ashley Crittenden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like others of Holt's books, it starts slow, but this one is even slower because the protagonist is a self-proclaimed loser and his life is incredibly boring anyway. This never gets better, since any character development is either incredibly sudden or completely lacking. The use of the phrase "exactly the same (except for the differences)" is used in almost every chapter, and, though its use is comical in some cases, is very annoying. The ending keeps in tune with Holt's other books in that it is abrupt, but unlike others that I have read, it only takes a couple paragraphs and is disappointing to say the least. There is no wrap up about how this poor sap figures out what to do with his life next, nor if he ever finds a human counterpart to Spike. It just ends, sad and in the rain.

Great concept, poor execution.

[Shae · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like the author's tone, and he is snarky which I also appreciate. However I personally did not like this book. The pacing was really slow, the main character was incredibly unlikable, the ending felt like the ending of a short story, not the ending of a novel I've invested way too much time in. All in all, least favorite book I've read this year. I admit others may love this book, but it's not my type.

[Boulder Boulderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very amusing, particularly compared to the last couple of Holt's which I read, which were disappointing. I didn't really like the main character, but he does improve over the course of the book. I will also level the same accusation as others on Holt, in that he doesn't really understand human nature/ the nature of love, but it did set up the end of the book extremely effectively and it is a bit heartbreaking.

[Martin Willoughby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not one of his better books and suffers from an editor without a ruthless streak.

I can live with the ending he provides (sad not funny), but there is too much long-windedness in this book to make entertaining for the general reader.

Fans of Tom Holt's writing will enjoy this a little, but I doubt many others would and it wouldn't be missed on a bookshelf.

[Victor Hallmark · Rating 5 out of 5]

My absolute favorite Tom Holt story! I only picked it up because there was a note near the Pratchett section of my local bookstore saying that if I liked Pratchett and Douglas Adams I might want to try Holt.

How right they were!

[Tarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only want to clarify that I did not have this creepy-ass cover on my book. Funny enough- worth my bathroom time.

[Clover White · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a completely unnecessary ending. Some excellent lines, some interesting world-building (albeit full of plot holes), but the ending was "Whaaaa...?!"

[Grim Tidings · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Holt's comedy ever so much, I will always read his books for that. I find the first half of his books I've read so far are the 5/5s, but when they veer into full on fanaticism it gets a bit heavy - which was the experience here. I loved Mike's aloof middle-classisms, his banter with Cru, the tedium of adolescent life at Christmas and the Malcum Tucker elves, but once the story was fully fledged the pace slowed a bit for me. It feels like the world building very much leads the plot, rather than the other way round. Like all the stuff about there being a mirror version of the elves with opposite personalities, a zapper that turns you small, skipping through time, magic circles, etc., it's all creative but it just feels thrown in at times. Plus the ending with the Cru-Melissa-bomb paradox was just thrown in from nowhere, then resolved in a bit of a disappointing way. Those are my problems with the book, but I read these to laugh and Holt always does that. The repartee is great in this and because the beginning half was so cracker I do have a high opinion of the book overall.

[Cliff · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a long time since I read any Tom Holt. I like his quirky sense of humour. This book concerns a school boy who sees an elf at the bottom of his garden. He eventually is led by one such creature to Elfland where he learns that his step father is holding large numbers of elves in his shoe factory where they work for no pay and very little food. His constant disappearance and reappearance, often at lengthy periods of 'human' time severely annoys his girlfriend. An amusing romp. I must read some more of Tom Holt's work, haven hitherto only read his books about the sinister J. W. Wells & Co.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the humour of this book and the idea. I wasn't wholly convinced about the main character Michael changing from someone who didn't have a clue about maths and wasn't assertive to then being the opposite. I get that he became different in Elfland but to have the nous to work out his first escape from the shoe factory (which wasn't in Elfland) and then rally the elves to his cause for the second escape was not really believable. I opted to suspend disbelief...it was a book about elves after all. The ending both puzzled and disappointed me as I wasn't really sure exactly what happened.

[Teaandbooksplease · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a hard one to rate because I really liked it up until the very end, which I found unsatisfying and frankly unbelievable. I know that sounds strange, I mean I bought into elves and other worlds and hoards of strange happenings, but in the end Holt seems to get human nature wrong. He wouldn't have to change much, but he leaves one or two important questions unasked and I was disappointed, especially since I enjoyed the rest of the book quite a lot.

[brian andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fan of tom Holt's books, so you can see similar character traits with these as in the Custard series.

The story line is interesting for a summer read book, love, family, growing up and green field's syndrome from the view point of our main character,
I was a little 'really' with the rapid ending (not impressed) , but will leave that to you the reader to come to your opinion on it.

[Carole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm about to go back on my word after all my gushing about Tom Holt just two days ago. Serves me right for abandoning the cynicism that serves me so well. This one's weak, plot-wise, and Holt does not do as well as usual at distributing worldbuilding throughout. I try not to offer post-mortem editing suggestions, but this one really could have used a little slash-and-burn at critical junctures.

[Matthew Reads Junk · Rating 2 out of 5]

More clever than it thinks it is. Story takes a somewhat interesting turn but then doesn't do anything with it. Characters behave more in accordance with their plot than with their previously established characterstics.

[Sarah Morenon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered Tom Holt via a FB fan page for another author. God I love those fan pages! Anyway, Tom Holt has not been discovered in the US, sadly. I bought a few of Holt's books from AbeBooks, used, and am enjoying going through them.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Tom Holt's books but really struggled with this one. I just couldn't get in to the characters. Good overall story but unfortunately a bit disappointing. Oh well, the next one will be excellent again :-)

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom Holt is one of my favorite authors. I very much enjoyed this book until the last page. I have not been so disappointed in a book's ending in a very long time. Mr. Holt, just ten more pages would have made me so much happier.

[Carolyn Haywood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

A good little read, not challenging, enjoyable with nice characters. I would say a book to read in the garden on nice day to just rel@x.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and it was a very different tale. It kept me interested and there were lots of twists to the story.

[Indianajackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ah, the trouble with finding elves in the back garden...

[Bart]

todo

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of light fun for the holiday season. Tom Holt is always that.

[Lorrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was terrible. Not anything like his earlier works

[Lukey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this a while ago and it was my first Tom Holt book. It’s what got me hooked on his writing. Great story with great characters. Especially the little people and their roll up smokes.

[Rpaul Tho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally found some old Tom Holt books I hadn’t read on kindle version. Loved this one!

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

At age eight, Mike Higgins was playing Captain Kirk in his backyard when he spotted a tiny, green-skinned man with pointy ears, leaning against a head of lettuce and smoking a hand-rolled cigarette. "'Mummy, mummy,' I yelled out as I ran back into the house. Guess what! There are Vulcans at the bottom of our garden!'" Being the boy who saw an elf shapes the course of his life from that point forward—a life fraught with inadequacy and disappointment, conflict with his rich stepfather, mediocrity at his boarding school, off-and-on romance with a sharp-tongued co-ed named Cruella, awkwardness at talking with girls, and troubles with the authorities—so, basically, the quintessence of being a young British male. Only most young blokes don't stumble into an adventure in Elfland, skip fifteen years of their own life, and come back to find out they've won two Nobel Prizes after being declared dead. And I'm guessing that most of them can't tell the tale in a way that packs in as much heartbreaking honesty as this book does, while saving room for an average of one laugh per paragraph.

One Christmas holiday home from school, Mike discovers that there may be more to his boyhood elf sighting than a trick of the mind. On his first night back, he literally trips and falls on one elf. Soon afterward, through scientific study, he spots a few more. When he gets back to school, he realizes that one of the elves has come with him, stowed away in his luggage. His pint-sized friend explains that everybody in the human world has a counterpart in Elfland, where everyone is nice and happy and good-looking, brilliant at maths and physics, but otherwise a bit thick. In our world, their personality turns sour—though part of that may be a result of Mike's stepdad shrinking them down to six inches tall and working them like slaves in his garden and shoe factory. All this is tied up with Mike's own, untold origin story—the half-elf son of a girl who... well, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me. You'll have to read it for yourself.

And I daresay you will enjoy finding out not only what makes Mike so special. Because of his unique knowledge and abilities, he is the only one who can save the elves from his wicked stepfather. But before he can do that, he must survive several interdimensional crossings, elude police custody, earn the trust of a girl whose love for him ruined her life, join the ranks of the little people, and find an answer to the question "Why me?" other than, "Because everyone else is still at lunch." And finally, with the fate of worlds in his hands, he must lose to win. It's a perfect example of contemporary fantasy-comedy, with a main character who fits Stephen Fry's description of the classic British comic to a tee. And it's also a story that may leave you surprisingly moved at the end.

Besides this book, Tom Holt has also written dozens of novels since the 1980s, including many more in the humorous sci-fi and fantasy line, plus historical novels set in ancient Greece, and a quartet of books about a supernatural version of the company in TV's The Office. A few of his titles include Earth, Air, Fire and Custard; Expecting Someone Taller; Who's Afraid of Beowulf?; Grailblazers; Djinn Rummy; Paint Your Dragon; Snow White and the Seven Samurai; and Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages. So far I have only read this one book by him, but it's been an exciting discovery. I plan to raid the public library for more of the same.

[PRL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best book by Tom Holt, but not the worst either. It was rather inconsistent in its universe construction though, especially concerning the rules on what is and is not possible in its two worlds.

The humour was all present and correct and the first person narrative was a welcome change, but something was missing.

The ending was unnecessary and I felt cheated by it. Now I don't mind an unhappy ending, in fact I welcome them when appropriate (see All You Need Is Kill, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, BONE: Full Color One Volume Edition, Pump Six and Other Stories, etc.), but this was an unhappy ending just for the sake of it. It served no purpose and made no sense within the context of the narrative.