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Lizard World
A dentist from New Jersey, marooned at midnight in the Florida swamps, makes the mistake of falling into the clutches of a hilariously depraved family of amateur surgeons devoted to a 17th-century libertine whose discovery of an elixir has kept his evil presence alive for the past three-hundred years.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published October 31, 2011
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December 27, 2012
”How oft did I recall the odour of ale on a barmaid’s breath, the smell of baking bread on St. Giles Street when dawn blushes like an unclothed virgin and huswifes sweep the cobbles, yea and Mistress Felsham’s bawdy-house wherein for a guinea my ardour was wont to sate itself in fleshly fragrance which outstripped the seraglio of the heathen Turk. Thus within my litter did I pass long hours sighing for Oxford, nor was there solace save in sleeping or in nosing the treasures of my portmanteau. For-I know not how it was-but my fancy had long been inflamed by smells, in such wise that a harlot(even though she be otherwise most grievous to look upon), yet if she were possess’d of a good ripe smell and were ready for the sport, I did find her greatly to my liking. My cousin Belinda, by way of example, did have a schoolgirl’s wan and soapish smell, the which was very indifferent by itself but when blended with the robust odours of the barn wherein we lay, bravely spiced the pleasure of her taking. These smell, I say, held such soveraign sway o’er my manhood that even soiled stockings and pettycoats, the which I kept in my portmanteau against the hap of abstinence, could very well-so long as they exhaled some goodly savour-excite the gratification of my ardour.”
When I was going to college in Tucson I lived just off campus in a two bedroom stucco adobe house and was part of the mass migration every morning of students walking to class. I first heard, or should I say overheard, about the clothesline bandit when I was following behind this gaggle of coeds who were talking and laughing about their missing underwear. In Tucson because of the steady heat index all year long very few of us bothered to own a dryer, if we had access to a clothesline, because clothes outside for ten to fifteen minutes became bone dry. What a great place for an individual with a particular fetish to set up shop. Just to relieve your mind they did catch the panty raider and according to my sources found piles of panties on his bed so that he could sleep, blissfully I would hope, surrounded by his purloined swag. After reading this book I wondered if he would have much rather have snatched these delicates from the laundry baskets before their precious scent had been decimated by detergent and water.
The English lordship the Earl of Griswold, our villain/hero, who has a scent fetish that so dominates his actions that he reminded me of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille from the excellent novel Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, finds himself in a bit of trouble. He has assaulted the maidenhead of his dear cousin Belinda leaving her with a bun in the oven. Her brother Lord Fawncey, to salvage the family honor, challenges the Earl to a duel. The Earl wins the duel blinding his cousin in the process, and yet; as they say, sometimes you win to lose. His father rather annoyed with the whole commotion banishes his heir to some heathen tropics. There Griswold is almost overcome with the juicy emanations of the native women. He comes away with an elixir of croakadells that gives him immortality.
Immortality has a price
Not without side effects.
On his return to England he has several problems. His pious brother is attempting to usurp his position in his father’s affections. Not difficult since Griswold spends most of his time in pursuit of pleasure and isn’t available to be his father’s beck and call man. He does take a moment to tumble his brother’s wife...well...because she was there.
The Earl was morphing
The book flows between the 17th century and 2007. We meet the Frobin/Frobey family who learn the art of grafting using a special tonic that allows their transplants to stay planted. The elder Frobin, Meister Gerhard proves to be indispensable to the English Earl as parts of his body begin to morph into something better suited to a swamp and other parts start to slough off. Employing the help of a rather industrious young doctor named Josiah Fludd who has a penchant for pinching the recently deceased, they find enough body parts to keep the Earl looking reasonably...human. In 2007 Frobin’s descendents are still practicing the art of transplantation even though their IQs seem to have plummeted well below the waterline.
When someone in the family is in need of a body part they merely go trolling the roads looking for stranded motorists. Max Smedlow, a retired dentist, has the misfortune to run over a croakadell with his brand new BMW and accepts a ride from the local hicks. It doesn’t take long for Smedlow to realize he is in trouble from the tip of his toes to the top of his head as he discovers that the Frobey’s are looking at him as if he were a boosted car about to be parted out to keep a whole host of other cars running.
Dire circumstances indeed.
I was first attracted to this book for the excellent cover art. It put me in mind of The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. The plot is absolutely, deliciously, ludicrous and the characters are so bizarre they could have manifested out of a Carl Hiaasen novel. Once into the flow of the novel I couldn’t put it down. I sliced through most of it in an afternoon. His descriptions of people made me chortle. ”She had done up her hair in pigtails. She was wearing a red teddy which was unfortunately diaphanous. For he couldn’t help noticing that nevuses speckled her swollen udders-and that a bulging midriff with a convex navel slumped above her lilac garter belt. … It seemed to make matters worse that the woman herself was not in the least bit frightened. Instead, her vast thighs shook like puddings as she began to pace his prison on stilletto heels, smacking a black wire brush against the palm of her left hand.
“Now bend over, mister,” she said, “and drop yer panties.”
When I was going to college in Tucson I lived just off campus in a two bedroom stucco adobe house and was part of the mass migration every morning of students walking to class. I first heard, or should I say overheard, about the clothesline bandit when I was following behind this gaggle of coeds who were talking and laughing about their missing underwear. In Tucson because of the steady heat index all year long very few of us bothered to own a dryer, if we had access to a clothesline, because clothes outside for ten to fifteen minutes became bone dry. What a great place for an individual with a particular fetish to set up shop. Just to relieve your mind they did catch the panty raider and according to my sources found piles of panties on his bed so that he could sleep, blissfully I would hope, surrounded by his purloined swag. After reading this book I wondered if he would have much rather have snatched these delicates from the laundry baskets before their precious scent had been decimated by detergent and water.
The English lordship the Earl of Griswold, our villain/hero, who has a scent fetish that so dominates his actions that he reminded me of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille from the excellent novel Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, finds himself in a bit of trouble. He has assaulted the maidenhead of his dear cousin Belinda leaving her with a bun in the oven. Her brother Lord Fawncey, to salvage the family honor, challenges the Earl to a duel. The Earl wins the duel blinding his cousin in the process, and yet; as they say, sometimes you win to lose. His father rather annoyed with the whole commotion banishes his heir to some heathen tropics. There Griswold is almost overcome with the juicy emanations of the native women. He comes away with an elixir of croakadells that gives him immortality.
Immortality has a price
Not without side effects.
On his return to England he has several problems. His pious brother is attempting to usurp his position in his father’s affections. Not difficult since Griswold spends most of his time in pursuit of pleasure and isn’t available to be his father’s beck and call man. He does take a moment to tumble his brother’s wife...well...because she was there.
The Earl was morphing
The book flows between the 17th century and 2007. We meet the Frobin/Frobey family who learn the art of grafting using a special tonic that allows their transplants to stay planted. The elder Frobin, Meister Gerhard proves to be indispensable to the English Earl as parts of his body begin to morph into something better suited to a swamp and other parts start to slough off. Employing the help of a rather industrious young doctor named Josiah Fludd who has a penchant for pinching the recently deceased, they find enough body parts to keep the Earl looking reasonably...human. In 2007 Frobin’s descendents are still practicing the art of transplantation even though their IQs seem to have plummeted well below the waterline.
When someone in the family is in need of a body part they merely go trolling the roads looking for stranded motorists. Max Smedlow, a retired dentist, has the misfortune to run over a croakadell with his brand new BMW and accepts a ride from the local hicks. It doesn’t take long for Smedlow to realize he is in trouble from the tip of his toes to the top of his head as he discovers that the Frobey’s are looking at him as if he were a boosted car about to be parted out to keep a whole host of other cars running.
Dire circumstances indeed.
I was first attracted to this book for the excellent cover art. It put me in mind of The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. The plot is absolutely, deliciously, ludicrous and the characters are so bizarre they could have manifested out of a Carl Hiaasen novel. Once into the flow of the novel I couldn’t put it down. I sliced through most of it in an afternoon. His descriptions of people made me chortle. ”She had done up her hair in pigtails. She was wearing a red teddy which was unfortunately diaphanous. For he couldn’t help noticing that nevuses speckled her swollen udders-and that a bulging midriff with a convex navel slumped above her lilac garter belt. … It seemed to make matters worse that the woman herself was not in the least bit frightened. Instead, her vast thighs shook like puddings as she began to pace his prison on stilletto heels, smacking a black wire brush against the palm of her left hand.
“Now bend over, mister,” she said, “and drop yer panties.”
September 13, 2016
Rating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: A dentist from New Jersey, marooned at midnight in the Florida swamps, makes the mistake of falling into the clutches of a hilariously depraved family of amateur surgeons devoted to a seventeenth century libertine whose discovery of an elixir has kept his evil presence alive for the past three-hundred years.
$22.00 trade paper, available now anywhere you can buy books
—OR—
$11.00 via Livingston Press
—OR—
$10.00 as a "We Gambled, You Gamble" SALE!
My Review: Three centuries of bizarro nonsense in the Florida swamps, featuring dentists who rob teeth from cadavers or maps from old ladies, English earls with horrifying maladies, German hunchbacks with one-eyed daughters who give rise to a dynasty of detestable Southern crackers, and a buncha buncha croakadells. (Gators to thee and me.)
Oh, and fiction's only known were-horsefly.
Not a big bizarro reader, me. I wondered sometimes what I was doing wandering in the humid swamps of Bazes' imagination. I found such repulsive images there as people being farmed for their organs, clouds of gator-musk inspiring ick-ptui sex, and a claustrophobic sense on nausalgia vu...the dear and familiar stomach-roiling horror of having been here before...that Florida inspires in me.
So why rate it so highly? Because, dear reader, in an increasingly bland and featureless literary and cultural landscape, where gay couples are the normal ones on TV and wacky neighbors on sitcoms are largely indistinguishable from the leads in a vain attempt to spice things up, Bazes takes us into places we haven't been taken since A Modest Proposal. The adjective "Swiftian" has been waiting for this book for many long, lonely years.
So, go buy it. I promise you no one will fail to remark on the unique cover art, and the erudite among your acquaintance will be gobsmacked by the fact the BARNEY ROSSET blurbed it. (Frankly, after one repugnant scene involving a wire hair brush and the aforementioned were-horsefly, this was the only reason I kept reading.) Oh, so did Charles Palliser and Peter Coyote, but BARNEY! If not for him, we wouldn't have smutty books to read at all!
Enjoy.
The Publisher Says: A dentist from New Jersey, marooned at midnight in the Florida swamps, makes the mistake of falling into the clutches of a hilariously depraved family of amateur surgeons devoted to a seventeenth century libertine whose discovery of an elixir has kept his evil presence alive for the past three-hundred years.
$22.00 trade paper, available now anywhere you can buy books
—OR—
$11.00 via Livingston Press
—OR—
$10.00 as a "We Gambled, You Gamble" SALE!
My Review: Three centuries of bizarro nonsense in the Florida swamps, featuring dentists who rob teeth from cadavers or maps from old ladies, English earls with horrifying maladies, German hunchbacks with one-eyed daughters who give rise to a dynasty of detestable Southern crackers, and a buncha buncha croakadells. (Gators to thee and me.)
Oh, and fiction's only known were-horsefly.
Not a big bizarro reader, me. I wondered sometimes what I was doing wandering in the humid swamps of Bazes' imagination. I found such repulsive images there as people being farmed for their organs, clouds of gator-musk inspiring ick-ptui sex, and a claustrophobic sense on nausalgia vu...the dear and familiar stomach-roiling horror of having been here before...that Florida inspires in me.
So why rate it so highly? Because, dear reader, in an increasingly bland and featureless literary and cultural landscape, where gay couples are the normal ones on TV and wacky neighbors on sitcoms are largely indistinguishable from the leads in a vain attempt to spice things up, Bazes takes us into places we haven't been taken since A Modest Proposal. The adjective "Swiftian" has been waiting for this book for many long, lonely years.
So, go buy it. I promise you no one will fail to remark on the unique cover art, and the erudite among your acquaintance will be gobsmacked by the fact the BARNEY ROSSET blurbed it. (Frankly, after one repugnant scene involving a wire hair brush and the aforementioned were-horsefly, this was the only reason I kept reading.) Oh, so did Charles Palliser and Peter Coyote, but BARNEY! If not for him, we wouldn't have smutty books to read at all!
Enjoy.
March 27, 2012
Lizard World is a work of cracked genius. An outrageous story—part Philip K. Dick, part John Barth, and part Tom Jones—told in prose as rich as blood pudding, it manages to be both horrific and comedic and it never flags. Bazes’ mind seems to pour forth endless invention effortlessly, yet the reader knows that prose this burnished and melodic comes only from close attention, meticulous craftsmanship and the silver tongue of a poet. And what a tale he has concocted! There are mad scientists, the Fountain of Youth, sick sex, afreets galore, and a large and varied chorus of musical voices. This is literary legerdemain of a high order. And did I mention how funny it is? It’s as funny as Monty Python and Tristram Shandy. It’s a wild ride and, if there is any justice, Lizard World will gain the same kind of cult following that is attached to Geek Love or Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast books.
November 11, 2011
The writing in "Lizard World" is breath-taking beyond belief in this incredibly inventive, dark tale which spans and flahes back and forth among different eras. The story line is one of a kind and the character development shows the mark of a truly gifted writer: every roundly drawn character has unique aspects and comes to life brilliantly. The narrative voice transforms according to the era of the chapter to adopt the writing style in which it takes place. The author has perfect pitch in capturing the dialect of the era with realistic dialogue and a 3D narrative style which renders the images leaping off the page. The style is truly inventive and the craftsmanship is reminiscent of Pynchon in "Mason & Dixon" and British novelists like Laurence Sterne in "Tristram Shandy," writing in the idiosyncratic voices of their own times. I found myself deeply engaged in the characters and caring about the fate of the protagonist and victims in the novel. The sense of time and place is incredibly real and is a feast for all the senses with a knack for conveying a realism which is also often uncannily surrealistic in its ultimate effect. The scope of the novel is ambitious and unravels admirably: this is a densely packed novel and I would advise you to read it slowly so that you may savour the pure beauty of the written language which is also off-the-charts. There is real genius at work in the narrative style of Terry Bazes in this novel, which is a big book packed densely into 275 pages. Obviously, the writer worked hard at the novel by virtue of its high originality and the literary craftsmanship clearly evident in the narrative. Parts of this book are truly dark but "Lizard World" is a literary experience not to be missed. Ultimately, Bazes explores what it means to be human with a truly inventive perspective shed on this big question. If you are a serious reader of literary novels and value truly great invention in style and narration, then I cannot recommend this great novel more highly. There's genius in this writing and it has literary legs which appreciative readers will value for generations to come.
July 2, 2015
Terry Richard Bazes is insanely creative. I could leave off writing this review having said only that, satisfied that I have made my point well. Because it’s true—so true. But somehow that is not enough, and there is more to say about Bazes’ wild imagination and his new novel, Lizard World. In Lizard World, the author roundly lampoons humanity’s seemingly unquenchable desire for immortality (at any cost) by pulling back the curtain and revealing it in a less than chivalric light. Griswold, a depraved three-hundred-year-old English earl, is no Perceval or Gawain, to be sure. Neither is his modern counterpart (quite literally, it turns out), Smedlow, a New Jersey dentist-cum-scoundrel. In actuality, Griswold is a monster—literally and figuratively—kept alive by Frobey “splicers” honoring the Frobey debt. Lem Lee, a kind of Renaissance reprobate who does a bit of this and a bit of that, and who also seeks immortality through the written word ( via his hack novel), is no less a monster. And in fact, the novel is peopled with monsters of every ilk, some more clearly unnatural than others, some true freaks and others simply callous misanthropes and miscreants only slightly less freakish. It could even be argued that the story itself is somewhat of a monster, as the narrative is skillfully “spliced” together—the result, however, does not feel unnatural. On the contrary, the juxtaposition of seventeenth century high prose and modern hillbilly patois serves as a kind of mock-heroic sleight of hand with devastating comic effect. This singular novel is so unique as to defy any meaningful comparison. Yet, readers and critics alike will do as they always do; they will try and fail, even though such comparisons are almost always ill-advised. Having said that, however, and having never been one to heed my own advice, allow me to try my own hand at a comparison: Bazes writes like Tim Dorsey—that is, if Dorsey lived in a cabin along the Cahulawassee River, had an IQ north of one-fifty blotter hits, and wrote like a cross-dressing Laurence Sterne. Oh, and wrote funnier, too—much, much funnier. Lizard World is a book you won’t soon forget; it will seep like a black sludge into your consciousness. It’s that good--really.
April 7, 2012
Book Title: "Lizard World"
Author: Terry Richard Bazes
Published By: Livingston Press
Age Recommended: 18 +
Reviewed By: Kitty Bullard
Raven Rating: 5
Review: A mixture of English and American humor with an equal amount of the macabre thrown in for good measure; a few scaly beasts, both reptilian and human in nature; depraved swamp people clinging to their long gone heritage; and an old journal with a dark secret hidden among its brittle pages, makes for one heck of an amazing tale. I was sent a copy of this wonderful novel after having requested it from Shelf Awareness and I can honestly say that I am beyond happy I took the advantage. Terry Richard Bazes is an amazing storyteller with the grand ability to pull you in from the very first page.
“Lizard World” is a raucous tale of human/animal splicing that dates back to a time when surgery was still an extremely risky business, though when an explorer takes it upon himself to believe foolish Old World lore and partakes of an elixir rumored to keep one young and immortal there is little else to be done to save him from the horror of his predicament. A fantastic mix of macabre humor at its best! Get a copy! You will greatly enjoy this book!
Read more: http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.probo...
Author: Terry Richard Bazes
Published By: Livingston Press
Age Recommended: 18 +
Reviewed By: Kitty Bullard
Raven Rating: 5
Review: A mixture of English and American humor with an equal amount of the macabre thrown in for good measure; a few scaly beasts, both reptilian and human in nature; depraved swamp people clinging to their long gone heritage; and an old journal with a dark secret hidden among its brittle pages, makes for one heck of an amazing tale. I was sent a copy of this wonderful novel after having requested it from Shelf Awareness and I can honestly say that I am beyond happy I took the advantage. Terry Richard Bazes is an amazing storyteller with the grand ability to pull you in from the very first page.
“Lizard World” is a raucous tale of human/animal splicing that dates back to a time when surgery was still an extremely risky business, though when an explorer takes it upon himself to believe foolish Old World lore and partakes of an elixir rumored to keep one young and immortal there is little else to be done to save him from the horror of his predicament. A fantastic mix of macabre humor at its best! Get a copy! You will greatly enjoy this book!
Read more: http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.probo...
July 18, 2017
If I had to describe “Lizard World” in one word, what would it be? “Depraved” comes to mind, possibly “revolting”, but also, undoubtedly “brilliant”. Another word could be “gruesome”, if “hilarious”. “Convoluted” at times, albeit “engrossing”. In truth, it is quite unlike any novel you’ll be reading in some time.
The plot is complex but I’ll try to let you have an idea of it, hopefully without giving away too much. In 1687, a lecherous and rakish English earl, having “had his way” with his cousin Belinda and blinded her brother in an ensuing duel, gets carted off to America for his sins. There, amongst a tribe of “salvidges”, and during an attempt to seduce the chief’s daughter, he comes across an elixir of eternal life. Which works... sort of. In fact, the elixir has a nasty side-effect, as the earl soon discovers when he starts to turn into a reptilian humanoid. Back in England, he takes into his employ a promising young surgeon who excels in experimental interventions. This surgeon – and a regular supply of body parts – are the earl’s only hope of retaining a vague human semblance. Zoom forward to 2007 Florida, where the dentist Smedlow is kidnapped by a bunch of weirdos with nefarious plans, the descendants (we eventually learn) of the Earl’s personal surgeon. Smedlow’s destiny becomes increasingly entwined with that of the earl, and, appropriately, the book moves backwards and forwards with ease between the 17th and 21st Century, between Florida swamps (past and present) and Restoration London. What is most impressive is the way in which Bazes switches styles and argot; the scenes set in the 17th century, in particular, are rendered in a witty pastiche of Defoe and Fielding whilst the contemporary scenes are conveyed through the eyes of multiple protagonists, each represented by a different mode of expression (most notably, the heavy slang of Smedlow’s kidnapper Lemuel Lee).
Lizard World is a daring post-modern literary mash-up: part Gothic/body horror, part historical novel, part crime-story, part comedy. If it were a film it would combine the bloody violence of a John Carpenter movie with the Baroque imagination of Terry Gilliam, the deadpan humour of the Coens with the politically incorrect, gross comedy of the Farrellys. With some Blackadder thrown into the mix. It is not for the faint-hearted, but if you stick the first 70 pages or so, you will be hooked.
What is ultimately most surprising is that underneath the craziness of it all, the book raises a metaphysical query which the reader can easily lose sight of – what is it that makes us who we are? Is it our body, our mind, our soul? Or perhaps our memories and our personal histories? At this point, we might need to call in Terrence Malick as well.
The plot is complex but I’ll try to let you have an idea of it, hopefully without giving away too much. In 1687, a lecherous and rakish English earl, having “had his way” with his cousin Belinda and blinded her brother in an ensuing duel, gets carted off to America for his sins. There, amongst a tribe of “salvidges”, and during an attempt to seduce the chief’s daughter, he comes across an elixir of eternal life. Which works... sort of. In fact, the elixir has a nasty side-effect, as the earl soon discovers when he starts to turn into a reptilian humanoid. Back in England, he takes into his employ a promising young surgeon who excels in experimental interventions. This surgeon – and a regular supply of body parts – are the earl’s only hope of retaining a vague human semblance. Zoom forward to 2007 Florida, where the dentist Smedlow is kidnapped by a bunch of weirdos with nefarious plans, the descendants (we eventually learn) of the Earl’s personal surgeon. Smedlow’s destiny becomes increasingly entwined with that of the earl, and, appropriately, the book moves backwards and forwards with ease between the 17th and 21st Century, between Florida swamps (past and present) and Restoration London. What is most impressive is the way in which Bazes switches styles and argot; the scenes set in the 17th century, in particular, are rendered in a witty pastiche of Defoe and Fielding whilst the contemporary scenes are conveyed through the eyes of multiple protagonists, each represented by a different mode of expression (most notably, the heavy slang of Smedlow’s kidnapper Lemuel Lee).
Lizard World is a daring post-modern literary mash-up: part Gothic/body horror, part historical novel, part crime-story, part comedy. If it were a film it would combine the bloody violence of a John Carpenter movie with the Baroque imagination of Terry Gilliam, the deadpan humour of the Coens with the politically incorrect, gross comedy of the Farrellys. With some Blackadder thrown into the mix. It is not for the faint-hearted, but if you stick the first 70 pages or so, you will be hooked.
What is ultimately most surprising is that underneath the craziness of it all, the book raises a metaphysical query which the reader can easily lose sight of – what is it that makes us who we are? Is it our body, our mind, our soul? Or perhaps our memories and our personal histories? At this point, we might need to call in Terrence Malick as well.
May 14, 2012
Bizarro, gross, intriguing story. Well-written with varying narrators both 18th century dialect and modern hill-billy. This seeming incomprehensible mismash works. Not for the weak tummy.
November 1, 2012
very odd book with amazingly grotesque characters. i wouldn't have liked it at all except that it is exceedingly funny.
September 18, 2013
I like how this book starts in the swamps, but doesn't wallow about in them. Early on, when we are first introduced to "Lizard World", a swamptastic theme park in Florida, I was prepared to encounter a more sci-fi twinged version of "Swamplandia", but Mr. Bazes gives us a rich tale that is really in no way like Ms. Russell's 'gator book (except of course that both novels have alligators and are simply fantastic). This ends up being a rather melancholic tale about unquenched desire, and how utterly blind we are to all but a single facet of the object of that desire.
The genius of this book is that, somehow, we care about the characters. One after another we are presented with the most vile, abominable persons, each more disgusting than the last, but they are rendered so well that one cannot help but empathize with them.
The language of The Ancients does require a little extra effort upfront, but the effort is worth it.
Book received for free through the Goodreads Frist Reads program.
The genius of this book is that, somehow, we care about the characters. One after another we are presented with the most vile, abominable persons, each more disgusting than the last, but they are rendered so well that one cannot help but empathize with them.
The language of The Ancients does require a little extra effort upfront, but the effort is worth it.
Book received for free through the Goodreads Frist Reads program.
February 1, 2013
** I received this book through Goodreads giveaways **
A great well written book. Over different time periods and countries the author has done a brilliant job with the style of language used. This helped to get a clear picture of all the characters along with the description. For me once you get that connection with characters I will enjoy the book.
The humour in the book is very enjoyable but it does not take over from the story as can tend to happen if an author is trying to be too funny. The plot had me hooked and I read this book as quick as I could to find out what would happen.
If you get the chance you should pick up this book and experience it for yourself.
A great well written book. Over different time periods and countries the author has done a brilliant job with the style of language used. This helped to get a clear picture of all the characters along with the description. For me once you get that connection with characters I will enjoy the book.
The humour in the book is very enjoyable but it does not take over from the story as can tend to happen if an author is trying to be too funny. The plot had me hooked and I read this book as quick as I could to find out what would happen.
If you get the chance you should pick up this book and experience it for yourself.
March 31, 2012
LIZARD WORLD is unlike anything I've ever read. It's wildly imaginative, and the use of language (from 17th-century English to modern-day Florida redneck-ese) is dazzling. The book has a touch of Frankenstein in it, with its unsettling vision of the possibilities of human splicing, but the moments of horror are lightened by Bazes' absurd humor. The book is a challenging read--particularly the 17th c. English parts--but it's also a pageturner right up to the delightfully surprising ending.
November 16, 2014
Dentist, Lizards and some WTF moments puts some hilarious laughs between you finger tips. (in my case the listening of the narrator did a great job.)
I actually don't know how I feel about this book, but I did enjoy this audio book.
A better review to come, after I "READ" the book. Thank you to the author for the freebie code.
I actually don't know how I feel about this book, but I did enjoy this audio book.
A better review to come, after I "READ" the book. Thank you to the author for the freebie code.
March 3, 2013
Bazes' magnificent octopus blazed through my hours by drawing me in, and keeping me engrossed in the story until I absolutely positively had to go to the toilet.
The storyline; and,I suspect the author; is absolutely mad in the best way possible. Read it!
March 29, 2013
An amazingly good synthesis of Johnathan Swiftian 18th century prose and Hunter Thompson Gonzo style craziness. Oh, and did I say funny? It's very wicked humor in evidence here as we examine all the monsters inhabiting the human zoo.
April 30, 2012
5 Wows!
July 15, 2020
DNF. Found it hard to keep up, made it to page 180 and just had to put it down.
June 17, 2012
Amusing, but confusing. Two minds in one body can lead to hilarious hi-jinks yet sadly never quite get there. I get the feeling that at least a third of this novel - the important third - somehow got left on the cutting room floor.
Bazes has a decent ear for language, and deftly handles the transition between hapless modern protagonist Smedlow and 17th century rakehell Griswold. But his plot doesn't hold together near as well as the 'splicers' Lemuel Lee's uncle Earl stitches together before disappearing from the plot.
As i approached the last few chapters, I began to wonder if this was only Part One, as I couldn't imagine how Bazes could wrap up all the loose ends he'd introduced in the few remaining pages. Unfortunately for any readers who hope for explanation or resolution of the myriad plot threads, Bazes couldn't imagine it either.
Bazes has a decent ear for language, and deftly handles the transition between hapless modern protagonist Smedlow and 17th century rakehell Griswold. But his plot doesn't hold together near as well as the 'splicers' Lemuel Lee's uncle Earl stitches together before disappearing from the plot.
As i approached the last few chapters, I began to wonder if this was only Part One, as I couldn't imagine how Bazes could wrap up all the loose ends he'd introduced in the few remaining pages. Unfortunately for any readers who hope for explanation or resolution of the myriad plot threads, Bazes couldn't imagine it either.
January 22, 2014
The first half kept my attention but the second half was just repetitive and boring. Not an author I would read again.
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October 12, 2017Aka CONGESS
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