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The Hipposync Archives #2
The Ghoul On The Hill
Previously Published as Frivolous Pursuits.
"Where crime collides with the occult, DC Farmer rules. Brace for bewitching mysteries - but beware, they're dangerously funny too."
They say a picture is worth a thousand words…
With a job he hates and his personal life less than rosy, Darren Trott’s world is turned upside down by an unlikely and desperate request from a place he thought he’d forgotten.
Or hoped he had.
Now, with the help of warrior queens, a mischievous bwbach, and other, otherworldly allies, he must confront his past to save both his world, and the one he’s drawn to.
But with enemies closing in, Darren must tread carefully—or risk unleashing a ravaging force of unimaginable proportions. And that’s just the wrath of his current partner, never mind the things that wait across the great divide.
If he could only get his life into focus.
Another stunning fantasy adventure between worlds from the Hipposync Archives.
‘looking for something to fill the gaps between Tom Holt, and the late lamented Sir Terry? D C Farmer’s contemporary urban fantasies really hit the ground running.’
"Where crime collides with the occult, DC Farmer rules. Brace for bewitching mysteries - but beware, they're dangerously funny too."
They say a picture is worth a thousand words…
With a job he hates and his personal life less than rosy, Darren Trott’s world is turned upside down by an unlikely and desperate request from a place he thought he’d forgotten.
Or hoped he had.
Now, with the help of warrior queens, a mischievous bwbach, and other, otherworldly allies, he must confront his past to save both his world, and the one he’s drawn to.
But with enemies closing in, Darren must tread carefully—or risk unleashing a ravaging force of unimaginable proportions. And that’s just the wrath of his current partner, never mind the things that wait across the great divide.
If he could only get his life into focus.
Another stunning fantasy adventure between worlds from the Hipposync Archives.
‘looking for something to fill the gaps between Tom Holt, and the late lamented Sir Terry? D C Farmer’s contemporary urban fantasies really hit the ground running.’
318 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 27, 2015
364 people are currently reading
612 people want to read
About the author
D.C. Farmer
7 books64 followersDC Farmer (as someone else--names changed to protect the innocent) began writing thrillers while the kids were in the bath. They grew up and so did he. Now he writes speculative fiction under the umbrella of the Hipposync Archives.
He lives in Wales and uses quite a lot of that umbrella.
He lives in Wales and uses quite a lot of that umbrella.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
August 18, 2015
I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. Even thought it was on the lighter side there was enough serious discussion, and consequences that kept it from being too silly or fluffy. The characters were interesting, and well developed, and I liked that their eccentricities were only a part of who they were. They were all real people, and not a joke. For me Darren's friendship with Sanjay was the highlight of the book, and I loved how much they supported each other. Darren's girlfriend Amanda was truly nasty, but not in a terribly over the top sort of way, and, judging by her family, she comes by it naturally.
The plot was well thought out, and engaging. I liked how things came together, and how everyone had a role to play. There were elements, both in plot and character, that were a bit larger than life, but it fit the mood of the story well. The writing was witty, and fun without feeling like it was trying to hard. I appreciated that the author was able to get across the message of the story without it feeling too heavy handed or preachy. Overall a fun, and engaging read.
I really enjoyed this book. Even thought it was on the lighter side there was enough serious discussion, and consequences that kept it from being too silly or fluffy. The characters were interesting, and well developed, and I liked that their eccentricities were only a part of who they were. They were all real people, and not a joke. For me Darren's friendship with Sanjay was the highlight of the book, and I loved how much they supported each other. Darren's girlfriend Amanda was truly nasty, but not in a terribly over the top sort of way, and, judging by her family, she comes by it naturally.
The plot was well thought out, and engaging. I liked how things came together, and how everyone had a role to play. There were elements, both in plot and character, that were a bit larger than life, but it fit the mood of the story well. The writing was witty, and fun without feeling like it was trying to hard. I appreciated that the author was able to get across the message of the story without it feeling too heavy handed or preachy. Overall a fun, and engaging read.
January 6, 2025
Second in the series and another enjoyable romp, marginally better than the first as it doesn’t begin by trying to impress through the use of tedious metaphors.
I’d have liked a better link with the characters from the first book but a small point and otherwise thoroughly enjoyed it!
I’d have liked a better link with the characters from the first book but a small point and otherwise thoroughly enjoyed it!
January 17, 2016
Where do I start? The book deserves 4 star rating in my opinion. It is
so good and reading it is such an enjoyable experience.
The beginning of the book is so good. The author tells us about the
first Darrens encounter or incidents with the magical thing when he
was 9.
It was so good because I really like it when the author start a book
by explaining the story first so us the reader dont get lost or
confuse about the book. Moreover, if the book is something fictional
and sci-fi. I admit, sometimes when the author explain to us later
throughout the book and get straight into the story about magical
world right at the first page, it could make things interesting but
most of the time the author cant explain it in the best way so us the
reader get lost right at the first chapter. So by explaining the first
Darrens encounter and memory, worked out really well because I like
it. It remind me of Sorcerers Apprentice a little bit which made me
even eager to know what happened next. Is it as good as the movie or
not?
The uprising part in the story is noticeable. I was so impatient to
know what happened next! I always thought the uprising part in the
story should be the strongest so it could cover up any flaws of the
climax may have.
The climax is spectacular. I mean I do have some expectation but that
doesnt mean the climax is not good. This is the only reason I
couldnt give 5 stars rating to this book. Because I could expect what
the climax would be.
The ending of the book, well, everything solved. There is no little
missing piece or flaws and I love it. It is like an amazing solution
for everything that happened and it is the best for everyone. Even
those in Moldarrenovia. Let me tell you what, reading this book is a
constant suspense and for that, I love it!
About the characters:
We have a lot of important character that made the whole story
complete. There are Darren, Sanjay, Amanda, Malcolm and of course
Vivette. Lets not forget Kylah and Matt too. But Kylah and Matt are
minor characters that I dont think I should talk about them.
Darren is the main character of the story. Everything happened evolved
around him is the whole book is about. I think I like Darren just
enough. At the beginning of the book, we get the ignorant Darren. The
doormat Darren. Throughout the book plots, his character evolved more
and become better. I could feel how his character grow into something
better and that is the most amazing thing because well, we all want
our main cast to grow up and made a wise decision right? I like how he
used to be ignorant at the beginning and finally become the Maker
that everything respect at the end of the book. Such a development.
Sanjay is like the greatest friend someone could ever asked. He is the
real encourager and supporter of Darren and lets not forget he is the
main reason how Darren and Malcolm and Vivette met. I felt sorry for
his dad but still, he never be mad at Darren even though Darren said
it was his fault and for that I love Sanjay.
Amanda. Where do I even start? I know she is like the biggest asshole
here but I never expect such a juvenile character she could be. I am
totally shocked and surprised with her. Well, that is a good thing ok
because I usually could expect what a character someone would have. I
dont expect her to be that evil, period. And I hate everyone in her
family since the beginning of the book. The falling action for
everything that she has done, is well, lets just say she deserves it
just right.
Overall, reading this book is so much fun and I really like it. I would read the sequel in no second.
so good and reading it is such an enjoyable experience.
The beginning of the book is so good. The author tells us about the
first Darrens encounter or incidents with the magical thing when he
was 9.
It was so good because I really like it when the author start a book
by explaining the story first so us the reader dont get lost or
confuse about the book. Moreover, if the book is something fictional
and sci-fi. I admit, sometimes when the author explain to us later
throughout the book and get straight into the story about magical
world right at the first page, it could make things interesting but
most of the time the author cant explain it in the best way so us the
reader get lost right at the first chapter. So by explaining the first
Darrens encounter and memory, worked out really well because I like
it. It remind me of Sorcerers Apprentice a little bit which made me
even eager to know what happened next. Is it as good as the movie or
not?
The uprising part in the story is noticeable. I was so impatient to
know what happened next! I always thought the uprising part in the
story should be the strongest so it could cover up any flaws of the
climax may have.
The climax is spectacular. I mean I do have some expectation but that
doesnt mean the climax is not good. This is the only reason I
couldnt give 5 stars rating to this book. Because I could expect what
the climax would be.
The ending of the book, well, everything solved. There is no little
missing piece or flaws and I love it. It is like an amazing solution
for everything that happened and it is the best for everyone. Even
those in Moldarrenovia. Let me tell you what, reading this book is a
constant suspense and for that, I love it!
About the characters:
We have a lot of important character that made the whole story
complete. There are Darren, Sanjay, Amanda, Malcolm and of course
Vivette. Lets not forget Kylah and Matt too. But Kylah and Matt are
minor characters that I dont think I should talk about them.
Darren is the main character of the story. Everything happened evolved
around him is the whole book is about. I think I like Darren just
enough. At the beginning of the book, we get the ignorant Darren. The
doormat Darren. Throughout the book plots, his character evolved more
and become better. I could feel how his character grow into something
better and that is the most amazing thing because well, we all want
our main cast to grow up and made a wise decision right? I like how he
used to be ignorant at the beginning and finally become the Maker
that everything respect at the end of the book. Such a development.
Sanjay is like the greatest friend someone could ever asked. He is the
real encourager and supporter of Darren and lets not forget he is the
main reason how Darren and Malcolm and Vivette met. I felt sorry for
his dad but still, he never be mad at Darren even though Darren said
it was his fault and for that I love Sanjay.
Amanda. Where do I even start? I know she is like the biggest asshole
here but I never expect such a juvenile character she could be. I am
totally shocked and surprised with her. Well, that is a good thing ok
because I usually could expect what a character someone would have. I
dont expect her to be that evil, period. And I hate everyone in her
family since the beginning of the book. The falling action for
everything that she has done, is well, lets just say she deserves it
just right.
Overall, reading this book is so much fun and I really like it. I would read the sequel in no second.
June 16, 2025
Though I enjoyed this book, I just couldn't get past Amanda and her attitude towards Darren and her verbal abuse. I couldn't stand her character so much I nearly quite listening to the book. What a rubbish person as well as her family. Narrator does a good job with the various characters voices and the entire storyline. Hoping book 3 comes out soon and is better.
September 29, 2015
Come check out my Book Blog for more fun stuff and reviews!
A Copy of this Book was given to me in exchange for an honest review, by Netgalley
So let me start, right here, by saying this. If you read nothing else about my review, if you want to go in with just my recommendation: Go read this book. If you have any interest in Urban Fantasy you need to read this.
Lets start of course, with the blurb:
"Darren Trott has a job, a feisty girlfriend (with plans) and a house with potential. Oh yes, he’s living the dream. It just isn’t the dream he applied for.
You see, Darren likes taking photos of plastic models in real world settings. He calls it art. His girlfriend Amanda calls it a frivolous pursuit. She wants him to give it all up and turn his garage studio into a nail bar. Trouble is, his ‘art’ won’t let him. Every time Darren takes a picture, something very peculiar happens. Something amazing, and weird, and genuinely out of this world.
Psychopathic relatives, aboriginal demons, warrior queens, and a Brownie called George (with claws, a pork-pie hat and an attitude bigger than a banker’s wage), all want a piece of Darren. But they'll have to form an orderly queue because there's the small matter of an impending apocalypse to sort out first…
DC Farmer cordially invites you to join him in exploring the next white-knuckle case report from the Hipposync archives, following on from the highly received, The 400Lb Gorilla."
So that blurb does not do this story justice. First, and foremost, this book is exceedingly well written. It has a dry British styled humor throughout for one. Every word has its place and nothing is wasted.
Further, the story is just plain engrossing. I could not stop reading, and after a certain point I had to finish. I just had to. I needed to see where things went.
Next, I wanted to talk about the characters. Our protagonist, nay our hero, is Darren. A man in his late 20's, he has a boring but easy job, an inheritance from his dead mother, a hot girlfriend, and very little motivation other then to take pictures of what basically amount to Dioramas. Kinda like this one here only less fantasy oriented and more realistic. He finds it almost zen like to get the perfect image with a combination of figures and sets that he has hand crafted.
Of course, his girlfriend Amanda does not like this at all, this Frivolous Pursuit, and does her level best to have him trash his stuff so she can turn the garage into a nail salon.
But that's only part of the whole story. You see, when poor Darren was a child, at age 9...an event happened that caused him to basically have a breakdown. Doctors, psychiatrists, and constant bullying followed him along with a nickname.
This made him VERY human to me, and I could not help but feel empathy towards him. I was, growing up, very much like him, minus the strange supernatural event. I was the loner, the fat kid, the one bullied and made fun of. I retreated into books and video games, personally. He went into diorama making. Creating fictional stories and worlds in his head.
The rest of the cast consisted of Amanda the superficial celebrity obsessed girlfriend, Sanjay his stalwart and really only friend, and Amanda's family the Crays. I won't go into too much about any one of these other then the fact that Amanda is a prime example of the superficial celebrity obsessed culture we have, and Sanjay is a sheltered nerd who just wants to love what he loves, like Darren. Which is building a complete recreation of Mesopotamia just as an fyi.
What threw me off however are some of the tonal changes. Be aware that the story starts rather lighthearted and humorous...and then gets dark, and then depressing, and then violent, and then hopeful. My emotions, my feels, the roller-coaster they were on, just damn.
And the ending was perfect.
I give this a solid 4/5. If you have any interest in Urban Fantasy, you should check this book out in a heartbeat.
A Copy of this Book was given to me in exchange for an honest review, by Netgalley
So let me start, right here, by saying this. If you read nothing else about my review, if you want to go in with just my recommendation: Go read this book. If you have any interest in Urban Fantasy you need to read this.
Lets start of course, with the blurb:
"Darren Trott has a job, a feisty girlfriend (with plans) and a house with potential. Oh yes, he’s living the dream. It just isn’t the dream he applied for.
You see, Darren likes taking photos of plastic models in real world settings. He calls it art. His girlfriend Amanda calls it a frivolous pursuit. She wants him to give it all up and turn his garage studio into a nail bar. Trouble is, his ‘art’ won’t let him. Every time Darren takes a picture, something very peculiar happens. Something amazing, and weird, and genuinely out of this world.
Psychopathic relatives, aboriginal demons, warrior queens, and a Brownie called George (with claws, a pork-pie hat and an attitude bigger than a banker’s wage), all want a piece of Darren. But they'll have to form an orderly queue because there's the small matter of an impending apocalypse to sort out first…
DC Farmer cordially invites you to join him in exploring the next white-knuckle case report from the Hipposync archives, following on from the highly received, The 400Lb Gorilla."
So that blurb does not do this story justice. First, and foremost, this book is exceedingly well written. It has a dry British styled humor throughout for one. Every word has its place and nothing is wasted.
Further, the story is just plain engrossing. I could not stop reading, and after a certain point I had to finish. I just had to. I needed to see where things went.
Next, I wanted to talk about the characters. Our protagonist, nay our hero, is Darren. A man in his late 20's, he has a boring but easy job, an inheritance from his dead mother, a hot girlfriend, and very little motivation other then to take pictures of what basically amount to Dioramas. Kinda like this one here only less fantasy oriented and more realistic. He finds it almost zen like to get the perfect image with a combination of figures and sets that he has hand crafted.
Of course, his girlfriend Amanda does not like this at all, this Frivolous Pursuit, and does her level best to have him trash his stuff so she can turn the garage into a nail salon.
But that's only part of the whole story. You see, when poor Darren was a child, at age 9...an event happened that caused him to basically have a breakdown. Doctors, psychiatrists, and constant bullying followed him along with a nickname.
This made him VERY human to me, and I could not help but feel empathy towards him. I was, growing up, very much like him, minus the strange supernatural event. I was the loner, the fat kid, the one bullied and made fun of. I retreated into books and video games, personally. He went into diorama making. Creating fictional stories and worlds in his head.
The rest of the cast consisted of Amanda the superficial celebrity obsessed girlfriend, Sanjay his stalwart and really only friend, and Amanda's family the Crays. I won't go into too much about any one of these other then the fact that Amanda is a prime example of the superficial celebrity obsessed culture we have, and Sanjay is a sheltered nerd who just wants to love what he loves, like Darren. Which is building a complete recreation of Mesopotamia just as an fyi.
What threw me off however are some of the tonal changes. Be aware that the story starts rather lighthearted and humorous...and then gets dark, and then depressing, and then violent, and then hopeful. My emotions, my feels, the roller-coaster they were on, just damn.
And the ending was perfect.
I give this a solid 4/5. If you have any interest in Urban Fantasy, you should check this book out in a heartbeat.
October 7, 2015
This book was quite the theme-park ride. I think if I had to sum it up in one word it would be quirky. I like quirky. Give me another word. Witty. I know quirky, witty, urban fantasy, doesn’t really go together, but stick with me… I don’t read much urban fantasy, and even less adult urban fantasy at that, so I’m never quite sure what I’m going to get when I do pick one up. It all hinges on how they sell the magical in the mundane world. Is it going to have that absolutely rolling my eyes unbelievable forced feel, or is it going to be more of a sense of wonder and awe, can’t wait to immerse myself more in this universe pull?
Although it deals with some pretty fantastical concepts; Fae immigration, dream-hopping brownies, and travel to plastic-doll universes made real through photography for starters; This book spends quite a bit of it’s time in the mundane world with mundane characters. More than half of the book, with the main character trying to convince himself for much of that time that the events in the other realms weren’t even real. It’s a story, not so much about the character IN the magical world, but in how he has to fix his life in the mundane world before he can be of much use as a savior in the magical one. And he has plenty of life lessons to learn. The book definitely gets points for character growth, but it loses just a few for being such a dunce in the first place and taking so long to get to some of these things that he should have already known.
I really liked quite a lot about this book. The characters were all so richly imaginative, vivid and strong, that they colored the narrative rainbow. Darren, the protagonist was helpless, hopeless, bumbling, funny, fierce and lovable from page one. And I loved that for once this was not really a romance, but it was a bromance between Darren and his best friend since childhood Sanjay and the relationship they have was just so fantastic to see portrayed. The rest of the cast of characters are all larger than life and reveal themselves over the course of the story to be either variously lovable or loathsome. I'm quite willing to sign up to read his first book as the two main characters from Gorilla play rather charming cameos here in Frivolous. It's really quite an interesting and limitless playground the author has set himself to play in for this series.
This is Brit lit, so it also had that witty British banter that I love so much. Mostly in the dialogue between Darren and Sanjay where it was parried with pitch perfection, and sometimes more funnily in the failed attempts at humor by Darren aimed at his girlfriend Amanda, who chooses to ignore him every time, only causing him to try harder.
There were a few moments of real stop, pause and laugh out loud humor in this as well. The author has a great imagination and sense of humor. And overall, it’s very creative, and very well written. The prose is tight, but also quite lovely and thought-provoking. It all feels like a very strange trip to be taking. And that’s really the only fault I can find with it is that it is a very strange book indeed, at various times I felt like I was in some adult version of Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, Gulliver’s Travels and something much much stranger, but then again, do I call that a fault or a wonderful surprise?
This review originally appeared at Aurelia {lit}{geek}{chic}
Although it deals with some pretty fantastical concepts; Fae immigration, dream-hopping brownies, and travel to plastic-doll universes made real through photography for starters; This book spends quite a bit of it’s time in the mundane world with mundane characters. More than half of the book, with the main character trying to convince himself for much of that time that the events in the other realms weren’t even real. It’s a story, not so much about the character IN the magical world, but in how he has to fix his life in the mundane world before he can be of much use as a savior in the magical one. And he has plenty of life lessons to learn. The book definitely gets points for character growth, but it loses just a few for being such a dunce in the first place and taking so long to get to some of these things that he should have already known.
I really liked quite a lot about this book. The characters were all so richly imaginative, vivid and strong, that they colored the narrative rainbow. Darren, the protagonist was helpless, hopeless, bumbling, funny, fierce and lovable from page one. And I loved that for once this was not really a romance, but it was a bromance between Darren and his best friend since childhood Sanjay and the relationship they have was just so fantastic to see portrayed. The rest of the cast of characters are all larger than life and reveal themselves over the course of the story to be either variously lovable or loathsome. I'm quite willing to sign up to read his first book as the two main characters from Gorilla play rather charming cameos here in Frivolous. It's really quite an interesting and limitless playground the author has set himself to play in for this series.
This is Brit lit, so it also had that witty British banter that I love so much. Mostly in the dialogue between Darren and Sanjay where it was parried with pitch perfection, and sometimes more funnily in the failed attempts at humor by Darren aimed at his girlfriend Amanda, who chooses to ignore him every time, only causing him to try harder.
There were a few moments of real stop, pause and laugh out loud humor in this as well. The author has a great imagination and sense of humor. And overall, it’s very creative, and very well written. The prose is tight, but also quite lovely and thought-provoking. It all feels like a very strange trip to be taking. And that’s really the only fault I can find with it is that it is a very strange book indeed, at various times I felt like I was in some adult version of Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, Gulliver’s Travels and something much much stranger, but then again, do I call that a fault or a wonderful surprise?
This review originally appeared at Aurelia {lit}{geek}{chic}
October 16, 2015
I received a copy of this title through NetGalley for review.
I don't read much sci-fi/fantasy because I find that they're TOO fantastical for my taste in certain cases. This wasn't true for this title, which I ended up enjoying quite a bit. The beginning of the book did leave me with a sort of 'huh?' feeling, which quickly dissolved after giving the book a chance. I appreciated the wit, the adventure, and I detested the antagonist, which means Farmer completed his job.
I don't read much sci-fi/fantasy because I find that they're TOO fantastical for my taste in certain cases. This wasn't true for this title, which I ended up enjoying quite a bit. The beginning of the book did leave me with a sort of 'huh?' feeling, which quickly dissolved after giving the book a chance. I appreciated the wit, the adventure, and I detested the antagonist, which means Farmer completed his job.
November 27, 2024
A great continuation of the Hipposync world, bringing in some new characters as well as a fun showing from others we met in the first book.
Great read with some funny and heartwarming moments throughout. Great to have some new books that I look forward to reading.
Great read with some funny and heartwarming moments throughout. Great to have some new books that I look forward to reading.
September 1, 2015
Originally published at Risingshadow.
Frivolous Pursuits is the second novel in the delightfully quirky and humorous Hipposync Archives series. It wonderfully continues the series and adds freshness to it.
Because I enjoyed reading the author's previous Hipposync Archive novel, The 400lb Gorilla, I was eager to read Frivolous Pursuits and could hardly wait to hold it in my hands. I was positively surprised when I noticed that it was everything that I hoped it would be, because it was an entertaining and fresh novel with good ideas, and just like its predecessor, it was something a bit different.
In my opinion, Frivolous Pursuits is just as funny, entertaining and unpredictable as The 400lb Gorilla, because it contains plenty of happenings and the story is coated with deliciously quirky, satirical and sharp humour. I can honestly say that it's one of the best and funniest urban fantasy novels I've ever read. It's easy for me to praise it, because I enjoyed reading it and found myself chuckling and laughing out loud at certain points.
I think it's good to mention that although Frivolous Pursuits is a sequel to The 400lb Gorilla, it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone novel. By the way, if you haven't read the first novel yet, trust me when I say that you'll definitely want to read it, because it's worth reading (if you like this novel, I urge you to read the previous novel as soon as possible).
I've often mentioned that I'm difficult to please when it comes to urban fantasy, because I've been more or less disappointed by the low quality and poor entertainment values of contemporary urban fantasy novels (most authors tend to recycle well-known elements in a boring and repetitive way). Too many authors choose the easy way out and write stories that have little or no originality at all. That's why finding good authors like DC Farmer is difficult.
DC Farmer has managed to impress me with his writing skills, originality, humour and imagination. He has more imagination, style and sense of humour than many other authors combined. I especially enjoy his sharp and stinging humour, because he delivers sarcastic humour in a genuinely amusing way (there's something charmingly British about his sense of humour that I find compelling). He also has a thrilling way of blending urban fantasy with quest fantasy elements.
After reading this novel, I can mention that DC Farmer is one of the best and most talented urban fantasy authors. He has found a place for himself among other authors and uses his own voice to tell stories. In my opinion, he deserves to be read by readers who love humorous urban fantasy and appreciate good entertainment.
Frivolous Pursuit is a satisfyingly told fantasy story about a young man called Darren Trott and his life. Darren is a normal young man who suddenly finds himself in the middle of strange happenings.
Because there's quite a lot going on in this novel, it's slightly difficult for me to summarise its contents with a few sentences. This novel contains so many happenings that what you find below is only a small glimpse into its exhilarating contents.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
In the prologue, Darren Trott is nine years old and experiences something strange in the bathroom. He sees how a tiny figure of a man comes alive and tells him to "warn the others". This frightens him... After the prologue, the focus shifts to a grown-up Darren who takes photos of miniature models in various positions and settings. He enjoys his hobby, but his girlfriend, Amanda, doesn't like it and thinks it's not a proper hobby for him. Amanda feels that Darren should spend his time doing something else and calls his hobby a frivolous pursuit. One day Darren receives a model by mail from Hipposync Archives. The name of model is Roxana and she seems to be able to speak. Roxana tells Darren of the great threat that is coming to her land and asks for his help. Soon Darren meets Kylah and Matt Danmor from the Department of Fimmigration and learns that Moldarrenovians are in great trouble...
This is the beginning of a well written urban fantasy story that contains plenty of humour and intriguing surprises.
It was nice to read again about Matt Danmor and Kylah, because I enjoyed reading about them in The 400lb Gorilla. When they make an appearance in this story, Darren is pulled into quite an adventure and a whole new side of the world and other dimensions is revealed to him.
It was interesting for me to read about what happened when Darren and his companions arrived in Moldarrenovia, because they found themselves in a strange land where things were different and where strange and dangerous beasts roamed the land because of the evil Ysbaed. The author wrote well about how Darren and his companions explored the world and helped its inhabitants.
Worldbuilding works well, because Moldarrenovia is a fascinatingly different kind of a world. I'm not going to go into details about Moldarrenovia, but I can reveal that Darren is quite smitten by one of the inhabitants and her sensual appearance. He also has a fascinating connection to Moldarrenovia and its existence.
Characterisation is exceptionally good and fluent in this novel, because the protagonist is realistic and endearing while the supporting characters are interesting and wonderfully quirky and vivid.
Darren is one of the most realistic and interesting protagonists ever to appear on the pages of urban fantasy novels. The author writes fluently and engagingly about Darren's life and his problems. The readers get to know him and come to care about what happens to him, because he's an easily likeable protagonist.
Darren has a relationship with Amanda Cray, but their relationship isn't very happy, because Amanda and her nightmarish family cause quite a lot of stress to him. There are times when Darren thinks about their relationship and what's going on between them, because Amanda is different from him.
What makes Darren an especially interesting protagonist is that he has an ability to communicate with the things that he photographs. This special ability separates him from normal people, because there aren't many who can do something like that.
Amanda is a well-created character, because she's completely different from Darren. She has many plans and she systematically tries to change Darren's life, because she has her own vision of how things should be. She's a determined and nasty young woman who has her own opinions. Her relatives have clearly had a huge effect on her personality.
There are many colourful supporting characters in this novel, including Sanjay Bobal (Darren's best friend), Malcolm Burns (a semi-pro gamer) and Vivette Campbell-Fripp (an owner of a fashion house). It was wonderful to read about these characters, because they added depth and humour to the story. All of them are vivid and have their own characteristics and eccentricities that define them.
George Hoblip, a brownie, deserves a special mention as an unforgettable supporting character with a big attitude. He's a charmingly different kind of a character who's difficult to forget once you've read about him.
The relationship between Darren and Amanda is handled surprisingly well, because the author writes fluently about how they feel about each other and how Amanda tries to change Darren. Their relationship feels almost like a relationship from hell, because Darren doesn't have much to say about certain things. Amanda seems to be the boss and wants to control Darren all the time. What makes Darren's situation worse is that Amanda's nasty relatives are anything but normal and he has to endure them.
One of things that I like about this novel is that the character interaction works perfectly. It was a pleasure to read the dialogues, because they were full of funny and sharp comments about the world, people and relationships.
I also have to mention that the author seems to have an inborn ability to write humorous prose. His approach to such delicate issues and themes as relationship problems, love and sex feels fresh and exciting because he gives a humorous treatment to them.
It's great that the author has plenty of imagination and he doesn't repeat himself. I was impressed by his way of delivering surprises and writing about ordinary life in a delightfully quirky and funny way. He seems to understand what good and clever humour is and how it can be used to entertain his readers (his humour has a delightfully sharp edge to it).
Just like in the previous novel, the author plays nicely with the idea of what's real and what's not and how a person's life can be affected by happenings that can't be explained. What happened to Darren when he was a child had an enormous effect on his life, because he had to learn to accept that it wasn't real. His whole life changes when he finds out that he actually didn't imagine anything and learns new things about himself and the world around him.
With this novel, DC Farmer proves that it's possible to write fascinating contemporary urban fantasy novels without resorting to using overused elements (vampires etc) that cause clenching of teeth and almost allergical reactions to many readers who are fed up with reading about them. I think that many readers will notice how easily the author avoids using clichés and creates something new from well-known and ordinary elements. To be honest, I think that many urban fantasy authors could take a few lessons from this author.
Frivolous Pursuits is a genuinely funny romp with plenty of humour to satisfy the needs of those who want humour from their fantasy novels. It manages to be both entertaining and thrilling, and it easily captures the reader's attention from the very first page and makes the reader want to read the whole story as soon as possible to find out what happens to the protagonist. I seldom find myself almost skipping pages to find out what happens at the end when I read urban fantasy novels, but in this case I had to read the story as soon as possible, because I enjoyed it.
I sincerely hope that DC Farmer will soon write the next Hipposync Archive novel, because this kind of entertainment is the best possible kind of escapism to fantasy readers who want to read good and well written stories. There's a short and intriguing preview chapter of the next novel at the end of this novel. Based on it, I can mention that the next novel seems to be worth waiting for.
If you're a fan of humorous fantasy, DC Farmer's Frivolous Pursuits should be on your reading list. It's essential reading material for those who love Terry Pratchett-like humour and enjoy well written humorous stories. I'm sure that all who read this novel will have this question on their minds when they've reached the final page: "When will the next Hippposync Archive novel be published?"
My final words are:
Frivolous Pursuits is wonderful entertainment to fans of humorous urban fantasy. It's something a bit different and deserves to be read by readers who love good stories.
Frivolous Pursuits is the second novel in the delightfully quirky and humorous Hipposync Archives series. It wonderfully continues the series and adds freshness to it.
Because I enjoyed reading the author's previous Hipposync Archive novel, The 400lb Gorilla, I was eager to read Frivolous Pursuits and could hardly wait to hold it in my hands. I was positively surprised when I noticed that it was everything that I hoped it would be, because it was an entertaining and fresh novel with good ideas, and just like its predecessor, it was something a bit different.
In my opinion, Frivolous Pursuits is just as funny, entertaining and unpredictable as The 400lb Gorilla, because it contains plenty of happenings and the story is coated with deliciously quirky, satirical and sharp humour. I can honestly say that it's one of the best and funniest urban fantasy novels I've ever read. It's easy for me to praise it, because I enjoyed reading it and found myself chuckling and laughing out loud at certain points.
I think it's good to mention that although Frivolous Pursuits is a sequel to The 400lb Gorilla, it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone novel. By the way, if you haven't read the first novel yet, trust me when I say that you'll definitely want to read it, because it's worth reading (if you like this novel, I urge you to read the previous novel as soon as possible).
I've often mentioned that I'm difficult to please when it comes to urban fantasy, because I've been more or less disappointed by the low quality and poor entertainment values of contemporary urban fantasy novels (most authors tend to recycle well-known elements in a boring and repetitive way). Too many authors choose the easy way out and write stories that have little or no originality at all. That's why finding good authors like DC Farmer is difficult.
DC Farmer has managed to impress me with his writing skills, originality, humour and imagination. He has more imagination, style and sense of humour than many other authors combined. I especially enjoy his sharp and stinging humour, because he delivers sarcastic humour in a genuinely amusing way (there's something charmingly British about his sense of humour that I find compelling). He also has a thrilling way of blending urban fantasy with quest fantasy elements.
After reading this novel, I can mention that DC Farmer is one of the best and most talented urban fantasy authors. He has found a place for himself among other authors and uses his own voice to tell stories. In my opinion, he deserves to be read by readers who love humorous urban fantasy and appreciate good entertainment.
Frivolous Pursuit is a satisfyingly told fantasy story about a young man called Darren Trott and his life. Darren is a normal young man who suddenly finds himself in the middle of strange happenings.
Because there's quite a lot going on in this novel, it's slightly difficult for me to summarise its contents with a few sentences. This novel contains so many happenings that what you find below is only a small glimpse into its exhilarating contents.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
In the prologue, Darren Trott is nine years old and experiences something strange in the bathroom. He sees how a tiny figure of a man comes alive and tells him to "warn the others". This frightens him... After the prologue, the focus shifts to a grown-up Darren who takes photos of miniature models in various positions and settings. He enjoys his hobby, but his girlfriend, Amanda, doesn't like it and thinks it's not a proper hobby for him. Amanda feels that Darren should spend his time doing something else and calls his hobby a frivolous pursuit. One day Darren receives a model by mail from Hipposync Archives. The name of model is Roxana and she seems to be able to speak. Roxana tells Darren of the great threat that is coming to her land and asks for his help. Soon Darren meets Kylah and Matt Danmor from the Department of Fimmigration and learns that Moldarrenovians are in great trouble...
This is the beginning of a well written urban fantasy story that contains plenty of humour and intriguing surprises.
It was nice to read again about Matt Danmor and Kylah, because I enjoyed reading about them in The 400lb Gorilla. When they make an appearance in this story, Darren is pulled into quite an adventure and a whole new side of the world and other dimensions is revealed to him.
It was interesting for me to read about what happened when Darren and his companions arrived in Moldarrenovia, because they found themselves in a strange land where things were different and where strange and dangerous beasts roamed the land because of the evil Ysbaed. The author wrote well about how Darren and his companions explored the world and helped its inhabitants.
Worldbuilding works well, because Moldarrenovia is a fascinatingly different kind of a world. I'm not going to go into details about Moldarrenovia, but I can reveal that Darren is quite smitten by one of the inhabitants and her sensual appearance. He also has a fascinating connection to Moldarrenovia and its existence.
Characterisation is exceptionally good and fluent in this novel, because the protagonist is realistic and endearing while the supporting characters are interesting and wonderfully quirky and vivid.
Darren is one of the most realistic and interesting protagonists ever to appear on the pages of urban fantasy novels. The author writes fluently and engagingly about Darren's life and his problems. The readers get to know him and come to care about what happens to him, because he's an easily likeable protagonist.
Darren has a relationship with Amanda Cray, but their relationship isn't very happy, because Amanda and her nightmarish family cause quite a lot of stress to him. There are times when Darren thinks about their relationship and what's going on between them, because Amanda is different from him.
What makes Darren an especially interesting protagonist is that he has an ability to communicate with the things that he photographs. This special ability separates him from normal people, because there aren't many who can do something like that.
Amanda is a well-created character, because she's completely different from Darren. She has many plans and she systematically tries to change Darren's life, because she has her own vision of how things should be. She's a determined and nasty young woman who has her own opinions. Her relatives have clearly had a huge effect on her personality.
There are many colourful supporting characters in this novel, including Sanjay Bobal (Darren's best friend), Malcolm Burns (a semi-pro gamer) and Vivette Campbell-Fripp (an owner of a fashion house). It was wonderful to read about these characters, because they added depth and humour to the story. All of them are vivid and have their own characteristics and eccentricities that define them.
George Hoblip, a brownie, deserves a special mention as an unforgettable supporting character with a big attitude. He's a charmingly different kind of a character who's difficult to forget once you've read about him.
The relationship between Darren and Amanda is handled surprisingly well, because the author writes fluently about how they feel about each other and how Amanda tries to change Darren. Their relationship feels almost like a relationship from hell, because Darren doesn't have much to say about certain things. Amanda seems to be the boss and wants to control Darren all the time. What makes Darren's situation worse is that Amanda's nasty relatives are anything but normal and he has to endure them.
One of things that I like about this novel is that the character interaction works perfectly. It was a pleasure to read the dialogues, because they were full of funny and sharp comments about the world, people and relationships.
I also have to mention that the author seems to have an inborn ability to write humorous prose. His approach to such delicate issues and themes as relationship problems, love and sex feels fresh and exciting because he gives a humorous treatment to them.
It's great that the author has plenty of imagination and he doesn't repeat himself. I was impressed by his way of delivering surprises and writing about ordinary life in a delightfully quirky and funny way. He seems to understand what good and clever humour is and how it can be used to entertain his readers (his humour has a delightfully sharp edge to it).
Just like in the previous novel, the author plays nicely with the idea of what's real and what's not and how a person's life can be affected by happenings that can't be explained. What happened to Darren when he was a child had an enormous effect on his life, because he had to learn to accept that it wasn't real. His whole life changes when he finds out that he actually didn't imagine anything and learns new things about himself and the world around him.
With this novel, DC Farmer proves that it's possible to write fascinating contemporary urban fantasy novels without resorting to using overused elements (vampires etc) that cause clenching of teeth and almost allergical reactions to many readers who are fed up with reading about them. I think that many readers will notice how easily the author avoids using clichés and creates something new from well-known and ordinary elements. To be honest, I think that many urban fantasy authors could take a few lessons from this author.
Frivolous Pursuits is a genuinely funny romp with plenty of humour to satisfy the needs of those who want humour from their fantasy novels. It manages to be both entertaining and thrilling, and it easily captures the reader's attention from the very first page and makes the reader want to read the whole story as soon as possible to find out what happens to the protagonist. I seldom find myself almost skipping pages to find out what happens at the end when I read urban fantasy novels, but in this case I had to read the story as soon as possible, because I enjoyed it.
I sincerely hope that DC Farmer will soon write the next Hipposync Archive novel, because this kind of entertainment is the best possible kind of escapism to fantasy readers who want to read good and well written stories. There's a short and intriguing preview chapter of the next novel at the end of this novel. Based on it, I can mention that the next novel seems to be worth waiting for.
If you're a fan of humorous fantasy, DC Farmer's Frivolous Pursuits should be on your reading list. It's essential reading material for those who love Terry Pratchett-like humour and enjoy well written humorous stories. I'm sure that all who read this novel will have this question on their minds when they've reached the final page: "When will the next Hippposync Archive novel be published?"
My final words are:
Frivolous Pursuits is wonderful entertainment to fans of humorous urban fantasy. It's something a bit different and deserves to be read by readers who love good stories.
October 1, 2025
Exceptionally good humour wrapped in a Pratchett-esque style
This is in my top two books of 2025, and could yet top the podium on reflection.
Where to start? I’ve enjoyed this more than any other “Pratchett-esque” that the reviews hint are the new Pratchett. It doesn’t bother me whether they turn out to be so or not, more that they can stand on their own and make me laugh.
I haven't read the original versions and understand that these have been updated to reflect modern times / events. That they say makes them obviously more relatable, and equally more fun.
There’s great characters, with humour, from page one. And they continue to improve, and more importantly, make me laugh as the story moves on.
The only way I can do justice in the review is by quoting sections from the book that made me laugh or shine a light on modern society without being patronising. Most of them will be out of context if you haven't read the book, but stick with it.
On looking after a group of grandchildren, Darren quips ‘Hi, Mrs. Roopal. You’ve been to a sale at the orphanage again, I see,’.
Sanjay watched him for a few seconds. ‘Dar, if your nose gets any closer to your crotch, you’ll be in danger of reinventing the word selfie.
I can empathise with a man who finds the solution to loud music on public transport “his way of dealing with it by making them swallow their ear buds”.
And the subtle hearing issues of Sanjay’s dad - ‘Work experience at Spearmint Rhino?’ No one should be spearing rhinos. They are endangered species, you see. Says so on Disney channel.’
I suspect one of the societal updates refers to Amanda, who was one of the many fed a diet of ludicrous celebrity and mendacious longing, taught to grab what they could. One of the ‘precious’ generation convinced that society owed them a life and were angry at a world run by old people with money… or any people with money, intelligence or talent that they did not have.
The trouble is she’s not ‘special’ even though that’s what every sodding adult’s been telling her since she was four. What is the matter with you people? You’re always lying to kids about them being ‘unusually wonderful’. They���re not all unusually wonderful otherwise nothing would be ordinary.
I’m in danger of replicating the entire text, so will stop now and simply say, dive in and enjoy the experience.
This is in my top two books of 2025, and could yet top the podium on reflection.
Where to start? I’ve enjoyed this more than any other “Pratchett-esque” that the reviews hint are the new Pratchett. It doesn’t bother me whether they turn out to be so or not, more that they can stand on their own and make me laugh.
I haven't read the original versions and understand that these have been updated to reflect modern times / events. That they say makes them obviously more relatable, and equally more fun.
There’s great characters, with humour, from page one. And they continue to improve, and more importantly, make me laugh as the story moves on.
The only way I can do justice in the review is by quoting sections from the book that made me laugh or shine a light on modern society without being patronising. Most of them will be out of context if you haven't read the book, but stick with it.
On looking after a group of grandchildren, Darren quips ‘Hi, Mrs. Roopal. You’ve been to a sale at the orphanage again, I see,’.
Sanjay watched him for a few seconds. ‘Dar, if your nose gets any closer to your crotch, you’ll be in danger of reinventing the word selfie.
I can empathise with a man who finds the solution to loud music on public transport “his way of dealing with it by making them swallow their ear buds”.
And the subtle hearing issues of Sanjay’s dad - ‘Work experience at Spearmint Rhino?’ No one should be spearing rhinos. They are endangered species, you see. Says so on Disney channel.’
I suspect one of the societal updates refers to Amanda, who was one of the many fed a diet of ludicrous celebrity and mendacious longing, taught to grab what they could. One of the ‘precious’ generation convinced that society owed them a life and were angry at a world run by old people with money… or any people with money, intelligence or talent that they did not have.
The trouble is she’s not ‘special’ even though that’s what every sodding adult’s been telling her since she was four. What is the matter with you people? You’re always lying to kids about them being ‘unusually wonderful’. They���re not all unusually wonderful otherwise nothing would be ordinary.
I’m in danger of replicating the entire text, so will stop now and simply say, dive in and enjoy the experience.
July 7, 2025
3.5 stars. Upsides: imaginative premise and a story that makes you want to find out what happens next. Downsides: the author’s over-fondness for showing off long and preferably obscure terminology (luckily I enjoy a bit of overblown verbiage as this review shows…); more puerile humour and sexual fantasies than I would prefer; and the protagonist’s annoyingly self-willed ignorance of deliberate malice in others. There are strong theme parallels with book one: an intelligent man with low self-esteem, extreme gas-lighting narcissistic girlfriend, and trauma (car accident + head injury for one, childhood trauma + bullying from another). Characters are generally either very good, very bad, or unimportant. There’s some discussion about ethics and morals but this is more variable than I think the author intended.
May 15, 2025
"Making a pun on the Beatles song "Fool on the Hill," the title of book 2 of The Hipposync Archives, (Frivolous Pursuits, book 2), suited the theme better. Once again, the target audience seems to align with that of the protagonist: Darren Trott, Sanjay Broppa, Amanda Cray, Roxana (the plastic girl), and George. Oh my, George! Darren and Sanjay, best friends since childhood, answer the question: what happens when the nerds are destiny's chosen heroes? Darren, whose life motto is "go along to get along," has somehow become ensnared by Amanda Cray. Let's pause for a moment and appreciate Farmer's ingenious choice of last name for Amanda. In one short word, "Cray," we understand she's trouble. The Cray family is as notorious in the UK as the Mafia is in the US. From the Hipposync world, Roxana and George are delightful characters, enchanting in the best possible way.
Darren's story is that of a resilient hero, one who suffered a mind-shattering event at age 9 that has colored his entire life up to this point. He witnessed something that, in our reality, could not happen. To survive, he has mentally walled off much of his true nature, hence the presence of Amanda, one of the nastiest influencers I have encountered in fiction. As in volume 1, the plot is fast-paced, funny, and, despite the paranormal setting, quite believable. In the present day, where chaos often seems to prevail, this novel serves as a balm for our troubled times.
Recommended for book clubs, YA audiences, and anyone looking for a style that Monty Python would have loved."
Darren's story is that of a resilient hero, one who suffered a mind-shattering event at age 9 that has colored his entire life up to this point. He witnessed something that, in our reality, could not happen. To survive, he has mentally walled off much of his true nature, hence the presence of Amanda, one of the nastiest influencers I have encountered in fiction. As in volume 1, the plot is fast-paced, funny, and, despite the paranormal setting, quite believable. In the present day, where chaos often seems to prevail, this novel serves as a balm for our troubled times.
Recommended for book clubs, YA audiences, and anyone looking for a style that Monty Python would have loved."
September 26, 2025
A fun romp that is another book where the real world aspect of the story was more compelling for me than the fantasy aspect. The friendship with Sanjay and his father was particularly well-drawn, but the relationship with Amanda did make me wonder if a man would really stay with someone so unkind and manipulative, especially as their relationship was rarely physical. However, she and her family made for antagonists the reader could certainly root against. The dialogue worked well, and the author's imagination is powerfully laid out. I took a star off as I felt the way that women were portrayed was rather stereotypical and two-dimensional. I enjoyed this and will certainly be continuing with the series.
July 11, 2025
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but I'm struggling a bit with this one. Darren's girlfriend is a hateful creature and I just can't figure out why he would stay with such a manipulative bitch. Other characters though are laugh out loud funny especially Sanjay and his father. The premise of the story is brilliant, but I felt we spent too much time in the real world and not enough in the world of 'the maker'. So, in short, excellent plot, great characters and world building, but the balance felt off to me. 3.5*
September 12, 2025
The Ghoul On The Hill
Book 2 in the The Hipposync Archives follows Darren Trott and his peregrinations into the very real worlds of his imagination.
With scathing insights on modern obsessions with reality TV and the pursuit of media influenced self-perfection combined with sharp dialogue, stirring adventure and amusing characterisation.
Book 2 in the The Hipposync Archives follows Darren Trott and his peregrinations into the very real worlds of his imagination.
With scathing insights on modern obsessions with reality TV and the pursuit of media influenced self-perfection combined with sharp dialogue, stirring adventure and amusing characterisation.
January 18, 2025
Possibly even better than book 1
Loved the story (mostly), and it just seems better written and better paced than the first book.
And the very successful cliffhanger ending means I have to buy the next book. Bravo.
Loved the story (mostly), and it just seems better written and better paced than the first book.
And the very successful cliffhanger ending means I have to buy the next book. Bravo.
April 3, 2025
I Can't Live in a World Without Love
Second in Hipposync Archives series rather than sequel. Although helpful to have read the first book, this can be enjoyed as a standalone. Funny, tear-jerking, anger-inducing and thought-provoking.
Second in Hipposync Archives series rather than sequel. Although helpful to have read the first book, this can be enjoyed as a standalone. Funny, tear-jerking, anger-inducing and thought-provoking.
August 5, 2025
Is it strange to say that I kind of wish I had read this book before the first one? I liked Matt as a main character more than Darren, and reading the first book second would have given solid prequel energy with more world-building. Still great in itself and I will be reading the next book.
February 1, 2025
It took past a third of the book to finally see the Hipposync characters from book 1 and then they were gone just as quickly. Tedious
March 23, 2025
Brilliant
Reading way past my bedtime in order to finish.
Just great. Downloading book number three in the series as soon as I've finished writing this.
Reading way past my bedtime in order to finish.
Just great. Downloading book number three in the series as soon as I've finished writing this.
March 25, 2025
Delightfully disjointed
April 14, 2025
Brilliant read, love the story's and the characters, completely hooked now!
May 8, 2025
DNF at 45%. Once it turned into a video game I lost interest.
June 7, 2025
Well worth a read.
The storyline is interesting and at times emotional (in a good way). If you like Fantasy Fiction you'll enjoy this.
The storyline is interesting and at times emotional (in a good way). If you like Fantasy Fiction you'll enjoy this.
June 10, 2025
Epic fantasy
The characters are mind blowing, George goblin is perhaps the strangest of all, Sanjay and Darren are a match made in nerdland, what's not to like 👍
The characters are mind blowing, George goblin is perhaps the strangest of all, Sanjay and Darren are a match made in nerdland, what's not to like 👍
January 15, 2025
I loved this story! I enjoyed when the girlfriend got what she deserved but mostly I loved the friendship between Darren and Sanji.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2015
3 out of 5 stars.
I would like to thank Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me an ARC of this book via Netgalley for an open and honest review.
This book was a tough one to score and I’m really concerned people are going to see my review as more negative as it is intended. Yes, I can see the “dislike” ticks piling up on Amazon as I type!
So let me start with the positives this book greatly deserves. It is a wonderful, brilliant and fresh new look into Urban Fantasy. Really quite an original and well thought out idea and, quite honestly, some of the best Young Adult/ New Adult reading I’ve done of late.
Maybe being married to someone who goes on endlessly about his Chaos Dwarves, who parries my Monty Python quotes (and similar sarcastically funny comments) with some of his own and being a proud ‘she-nerd’ myself helped me enjoy this story so much. Who knows? All the same, it is a great yarn and one I highly recommend to lovers of YA/NA Urban Fantasy.
But now to the nitty gritty. Please take this as the constructive criticism it is intended to me. As in, I’m not meaning to be negative, but do hope what I say helps.
As much as I found the interaction between Darren and his friends enjoyable, the puns did start to get to me at times. Though I do wonder if that is more from my inner old fogey getting in the road of my inner YA/NA reader? As in, maybe I was just a little too old for it at times, but the story itself was still good.
I also found myself wondering if YA/NA readers who are actually YA/NA aged would get some of the jokes and puns. As in, they seemed more from my generation and why I found them funny… but would the younger people reading it get it as much? I have to say here and now that I think my cultural dialect got in the road a bit too. Yes, I did have to google that word spelt out in the dishwasher… and then regretted it. Good insult though!
The biggest problem I had with this book, and why I scored it as low as I did, was actually down to the editing. Or, as I saw it, lack of it. Near the end of the book there was almost a spelling or grammatical error on every page and it got to me. Yes I know this was an ARC and they are often sent out before final edit and therefore not perfect. I get that and tried to excuse the book for this… but as they got so frequent it just got me frustrated as it was ruining a good tale. I know, this comment is a bit of the kettle calling the pot black as I am known for my typos and grammatical slip ups. I guess I just expect other authors to be better. ;-)
Also – and this isn’t meant to be a spoiler – when they first left for the other planet, they were in the lock-up and Sanjay talked to Matt, looked at the damage to his landscape done in a burglary (that had never been mentioned before) and then Darren and co left for the planet via the bedroom door… When they had been in the lock-up!
With the events that followed and the flaws in the timeline that came from it… I really got disappointed in the story as this was a glaring proof reader/ editor mistake that really should have been fixed up. And I really, REALLY hope it has been before the book was published as it did spoil it for me and cause me to drop a star off the score.
Okay, enough of the constructive criticism – not negatives, critiques! This really was a great, original and addictive story that had me reading it every chance I got. From the cover to the blurb the story itself it stayed true to what it offered and was, mostly, well worth a read.
Would I recommend this book to other? I would, though I would voice my misgivings about the editing and ask them to tell me it was all sorted when they read it. Any fan of YA/NA Urban Fantasy would enjoy this book.
Would I buy this book for myself? Possibly. But I’m more likely to borrow it, and others by this author, from the library to read in the future. It was good, but didn’t grab me enough to become a permanent member of my physical or virtual libraries.
In summary, it was an enjoyable read, entertaining and something fans of this genre will enjoy. I just really hope all the issues I’ve mentioned are fixed up in the final version. And, despite them, still a book I would recommend.
I would like to thank Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me an ARC of this book via Netgalley for an open and honest review.
This book was a tough one to score and I’m really concerned people are going to see my review as more negative as it is intended. Yes, I can see the “dislike” ticks piling up on Amazon as I type!
So let me start with the positives this book greatly deserves. It is a wonderful, brilliant and fresh new look into Urban Fantasy. Really quite an original and well thought out idea and, quite honestly, some of the best Young Adult/ New Adult reading I’ve done of late.
Maybe being married to someone who goes on endlessly about his Chaos Dwarves, who parries my Monty Python quotes (and similar sarcastically funny comments) with some of his own and being a proud ‘she-nerd’ myself helped me enjoy this story so much. Who knows? All the same, it is a great yarn and one I highly recommend to lovers of YA/NA Urban Fantasy.
But now to the nitty gritty. Please take this as the constructive criticism it is intended to me. As in, I’m not meaning to be negative, but do hope what I say helps.
As much as I found the interaction between Darren and his friends enjoyable, the puns did start to get to me at times. Though I do wonder if that is more from my inner old fogey getting in the road of my inner YA/NA reader? As in, maybe I was just a little too old for it at times, but the story itself was still good.
I also found myself wondering if YA/NA readers who are actually YA/NA aged would get some of the jokes and puns. As in, they seemed more from my generation and why I found them funny… but would the younger people reading it get it as much? I have to say here and now that I think my cultural dialect got in the road a bit too. Yes, I did have to google that word spelt out in the dishwasher… and then regretted it. Good insult though!
The biggest problem I had with this book, and why I scored it as low as I did, was actually down to the editing. Or, as I saw it, lack of it. Near the end of the book there was almost a spelling or grammatical error on every page and it got to me. Yes I know this was an ARC and they are often sent out before final edit and therefore not perfect. I get that and tried to excuse the book for this… but as they got so frequent it just got me frustrated as it was ruining a good tale. I know, this comment is a bit of the kettle calling the pot black as I am known for my typos and grammatical slip ups. I guess I just expect other authors to be better. ;-)
Also – and this isn’t meant to be a spoiler – when they first left for the other planet, they were in the lock-up and Sanjay talked to Matt, looked at the damage to his landscape done in a burglary (that had never been mentioned before) and then Darren and co left for the planet via the bedroom door… When they had been in the lock-up!
With the events that followed and the flaws in the timeline that came from it… I really got disappointed in the story as this was a glaring proof reader/ editor mistake that really should have been fixed up. And I really, REALLY hope it has been before the book was published as it did spoil it for me and cause me to drop a star off the score.
Okay, enough of the constructive criticism – not negatives, critiques! This really was a great, original and addictive story that had me reading it every chance I got. From the cover to the blurb the story itself it stayed true to what it offered and was, mostly, well worth a read.
Would I recommend this book to other? I would, though I would voice my misgivings about the editing and ask them to tell me it was all sorted when they read it. Any fan of YA/NA Urban Fantasy would enjoy this book.
Would I buy this book for myself? Possibly. But I’m more likely to borrow it, and others by this author, from the library to read in the future. It was good, but didn’t grab me enough to become a permanent member of my physical or virtual libraries.
In summary, it was an enjoyable read, entertaining and something fans of this genre will enjoy. I just really hope all the issues I’ve mentioned are fixed up in the final version. And, despite them, still a book I would recommend.
January 4, 2025
i needed these books
Can’t erase the smile on my face ,on the ball, striking the nail completely, so all there’s to do is forward to the next installment.
Can’t erase the smile on my face ,on the ball, striking the nail completely, so all there’s to do is forward to the next installment.
December 29, 2024
Puns, extra-dimensional worlds, unexpected twists and turns, what's not to like?
December 25, 2024
Almost as good as the first
I started this one hoping for more worldbuilding, and it *kinda* delivered. The phenomenon of mystic genetic traits continues, two characters carry over, but we don't learn much more about Hipposync. Stil, its a good sequel, and you don't *have* to have read book one to enjoy it.
I started this one hoping for more worldbuilding, and it *kinda* delivered. The phenomenon of mystic genetic traits continues, two characters carry over, but we don't learn much more about Hipposync. Stil, its a good sequel, and you don't *have* to have read book one to enjoy it.
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