The Gnomewrench in the Dwarfworks

Gnomewrench #1

by Nick O'Donohoe

A displaced group of dwarves lend their considerable skills in metalworking to the war effort -- and prove that the biggest heroes of World War II are also the smallest.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Fiction

359 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Nicholas Benjamin O’Donohoe. Born in 1952.

Reviews

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a neat fantasy novel with a really cool idea about dwarves manufacturing items during world war II. Our hero, a 4-F human salesman discovers their factory and trouble ensues. He discovers that the dwarves are entangled with a group of evil gnomes.

Okay, I don't want to ruin it for anyone. This book was fun, but very mediocre in its author's ability to further the plot and bring it to a satisfying conclusion. It had a few strong moments, but not enough to justify a 359 page novel.

I would encourage fantasy readers to avoid this one.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

The entire first half of the book was difficult to follow and was filled with technological descriptions of metal-working machinery and material science. However, the second half picked up with actual plot development and conflict, which I found myself following much more closely. Overall, interesting concept, and imaginative, but fell flat in its execution.

[Raygina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to like this book, but it was just okay for me. The plot was good, but the writing was difficult for me to follow.

[kashiichan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Legitimately interesting ideas, but the execution was lacking and relied too heavily on tropes. The "romance" subplot felt shoehorned and unfortunately added nothing to the story.

[David Brawley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this one more. It’s a concept that has a lot of potential, but the author just couldn’t pull it off. The best I can say about it is that he doesn’t screw it up, but he doesn’t do anything good with it either.

The characters are a little flat, and the pacing just seemed off. The evil gnomes... well, they aren’t really like any gnomes I know, more like little demons, and I kept getting the wrong mental image.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've just finished reading this and, to be honest, am still not sure what I thought of it!! I did enjoy the read - the premise and plot was fun, entertaining and unique as far as I know. My only problem was the lack of twists and turns I like - this was a bit simple. The bit with Kristen and Grady's refusal of her was just confusing; no real explanantion was given for it. But I did like the book and will look out for other things by this author.

[Elliot Jaffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book set in the US during WWII. Lots of engineering references and a melancholy storyline. I enjoyed reading it.

[Heather Pearson · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a fun and totally amusing story

[Larry Wegman · Rating 3 out of 5]

World War II on the home front, with fantasy creatures on both sides. Pretty good.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit, I picked this up at the library purely because it looked ridiculous. Dwarves and evil gnomes filling defense contracts in WWII America?

It was actually really good, and I want a movie.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely set up, but I the plot got murky in the middle, and I'm not sure why some things happened the way they did.

I will probably look for any sequels.