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The Quest Factor
The evil Darkun has once more returned to shroud the multiverse in unpleasantness. His ancient foe Smarman the Sorcerer responds accordingly – namely with a big budget reboot of The Quest Factor – an adventuring competition that pits hungry/desperate adventurers against one another.
On Tumultia, resurrection magic makes death no more inconvenient than a bad hangover. The adventurers of yore sought fame like rock stars – i.e. while drunk. Young upstarts like Eeffee Tsukino, however, seek glory by channelling selfies of themselves ‘glitter-bombing’ monsters onto Instanomicon.
Eeffee’s talent for generating ‘buzz’ makes her Smarman’s first choice to fight Darkun. Less convinced is former Chosen One and current serving wench Grenny Gurbit. She’s unconvinced that a quest to save the multiverse should concern itself with ‘buzz’. She’s also suspicious about Darkun’s return given Smarman’s proclivity for engineering apocalypse-grade shenanigans in his favour.
Against her better instincts, Grenny signs up to coach her successor. It’s that or let Eeffee fend for herself against the forces of darkness; the machinations of Smarman, and the trollishness of the intermesh.
'The Quest Factor' is a satirical fantasy in the style of writers like Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman, and Robert Rankin.
On Tumultia, resurrection magic makes death no more inconvenient than a bad hangover. The adventurers of yore sought fame like rock stars – i.e. while drunk. Young upstarts like Eeffee Tsukino, however, seek glory by channelling selfies of themselves ‘glitter-bombing’ monsters onto Instanomicon.
Eeffee’s talent for generating ‘buzz’ makes her Smarman’s first choice to fight Darkun. Less convinced is former Chosen One and current serving wench Grenny Gurbit. She’s unconvinced that a quest to save the multiverse should concern itself with ‘buzz’. She’s also suspicious about Darkun’s return given Smarman’s proclivity for engineering apocalypse-grade shenanigans in his favour.
Against her better instincts, Grenny signs up to coach her successor. It’s that or let Eeffee fend for herself against the forces of darkness; the machinations of Smarman, and the trollishness of the intermesh.
'The Quest Factor' is a satirical fantasy in the style of writers like Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman, and Robert Rankin.
311 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 6, 2019
15 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Wilson Belshaw
3 books3 followersWilson Belshaw is a satirical fantasist from the North West of England. He once saw two crows fighting a squirrel in a tree. If that's not enough, he's also autistic and has fantastic hair.
If you'd like to know more about the Tumultiverse series, be sure to check out the website. It features encyclopaedic entries for the world's weird and monstrous creatures along with artwork by Zuza Gruzlewska.
If you'd like to know more about the Tumultiverse series, be sure to check out the website. It features encyclopaedic entries for the world's weird and monstrous creatures along with artwork by Zuza Gruzlewska.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 16, 2020
This book had potential. There were all kinds of cool creatures but unfortunately some of them were just randomly thrown in and had no real purpose. The whole book was nonsensical which by itself isn't a bad thing. If the book is meant to be that way, fine. However, it dragged really badly. It took me most of the week to read a book that should have only taken me 2 hours. I just felt that this book missed the mark for me.
May 19, 2020
A new world to explore!
Brilliantly hilarious! Loved all the characters and the writing style of Wilson. A definite must read for STP fans. Eagerly awaiting the next instalment.
Brilliantly hilarious! Loved all the characters and the writing style of Wilson. A definite must read for STP fans. Eagerly awaiting the next instalment.
July 2, 2020
I can only see two books by this author and I hope very much that he writes a lot more because I'm already an addict.
Wilson Belshaw has created a vibrant world with surreal creatures and modern characters. In this way he reminds me a little of Piers Anthony - I read the Xanth tales avidly as a kid - but this book was more mature and dealt with the kinds of experiences and characters you might run into (or watch on tv) now. Just, you know, better and much, much funnier.
I don't want to give out any spoilers but I can safely say that this book gained fantastic momentum as it went along and the final few chapters had me racing through, desperate to know what happened next. It was real crescendo of an ending!
I very rarely read new authors as I'm so in love with all the old ones, but I found this book for free and only really intended to read a bit of it whilst waiting for a friend and ended up practically drinking the rest of it in just a few days because I just couldn't get enough. I like to take time over books usually, to squeeze every last bit out of them - but I didn't have much of a choice here as I was way too involved with the plot and the new world and all the creatures and arcane devices and everything.
July 14, 2019
An entertaining zany read!
If you like satirical comedies and futuristic fantasy, then, this is the book for you. I'm not a big fan of these genres, but I got a lot of laughs out of reading this book. Teenagers will find a great deal to enjoy here, and so will those who are keen on humour that involves strange ridicule. Imagine a Monty Python type crew being cast in the next Star Wars movie that travels back and forth in time, and bumps into the likes of the Black Adder and the whole film set resembling a huge, surreal Hieronymus Bosch painting, with a myriad of weird monsters, that's The Quest Factor.
Although this is a fast-paced read, I took it slowly and sometimes re-read passages carefully to get the most out of it. There are so many colourful characters, names and places, an array of high-tech gadgets and wacky contraptions, and even a new vocabulary to learn, it's almost overwhelming! I couldn't keep up with the author's fiery imagination, because the multiverse and the world of Tumultia that he invented, buzzes with so much life.
His writing style is fresh, and it's full of unique puns, and imagery, his play on words is particularly clever. I liked the highlight chapter quotes directly under each chapter title, as they were spot on at capturing the essence of the scene. Most importantly, Belshaw entertains whilst changing people's minds. The whole idea about the unhealthy obsession with the intermesh ( derived from internet) is very enlightening as it reflects our reality as to where today's social media is heading. Teenagers will relate to the 'selfie culture' and the totally opposite Tsukino twins, Selll and Eeffee (derived from selfie I presume). Selll, the ranger adventurer seeking recognition and Eeffee, the self-obsessed poser whose obsession with Instanomicon (similar to Instagram) leads her to extremes, like 'glitter-bombing' monsters, and even unleashing the forces of darkness on the world for the perfect selfie.
I'm not that fond of the illustration style, but I do appreciate how creative they are and that they enhance the overall bizarre ambience of the story, well. I hope to read more in the future!
If you like satirical comedies and futuristic fantasy, then, this is the book for you. I'm not a big fan of these genres, but I got a lot of laughs out of reading this book. Teenagers will find a great deal to enjoy here, and so will those who are keen on humour that involves strange ridicule. Imagine a Monty Python type crew being cast in the next Star Wars movie that travels back and forth in time, and bumps into the likes of the Black Adder and the whole film set resembling a huge, surreal Hieronymus Bosch painting, with a myriad of weird monsters, that's The Quest Factor.
Although this is a fast-paced read, I took it slowly and sometimes re-read passages carefully to get the most out of it. There are so many colourful characters, names and places, an array of high-tech gadgets and wacky contraptions, and even a new vocabulary to learn, it's almost overwhelming! I couldn't keep up with the author's fiery imagination, because the multiverse and the world of Tumultia that he invented, buzzes with so much life.
His writing style is fresh, and it's full of unique puns, and imagery, his play on words is particularly clever. I liked the highlight chapter quotes directly under each chapter title, as they were spot on at capturing the essence of the scene. Most importantly, Belshaw entertains whilst changing people's minds. The whole idea about the unhealthy obsession with the intermesh ( derived from internet) is very enlightening as it reflects our reality as to where today's social media is heading. Teenagers will relate to the 'selfie culture' and the totally opposite Tsukino twins, Selll and Eeffee (derived from selfie I presume). Selll, the ranger adventurer seeking recognition and Eeffee, the self-obsessed poser whose obsession with Instanomicon (similar to Instagram) leads her to extremes, like 'glitter-bombing' monsters, and even unleashing the forces of darkness on the world for the perfect selfie.
I'm not that fond of the illustration style, but I do appreciate how creative they are and that they enhance the overall bizarre ambience of the story, well. I hope to read more in the future!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews