Razzmatazz by Christopher Moore

June 10, 2022

Razzmatazz by Christopher Moore

The characters from Christopher Moore's Noir are back for a new adventure. In post World War II San Francisco, Sammy Two-Toes Tiffin, his pals from Cookie's Coffee, and his girlfriend Stilton (aka The Cheese) are following new pursuits. Sammy and Eddie are trying to open a driving school while saving Eddie's uncle's opium den from falling into the hands of a vicious gangster. Stilton and her gal pals from the welding crew are especially up to something mysterious at night, after they get done slinging hash at their daytime gigs. Plus there is a new head of SFPD vice who is cracking down on activities like Mabel and the girls from her brothel going up to the state hospital for the annual Christmas party, like they do every December. There might also be a dragon who is waking up from a long sleep, ready to wreak havoc on the city.

This is a really fun sequel to Noir. There is so much happening that there's no way to describe it and do it justice. How can you not love a book where the highest compliment a man can give a woman is to call her a stand-up dame? Fast, funny, zany.

What Cookie's Coffee must have been like in 1940's San Francisco

Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore

May 16, 2020

Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore

(Yes, I know, another Shakespeare book.  I read them in the order that they are going to be published and try to stay ahead of the pub date.  The next one will be historical fiction.)

This is the 3rd outing for Christopher Moore's Pocket the fool/jester in this parody of one of Shakespeare's plays..  This time, he finds himself shipwrecked just outside Athens, where he soon encounters Robin Goodfellow (the Puck) and the rest of the cast of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."  Mayhem ensues when Puck is killed by an arrow and Pocket is arrested for the crime (even though he doesn't have a crossbow).  To save himself and his apprentice Drool, Pocket agrees to carry out tasks for the king, the Amazon queen, the night king and the fairy queen (quite a lot of tasks) while trying to unravel who murdered Puck.

After parodying first "King Lear," and then "The Merchant of Venice," Christopher Moore takes on what is probably Shakespeare's best-loved play.  It is fun and witty with lots of references to Shakespeare's plays, good escapist fiction if you're tired of hearing about the pandemic, rising grocery prices, unemployment, etc.  Moore does use the f--- word at least once a paragraph, as well as many sexual references, so be aware in advance if you are offended by obscene language or vulgar references.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.