Funny--yes, definitely. Great concept, and like a good spoof, this is a book that will make it hard to take seriously any book about evil overlords ever again. But it's a bit more than funny. Like Moore's other books, I found myself really liking the characters, which in my experience is not typical for these spoofs. This book was more about the silliness than, say, Moore's "The Unhandsome Prince" (which certainly did have plenty of silliness too, but not *quite* so much); but nevertheless the characters are people whom you would enjoy being around.

Moore's books are racy in parts (this one *definitely* is), but it's mostly for the jokes, not romance or eroticism. ( )

Freaking hilarious. :D ( )

Hilarious! I loved this book. From the beginning all the way through, stereotypes of fantasy novels all over, "the barbarian named thunk" The evil genious in the foreboding castle. Funny, funny stuff. ( )

Highly amusing and also well written. Following the advice from "The Handbook of Practical Heroes" sends the brave prince on his first gig follows instructions faithfully. Satire. ( )

Amusing but forgettable. Good premise, often sarcastic use of fantasy cliches, but I probably won't seek out any sequels.

This is one of the funniest and most clever books that I have read. All of John Moore's books are extraordinarily worth reading - and reading again. ( )

When reading this book, realize that tongue is planted firmly in cheek. I laughed many times through my readings, enjoying the mix of mondern thought and terminology with fantasy world settings. It poked fun at the standard Fantasy siege novel, pitting an unwilling hero at odds with an antagonist who had risen through the evil ranks. It even pokes holes into known plot devices. For writers, recommended to know the things that are considered cliche, since this lists most of them. For others, I recommend this as a good laugh and a light read. ( )

Great book! Great story, funny parody of fantasy stereotypes. I couldn't put this one down. ( )

This book tries so, so hard to be funny. Unfortunately, it fails. This is probably because the author is unable to detect the fine difference between funny
and silly. The difference is hard to explain. The problem this book has is that all the jokes it tries to make are old and overused. Everyone has seen
how silly the things the author pokes fun at are, and has already laughed about them. Now they're just silly; all the fun has been removed by other and
better authors. ( )

Not sure how to rate this book. It's not a work of art, but then it's not supposed to be. It's silly and (mostly) inoffensive as silly novels go. Although I somehow seem to own the author's previous comical fantasy, I don't think I would buy this book for more than a quarter-dollar. ( )