CompleteMartialArts.com - You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But it Helps
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List Price: $12.50
Our Price: $10.63
Your Save: $ 1.87 ( 15% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Little, Brown Book Group
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9781841492841
ISBN: 1841492841
Label: Little, Brown Book Group
Manufacturer: Little, Brown Book Group
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: 2007-04-28
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Studio: Little, Brown Book Group
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Editorial Reviews:
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Colin Hollinghead is a young man going nowhere fast. Working for his dad might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but starting at the bottom in the widget-making industry has, predictably, lost its appeal. And now the business is in trouble. At least his father has a plan to turn things around—a new work force that will improve profit margins and secure the company's future for all eternity. The deal looks great on paper, but they do say that the devil is in the detail—and the arch fiend definitely seems to be involved in some capacity. Colin needs help. Perhaps his new friend from J.W. Wells & Co. (Practical and Effective Magicians, Sorcerers and Supernatural Consultants) can help…Sparkling with wit and oozing charm, Tom Holt's new comic caper proves once and for all that going to work actually can be hell.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Okay, but not as funny as I thought it would be.
Comment: I picked this book up on a whim because it looked funny. I have heard of Tom Holt before but have never read any books by him. This book was okay.
I guess you could think of this book as Office Space meets Hell...or something like that. If you throw in a dash of star-crossed lovers and interfering angels and demons then you have this book. Does that help explain it? Probably not. The plotline was convoluted to say the least.
So you have Colin whose dad is selling his soul to the Devil to get cheap workers for his factory so that the family business can compete with Chinese imports. You have Cassie who is the magical go between; you know the person who draws up and explains the contracts that Colin's father needs to sign with the devil(standard procedure obviously). Then you have a rift in space time that's been created because of a couple of star-crossed lovers who can't quite seem to get it right - even though they've been reincarnated numerous times to figure it all out. There is the case of mistaken identity as the powers that be try to fix the star-crossed lovers problem. Also what's up with the tree growing in Colin's parents' house?
If the above sounds convoluted; well it is. This book was not an easy read, it was also not especially fun to read. There were some interested concepts and the writing style was matter of fact, with a British twist to it, and a forced sense of humor. Some parts of this book were mildly funny. I didn't find any of the characters especially interesting. Although the world that Holt created was interesting; everything was just too complicated and the story seemed to chase itself in circles.
I almost didn't get through this book. I had to force myself to finish it. That being said it gets 3 stars (instead of 2) because I got a grand chuckle at the ending . It looks like Tom Holt has a number of books out there that are better than this one. I don't think I will be reading anymore of his books anytime soon. Guess that's what I get for reading something on a whim.
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Barking but still funny
Comment: Must say i was a bit disapointed with this one. I absolutely loved Barking and found this one more difficult to really get into. Also, the characters aren't all that likeable, at times found myself wishing they'd just get on with losing their souls.
Customer Rating:
Summary: You don't need to be bored to enjoy this, but it helps.
Comment: If you went by the jacket blurbs and cover illustration, this would seem to be a Pratchett-esque laugh riot magical reality kind of book. Sort of like Good Omens, but without Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett.
And, apparently, without the humor.
It may be that I lack the refined palate to appreciate dry British wit. But probably not. This book is amusing at best, and that's a disappointment when you're expecting something a bit funnier.
Quite frankly, I didn't give a toss about the main protagonist, and the characters from J. W. Wells & Co. felt like "returning cast" in a series. By that I mean that one got the sense there was more to them... but you didn't have an idea what it was, since there was no "last week, on ..." to fill you in. So looking at this as a character-driven tale wasn't much of a go.
Which leaves the plot. I don't mind a mystery at all, but I rather like for the clues to be there *before* the end. There were quite a few times where characters effectively said, "Ah, but I had found out [insert clue that the reader had no idea about]..." It feels like a deus ex machina using a MacGuffin not once, but three or four times during the text. You simply don't have any way to properly even guess what's going on before a character lets you in on the secret - and that just leaves you frustrated, not suspenseful.
In short, this book thinks it's a lot funnier and smarter than it really is, and it shows. It's not horrid - the writing style is tight, and the concept's a rather good one - but it is weak overall.
After seeing some other reviews of this book claiming this is far from Mr. Holt's best work, I may give another one of his stories a go... maybe.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Holt's other stuff.
Comment: This return to J. W. Wells & Co with new employees and clients is not nearly as good as the earlier books. The story seems a little re-tread and most of the characters are flat and uninteresting. Pretty disappointing considering how much I enjoyed the others.
May be worth reading just to complete the set. But then again maybe not.
Customer Rating:
Summary: was "Underwhelmed"
Comment: Mr. Holt has a nice style and is clever, no doubt, however the book was not exactly what i anticipated. No matter that often happens and i am pleasently surprised. This was not case with this book. I kept reading it hoping it would draw me in, but alas it didn't. I had to put it in the "can't get through this tome stack" which fortunately is a small one for me.
The characters were rather depressing in tone and the plot of the devil purchasing out a struggling firm well, is promising but it didn't deliver the type of humor i would expect from british author. I have read many who have made me devoted fans ( Jasper Fforde for one) but Mr. Holt, i wil pass on your wit.
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