The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore

The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore



Pocket, the Fool, is currently chained to a wall in a dungeon after being drugged by Antonio, Iago and Brabantio. Those three men are responsible for the death of Fool’s wife (well, kind of wife) Queen Cordelia. They are also trying to get rich off of another holy war that will benefit the banks in Venice. The only person constantly getting in the way of their plans is Pocket. But one of our nefarious trio ends up dead and Pocket escapes. He tries to not only save Venice but to avenge his wife. With the help of his simpleton, Drool, and a mermaid monster he tries to bring those responsible for the death of his wife to justice.
                If this story sounds foolish it’s because it is. Christopher Moore is an author with great comedic timing and wordplay. I’ve been a fan of his for a while and it’s because he can literally bring me to tears with laughter. The Serpent of Venice is actually a sequel to Fool, a novel about a Fool (go figure) and a play-off of Shakespeare’s King Lear. We follow Pocket in the story which is full of as much debauchery, word play and foolishness as the first book. Pocket is always entertaining, extremely sarcastic and witty. The debacles he manages to find himself in and eventually get himself out of are ridiculous and wholly unexpected. There were definitely moments that had me scratching my head and other moments where I was giggling hysterically.

                Unfortunately, I think I set my expectations really high with this novel and it didn’t live up to the hype I had in my head. While enjoyable and easy to read there were more moments that didn’t make sense in an attempt to be funny, than there were actually funny parts. I laughed a few times and smiled to myself a few times but this wasn’t a favorite of mine at all. This isn’t a book I would recommend to showcase Moore’s talent as a comedic writer. I would definitely recommend some of his earlier novels, like A Dirty Job, or Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff. I have to give this novel a 2 out of 5 stars as much as it pains me to do it. This just wasn’t packed with the laughs I have grown to expect and rely on from Moore.  

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