Only Human [Kindle Edition]

Tom Holt is a humorist of fantasy who continually moves doggedly at the heels of Pratchett, but for once the differentiation *must* be made: Holt is nothing like Pratchett, whatsoever. The similarity lies in the fact that both write infectiously brilliant comic fantasy, and that both authors have created a literary niche in the bookstores for themselves, making their respective ways as a duo of bestsellers. Holt seems classier than Robert Rankin, if only because he's one of the only comic fantasy authors who doesn't have to resort to footnotes for laughs (which *isn't* such a bad thing), and that he doesn't interject the narrative to tell some anarchic little anecdote seemingly merely just to fill the book out. Holt makes himself seperate from Pratchett and Rankin because of the way he writes. Holt's newest (15th) comic fantasy since discovering bar billiars and P.G. Wodehouse, is "Only Human". Like numerous Holt novels, "Only Human" seems a little short on the premise department, but for once that is where you are wrong, for as the old maxim goes: don't judge a book by its cover (quite a good one, illustrated by Paul Cemmick). "Only Human" seems a rambling series of disjointed plot-ends allowing multitudinous characters to play their bits in a series of humorous adventures: the usual Holt kind of plot...but it's not. There's *actually* a plot. "Only Human" centres around God and his first begotten son Jay (ahem), going on a fishing trip at some intergalactic river where the li'l' blighters are bighting...leaving God's second begotten son, Kevin Christ, in control of God's domain temporarily, and with it the Kawaguchiya Integrated Circuits-run Mainframe computer which controls the universe. Kevin, as is cliche normal, mucks about with the contrivance, and causes a perpetual eclipse, starts a revolution in the infernos of Hell, and swaps a lot of individual's souls into other bodies (a mechanic and his arc-welding machine; an accountant and a 13th century Florentine painting; Artofel, Duke of Hell with a white-collared vicar; and PM Dermot Fraud with a lemming. Silliness is close and ensues. Meanwhile Kevin gives life to the first sentient software company--KIC--and cameo-esque Zxprxp the alien lands on Earth when all the nonsense is happening, and records these absurdities as...get this...*natural human behaviour*! This is classic, classy, irrepressible Holt; it's funny, it's satiric, it's lunatic, it's well-plotted, it works, and best of all it thumbs its nose at Pratchett's "The Colour of Magic". Pterry seems to have some competition, eh?

It's difficult to add much to the Amazon review. But for the sake of sticking a few well-deserved stars by the title, I can only agree...and recommend anything by Holt. He's nearly as funny as Terry Pratchett. And that's the highest praise.

I've been meaning to read some Tom Holt, and my first taste, "Only Human," was not what I'd hoped. It's mostly well written and frequently funny, which I presume goes without saying with Holt (this is his fifteenth book, I think), but he has annoying tendencies and overall the book didn't feel very fresh.

The plot, about a foul-up in Heaven that causes chaos on Earth, reminded me a bit too much of Robert Rankin (late in the novel, one character speculates on what's going on and sums up the plot of "Waiting for Goldalming"), where nine times out of ten the villain is Satan, a demon of some description or aliens. Holt does suggest some offbeat things about Hell, but that's about the novel's only fresh idea. Although two of his "human" characters - one an ex-painting, one an ex-machine - are intriguing to read.

The annoying tendency I mentioned is his obsession with analogies and similes. With a character like a lemming or an alien, Holt relies on feeble parodies of human phrases - e.g., when two lemmings have an argument, "they got off on the wrong paw" - and it's just amateurish, particularly when it happens so often. He also spends far too much time comparing things to other things than actually describing them. An author this accomplished should know how to get to the point.

There's also the little matter that the book doesn't have a main character, which sounds fussy but makes it harder to identify with the action. The story chops and changes between protagonists to the point where I forgot who was doing what - and certain minor characters, like the poor vicar who's inadvertantly body-swapped with demon Artofel, are ignored entirely. For an obsessively in-depth look at what makes us human, Holt barely gets any perspectives from actual humans.

It's an enjoyable and fluid read, at least, and the changes in setting keep it from dragging. I'll just assume he's done better and seek out examples of it. I'd recommend Only Human to his fans, but I think the unconverted should steer clear.