Shapestone [Paperback]

James Bibby honed his skills as a deftly funny comic by involving himself in some of today's finest, yet most obscure, British comedies and by initiating story ideas with pals like Lenny Henry, Christopher Tarrant and Neil Gaiman which he was going to later employ in his renowned, heretofore unknown humorous fantasy series. Bibby finally got round to placing pen to parchment in 1995, and produced the slapstick-initiative "Ronan the Barbarian" a parody the likes of the Harvard Lampoon novelettes, primarily their "Bored of the Rings." He followed this, however, with "Ronan's Rescue" which to date has to indefinitely be regarded as one of the funniest novels ever scribed, which was not merely parodic, but also extremely well developed, smattered with typical Bibby jokes, puns, and strong satire. It was his first jab at really doing a tightly plotted novel. After this he gave us "Ronan's Revenge" which seemed to owe more to Andrew Harman than to any other author rivalling him, but it still obviously had the apparent Bibby humour and texture to his work. Now he has given us "Shapestone", the not-particularly-long awaited successor to the Ronan novels, set in the comic fantasy universe of Midworld (Middle Earth meets Discworld?). Albeit there is a sardonically funny gag/quote line made by Tarl of Welbug at the beginning, none of the original characters appear in "Shapestone" who were in the Ronan books. "Shapestone" follows the passing of a mystically enchanted talking amulet between numerous characters's hands, most of which who end up regretting it... Meanwhile, in the gritty and corrupt township of orc-inhabited Koumas, there is an investigation underway initiated by the Morse parody, Inspector Heighway, detective of the Koumas Urban National Troopers (attempt not to notice the anagram). Heighway is a wonderful character as a protagonist and follows the likes of Vimes, Lewton and Thraxas as a comic fantasy detective. Heighway is assisted by the delightfully moronic Sergeant Raasay, DC Kratavan, and harrowed at by Superintendent Weird (notice the name, eh?) Meanwhile...Princess Macoby gets involved in the plot when she attempts to recover a memento from her presumed dead sibling, Marden, victim of an unlikely orc attack. Who had begun it? Why did the orcs retreat when they were winning? Why were there rumours of mutiny? And finally, there is Glart, the monk given to seeing visions, and also adept at performing sorcery. He's an amiable chap is Glart, but a bit too prone to being, er...unprofessional, ahem...but then again, he's only a novitiate. It is Glart's scenes that are most titillating, and Heighway's that are most memorable. These characters are intermixed into humorous subplots, bearing the same Bibby grace (and crassness), and is doppled with horrid puns (Abbot Ankos Tellow!), satire, and very comic jokes. Midworld has the hallmarks of becoming a diverse world, as Bibby develops "Shapestone" with a poignant well-written edge... It seems a good idea to adapt a humorous fantasy-cum-police procedural plot the likes of Pratchett and Scott, because this gives the reader more insight into the complex way Koumas in particular works. Watch out for Myal the weaselly Prince, Sarakkan the sometimes distant love of Macoby's life, Darian the ghost with temporary amnesia, Ugman the cave-troll, Legless battle elf (well, actually, he's not, and his name's not Legless either, but so what?), and Officer Boron. My heart and kipper go to Inspector Heighway, though, it really does...just wait to see what happens.

There are many candidates for the Pratchett throne in the comic fantasy genre but few entertain and make me want to eagerly wait for the next book. Most in fact make me weep at the waste of money after one chapter.

Bibby's Ronan trilogy is a rare treat that contains strong characters and the funny bits are reminiscent of early Pratchett or Tom Holt on a good day. The same created world of Ronan is used for Shapestone although none of the central Ronan characters appear.

Glart the monk, Macoby the princess and the hard but fair but wrong copper, Inspector Heighway, are the central characters here with a good supporting cast including Myal the prim but thick Prince, Sarakkan the putative hero, Darian the ghost and Ugman the cave troll. Plus a few thousand partying Orcs.

It ain't Art As We Know It but the sum is a very entertaining read in the shape of a detective story with adventure elements that leaves the reader satisfied and ready for Bibby's next book that I hope will develop the universe drawn in the first four books.

Okay, imagine a murder mystery gets spliced with a dollop of comic fantasy. Shapestone combines the best of magic, mayhem and who-dunnits to produce a side-splitting novel which will appeal to all those PTerry fans out there. The author has excelled in creating well rounded, wise-cracking characters that grab on to and hold your interest throughout the story. I especially loved the fiesty princess, who is definitely not a typical lady!