DNF Review: The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore

Title: The Serpent Of Venice

Series: Not technically, but includes characters from Fool

Author: Christopher Moore

Published by: William Morrow & Co. on April 22nd 2014

Genre: Humour Fantasy

Format: ARC Paperback

Source: Publisher via Goodreads First Reads

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Goodreads Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore channels William Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe in this satiric Venetian gothic that brings back the Pocket of Dog Snogging, the eponymous hero of Fool, along with his sidekick, Drool, and pet monkey, Jeff

Venice, a long time ago. Three prominent Venetians await their most loathsome and foul dinner guest, the erstwhile envoy of Britain and France, and widower of the murdered Queen Cordelia: the rascal-Fool Pocket.

This trio of cunning plotters - the merchant, Antonio; the senator, Montressor Brabantio; and the naval officer, Iago-have lured Pocket to a dark dungeon, promising an evening of sprits and debauchery with a rare Amontillado sherry and Brabantio's beautiful daughter, Portia.

But their invitation is, of course, bogus. The wine is drugged. The girl isn't even in the city limits. Desperate to rid themselves once and for all of the man who has consistently foiled their grand quest for power and wealth, they have lured him to his death. (How can such a small man, be such a huge obstacle?). But this Fool is no fool . . . and he's got more than a few tricks (and hand gestures) up his sleeve.

My Review: I have been wanting to read Chrisopher Moore for a while now, so when I won this from Goodreads I was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, this book just did not live up to expectations I had put on it - for one I was expecting it to be laugh out load funny, it wasn't, I did quietly snigger a couple of times but that was all.

I did not care about the main character, or any of the characters for that matter. They weren't badly written, I just simply could not connect. Because I didn't care about the characters, I didn't care where the story went. To me, it seemed like it was trying too hard to be funny, by being wacky and strange. I like my comedy (in books) to come naturally - where characters just do or say something funny.

I did give this book a few chances, but I had to force myself to pick it up each time. It's not terrible and I am sure that Christopher Moore fans will very much enjoy his new outing. To be honest, I don't think I am a big fan of literary satire (nor apparently humour), and so, it was just not my cup of tea.