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The Second Tom Holt Omnibus 
The omnibus contains two novels. The first: ‘Who’s Afraid Of The Beowulf?’ Hildy Frederiksen an American archaeologist is sent up to Caithness to investigate a newly found Viking ship burial site and, unbeknown to her, it is the sleeping place of the last Norse king and his twelve champions. Hildy takes a dragon brooch from the site, which breaks the centuries old sleep spell, and slowly the Norse men begin to wake. Meanwhile in London, the ancient Sorcerer King, King Holf’s arch-enemy, has been building up his empire with the use of magic otherwise known as technology.
‘Who’s Afraid Of The Beowulf’ is a bit of a misleading title as Beowulf himself is only mentioned briefly on a couple of occasions and is described as a thin weedy little man who happened to be at the right place at the right time. This is a fairly straight forward plot (for Tom Holt anyway) with many comic moments especially with two esoteric beings Zxerp & Prexz. They consist of energy and are engaged most of the time in a game called Goblin’s Teeth - a sort of cross between Monopoly and chess but much more complicated. Tom Holt mixes Nordic legend with modern day - technology is nothing new, magic that has been done before and our Nordic heroes describe modern weapons as special effects which can be warded off by magically imbued armour. There is a lot to enjoy with this book especially the Nordic slant the heroes apply to everyday items. If you have never read any Tom Holt imagine taking a well-known story/myth/legend/fairy tale/historical event or period (delete as appropriate) applying a modern day setting and a comical slant and you start to get the picture. Add to this fast paced verse and a joy for making similes, this provides some enjoyable reading. The second: ‘My Hero’: Jane writes fantasy novels but falls into a rut when her main character in her latest book gets stuck in an impossible position and it looks like Jane will have to kill off her main hero. Strange things start happening when she gets a strange dream about an author who is stuck in his own book- a western to be precise after he shot his own hero. Then the word processor starts typing by itself with a message from Shakespeare’s Hamlet asking if there are any jobs going in her books, as he wants to try something new. Slowly, she starts to discover that fiction has its own complex reality, which she is drawn into to, and she is left in the position of trying to rescue not only the trapped author but her own hero. ‘My Hero’ is a bit more chaotic. Never have I read a book with so many references to other fictional books. Hamlet is taken from fiction and brought into reality in the form of a Frankensteinesque Yorkshire cricket fast bowler, Piglet is held hostage, Skinner (an author of westerns) and fantasy hero Regalian are pursued through a Jane Austin novel by a bounty hunter, Ratty and Mole have a smuggling ring through Pooh corner ...You start to get the picture. This is a very fast book, switching location, characters, fiction and reality at a blinding speed. This is to its advantage because some passages do seem a little weak but this can be overlooked as the overall effect is one very enjoyable book. Overall, I would say to Tom Holt fans this is a convenient way to get two of Holt¹s earlier books, not necessarily his best to date (check out some of his more recent books). As for new readers they should enjoy Beowulf as it is an easy read although I would warn people that don’t like rapidly changing/switching plots to steer clear of ‘My Hero’ otherwise a good place to start reading Tom Holt. Phil Jones check out website: www.orbitbooks.co.uk
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OTHER REVIEWS - April 2002
NEW NOVELS The
Mammoth Book Of Science Fiction edited by Mike Ashley Carolan’s
Concerto by Caiseal Mór
The
One Kingdom (War Book 1) by Sean Russell
Antrax
(The Voyage Of Jerle Shannara Book 2) by Terry Brooks
The
Time Tunnel by Murray Leinster
Celtika
(The Merlin Codex Book 1) by Robert Holdstock Wizard’s
Funeral (The Red Pavillions Book 2) by Kim Hunter
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The
Norse men set out to find the brooch, the only means to overthrow
the Sorcerer King. They find Hildy and start on a quest to destroy
the evil king. Along the way a BBC producer and crew along with
the Police and the S.A.S. pursue them.
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