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"The novel begins “Long ago in 1945 all the nice people in England were poor, allowing for exceptions.” It’s in the bombed out London of 1945 at the end of the war in a shabby, genteel boarding house for young ladies called the May of Teck Club. We meet the various girls of slender means and follow their lives and love affairs. I love all Muriel Spark’s books and think she is witty and elegant and spiky and weird. I met her once in Italy when I was a teenager and she told me, “For the next ten years all you should do is sleep and go to parties.”"

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Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
1975 | Comedy

"I grew up mostly not having cable. Consequently, I watched a lot of reruns of British comedies that ended up on our local PBS station in Iowa: Are You Being Served, Red Dwarf, and Doctor Who, to name but a few. This educated me on the intricacies of British humor. [Holy Grail] is the funniest film I’ve ever seen, hands down. Irreverent, absolutely silly, witty, and smart. Plus, it’s set in Medieval times, which, as you can see from my first pick is also a sweet spot for me. If you don’t like this movie, we may not be able to be the best of friends."

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You Die When You Die
You Die When You Die
Angus Watson | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fantastic witty pre-historic Viking / Native American fantasy
This is the alternative-reality story of the Hardworkers, a small clan of Viking descendants in pre-Columbian North America. A mentally-damaged young boy in the clan has a premonition that the village will be attacked and they should head west. When the village is indeed attacked by natives (who themselves had a premonition of these Vikings ending the world), the clan quickly up-sticks and head off.
There follows a brilliant, exciting, funny story of this small clan with mixed abilities (some well trained warriors, some powerful yet cowardly warlocks, some useless wastes of space) travelling across North America, hunted by the magically-enhanced warriors sent to end them, and meeting numerous clans and tribes along the way.
The wonderful merging of plausible pre-history America and a more familiar fantasy setting (prophecies, evil empires, warriors) results in this superb story. The dialogue is witty and funny, the world is familiar yet strange enough to make you think, and the action sequences are fantastically narrated, often from different viewpoints.
The characters are all very well crafted and unique, and their interactions and conflicts really spur this story on.
I would urge anyone keen on fantasy to read this book. While the cover, and title, may suggest it is a brutal slobberknocker of a book, it is actually very clever, funny and thrilling.
I cannot wait to jump in to the next book in this trilogy. Wootah!!!