Review: Pundragon

Pundragon by Chandra Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's rare for me to encounter a comic fantasy (other than Terry Pratchett, of course) that I actually find funny. I found this one funny, though, and I'm glad I picked it up from Netgalley, having earlier reviewed the author's more serious Echoes of Another: A Novel of the Near Future and found it enjoyable.

What often lets "funny" fantasy down is that the protagonists aren't too bright, and nor, often, are the authors, meaning that the humour can be heavy-handed and overly obvious. This author has (for my taste) a good level of judgement for when to let the reader pick up on the joke for themselves.

There are, as the title hints, lots of puns. That's not to everyone's taste, but I personally love clever wordplay, and the puns here are that. The punning is done with restraint, too; there aren't dozens of them used to paper over weak spots in the plot, as I sometimes see in so-called funny fantasy.

The other thing about a comedy for me is that, in order to work, it needs (like Dorothy's companions) a brain and a heart and a bit of courage. This book has all three. The prose shows some skill, there are clever bits that aren't trying to be too clever, it has a strong emotional arc, and it's not afraid to tackle a couple of serious issues among the comedy. The protagonist learns a lot from his portal-fantasy trip, and becomes a better person. And I cheered for the critique of grimdark fantasy, as well.

Recommended.

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