Tom Holt is one of my favorite comic fantasy writers. He Tom Sharpe, Christopher Moore, Robert Rankin, and so many others just get me rolling.
Sorry to post this again, but for anyone interested in comic fiction, here's some good stuff to check out...
(Desperately need to add Connie Willis to this list.)
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This annotated bibliography is meant to feature
comic novels and short stories rather than collections of humorous columns or articles. So some famous humorists such as
Erma Bombeck,
Dave Barry,
Russell Baker,
P.J. O'Rourke,
Art Buchwald,
David Sedaris,
Spike Milligan, and others are not listed, though you should still click through and check them out.
For your convenience I have linked the author’s
Wikipedia page with their name, as well as provided the novel’s
LibraryThing,
WorldCat, and
Goodreads links with each entry, but left the title as text so you can more easily copy & paste it into whichever search or catalog system you prefer.
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Adams, Douglas.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
A rollicking satire of the science fiction genre, Adams’ five-part trilogy is a staple of both science fiction and comic novels. Arthur Dent wakes up one morning to realize his home is about to be demolished to make way for a bypass. At first it’s just his house, but when Arthur’s friend Ford Prefect turns out to be an alien he drops a bomb on Arthur’s day: it’s not just Arthur’s house that’s being destroyed to make way for a bypass, it’s the Earth as well. Satire. Science Fiction. British. Absurd.
Amis, Kingsley.
Lucky Jim. LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
Considered one of the funniest books in the English language,
Lucky Jim follows a hapless professor as he navigates his personal life while trying to teach college-level English to technical college students. Satire. College professor.
Anthony, Piers.
Pet Peeve.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
Though this is the 25th book in the long-standing Xanth series, it is listed here because of the sheer amount of wordplay throughout the novel. Many overused phrases, sayings, aphorisms, and quite a few cliches are used literally in this wonderful novel. The rest of the series is good as well. Wordplay. Fantasy. Absurd.
Asprin, Robert.
Another Fine Myth.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
The main character, Skeeve, is a wizard’s apprentice and part-time thief who doesn’t share his master’s appreciation for honesty and hard work. To teach Skeeve a lesson, his master summons a demon but is assassinated as the ritual completes. The demon introduces himself to Skeeve and offers to become Skeeve’s new master. Fantasy.
Croshaw, Yahtzee.
Mogworld.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
Mogworld opens with a bunch of jock warriors invading a wizard school wherein the main character is killed. He’s then resurrected by a cliched necromancer who cackles insanely while demanding the undead horde obey him. In a Monty Pythonesque turn, the undead horde objects and begins haggling for wages, profit sharing, and the occasional trip to a low budget musical. Fantasy. MMOs.
Dennis, Patrick.
Auntie Mame.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
Auntie Mame offers up a variety of humor as the reader follows the adventures of Patrick as he introduces us to his
character of an aunt, Mame. Auntie Mame is an extravagant who constantly reinvents herself with flair and style. Wildly popular when it was first published, Auntie Mame has been adapted for the stage and screen. Historical (now). Comedy of manners.
Evanovich, Janet.
One for the Money.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
A humorous mystery,
One for the Money follows Stephanie Plum as she goes from out-of-work lingerie saleswoman to bounty hunter tracking down criminals who have skipped their bail. Though this novel is more straight mystery with sprinkles of humor than an outright comic novel, it is well worth the read. Mystery. Touch of humor.
Fforde, Jasper.
The Eyre Affair.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
In an alternate reality, literary detective Thursday Next is nearly killed by her former professor turned terrorist. But she is saved when the bullet is stopped by her copy of
Jane Eyre, somehow allowing Thursday to enter the world of
Jane Eyre where she is saved by Rochester.
The Eyre Affaircontinues to twist and turn from there. Literary.
Fry, Stephen.
The Liar.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
The humor is consistent and unrelenting. I think the main character, Adrian Healey, helps with that tremendously. As a smart-ass gay adolescent with too good of a memory and a biting wit, he makes for a great comic novel protagonist. Wordplay. British.
Harrison, Harry.
The Stainless Steel Rat.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
The titular character is an anti-hero extraordinaire. A thief, conman, and rat, James “Slippery Jim” DiGriz robs a bank but is out-conned by a former criminal turned special agent and made to work the government organization known as Special Corps. Surrounded by former criminals turned government agents, Slippery Jim is surprised by their lack of morality and tries to escape. Satire. Science Fiction.
Hiaasen, Carl.
Skin Tight.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
As typical for Hiaasen,
Skin Tight is a thriller with moments of humor that at times almost take on a sitcom feel. Set in Florida this novel follows a former investigator for the State Attorney, Mick Stranahan. The early scene where Stranahan kills an assailant with a mounted swordfish was particularly good. Thriller. Florida.
Holt, Tom.
Expecting Someone Taller.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
Tom Holt mixes Norse Mythology with a nebbish main character. After running over a badger who is really the supreme ruler of the Earth, Malcolm Fisher becomes the supreme ruler of the Earth. Gifted with a flimsy wire mesh that allows him to change shape and talk to birds, Malcolm sets out to learn more about his situation and not cause too many earthquakes and floods by having a bad day. Mythology. Absurd. British.
Idle, Eric.
Road to Mars.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
A frame novel featuring a “micropaloentologist” who discovers a dissertation on comedy written by a robot designed to look like Ziggy Stardust who follows a comedy team modeled after Laurel and Hardy… in the future. Pythonesque (written by a Python no less). Absurd. Science Fiction. British.
Jerome, Jerome K.
Three Men in a Boat.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
Featuring a dry and often sardonic sense of humor,
Three Men is a comedy classic. Though over 120-years-old the humor has aged well. The main characters take a boating trip which they are entirely unprepared for with disastrous (and hilarious) results. Absurd. British.
Laurie, Hugh.
Gun Seller.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
Laurie’s main character is Thomas Lang, a former British army man, who is caught up in a tangled web of international murder and intrigue. But the humor is hit or miss. Thriller. British.
Moore, Christopher.
Bloodsucking Fiends.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
The first in a trilogy poking fun at modern vampire stories. Really funny stuff, but more subtle than some of his others. This is a book to read either straight through with a highlighter for all the memorable lines, or to read again to catch the same. The follow-up novels are
You Suck and
Bite Me. Modern fantasy. Satire. Absurd.
Pratchett, Terry.
The Colour of Magic.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
Terry Pratchett is synonymous with comic fantasy. His books have sold millions of copies worldwide, his work has been adapted to stage and screen. Fantasy. Satire. British.
Rankin, Robert.
The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
Another British comic fantasy with a great mix of fantasy and mystery tropes along with modern humor. Many jokes at the expense of modern living that effectively satirizes nursery rhymes, fantasy stories, and mystery yarns. Fantasy. Mystery. British.
Rogers, Mark E.
Adventures of Samurai Cat.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
A collection of comic fantasy short stories satirizing martial arts films and fantasy stories. The main character, Miaowara Tomokato, is an anthropomorphized cat clad in samurai armor wielding a katana.
Samurai Cat pokes fun at fantasy mainstays such as
The Lord of the Rings, Conan, H.P. Lovecraft, and Norse mythology. Animals. Mythology.
Scalzi, John.
Redshirts.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
On the surface,
Redshirts is a parody of the original Star Trek television series. Scalzi pokes fun at the melodrama, deus ex machinca endings, and the preternaturally short life-spans of those unfortunate extras wearing red shirts. But that is not all there is to
Redshirts. Scalzi takes the premise of a book parodying the old Star Trek series and turns it on its head with a science fiction twist. The humor is sharp and rapid fire. Science fiction. Parody. Meta.
Sharpe, Tom.
Indecent Exposure.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
The humor stems largely from the characters and the situations they get themselves into, rather than a funny plot forced on the characters from the outside. This novel features a lot of absurdly dark humor. The book is set in apartheid South Africa and lampoons the racism so prevalent at the time and the white police tasked with enforcing the racist laws. Sharpe’s work did such a good job he was deported from South Africa, where he was living at the time. Modern. Black comedy. British. Absurd.
Thurber, James.
The Thurber Carnival.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
This anthology features a wide range of Thurber’s humor, from cartoons to fiction to articles. Included is Thurber’s most famous short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”. There are simply too many pieces in this collection to effectively discuss in this format. Absurd. Dark. Lighthearted. American.
Toole, John Kennedy.
Confederacy of Dunces.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
Confederacy is a mainstay of humorous fiction and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
Dunces goes completely over-the-top by featuring not only a comic main character (Ignatius J. Reilly) who manages to louse up even the most mundane tasks alongside a slew of bumbling secondary characters, but also puts these characters into absurd situations that the most hardened would balk at. Southern. Tragic.
Wodehouse, P. G.
Carry On, Jeeves.
LibraryThing.
WorldCat.
Goodreads.
Jeeves and Wooster. Wooster and Jeeves. This comic duo has delighted readers for more than 100-years. Wodehouse is widely considered one of the funniest British writers. This is not the first Jeeves collection, but does start with the first meeting of Jeeves and Bertie. Lighthearted. Absurd. Very British.
