This is the second volume in Wood’s Sphere of Influence books and, yes, you guessed it, the book title is a play on the series/trilogy title and gives a good handle on the style of humour in these books; if your ‘sphere of influence’ is not actually a sphere but has a long ‘extension’ sticking out of it then it’s going to be more like, well, a lollipop! These books are filled with this sort of silly humour similar in a way to the likes of Jasper Fforde or Toby Frost but sadly Wood doesn’t quite achieve their fluidity and, more so in this book than the first, the humour occasionally feels rather forced and even sometimes becomes a little tedious. Whilst Fforde’s humour is literary (and nursery rhymes) and Frost’s is poking fun and the British, and in particular our tea drinking, Wood’s focus is on bureaucracy, which is maybe a slightly drier subject from which to squeeze laughs.
Elton Philpotts, the main character in the first book does not put in any appearances here instead this is about the bad guys from the first book. The ones who Elton managed to dispatch on an open ended jump to an unknown location in space when they were planning to invade a planet that could never have defended itself. In particular one Bob Slicker, the task force’s second in command, upon whom, of course, most of the blame is placed. And now it’s up to him to find a way back for all the task force which, of course, is mostly made up of bureaucrats with a few soldiers along for the ride.
Whilst not as good as the first book this is still a serviceable, enjoyable read and it does have one or two great moments of classic bureaucratic idiocy. The plot and characters behind the humour are also perfectly serviceable; nothing exceptional but good enough to keep me reading.
3/5 stars
Elton Philpotts, the main character in the first book does not put in any appearances here instead this is about the bad guys from the first book. The ones who Elton managed to dispatch on an open ended jump to an unknown location in space when they were planning to invade a planet that could never have defended itself. In particular one Bob Slicker, the task force’s second in command, upon whom, of course, most of the blame is placed. And now it’s up to him to find a way back for all the task force which, of course, is mostly made up of bureaucrats with a few soldiers along for the ride.
Whilst not as good as the first book this is still a serviceable, enjoyable read and it does have one or two great moments of classic bureaucratic idiocy. The plot and characters behind the humour are also perfectly serviceable; nothing exceptional but good enough to keep me reading.
3/5 stars
