DC Farmer's The Bewilderment was published by Wyrmwood Books in July 2016.
Information about DC Farmer:
Once a successful doctor of medicine, DC Farmer now works two days a week for the NHS and, thanks to the wonders of Krudian physics, the other nine days a week for Hipposync Enterprises, as a scribe.
Hipposync was established in the early fourteenth century as a purveyor and publisher of rare books, the sort of stuff you are not able to get elsewhere and which contains information as varied as how to guard your castle against the Hordes of Maltasub using Harpie blood and tar, and how to change a beetle into a useful toothpick.
Of course, you will have gathered from all of this that Hipposync is, in fact, just a cover. What lurks beneath that thin veneer of respectability (yeah, right) is much, much more interesting. Hiding behind an office on the banks of the canal in Jericho, Oxford is the Department of Fimmigration (as in Fae immigration). Hey, there has to be one, otherwise just anyone could walk in, right?
DC’s role in documenting the work of the Fimmigration Service has, over the years, led to the realization that the world needs to know. Moreover, if he doesn’t tell someone soon he is going to burst. So, within these pages you will find actual accounts of the splendid work of the Fimmigration Service, beginning with The 400 Lb Gorilla - a sample of which is also on his site, and which will soon be published in its totality by Spence City once appropriate clearance from the ‘authorities’ has been obtained.
Some people say that this is contemporary fantasy fiction. Believe me, it's real enough on planet hipposync.
DC Farmer is alive and well in darkest West Wales.
Click here to visit his official website.
Information about The Bewilderment:
Bobby Miracle would love a real job but times are hard, especially if you’re into Goth attire, prefer graveyards to meadows, and refuse to compromise for anyone. An internship at Hipposync Enterprises dealing in rare books seems a dream come true. And given the sort of people who work there, for once Bobby doesn’t feel the slightest bit out of place. But when the whole building freezes in a trans-dimensional lockdown state, the weirdness needle edges towards red. And when she meets Asher Lodge, an inspector with a Fae intelligence agency sent to investigate, the needle goes off the scale. With masochistic zealots, demons, and her dead and quite possibly mad grandmother on the guest list, Bobby quickly realises it’s not exactly the nine-to-five she’d bargained for.
A REVIEW OF DC FARMER'S THE BEWILDERMENT
The Bewilderment is the third novel in The Hipposync Archives series of humorous urban fantasy novels. Just like the previous novels, it is a deligfhtful and entertaining combination of urban fantasy elements, humorous fiction, witty remarks and strange happenings.
The Bewilderment can be recommended to speculative fiction readers who enjoy reading humorous fantasy fiction and light entertainment, because the author has fresh ideas and a good sense of humour. I think that it will be of special interest to readers who have read Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels and Piers Anthony's Xanth novels, because - in certain ways - it's similar to them.
If there are readers out there who are not yet familiar with DC Farmer, I can mention that he's the author of The Hipposync Archives series, which currently consists of The 400lb Gorilla, Frivolous Pursuits and The Bewilderment, and the novella Every Little Evil. He has his own writing style and he has plenty of imagination. There's something charmingly British about his sense of humour that will appeal to many readers who appreciate sharp and clever humour. With the Hipposync Archives, he has established himself as one of the best authors of humorous fantasy fiction. (The best thing about his novels is that you can read them in any order of your preference. You don't necessarily have to start reading them from the first novel in order to enjoy them. However, it might be good to read Every Little Evil first, because it sheds some light on certain things concerning the series.)
I admit that I'm difficult to please when it comes to urban fantasy, because I'm not easily impressed by novels that are urabn fantasy or have urban fantasy elements. However, novels like The Bewilderment do impress me, because they differ from what has become the norm for the genre and have a nice dash of quirky humour. In my opinion, this novel is one of the few urban fantasy novels in which style and substance are in good balance.
After reading heavier works of speculative fiction and having a few extremely busy days with little free time, this novel and its predecessors were exactly what I needed to relax (I re-read the two previous novels before delving into this one). It's such a brilliantly entertaining piece of humorous fantasy fiction that it was a pleasure to read it. I was wholly captivated by the various happenings and characters, because the author's engaging writing style pulled me into the story.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
Police Constable Kevin Thomas is badly shaken by what he has seen in the cupboard under the stairs at Number 77 Wimy Way. Soon he meets Agent Danmor and Agent Porter from the Department of Fimmigration. The agents begin to investigate the body of Mr Cuthbertson and the crime scene. They think that the man has been haunted by something very nasty... Inspector Asher Lodge visits a place called They Think It's Soul Over. He meets a salesman called Mr Malachite and asks him about the Bewildered, because he is determined to find out who is killing the Bewildered... Roberta 'Bobby' Miracle has an internship at the Hipposync Archives. She is happy with her job, but has a rival intern called Pippa Elmsworthy. She gets along with Pippa and is friendly to her, but she is aware of Pippa being a polite rival who's waiting for her to make a mess of things... Soon things become weird for Bobby as the whole Hipposync building and everyone inside it freeze in a lockdown state and she meets Asher. Bobby's life changes when Asher needs her help...
This is all I'll write about the story, because I don't want to give away too many details about the various happenings and humorous situations. I'll only mention that this is the beginning of an extremely entertaining story with plenty of humour.
The author has created interesting and believable characters who do their best under unexpected and difficult circumstances. Some of the characters are delightfully strange and have certain characteristics that define them as quirky persons.
Roberta 'Bobby' Miracle is a fascinating character, because she's a Goth girl who is trying hard to make things work at Hipposynce Archives and competes against her rival. She feels at home at her job, because nobody judges her or cares about how she looks. I found her to be a well-developed protagonist, because the author writes well about her feelings and confusion when she faces an unexpected situation.
Asher Lodge is an especially interesting character, because he's a necreddo who hears dead complaining about their treatment in the hands of persons who exploit them. He's an investigator at the Fae intelligence agency. He hears the terrified screams of the newly dead Bewildered. Because the screams break through his psychic filters and cause him sleepless nights, he wants to find out who is killing the Bewildered. The author paints an intriguing picture of Asher's life by writing about how he does his investigations and how deals with his colleagues and how he investigates the happenings.
I enjoyed reading about Bobby's grandmother and her madness. Lucille Miracle, her eccentricity and her condition were handled admirably within the context of urban fantasy, because the author revealed interesting things about her and her fate.
It was also enjoyable to read again about Kylah and Matt, because I've enjoyed reading about both of them since reading The 400lb Gorilla. I think it's nice that the author keeps on writing about them, because they're both agents at Hipposync Archives and are vital to certain happenings.
The trans-dimensional lockdown add a nice touch of mystery to the story, because it has frozen everyone inside the building. The author succeeds in creating a fascinatingly mysterious atmosphere by writing about how Asher and Bobby begin to investigate what has caused the lockdown (the investigation takes Bobby to interesting and unusual places).
I think that many readers will find it intriguing that the author writes about demons and the Bureau of Demonology, which is housed in a Gothic mansion. I won't go into details about the story, but I'll mention that reading about Gazorch the Pantocrator was thrilling for me.
One of my favourite scenes in this novel is the scene in which Bobby visits her grandmother's room in her parents' house. The author's way of writing about what Bobby felt and found out felt touching and also intriguing.
Just like in the previous novels, the author manages to captivate his readers by deftlty playing with different elements related to realism and fantasy. It was fun to read about how Bobby felt about Asher and what he revealed to her, because she had to accept the things that were told to her (her whole life changed when Asher took her to strange places and she saw strange beings).
Worldbuilding is perhaps not a word that is often used when writing about urban fantasy, but in this case I'm tempted to use this word, because the author has created an interesting vision of the Hipposync Archives and how it acts as a facade for the Department of Fimmigration (aka Department of Fae Immigration). The author writes captivatingly about other dimensions and their inhabitants.
One of the best things about this novel is that DC Farmer avoids using the most typical and most annoying clichés that are normally associated with urban fantasy stories. I'm sure that careful readers will notice that he uses a few well-known clichés, but he uses them exteremely well. I think it's marvellous how fluently he manages to use urban fantasy tropes to his advantage by adding plenty of sharp humour to the storyline and keeping a tight focus on what's he's writing about.
It's great that DC Farmer avoids using paranormal romance elements, because there's nothing as annoying or boring as reading about them, especially when they're being used in a bad and clichéd way as way too many authors tend to do. Because I have a low tolerance for these elements, I find it admirable that the author avoids them.
Creating a thrilling atmosphere is something that not many urban fantasy authors are capable of doing, but DC Farmer fluently creates an atmosphere that intrigues readers with its charming strangeness. His writing style quickly pulls readers into the story.
The author's sense of humour is delightfully British and has a dash of irony and sarcasm. I like the way he writes about what the characters think and how they feel about certain things, because the sharp and witty remarks are amusing and surprisingly insightful. In this novel, the humour arises from the author's ability to refer to popular culture and the world around us in a refreshingly inventive and clever way (for example, this novel has a satisfyingly clever reference to Edvard Munch who is famous for his painting 'The Scream').
If you haven't yet discovered the charm and magic of DC Farmer's novels, I advise you to take a look at them. I consider DC Farmer to be the Terry Pratchett of urban fantasy, becaise he writes amusing fantasy stories. I sincerely hope that readers will invest a bit of time into reading this series, because it's something a bit different and worth reading.
The Bewilderment is one of the funniest and most entertaining urban fantasy novels of the year. It will be of interest to those who love humorous stories and enjoy Terry Pratchett-like humour. If you love clever humour, you'll most likely enjoy this novel and its charming quirkiness; and when you reach the end, you'll be eagerly awaiting for the next novel.
Excellent humorous fantasy fiction!