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Title: The Order of Odd-Fish
ISBN: 038573543X
Author:
James Kennedy
Publicate Date: 2008-08-12
Publish: 2008-08-12
List Price: $15.99
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $7.87
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $6.75
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.87
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Good for the odd duck (or odd fish) reader
This was recommended to me by a friend who knows my strange sense of humor and love of things bizarre. It was right up my alley. Though many parts of the book might echo aspects of stories long ago told, so many others are completely new, fresh and surreal that the story winds up becoming compelling and entertaining. Over all, a very good read. The world that Kennedy had created is detailed and vibrant, yet easy to imagine.
Though aimed at the Young adult reader, the vocabulary is very extensive and in no way "dumbed down" for the audience. If you get this for your child, expect a lot of "what does this word mean", type of questions. There are some words in there that might stump you too. The only shortcoming I found is that Kennedy tends to lay it on too thick. This is a 400+ page book that could easily be slimmed down to something in the mid 300's. I found my self skipping dialog and description at both the beginning and end of the book just so I could get into the plot more. It would have made a better read with less writing.
Having said that, it's still a great adventure and worth the time and effort. If you know a kid or even an adult with an odd view of the world, then this is a great book for them.
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2: too much fun!
This book is very difficult to describe. The word "wacky" wants to be used, but I'm scooting it aside with my shoe because it's not quite right. "Wacky" is a little distasteful, carrying with it a hint of "zany" and nobody likes zany, right? Or madcap? So let's say that this is. . . a carnival of odd. When Jo Larouche was a baby, she was found in the washing machine with a note pinned to her blanket that read, "This is Jo. Please take care of her. But beware. This is a DANGEROUS baby." For 13 years, Jo has been about "as dangerous as milk," but at her Aunt Lily's annual costume ball, an adventure is kicked off that will unveil to Jo her true provenance, and the nature of the DANGER within her. Okay, if I had to give a one-line "elevator pitch," I suppose it would be something like that, but I'd have to follow it with something like, "The imagination, whimsy, and humor aren't like anything else you've read before." Truly.
You know how it's better to watch a comedy with somebody, that somehow the humor is riper and deeper when shared? Well, the whole time I was reading this I wished I was reading it with someone, so I could elbow them at particularly bizarre moments, or chortle, or read passages aloud and savor them. I don't recall having that kind of reaction when reading a book before, at least, not so consistently.
The adventure that Jo embarks upon with her Aunt Lily, a fat Russian named Colonel Korsakov, and a giant, vain cockroach butler named Sefino, carries them (in the belly of a fish) to Eldritch City, which is not exactly of our world. I love the word "eldritch" (I think I first fell in love with it when Kelly Link used it to describe an oddly upholstered couch), and to my mind Eldritch City joins the ranks of China Mieville's New Crobuzon and Scott Lynch's Camorr for mind-bendingly imaginative, sprawling weird cities. Only, it's less disgusting than New Crobuzon and Camorr -- but not entirely un-disgusting either. To make a complex story simple: Jo finds herself a squire to the knights of the Order of Odd-Fish, and she has to hide her true identity while seeking to thwart her hideous destiny, all this while riding flying, armored ostriches to fight duels, exploring ancient, drowned cathedrals buried deep beneath the city, drinking fermented centipede milk, fueding with other squires, sneaking around through secret passages, and soothing the oft-wounded vanity of a posse of cockroach butlers. Oy!
And the villains! Ken Kiang, who has studiously shaped himself from a do-gooder philanthropist billionaire into the vilest (he thinks) of super-villains: "He devoured books about evil; he interviewed terrorists, serial murderes, and dictators; he dabbled in strange and wild diabolisms, slit the throats of shrieking beasts on stone altars in far-off lands, drank kitten blood, and sold his soul no fewer than twenty-thhee times to any supernatural being who cared to bid on it. No price was too low: the fifteenth time he sold his soul for a bag of barbecue-flavored potato chips. Ken Kiang had eaten the chips with indecent glee as the demon looked away in embarrassment."
But Ken Kiang's most industrious efforts at wickedness pale in comparison to the astonishing depths of evil of the tale's true villain, a mysterious character known as The Belgian Prankster, who dresses, if my memory serves, in goggles, a cape of furs, and a ragged rawhide diaper.
Ancient devouring goddesses; weird creatures; ritual exchange of insults; wars fought entirely with sarcastic apologies; a musical instrument that is a giant worm one climbs inside of (lubricated) and squeezes its internal organs to expel air through its 41 orifices; gods with names like "Nixilpilfi, the Gerbil Who Does Not Know Mercy" and "Zookoofoomoot, the Maggot of Dismay." And did I mention the climax is really squishy-gross?
This book is too much fun.
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3: An excellent leisure read for middle school readers
James Kennedy's THE ORDER OF ODD FISH tells of Jo, who has lived with her aunt Lily in the California desert all of her 13 years of life. When Lily's annual Christmas party turns up some odd characters, the two find themselves on an unusual journey to an ancient world, where Jo learns the truth about who she is and where the Order of Odd Fish fits into her mysterious heritage. An excellent leisure read for middle school readers.
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4: Definitely odd and definitely fishy - and lots of fun!
I read this book and gave it to my 10-year-old daughter to read (I am 40). We both loved it! Kennedy unveils a unique sense of humor through an uncanny plot filled with even more uncanny characters. Definitely unlike any story I've ever read. It was a lot of fun!
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5: Captivating Adventure!
This was a terrific adventure. A "coming of age" story like no other I've read before. Mr. Kennedy does not hold back one bit when describing characters, places or events. And what great characters they are! There are the geriatric, ostrich-riding, sword-wielding Knights of the Odd-Fish, impeccably dressed, gossip-column obsessed cockroaches, a "Belgian Prankster" clad in smelly, old pelts and then there's Jo. Jo Larouche would seem to be your average thirteen year old. However, this average thirteen year old was labeled "dangerous" at birth!
The story of Jo Larouche is exciting and bizarre with a dash of grotesque and hilarious. If you enjoy adventures, this is a must-read!
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