The Forgotten Prophecy Book

It should be made very clear that if you are offended by anything, at all, ever, you should probably give The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart a wide berth (and avoid eye contact) as you pass it in a dimly lit bookstore aisle. That said, under the detailed cover is a dark and darkly humorous story with a high body count and complete lack of tact. Amusing? Immensely. Imaginative? Absolutely so. Fun for the whole family? Not on your life. This book will appeal to a fringe group of readers: those jaded enough to stomp through the copious gore, violence and very, to steal a word, "mecky" sexual bits, humming Dixieland as they go, laughing at anything and balking at nothing. Note that I gave the book 4 stars - that means I'm one of those people, kids.

So those of a sensitive nature need not apply within. If you can take all the cursing, blood-letting, blasphemy and debauchery with the required fistfuls of salt, however, there is a funny and outrageous story to be found in those dark depths. The plot keeps a refreshingly steady pace and will keep your attention on the long and disturbing journey. I certainly enjoyed it and had a hard time putting the book down. That said, The Sad Tale is not without its faults. The characters are humorous and intriguing, but become a bit one-dimensional after you've been with them a few chapters. Without spoiling anything, some parts of the plot are left completely unexplained and/or occur for seemingly no reason, and the the book does suffer from a case of the common "I spent all my energy writing the story and now I'm not sure how to end it" cold authors occasionally get.

Worth reading? Yes, but not for all. I suggesting finding a copy of the book and reading the excerpt in the front before buying it: if you can make it through that without batting too much of an eyelash, proceed on. Tread this book with caution and you might make it to Gyptland alive, with a good read under your belt to boot.