The Last Adventure of Constance Verity

Fantasy stalwart Martinez (Gil’s All Fright Diner) returns to the fertile soil of genre parody with decidedly mixed results. Constance Verity was given a single wish by her fairy godmother. She has spent every day since she was seven having impossible adventures. Swashing that many buckles gets old, though, and now Constance has one final mission: kill her fairy godmother, thwart her grand destiny, and live a normal life. To do that, she must venture into Area 51, punch the biggest monsters the fey folk have to offer, and, most challenging of all, navigate her new relationship with ordinary, wonderfully boring Byron. Martinez peppers his heroine’s life with as many disparate tropes and clichés as will fit in her ever-expanding backstory, and unlike Pratchett, who lampooned well-worn genre conventions to make sociopolitical observations, Martinez seems to be in it just for the laughs. Thankfully, those come at a rapid pace, and brilliant gags shine through the overall glib tone. Readers who enjoy a nicely shattered fourth wall will appreciate this novel. (July)