No Country for Old Gnomes (The Tales of Pell, Book 2)

In this muddled follow-up to 2017’s Kill the Farm Boy, Hearne and Dawson continue to skewer epic fantasy tropes, this time focusing on the escalating conflict between cardigan-wearing, peace-loving gnomes and a rogue, warlike faction of halflings in the land of Pell. Amid the chaos and confusion, a small, unlikely band of allies from the assorted nonhuman races of Pell emerges, intent on restoring peace. Among them are Offi, a goth gnome masquerading as his more heroic brother; Gerd, a gryphon who speaks in umlauts; Agape, an ovitaur (half-human, half-sheep) charged with protecting an ancient mechanical construct; and Båggi, a dwarf eager to purge his soul of violence. On a trek across the land, the fellowship encounters everything from hostile monsters to a king who used to be a goat. Hearne and Dawson both uphold and subvert fantasy’s classic elements, with some blatant Tolkien riffs (including Tommy Bombastic, a singing, self-aggrandizing demigod). The story is solid and the characters fully realized. However, the first volume’s element of uplifting the marginalized is absent, and the heavy-handed humor is a series of nudges and punch lines that fail to engage. As a cute quest story, it suffices, but readers hoping for parody that upends their understanding of the genre or invokes wry fondness for it will find this novel does neither. (Apr.)