What I liked about the book: Some really, really funny parts, and the plot with Teppic and Ptraci was interesting. The war between the neighboring countries was also hilarious. You see, it’s a well-known fact that generals prepare to fight the previous war. In this case, the previous war ended when the winning nation hid its soldiers in a wooden cow.

What I didn’t like about the book: The whole bit with Dios and the pyramids wasn’t. It dragged on and on and on … The bit about the greatest mathematician in the world being a camel was way overdone too.

The most interesting quote:
Djelibeybi really was a small, self-centered kingdom. Even its plagues were half-hearted. All self-respecting river kingdoms have vast supernatural plagues, but the best the Old Kingdom had been able to achieve in the last hundred years was the Plague of Frog. It was quite a big frog, however, and got into the air ducts and kept everyone awake for weeks.

Recommendation: If you’re reading the entire series, then naturally you’ll want to read this one. But otherwise, it certainly wasn’t the best. The whole thing is a satire on organized religion, if that helps you decide one way or another.

OK, one more quote that cracked me up:

“I noticed you don’t pray,” he said. “Don’t you have a god?”
“Oh yes,” said Teppic hesitantly, “no doubt about that.”
“You don’t seem to want to talk to him.”
Teppic shook his head. “I can’t,” he said, “not here. He wouldn’t be able to hear, you see.”
“My got can hear me anywhere,” said Arthur fervently.
“Well, mine has difficulty if you’re on the other side of the room,” said Teppic. “It can be very embarassing.”