Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this arc.

This was a whimsical, fantastical read that should have taken less time to finish. But I just had to keep putting it down to laugh. As I'm not really a belly-laugher, my husband also kept checking in on me to make sure I was okay. He ended up laughing along with me and slowed me down even further.
I have not read the first book of Pell Tales so this was read as a stand alone for me (but I am looking forward to getting my hands on the first book of this series).

Offi, disgusted with his new "sanctuary accommodations", sets off on a mission with other fellow disgusted creatures set out on a mission and have a lot of adventures into new and different worlds. What fun!

Hearne and Dawson give us another uproariously funny book with a maverick cast of characters. Just as much fun as Kill the Farm Boy!

The dreaded Dastardly Rogues Under Bigly-Wicke, a halfling thieves' gang, have been firebombing gnome homes. The survivors have been fleeing to the city of Bruding, where the refugee center/ping pong palace is less than welcoming. Our intrepid, motley band of adventurers go on a quest to save the Skyr from the halflings' predations and uncover what their enemies have been plotting.

This can be read as a standalone, but I don't recommend it unless you don't mind major spoilers for the first book. No Country for Old Gnomes features a new set of protagonists, but the protagonists from Kill the Farm Boy reappear in this novel, thus spoiling the details of their fates for any readers who decide to read these out of order. If you decide to read this first, however, you won't have any trouble following the plot because the relevant bits of Kill the Farm Boy are recapped for you.

Dawson and Hearne excel at twisting expectations in hilarious ways. I won't give examples because I'd hate to spoil the jokes, but they subvert many common tropes. The novel is also filled to the brim with puns and the sort of absurd humor one could find in a Monty Python sketch. One of my favorite humorously bizarre sections involves a cult named the Serene Prophets of Revealed Death in Cabbage. LOTR fans will also catch quite a few references to Tolkien's novels. Kill the Farm Boy was the funniest book I've read in years, and No Country for Old Gnomes is a strong follow-up to it.

There's a lot of character development along the lines of overcoming insecurities and prejudices. The characters are looking for a place to fit in, in the group and more generally in the world. If you're looking for a book about found family, this is a lovely one.

I highly recommend No Country for Old Gnomes, and I look forward to reading the next in the series.

No Country for Old Gnomes by Delilah S. Dawson
No Country for Old Gnomes (The Tales of Pell, #2)
by Delilah S. Dawson (Goodreads Author), Kevin Hearne (Goodreads Author)
M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review Feb 02, 2019 · edit
liked it

A delightful romp filled with gnomes, halflings, ghosts and witches. The land of Skyr is up for grabs, with gnomes battling halflings, hell bent on taking over. Although billed as Tales of Pell #2 .. it provides enough backstory to be enjoyed as a standalone. The narrative is chocked full of puns and word play ... that at times is tiresome rather than humorous. However, in it's totality supplies enough fun to merit the reader coming back for more. This will appeal more to readers who haven't enjoyed Hearne's Iron Druid tales ... Thanks to Netgalley and Random House/ Del
Rey publishers for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

It's not often you come across a book that's just as good as the first, but this is one of those times. I was a bit disappointed it didn't continue with the same characters from before, but I got over it easily enough as the book progressed. The storyline is interesting and does an excellent job of including previous characters without straying too far from our new heroes. Already super excited to see if there will be a continuation with more new characters. Maybe a nice troll and Toby will finally get his flesh honey? One can only hope!

No Country for Old Gnomes is Book Two in the Tales Pell series by authors Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne. I was really excited to get my hands on an advanced copy of this book, but I hate to admit it that I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first book.

Don't get me wrong, I still think this is a fun book, but for me a lot of the great things about the first book were the puns and comedy. I felt like the jokes didn't land as hard in this one, but I also kind of wonder if they would land better had I listened to this one on audio. It seemed like a lot of the jokes surrounded names of characters, so I think I might have missed a few gems because I was reading and not hearing it.

The book still follows a quest narrative like the first book, which is something I really like; however it's with completely new characters. I kind of grew attached to the characters in the first book, whom only show up as side characters in this book. The characters in this book are interesting, but I didn't feel that connected to them as I did with the ones in the last book. I also felt like it took some time to actually get into the plot of the novel, and I was about 35% in before I felt like it was interesting to me. I understand that there was a lot of setup that needed to be executed, but I felt it took a little too long.

One thing I did really like about this new book is that it kind of reinforces the idea of a "found" family and being able to trust your friends. Agape's family is straight up the worst, and even though she is traveling around with these people she still seems like an outsider. I like that the rest of the group makes sure she doesn't feel that way and they all have grown up by the end of the book. I also really like that it's about ignoring first impressions or what you have heard about people. Such as the conflicts between the Gnomes and the Halflings. It was really cool to see Kirsi and Faucon come together and realize they aren't all that different from each other.

I think this one just didn't land completely for me, but I still want to see what is for store for the final book in the series, The Princess Beard.

*I received an egalley from netgalley in exchange for my review.

A charming and hilarious sequel to Kill the Farm Boy, this focuses on character that are, if possible, even more fun and charming than the last book, with a few old favorites brought in. It's still as punny and riddled with fantasy references as the first one, and I really enjoyed it

I...don't know how to admit this so I'm just going to say it: I might have unconsciously started speaking in umlauts after reading this book. RESPECT THE UMLAUT!

But seriously. No, I'm kidding about seriousness. This book is a quagmire of word play and in-jokes and it is GLORIOUS. Goats who become kings and egregious feuds nobody remembers the beginning of and witches and ghosts and dentally-minded vampires. Plus, you know, gnomes and halflings.

A little death. A little destruction of property. A mildly larcenous half-goat. Familiar faces. Jerky, pompous despots. You know what? There's a little bit of everything in this book. And a few things you'll never expect.

Respect the umlaut, my friends. That's what it comes down to.

Gnomes. Love them or hate them. They are a freaking JOY to read about, let me tell you.

I adored Kill The Farm Boy last year and it was evident that I needed to read this sequel when I got literal heart eyes when I was approved for an arc. You can read this book as a standalone though if that suits your fancy but heh, you should read both honestly.

The world we are reading about is called Skyr, a land that gave me major steampunk vibes with a touch of magical elements. It is inhabited by halflings and gnomes. The Gnomes are absolutely sick and tired of being undermined so they decide to fight back before they are pushed out of the way all together. Thankfully we have our main character Gustave to help save the day! Who by the way, what a fantastic character that gives some comic relief!

The writers are aware of the genre they poke fun at, the tropes are alive and well in this parody. The story is filled with humor, using satire, allusion, and word play to bring lightness to what, on paper, looks like a serious mission. I enjoyed it immensely, but it may not be for everyone. The world building and storytelling is very much in the vein of Terry Pratchett, where anything goes. However, just because it’s crazy, doesn’t mean it’s arbitrary.

Honestly this book was almost TOO ridiculous, but I snort-laughed so many times I couldn't put it down.

A mélange of misbegotten creatures go a questing in this compilation of puns, alliterations and out right silliness that overshadows a rather serious plot. The authors draw you in and make you smile in this fabulous follow up to Kill the Farm Boy. While it’s helpful if you’ve read the first this can be read standalone. I heartily recommend.

As someone who had borrwed the first book from the library and enjoyed it, I have to say that this book let me down just slightly. I was expecting a bit more, considering just how crazy the description can sound. The humor was hit and miss for the most part, but when it hit, it really HIT. It felt like the book was trying to constantly one-up itself, which left me quite annoyed or even bored at times. While the story is intriguing, I felt that the humor hurt it in this case. However, if you absolutely love the humor in Kill the Farm Boy, this is your next gem. There's tons of it, probably more than what I can handle.

No Country for Old Gnomes is a new humorous fantasy co-written by Delilah Dawson ( Blud) and Kevin Hearne ( Iron Druid Chronicles). The second book in the Pell world, it's a standalone novel and can be read without prior familiarity with the earlier book. Due out 16th April 2019 on Random House's Del Rey imprint, it's 416 pages and available in hardback, ebook, and audio formats.

I originally picked this one up because, although I hadn't read the first book, I had enjoyed books by both of the authors previously. For fans of their other works, this book is completely different. It's absolutely full of every punny in-joke imaginable. There isn't a single cultural reference which can't be wrangled, hog-tied, and contorted into a joke. Everything from the title of the book to the chapter header quotes are fair game. I found the unrelenting in-your-face attempts at clever repartee wearying. There's an almost aggressive undertone to the humor in the book.

The blurb compares it to Monty Python and Pratchett's Discworld. The difference is that both MP and Pratchett had a much defter touch with humor (even punnery and slapstick) and an instinctual understanding of varying the rhythm and construction of their humor. This book speeds along at breakneck velocity fish-slapping the reader for 400+ pages.

It is a moderately fun read and I did enjoy it enough to look for the first book in the Pell world and likely pick up the third book, The Princess Beard, when I get the opportunity.

Three and a half stars. I can recommend it to readers on the hunt for extreme farcical silliness. The art and formatting as well as the typesetting are up to a very high standard.

The second in the The Tales of Pell series (prior knowledge of the first book, Kill the Farm Boy, is not necessary) is part fantasy, part satire. Those familiar with fantasy tropes (literary and cinematic) will likely get most of the jokes, whereas those new to the genre will likely be at least occasionally confused. My overall impression was that this book is just....okay. It's not bad, it's not good, it's just fine. I chuckled a few times in the early chapters, but the humor quickly became wearing. There's enough actual plot to consist of a proper novel (which doesn't always happen in these satirical works), but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anything but the most dedicated of fantasy fans.

No Country for Old Gnomes by Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson. These Co-Authors have done it again, another book filled with witticisms, puns and humor galore. In this sequel we embark on a journey with gnomes, dwarves, halflings, and many others to right a wrong!