I really liked the concept of this, but I found the writing to be a bit hard to engage with at times, and wrapping my head around all the different components could have been easier if more gradually introduced.

A Lee Martinez specialises in a kind of fantasy comedy that riffs on a range of fantasy, science fiction literary and movie tropes. His 2013 novel Emperor Mollusk Versus The Sinister Brain centred around a super villain the book before that 2012’s Chasing the Moon was a comic hero’s journey fighting a range of monsters. But it is his 2016 book and first of a trilogy The Last Adventure of Constance Verity, a book on similar themes, that is now likely to be his breakout as it is being made into a movie with Awkwafina in the lead role.
Constance Verity has been an adventurer since a fairy godmother put an enchantment on her when she was seven. Since then she has constantly been on the go saving the world and then the universe from a range of monsters, robots, cults and conspiracies. But now Connie has had enough, she wants the enchantment lifted so she can live a normal life. And the only way she can do this, against the advice of best friend Tia, is to kill the Fairy Godmother who enchanted her in the first place. This puts her on a path of what may well indeed be her last adventure, if she can indeed give adventuring up, but also a nested, complex weave of conspiracies within conspiracies which will make her reassess her whole life and the choices that she has made.
The balance between comedy and action is a difficult one to walk. But Martinez has plenty of material to work from ranging from Doctor Who to James Bond to Indiana Jones to Robert Langdon to any one of a myriad of Marvel or DC heroes and well beyond. Much of the fun here is how Martinez riffs on the huge canon of adventure stories, allowing readers to fill in the gaps and manges to build it into a fairly coherent (although often confusing given the number of reverses and double reverses) narrative. And there is so much of this material around that it seems that it is hard to know when to stop.
While ostensibly constantly deconstructing the hero narrative, Martinez has to deliver one in order for the enterprise to work. But he builds this journey around Connie’s existential crisis so that it all works as a piece.
Constance herself is a great character and it is not hard to see the appeal. Frighteningly competent in the adventuring world but craving a normal, humdrum life in which she can have a job, go on dates and kick back in front of the television after a long day. In relief to this is her best friend and sometime sidekick Tia who has such a life and can not understand what Connie sees about it that is appealing. The two are surrounded by a few other amusing side characters, a host of villains deliberately from central casting (complete with well designed lairs).
While some of the adventure stories that Martinez references have a comic element, there is not a lot of good comic adventure fantasy/scifi. And while this narrative falters from time to time, it is anchored around an engaging heroine and delivers a rattling tale with its tongue firmly embedded in its cheek.
The Last Adventure of Constance Verity is the first book of a trilogy. The second, Constance Verity Saves the World came out in 2018 and is also getting a release in anticipation of both the film and the third book in the series Constance Verity Destroys the Universe due out later this year. Which is all to say that fans of this book will have plenty more to look forward to and if the movie works, more of those too.

Wow. Wow I say. There's a lot going on here - previous adventures that involve saving the world, ninjas, detective skills, hidden portals...and so much more. It's a difficult novel to review for me as there's so many jokes/surreal situations that it all becomes a blur/overwhelming at points. So, as this is the shortest review i've ever done, i'd say this novel is for fans of Robert Rankin, Douglas Adams (to a point), Tom Holt...you get the idea. I'm intrigued to read the next, I just hope it doesn't pack in so much so I can enjoy the jokes without blacking out! It's a solid 3 from me.

I very much enjoyed this book. Having just come from something a bit more serious and "real life" this was the fantasy action comedy I never knew that I needed. A very good pace to the story and no dull meandering through events which don't add any meaning to a story. I'm very intrigued to see how this pans out now as a movie, oh and trilogy you say? I'll have some of that thanks. Very well worth the time to sit and enjoy. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC to allow this review.

It's not the first book I read by Martinez and already appreciated his sense of humour and his characters always a bit over the top.
Constance Verity is the parody of a super-heroine and a very entertaining book. I laughed a lot and enjoyed it.
It starts with a bang and the fast paced plot never stops entertaining.
My only note is that some parts are a bit repetitive.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

So much fun! I enjoyed this, especially the constant flashbacks to previous adventures. I like the actress they've chosen for the film (excellent casting) and I just visualised her in all the ridiculous situations, each time with a massive grin. But as time progresses, the grin slowly reduces in size. I'm so excited for the film release, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an awesome soundtrack.
Fast paced action with a zany sense of humour. Highly entertaining.

“Constance Verity wasn’t born special, but she did become special a little over three hours later.”

My thanks to Quercus Books Jo Fletcher Books for an advance review copy via NetGalley of ‘The Last Adventure of Constance Verity’ by A. Lee Martinez in exchange for an honest review. It is the first book in the Adventures of Constance Verity series and was originally published in the USA in 2016 and is now being published in the U.K..

In the twenty-eight years since Constance (Connie) Verity turned seven, she has had adventure after adventure and saved the world numerous times. She is a master of exotic martial arts, a brilliant detective, and has a collection of strange artefacts cluttering up her apartment. Yet she is tired of this frantic life and yearns for a boring office job and a normal boyfriend.

Connnie has now figured how to get the life she wants. As it all started with a magic wish granted to her at birth, she’s going to track down and kill Grandmother Willow, her fairy godmother. The narrative follows Connie in her quest for a mundane life, though of course, it’s not as simple as she hopes.

This proved a fast paced comedy fantasy. I have noted more than once that combining comedy with horror, science fiction, and/or fantasy can be a tricky balancing act. Certainly there were times when I found the constant references to Connie’s past adventures and the wise-cracking wearing. Was it meant as a parody of the superhero sub genre? It certainly wasn’t subtle.

Still, individual readers will have their own threshold of when quirky and amusing becomes silly and just way over the top.

So, this was a mixed experience for me. I enjoyed Connie’s relationship with her best friend/sidekick Tia and certainly there were enough pluses for me with the characters and storytelling to encourage me to continue reading the series.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Fairy Godmother Willow has a lot to answer for. She blew some magic dust over baby Verity and cursed her to a life of adventure and derringer do. Constance now thirty five in now super over it and wants a quiet life of doing nothing and going out for average cheesecake with her best friend. When Constance sets her mind to getting her wish removed she is set on a path that leads to the centre of the universe.
The premise of this book was interesting but by god there is ALOT of yakking. Sooo much talking and not even interesting talking, it’s mostly exposition and quasi philosophical ranting. Or talking about all the adventures she’s had and not doing very much adventuring. I’m with Connie it’s boring. I found myself skimming and not missing much. There was also no emotional weight, Constance was so bland about everything so if she doesn’t care why should I. A good premise let down by scanty writing.

I gravitated towards this sci-fi fantasy book after seeing it mentioned in The Guardian, thinking it just might be for me. However, this genre can be tricky for me, I have loved books from it, but at the same time, some books just don't work for me. Again, humour is a tricky thing, it can be a hit and miss affair. As I read this, I was struck by how well written it was, and I can see many readers loving the central protagonist, Constance 'Connie' Verity who has spent her life since the age of 7 on adventure after adventure, confronting a range of monsters and other threats, constantly saving the world. However, she has now had enough, and thinks there is only one way to gain an ordinary life, to kill her fairy godmother, grandmother Willow, with her best friend sidekick, Tia. I gave what I felt was a decent go at this novel, but at 35% I gave up. Note, this is no reflection on how much others might enjoy and love it, but it was just not for me, I am certain many will love this, but I think I was probably not the target audience for it. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.