This gothic story offers an alternative theory to how and why America was discovered and colonised, a parody mixing ancient Greek mythology with modern American culture. The primeval and long forgotten Greek gods give a Trojan warrior the task of discovering a new land and laying claim to it. The warrior faces many weird obstacles, challenges and battles in his endeavour.

Duane Gundrum demonstrates his considerable talent as a humoristic writer in this book. His brand of humour reminds me very much of 'Monty Python', some of which is brilliant and some of which is absurdly silly and childish. My own tastes in comedy are fairly basic: Laurel and Hardy's vintage antics are still amongst my favourites. In 'The Ameriad', Duane Gundrum utilizes cutting irony to expose the idiocy behind many issues; such as alcohol, the lottery, credit, slavery, powerful corporations, communists, the atom bomb, junk food, racial discrimination, modern morals, parking lots, immigration - the list goes on. In one scene, where the Trojan Horse is being delivered and inspected, the Trojans discover a strange, undecipherable text: 'Made in China'.

A simple but adequate plot held my interest to the last page. Most of the characters are portrayed in the same humoristic style, which tended to stereotype them, and a certain amount of inactive writing slowed the pace. But overall, a fun read with many chuckles. I shall definitely check out other works by this author.

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest, nonreciprocal review.

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