The Last Coin / James Blaylock

2 out of 5 stars

Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Twenty-nine of the coins are already in the possession of the unpleasant Pennyman. The last coin is all that stands between the world and doom, and it now belongs to ordinary Andrew Vanbergen, owner of an inn where dark magic and bizarre heroism are about to intertwine.

I’m glad that there are plenty of readers out there who appreciated this book, because it was not my cuppa tea. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this was supposed to be humourous (kind of like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), but I find that I often struggle with humour on the page.

I think this would be an excellent TV show—the main character Andrew bumbling along like Maxwell Smart and his wife Rose herding him in the right direction just like Agent 99 (young folks, go to YouTube and search Get Smart!) It seemed to me that watching the action and being able to appreciate the story’s physical aspects would have probably made me laugh.

In so many ways, I feel this story had potential. I mean collecting Judas Iscariot’s 30 pieces of silver and gaining power from them? That’s an awesome concept. Dan Brown could do something with that (whether that’s good or bad, I leave to your judgment) and I was disappointed in Blaylock’s lack of ambition with such an excellent idea. Treated seriously, this could have been an excellent fantasy thriller. It would also have benefitted, IMHO, from a focus on the villain of the piece, Mr. Pennyman, instead of Andrew. Andrew was such a bumbling idiot, that I longed for a competent narrator. Pennyman would have served, as would have Andrew’s wife, Rose, or Rose’s Aunt Naomi. Nowhere in the narrative did I discern why Rose had actually married Andrew or why she continued to put up with him. If ever a woman had a clear reason to divorce, I would say Rose did.

Needless to say, despite the fact that this is the first book in a series, I won’t be continuing on. I am uncertain whether I will even be willing to try other titles by this author.

This is book number 246 in my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project.