The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove | Christopher Moore

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove | Christopher Moore | Giant monsters, Christopher Moore-style

books:

The Lust Lizard of...

	The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Christopher Moore Harper Paperbacks, 2004 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 108 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Funny and Wild

It's hard to describe Christopher Moore's books. They are funny and wacky and wise. Haven't read one yet that I didn't love. IMAGINATION in caps.

Giant monsters, Christopher Moore-style

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove is Christopher Moore's semi-sequel to his debut novel, Practical Demonkeeping. Once again, he takes up to his coastal California town of Pine Cove, but outside of the setting and a few minor recurring characters, this is a completely new standalone story.

Lust Lizard opens with a couple of seemingly minor events: a Pine Cove housewife hangs herself and a nuclear plant has a small, generally harmless leak. This first event inspires town psychiatrist Val Riordan to have the antidepressants for all her patients replaced with placebos, fearful that her tendency to overmedicate her clients led to the suicide. It takes a little while, but the town starts getting more depressed, doing wonders for the local bar.

Meanwhile, the radioactive leak reawakens a giant creature that is a mix of fish, reptile and amphibian. The creature - who will eventually be named Steve - comes ashore in Pine Cove and starts dining on the populace. Steve, however, is looking for more than food; he's also looking for love and his lust emanates through the town, turning most residents very amorous. After a disastrous attempt to mate with a tanker truck, an injured Steve is tended to by Molly Michon, the seemingly crazy lady who is also a former barbarian princess in a series of cheesy direct-to-video movies.

There are additional complications, especially focusing on constable Theo Crowe who spends most of his days stoned to the gills. Crowe's uneasy relationship with the local sheriff is about to get much worse as the secrets of the sheriff's Pine Cove ranch come to light. There is Gabe Fenton, a biologist who is noticing strange behavior in the local fauna, particularly among the many rats he has radio-tagged. And there is Catfish Jefferson, a visiting Blues musician who has encountered Steve before.

There may be a lot going on, but Moore has it all mesh together perfectly with the off-beat humor that is typical of his work. This is a fast and fun book that should appeal to those who like lightweight but well-written novels.

for more information click here

Pure Pleasure

When I read a book review I don't want a lengthy synopsis of the story. I'll find that out for myself if I read the book. What I want to know is, Did you like it? Did it make you think/laugh/cry/want to read more? And should I read it too? Here's my 2 cents' worth on this one: Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! & Yes! You can't go wrong with Chris Moore's Pine Cove books. Practical Demonkeeping, Lust Lizard and The Stupidest Angel are quite simply 3 of the most satisfying, hilarious & purely pleasurable reading experiences I've ever had. Buy 'em!

Hilarious!

This is my fourth Christopher Moore book in about as many weeks if not more. I wish I had discovered him last year when I needed a laugh!

This one should come with a warning though ~~ it is a bit more raunchy than the other three that I've read. But it's so hilarious!

The residents of Pine Cove were living a normal life till a sea beast came on shore and fell in love with an oil tanker truck. Setting off an explosion, coupled with the local psychiarist's decision to take everyone off the antidepressants (because of one of her clients committing suicide) ~~ it set the tone for the rest of the book. There's Mavis the bar-owner who is more machine parts than human, there's Theo the lovable but stoned constable, there's Val the lovely psychiarist, there's Cal, the local biologist, there's Catfish, the local blues singer and his lovely artist friend, Estelle and there's Molly, the has-been movie star. Then there's Steve, the sea monster who has taken a shine to Molly.

Their stories interchanged with one another with sex foremost on their minds (Theo even gave up pot since he didn't need it anymore) as they tried to figure out what was going on around them. No one was depressed anymore. How weird is that? Hilariously funny and raunchy, this novel is set to make anyone grin, long after the last page has been turned. If you need to cheer up, I would recommend picking up this book or any of his others ~~ he's way better than Dave Barry (whom he has been compared to). And have fun!

10-9-06

for more information click here

Love Molly!

How can you not love a book with a title like "The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove?"

I've read almost all of Christopher Moore's books and loved every one of them. I'm currently reading The Stupidest Angel and have pre-ordered the soon-to-be released You Suck. My favorites are Lamb and A Dirty Job, but Lust Lizard is a solid third.

Moore has a great knack for bringing his colorful characters to life and making the most bizarre situations appear plausible. It's all accomplished with a great sense of humor and a unique touch of something that I'm not sure I can even define.

While Theo Crowe is the central character of the book, Molly Michon, a has-been B-movie actress, is the one that resonated the most with me. Molly wants to be special again and she certainly achieves that goal with Moore's help.

for more information click here