Oh No, Not Scalding.. AGAIN! (Open Sesame - Tom Holt)

Member Name: Mitnik

Product:	Open Sesame - Tom Holt
Date:	21/11/03 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It`s Hillarious, It`s Tom Holt

Disadvantages: None!

Well in my ongoing quest to understand the man behind the words I`ve just finished re-reading Open sesame and so I thought I may as well review the book while it was still fresh in my mind. As can be cunningly deduced from Holt's title, the baseline story is "Ali Baba" and like his earlier My Hero, it's a story about the power of Stories (with I`m
afraid to say more than a little nod or two to Terry Pratchett's style of looking at things with his head permenantly tilted to the side).

I think we are all familiar with the traditional telling of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" Heroic Ali Baba overhears the secret password, raids the thieves lair and then scalds them to death while they sneakily plot to avenge their gold and jewels. All pretty straightforward stuff, but what happens if you hand this plot to Tom Holt?!

Well The Forty Thieves become Akram the Terrible and his 39 obtuse robbers for one, but
just think.. You`ve been a thief for millions of years, your story has been told time and time again, and quite frankly you`re sick to death of having your pension fund stolen and being scalded to death. You`d want "Out" wouldn`t you? This time round you didn`t want to be the "Baddie" anymore? and that`s the world that Tom Holt presents to us this time round..

With ample aid from storyteller Scheherezade, Tom Holt once again blurs the divisions between fiction and reality, hero and villain. Both Ali Baba and his nemesis Akram, guided
by a bear and their fairy Godfather (Yes, you read that right Godfather, with his "Three
wishes you can't refuse") flee their traditional storyland roles for more mundane
existences in dentistry and culinary arts (Talent with a knife will take you right to the
top in this modern world of TV Chefs.)

Now While they attain some levels of freedom from the plot devices typical of their original story, they don'
;
;t entirely escape their roles as enemies or their characterizations from "the old country" but as with most things Tom Holt writes their inevitable encounters and subsequent intentions regarding revenge make for some very entertaining reading.

We must also mention The remaining 39 bumbling burglars, who are distraught at the
disappearance of their beloved "Skip," (the only one who knew the accounting procedures and almost as importantly the location of the hideout) wreak havoc as they search for him
throughout favorite stories. (I should point out as a warning to the faint of heart that they are especially harsh toward animals, and Rapunzel apparently let down more than her hair.) and Naturally, too, there's also a genie in a lamp, Setting the book on both sides of the line dividing reality and fiction yields opportunities for delicious cameos from many memorable characters.

In this Novel it really is Holt's supporting cast of characters that bring the story to life: Your can`t write a review with praising the fact that Michelle overcomes her initial reluctance and spends quality time with her family of bickering kitchen gadgets. or sparing a chuckle for Fang, the avaricious tooth fairy, who recognizes the value of merchandise other than molars. and of course John Fingers Smith deserves a mention too. he's a thief from a family of largely unsuccessful crooks, who enjoys the lush Arabian life (for a while) when he thinks he's finally made the big time.

Holt fans will appreciate inside jokes and allusions to earlier novels. A talking gun reminiscent of My Hero is joined by a cadre of communicating electrical appliances and
traffic signals. And, of course, as all readers of Tom Holt's punnish dialogue know sometimes a door isn't a door.

That said, It isn't necessary to have read earlier novels (or even Tales from the Arabian Nights) to appreciate the clever dialog
ue and
realistic fictional characters in Open Sesame and It's this complex and delightful mix of characters that make this a delightful read, I won`t spoil things for you by going into too much detail but there`s one bit with a sesame plant that`ll you`ll just haveto read the book to find out all about, Oh and be sure to wear the extra strong girdle with this one, the giggles come hard and fast and don`t give you a break until the final page is turned.

So in conclusion, a superb book that should already have been in your collection, but if by some diabolical Bill Gates plot it isn`t, go out and fix things now, and remember you`ll be doing it for the good of your funny bone!

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