Review: The Legend of Uh by Aaron N Hall
Blurb:
Sir Dashing Junior was only knighted because they couldn't knight his father twice. Now he's determined to prove he's worthy of his new title.
With an aspiring ranger, an awkward friar, and a book-loving orc, DJ will venture across the territory of Uh to reach the Amulet of the Goddess, proving that he’s truly worthy of knighthood.
Along the way, he and his companions will encounter a cursed author, a violent noodle cult, democratic goblins, and a whole lot more.
It’s a journey fraught with danger and discovery, and the territory is rich with monsters and magic, so is DJ’s quest for respect really worth the cost?
Review:
The Legend of Uh by Aaron N Hall is a brilliant, semi-cosy quest fantasy that caught my attention, and my laughs, from the first pages of the story. Between Dungeons & Dragons campaign cliches, Waffle Wizards, and a hilarious religious cult dedicated to someone called Phillip, this book would not let me put it down.
The first thing that should absolutely be addressed about The Legend of Uh is the humour. Oftentimes, humour in novels, SFF or otherwise, is incredibly hard to nail down. When I think of humour in SFF specifically, there are only a few names that come to mind: Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, and occasionally Neil Gaiman. Without a shadow of a doubt, however, Aaron N Hall has planted himself on this list.
Not only is there a child-like whimsy to this story that is reminiscent of the best era of Dreamworks and Pixar (see How to Train Your Dragon, or Brave), there is also a near-perfect combination of zany and hilarious ideas throughout to keep the reader chuckling, even when the plot itself dips. It’s a clever way of handling the middle of the story, where there is always a risk of the plot dragging. Even though this was not a symptom of this particular book, the jokes really kept the pacing moving quickly. Without broaching spoilers, one of my favourite long-running jokes in the book is related to a certain monolithic author in the SFF genre, tuckerised perfectly into the land of Uh. In addition, the slogan “All magic no maidens,” had me blinking away tears of laughter on drives to work many a day.
It’s hard, therefore, to criticise The Legend of Uh for much at all. Though the fetchquest plot is incredibly derivative, it’s done so in such a self-aware way that it doesn’t matter. There are moments, however, where I think the book just slightly overreaches its audience: for a novel that is marketed as YA, I would personally still be cautious with some themes, language, and innuendo in the book before handing it to a teen to read, especially a younger teen.
Overall, I am incredibly excited for people to read this book. It’s got everything: bags of humour, character development, a strong moral and resolution, and enough moments of rich worldbuilding and deeper conversation to keep it away from “shallow” reading territory. While it’s hard to mention specifics about this book without spoiling anything, I highly encourage people to read it when it comes out next year. I think you will be pleasantly surprised to see how well it combines fantastical tropes and jokes, on top of a foundation of solid prose, storytelling, and character development. A true highlight of my reading this year, I can’t wait to check out more work by the author, and hope for a potential sequel in the future.
Sandy Brambleton forever.
