The Serpent of Venice: A Novel

Another great job by Chris Moore. The return of Pocket and Drool were outstanding and bringing Othello and Iago as well as Shylock into the mix was outstanding! Another great read. Do yourself the favor!

Wow. Amazing read. Hilarious, silly, imaginative, witty, well written. I can't remember the last time a book made me laugh out loud. This is the first Christopher Moore book I've read and it won't be the last.

Christopher Moore doesn't need accolades from me but I shall give them anyways. What a charmingly delightful novel! To tell the truth, I enjoyed it much more than i did Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice and I believe so shall you. Well written, witty, and engaging, I couldn't put it down and was sad when it came to the end. It just means I will have to acquire another Christopher Moore book. Ciao.

I definitely recommend reading 'Fool,' prior to reading 'Serpent,' in order to have the seamlessness of the stories. I liked Moore's clever interpretation of Shakespeare's characters and plotlines, mixed with more realistic and fun prose. While not my favorite Moore book (can anything ever be as good as 'Lamb?"), a very fun read, indeed!

Imagine Othello and the Merchant of Venice mashed together and made into a bawdy Shakespearian comedy. Suspend disbelief and jump in. You'll either love it or hate it, but I doubt you will be neutral. Personally, I loved it.

I love, love, love Christopher Moore and this was no exception! Fool is a great character and an unlikely hero and I thoroughly enjoyed this latest Venetian adventure. Always a bloody ghost! And the serpent was awesome, of course.

As always, the anticipation for a new Christopher Moore novel seems to go on forever, and the pleasure of reading said book is over all too quickly. Mr. Moore is certainly in the top 5 writers of our age. His works are smart, well documented (where possible), insightful, and hilarious! I regularly find myself laughing out loud, regardless of my surroundings; which can be embarrassing. Get it and read it today!

“The Serpent of Venice” disappointed me. No other way to say it. Its predecessor, “Fool”, was clever and an enjoyable read. This one just did not do it for me.
Christopher Moore seems unable to give up a lame joke. This novel is his standard vulgarity (mix and repeat and repeat and repeat…) distasteful sexual jokes (am I the only person not interested in a protagonist who has sex with a sea serpent? In addition, Moore has used this motif in more than a few texts, enough to make me worry about him a little) and stories that seem to not have an end in mind.
Too many times in this book I would read a clever moment that was too quickly followed by something just painful and ridiculous to read. There were moments where I was embarrassed for the writer. A novel should not make me feel like that. Frustratingly, the premise is fun, the Fool from “King Lear”, now in the Venice of Shakespeare’s “Othello” and “Merchant of Venice”. What a great idea! Moreover, there are moments that are good. But they are not sustained, and the crap that follows each one detracts in such a manner that the book just does not recover.
“The Serpent of Venice” is mainly not good because Mr. Moore uses no original ideas in executing his concept. He is recycling jokes and motifs from earlier texts. I enjoyed them (usually) then. Not so much now. Give us something new sir. Please!

“The Serpent of Venice” disappointed me. No other way to say it. Its predecessor, “Fool”, was clever and an enjoyable read. This one just did not do it for me.
Christopher Moore seems unable to give up a lame joke. This novel is his standard vulgarity (mix and repeat and repeat and repeat…) distasteful sexual jokes (am I the only person not interested in a protagonist who has sex with a sea serpent? In addition, Moore has used this motif in more than a few texts, enough to make me worry about him a little) and stories that seem to not have an end in mind.
Too many times in this book I would read a clever moment that was too quickly followed by something just painful and ridiculous to read. There were moments where I was embarrassed for the writer. A novel should not make me feel like that. Frustratingly, the premise is fun, the Fool from “King Lear”, now in the Venice of Shakespeare’s “Othello” and “Merchant of Venice”. What a great idea! Moreover, there are moments that are good. But they are not sustained, and the crap that follows each one detracts in such a manner that the book just does not recover.
“The Serpent of Venice” is mainly not good because Mr. Moore uses no original ideas in executing his concept. He is recycling jokes and motifs from earlier texts. I enjoyed them (usually) then. Not so much now. Give us something new sir. Please!

A not so classic, ordinary take on three classic tales by Shakespeare and Poe. If you enjoyed his other books then you will enjoy this. If this is your first book from Moore, then stop and read Fool first.

I like the historical fiction aspect of this book and the comedy that keeps it so entertaining. Having a better knowledge of Shakespeare would have helped !e but I know enough to not become too confused.

Moore mixes the best of Poe & Shakespeare and sends it through the meat-grinder of his delightfully warped cranium to produce another raucous side-splitter. My wife hates when I read Moore's books in bed, as I am usually laughing out loud and shaking the bed trying to stifle it. Kudos, I am, indeed, a fan.

This is another very fun read by Chris Moore. Bringing back some of the characters from Fool (maybe his best book) was great. Story is very good and it had many laugh out loud moments. Keep em coming Chris. (How about a follow up to Lamb?)

Christopher Moore is a wacky genius. The Serpent of Venice was hysterical in classic Moore ways. There were plot ppints that I found odd, but it still an excellent read that I couldn't put down. It was most excellent to see Pocket again. Your can his voice and antics come alive.

Christopher Moore fans will be thrilled with the newest novel. As will those fans of the Bard not put off by straying from the immortal words or by vulgarity. History buffs should not neglect the afterword.

What happens when you combine the author of "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" with characters and plot points from "The Merchant of Venice," "Othello," "King Lear," and "The Cask of Amantillado"? Hilarity ensues, of course!

Very entertaining and quirky (as almost all Christopher Moore books are). An interesting way to weave together the disparate stories into the world of Christopher Moore's original recurring characters. I found it a little hard to follow initially (owing more to me than the story, I would think), so I had to put it down for a moment, but when I found my way back to it I read the whole thing in one sitting.

I love the writing of Christopher Moore. This book is witty, fun and laugh out loud. It is not my favorite Moore book but I would recommend it nonetheless. Now I'm going to read Fool since that seems to be the prequel for Serpent.

Christopher Moore is quite simply the most witty, clever and imaginative writer around right now. This is coming from someone with severe dyslexia but he is such a talented writer, I could not stop.
I bought both the paperback and audio version for my car.

I read and enjoyed all of Christopher Moore's books up to "Fool". That was a disappointment. As the sequel to "Fool", this book is a miserable flop! Once again, he's tried to retell a Shakespeare play as a comedy from the point of view of the Court Jester. This one bounces around in time and by who is telling the story. It is a muddled mess and absolutely unworthy of either Moore or Shakespeare. The characters are all over the place and the story is absolutely disjointed and confusing. In my opinion, this is the absolute worst book Christopher Moore has ever written/stolen.

Absolutely loved it! Christopher Moore is a genius whose humor, wit, and deep emotion leaves you laughing and crying. He has yet to publish a book that I don't thoroughly enjoy. Read the Serpent of Venice as well as all of his other works!