Tom Holt never disappoints. I very much enjoyed this light read. ( )

I love Tom Holt because reading his books doesn’t seem like work. There’s a fatigue that comes with stories written by someone who is visibly exerting themselves. When every word and sentence bears weight, when each paragraph and chapter fits neatly into a larger structure, to read quickly is a sin. It’s the same obligation for attention that follows a lot of what we consider “high culture,” literature and visual arts and music, the idea that you must sit still and appreciate to get the most out of something. Consuming media this way certainly has much to recommend it, and provides many rewards, but it is not the only way to do things. After a day of work, when collapsed on the couch, I don’t look at a book for a spiritual experience; I look at it for a good time. And I never regret it, with Tom Holt.
I’m not familiar with Wagner, much less this opera, so I believe I was starting on something of an even footing with Jane, the protagonist, the accountant who meets Julius Vanderdecker, the immortal captain whose life insurance policy provides the basis for the plot. It’s a good story! I loved reading it, and I love the way that Holt connects things, the way he ties everything in, the way he makes everything seem like a bit of a conspiracy and then instead of flat-earthing you, shows that it’s best in even the most exceptional circumstances not to lose one’s head.
If I keep writing, I would love to know how to make things like this. The world has enough manifestos, enough poetic masterworks. Maybe life should be lived like a great work, and entertainment can be appreciated and adored as it is instead of having to serve some great moral purpose.
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Reread of book read some time ago. It holds up pretty well. I do wonder whether Holt was cursed at birth by an accountant. ( )

Witty, but ultinmately not as funny or as thought provoking as Terry Pratchett ( )

Follows the life of the Flying Dutchman. Is a funny book in places and other places it kind of drags. The story is based on the premise that a 16th Century sea captain is "cursed" by drinking the elixir of life. He and his crew are now immortal. The only hang up is that they smell terrible. The smell only abates once every 7 years for a week. Fast forward from the time that they are cursed to the present day. An a female accountant is given the responsibility of the Vanderdecker policy. This is in fact the insurance policy for noted sea captain. The policy was written when sea captain rarely lived past the age of 40 and has a clause if the noted person reached the age of 65 that the policy would pay out at 1 1/2 times per year that they passed 65. If the captain cashes in his policy it could ruin world economics. As noted is funny at some points and then gets bogged down in others. A semi-enjoyable read overall. ( )