No question about it, Christopher Moore has a penchant for weird titles. And within those weird titles are books that combine satire and horror and that put Christopher Moore in a class by himself.
Island of the Sequined Love Nun sounds like it would fit right in there. Maybe not the horror…maybe a little tropical island sex? Even the cover seems to suggest content of a more salacious kind. It’s the classic bait-and-switch, but this time it works out in the reader’s favor. (And anyone who says, “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” has never met a publisher’s marketing department. Just sayin’.)
Tucker Case is a pilot living and working on a tropical island. He’s there not by his own choice, but because the backside of the world is the only place he can go to escape his former boss’s vengeance. (Hint to would-be pilots: joining the mile-high club while you’re tanked and the plane isn’t is a good way to draw unwanted attention to yourself. Especially if the plane is pink.) There isn’t much to do on that island, since he’s more or less the prisoner of The Sorcerer and The Sky Priestess.
Ummm, what? Yes, The Sorcerer and The Sky Priestess, who in real life are Sebastian and Beth Curtis, are the deities in the island’s cargo cult. With 20th century flash/bang special effects, the ability to grant or cut off supplies at will, and a team of Japanese guards protecting the fenced-in compound, the Curtises live a life of privilege and ease. All they have to do is make the occasional flight, cargo and destination unknown. And that’s where Tucker comes in.
As foolish as he acts, Tucker isn’t a fool, and he begins to scratch around the edges of the Curtises business, with the aid of a ghost and a talking fruit bat. It is, after all, Christopher Moore. When he discovers the truth of the flights, he sets in motion a plan to end the shenanigans. The fact that it involves sailing across the open ocean, stealing a 747, and landing on a tiny runway is no obstacle to the newly-matured Tuck.
While many of the outlandish ingredients of his other books are there, to me this is a darker tale closer to real life than any of Moore’s other books. It also seems to me that this is the first book that shows the promise behind his wackiness. With Island of the Sequined Love Nun, Moore’s off-beat humor and off-the-wall plotting took on the sharper edge of an author who has transformed himself into a writer.
Check the WRL catalogue for Island of the Sequined Love Nun
Some really cool book ideas thank you, I’m always on the hunt for a new good read!