Book Reviews: The Time Machine Did It and Double Wonderful

So, as mentioned, I read the two books by John Swartzwelder that are currently available. (I got an email from Amazon a few days ago, letting me know that a third book—How I Conquered Your Planet—will be available soon. It might even be available now.)

Both books are great, but The Time Machine Did It was definitely funnier than Double Wonderful. Normally I would post a plot summary, or something about the book, but in this case, it’s the writing that makes it funny. The plot is almost incidental to Swartzwelder’s sense of humour; you don’t read the book to see what will happen next, so much as to see what Swartzwelder will say next.

If you enjoy the Simpsons, or just have a sense of humour, I highly recommend The Time Machine Did It, and just normally recommend Double Wonderful. I don’t know why TTMDI is so much funnier; something was just lacking in the writing for DW. (There was also some questionable humour about “Indians”, in Double Wonderful, that put me off a bit.)

You should also be warned that the books are pretty short. I don’t want you to feel ripped off, if you order the books and then realize how thin they are (with such a large font).

As I haven’t read How I Conquered Your Planet yet, I of course don’t have an opinion. But it’s apparently based on the same character from The Time Machine Did It, so it should be pretty good. I imagine I’ll pick it up, the next time I’m buying from Amazon, or if I ever see it in a store.