‘There was a spirit, the crazed rider insisted, or a demon, or a beasty of some description terrorizing the village. Sheep had been slaughtered. Women had been possessed. His buttocks hurt him from riding! It was bad, was the point.’

All Harlem Sunday has ever wanted to be is a hero.

It’s lucky then that he lives on the continent of Land; a fantastical world beset by all manner of mythical creature, malevolent monster, and evil no-good doer. Luckier still that having recently acquired his papers, Harlem is now legally allowed to ply his trade as a certified hero. And luckier again -- the last time, I promise -- that a nearby village has recently succumbed to a so-called ‘haunting’ of unimaginable terror and is in dire need of a good saving.

It all sounds simple enough, until suddenly it isn’t. But as Harlem is about to learn (several times over), that’s hero work for you. Even if he is wearing shorts.

Discworld meets The Princess Bride with a ham-fisted pinch of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy thrown in for good measure. If your humor skews Monty Python, and your sense of fun and adventure leans fantastical, even absurd, this book is for you. And if not, it makes for great kindling.