“The Serpent of Venice” by Christopher Moore – An Elusive Murder

The time is long ago, and the location is Venice. The merchant, Antonio, the senator, Montressor, and the naval officer, Lago, have spent their lives in search of wealth and power, and though they have become prominent figures, it seems that every one of their opportunities to climb further is shut down by a very troublesome and loathsome man: Fool Pocket, an envoy from the Queen of Britain.

It seems, however, that the three men have hatched a plan to get rid of him once and for all: invite him to a night with promises of wine and debauchery, only to poison him.

However, what they do not realize is that the rather inaccurately-named Fool Pocket didn’t get to where he is due to a lack of brains. On the contrary, the resourceful little man has decks of cards hidden under his sleeves, and countless moves to make before he gives in. Such is the premise of The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore, a tale that peers into jealousy, greed, vengeance, retribution, and giant sea monsters.

Christopher Moore seems to have a certain talent for creating complex and yet, in the end, senseless stories that suck you in as a vortex would. The whole thing is about the characters bumbling from one plan to the next, quickly trying to come up on the spot with ways of finally killing that infuriating little man, who himself spends his time trying to stay alive.

The fact that things aren’t really done openly and the characters attempt to maintain a semblance of modesty and good intentions in spite of what everyone knows it’s true really drives the humor up a notch.

Oh, and yes: if you have read Christopher Moore before, then you know that the humor here is of the clever kind, never being beat over the head with it. The delightfulness of it all lies in the writing’s simplicity, at least that’s how it felt to me.

The characters populating this story are all memorable in their own ways, and it even feels at certain points that they exist solely to complement each other in their unhealthy ambitions and peculiar ways of thinking. Venice itself is also given justice with a number of beautiful and inspiring descriptions that go hand-in-hand with the various pieces of art that come with the book.

Yes, maps of Italy and Venice (at the time the story takes place of course) are included, not to mention that the final product as it was intended was printed following the two-color method, using red for folios, running heads and such and blue for the text block edges.

In the end, everything from the opening premise to the final artistic touches help to elevate this book above the status it could hope to achieve if it were to use the elements individually.

It makes for an entertaining, humoristic and generally-warming experience that allows you to escape the real world and be taken to a time and place where our problems, rules and conventions no longer apply. All in all, I can do nothing but recommend this book to those who are looking for a more uplifting and simpler read that radiates with beauty.

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Christopher Moore Personal site Christopher Moore is an American writer whose forte lies in the weaving of comedic fantasies. The rights to his first novel, Practical Demonkeeping were sold to Disney before the book was even published. He is also known for writing A Dirty Job and Fool.