Anybody know of a good comedy novel to read? It can be part sci fi or fantasy, but I want to read an actual humorous novel that will make me laugh.
Obviously, there is the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy five book "trilogy" by Douglas Adams. Also, there are the Xanth novels by Piers Anthony, starting with A Spell for Chameleon. And one of my personal favorites is The Flying Sorcerors by David Gerrold and Larry Niven (Gerrold also wrote the well-known Star Trek episode, The Trouble With Tribbles).
Christopher Moore will make you fall out of your chair. He's a bit raunchy at times, but if you don't have any problems with that then you will love him. Start with Lamb: The Gospel According To Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, and I would follow with The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove. Like I said, he's a rough writer at times, but I was out of breath several times from his works.
Try At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien. Depending on how much you know about Irish culture, O'Brien's The Poor Mouth might also be a good option.
I think pure wall-to-wall comedy is one of the harder (and therefore somewhat less common) feats to pull off in novel form. Even Mark Twain mixed the humor in with much darker, more serious elements, at least in his novels. (Twain's non-novels, such as The Innocents Abroad and Roughing It, of course, went straight for full-bore laughs non-stop. But Huckleberry Finn, as funny as it is in places, is also very serious stuff.) Having said that, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole stands out as one of the exceptions to this. It is wall-to-wall satire, and richly drawn. It's also darn well written and won a Pulitzer.
I honestly can't understand how anybody could like this book, I hated it There's a court scene near the end of At-swim-two birds that had me pissing myself. O'Brien always hits the nail on the head with comic tone. He's also very good having his characters indulge in mock intellectual discussion. Really funny at times. I think the next book of his I'm gonna buy is The Third Policeman.
To each his own, and of course a fair amount of the stuff in it is now a bit dated. What I personally liked about Confederacy was the use of voice, especially as it related to Mrs. O'Reilly. I also liked Jones's voice a lot as well. Ignatius's enmity towards anything post-Enlightenment and his correspondence with Myrna Minkoff was also quite good, in my opinion. Her bizarre quasi-Marxist spin on things captured the naivete of the era, and I found the sense of New Orleans as a place with its own distinct flavor to be compelling as well. But everybody likes what they like.
Humor is my favorite kind of novel. More so if it is paired up with fantasy. Lately I’d been laughing like crazy with Simon R. Green’s Nightside series. They are Dark Urban Fantasy, and even thought the feel of the novels is serious, the weirdness of the world and the crazy characters in it makes it hilarious. My other recommendation is S.G Browne. He’s technically a new author. He only has three novels published, but he’s great. Check out Breathers and Fated. Chuck Palahniuk can be really funny sometimes. My recommendation is Choke. And if you like the really weird fantasy, there’s Bizarro fiction. Carlton Mellick is the king of that genre. I was going to mention Christopher Moore and Charles Bukowski but I noticed they were already named. Two great authors also.
I found a parody novel version of the Hunger Games. It is called Hunger Pain. I read the first sample chapter of it, and it sounds funny. I am going to read that when it is avaible at the library.
I myself wrote the first volume of my parody/satire series that spoofs movie and TV fantasy/fiction, and it has already received decent reviews. Since I am a new self published author I am willing to give away free paperback copies or e-mail the PDF file for the e-book kindle version for anyone interested. But I should warn anyone that the raunchy humor, cartoonish violence, depictions of drug & alcohol abuse, references to touchy political, social, and racial themes might be offensive for some. Anyway, I would like any suggestions on similar extreme parody/satire of either fantasy or Sci fi so I could compare and contrast to what I have done so that I can get fresh ideas to help me improve my writing style for the next WIP volume.
I like Chuck Palahniuk and 'Choke' had some really funny bits in it. I also recommend the "The Death of Bunny Munro" by Nick Cave. It's heartbreaking and hilarious all at the same time. Of course if you want all-out silly then try 'Puckoon' by Spike Milligan.
I agree with the other's who suggested Christopher Moore. My favorite of his was Lamb. Nick Hornsby is probably my favorite male humor writer, although his books also deal with sadness. Long Way Down though about suicide had me laughing inappropriately in public spaces.
If you haven't read Good Omens by Terry Pratchet and Neil Gaiman, I would strongly recommend it. It was an awesome and often hilarious read. While I'm on the topic of Terry Pratchet, you might like the Tiffany Aching series.
One of America'a greatest writers "Mark Twain",we enjoy reading his books always, especially the book which is called "The complete short stories of Mark Twain."
Oh man! I am now reading The Hunger Pains by Harvard Lampoon. So funny as hell! I like how Harvard Lampoon teased the characters and twisted the story. I want to read his other books.
John Dies at the End by David Wong Its listed as a comedic horror novel, I found myself actually laughing out loud at certain parts as well as getting shivers during others.
