Kirkus Reviews recently reviewed my new novel Falstaff's Big Gamble.  Here is the entire review.

FALSTAFF'S BIG GAMBLE

Quense (Zaftan Entrepreneurs, 2011, etc.) puts classic Shakespeare characters in a fantastical world, with humorous results.

Several memorable Shakespeare characters appear in Quense’s fantasy novel, which takes familiar tragedies and turns them into comedies. Othello becomes a dark elf overwhelmed by his

Falstaff's Big Gamble cover

new job as a Homeland Security bureaucrat, Hamlet transforms into a clean-shaven dwarf who cares more about his new beekeeping venture than avenging his father’s murder, and Falstaff stays most true to his original form: a fat, greedy trickster. The Shakespearean similarities just about end there, with the exception of quotes and other passing nods throughout the narrative that readers familiar with the original tales will appreciate. However, one does not need to be familiar with the original stories to enjoy this new one. Quense lets the characters find their own paths and uses his free-wheeling, whimsical imagination to create entertaining situations, drive characters together in unexpected ways, and change perspectives to allow for multiple points of view and multiple narrative voices. Readers with a taste for adventure will appreciate Falstaff’s high-seas hunt for pirates, and those looking for romance will find it in a subplot featuring Falstaff’s half-pint sidekick, Poulet. The prose occasionally slips, and the dialogue can be clunky, but the book remains very readable, and its sheer hilarity compensates for any missteps. Readers expecting something profound from a Shakespeare-inspired story will not find that here, but those who want good entertainment will be more than satisfied.

A quirky spin on Shakespeare combined with a funny fantasy/adventure tale.

Pub Date: Aug. 4th, 2012

ISBN: 978-0985779115

Page count: 230pp

Publisher: Strange Worlds Publishing

Program: Kirkus Indie

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25th, 2012

You can get a copy of Falstaff's Big Gamble at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.