These characters were fine, but didn’t jump out to me as anything new or special. I liked some of their backstories and character arcs, especially Faucon the halfling’s journey, but overall I wasn’t wowed. And furthermore, I wasn’t as invested in this plot as I was in the previous book, Kill the Farm Boy. Sure, it was entertaining enough, but some of the humor didn’t quite work for me. I think part of my problem with this book was that it was less of a parody than Farm Boy. Certainly, this is still full of fun anachronisms, puns, and familiar tropes, but it reads more like a wacky but more typical light fantasy. It seems to take itself more seriously this time almost, and so fell a bit short of my expectations, as I was expecting something more in the same vein as its predecessor.

In the end, though, No Country For Old Gnomes is a silly book, with lots of Tolkien references in particular, with some entertaining characters and an overall interesting storyline. However, following the irreverent but still affectionate parody present in the first in the series, this book feels inferior. The writing is good, and the ideas are clever, but I personally feel it could have been executed slightly better.