Every Inch a King
by Harry Turtledove
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Description
Otto of Schlepsig is risking his neck as an acrobat in a third-rate circus in the middle of nowhere when news arrives that the land of Shqiperi has invited Prince Halim Eddin to become its new king. Otto doesn't know the prince from Adam, but he does happen to look just like him--a coincidence that inspires Otto with a mad plan to assume Halim's identity and rule in his stead. True, Shqiperi is an uncivilized backwater, but even in uncivilized backwaters kings live better than acrobats. show more Plus, kingship in Shqiperi comes with a harem. Rank, as they say, has its privileges. With his friend Max, a sword-swallowing giant whose chronic cough makes every performance a potential tonsillectomy, Otto embarks on a rollicking journey filled with feats of derring-do, wondrous magic, and beautiful maidens--well, beautiful women. And that's before he enters a royal world that is truly fantastical. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Based on a real event in the Balkans before World War I, this amusing fantasy includes some of Turtledove's patented awful puns, literary references (to Borges, inter alia), and pop culture references (to Viagra, of all things).
Not the usual Turtledove. It wasn't bad, just not what I was expecting - and not as funny as it could have been.
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112 works; 10 members
Author Information
279+ Works 43,084 Members
Harry Turtledove was born in Los Angeles, California on June 14, 1949. He received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history from UCLA in 1977. From the late 1970's to the early 1980's, he worked as a technical writer for the Los Angeles County Office of Education. He left in 1991 to become full-time writer. His first two novels, Wereblood and Werenight, were show more published in 1979 under the pseudonym Eric G. Iverson because his editor did not think people would believe that Turtledove was his real name. He used this name until 1985 when he published Herbig-Haro and And So to Bed under his real name. He has received numerous awards including the Homer Award for Short Story for Designated Hitter in 1990, the John Esthen Cook Award for Southern Fiction for Guns of the Southand in 1993, and the Hugo Award for Novella for Down in the Bottomlands in 1994. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2005
- People/Characters
- Otto of Schlepsig; Max of Witte; Esad Pasha; Zogu; José-Diego
- Important places
- Shqiperi; Lokris
- First words
- I'm Otto of Schlepsig.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Yes," I said, and we stood there together in the warm sunshine.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 62
- Popularity
- 498,182
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.25)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
