Sir Apropos of Nothing - Peter David

Peter David is one of my favorite authors, but it's taken me a while to get around to reading Sir Apropos of Nothing.  Once I started, I read it very quickly, which is surprising because I really didn't like the main character for large parts of the book.  That just shows how absorbing the story is. 

Apropos is nobody's idea of a hero - particularly not his own.  He ends up in adventure after adventure, while he's just trying to make his way through life as easily as possible.  Being that this is a fantasy, this means that very little is easy at all.  Since it's a satire on fantasy, things can go even worse than usual. 

It's a rough book (if it were a movie, it would be rated R), but the author is very matter of fact.  He doesn't linger over the rough sections.  They're necessary parts of the story.  It reminded me of the way Monty Python and the Holy Grail gave a much more realistic impression of the Middle Ages than many movies did ("There's some lovely filth over here!").  The princess isn't ideal, or even nice.  Neither are the knights. 

I can't say that I ever really liked Apropos, but I'm going to read the next book.  I already have it out of the library.  I guess that's a recommendation.