FOOLS ERRANT Matt Hughes Toronto, Maxwell Macmillan Canada, 1994. 214pp, paper, 0-02-954248-0 (cloth) $14.95, ISBN 0-02-590785-9 (paper) $9.95. CIP Reviewed by Melanie Fogel Volume 22 Number 4 1994 September Fools Errant isn't quite as funny as  Gulliver's Travels, but that may be because we are a shallower age, so that exploding our follies and foibles doesn't make quite as big a bang. It isn't as outrageous either, perhaps for the same reasons. But it's a very funny, charming book and well worth the read. It is the Earth's penultimate age, when relict technology seems to work as by magic. Filidor, heir to the Archonate of those regions still inhabited by humans, must deliver a mysterious box to his uncle the Archon, and so begins a journey guided (led by the nose might be a better term) by the aggravatingly wise dwarf Gaskarth. The hapless Filidor undergoes hilariously harrowing adventures, for the most part caused by his failure to understand the excesses of the cultures he encounters. The most entertaining aspect of the book is Hughes' use of language, at which he is a master--more Fielding/Sterne than Swift. To cite one example, Filidor and some travelling companions have been enslaved by a colony of giant ants. The fungus that surrounds them turns out to be a flesh eater. During their rest period in extremely cramped quarters, one of the female travellers is eyeing Filidor concupiscently:      "Madam," he said, "you must accept that      we suffer from a clash of cultural mores      not to mention personal predilections. In      any case," he continued as Chasmar      pressed herself against him and stroked      his thigh, "being covered in spores, we      should afford them no gratuitous      opportunities to invade our bodies." The vocabulary, however, is probably beyond the level of the publishers recommended age thirteen. Many grown-ups will have to consult their dictionaries for "piacularity," "sternutatious" and "hylotheism." Other than speech writing for politicians, this seems to be Hughes' first foray into fiction. Let's hope it's not his last. Highly recommended. Grades 10 and up / Ages 15 and up Melanie Fogel is a freelance writer based in Ottawa, Ontario HOME | TITLES | AUTHORS | MEDIA | AGE/GRADE | FEATURES | DATES The materials in this archive are copyright © The Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission Copyright information for reviewers Digital Collections / Collections Numérisees cm@mts.net