Expecting Someone Taller, a humourous fantasy novel by Tom Holt

Expecting Someone Taller

Cover by
Steve Lee

Cover by
Josh Kirby

Cover by
MacDonald

Click on the covers
for a larger image

You can order the book online from the following bookstores:
Amazon.co.uk (Europe): Paperback
Amazon.com (US): Paperback
Amazon.de (Deutschland): Expecting Someone Taller

First published 1987
ISBN, paperback: 1-85723-181-3
ISBN, paperback: 0-70888-369-9
218 pages.
This book has also been published (February 2002) in the omnibus Expecting Beowulf. (Available in US only)

Expecting Someone Taller...what they got was Malcolm!
The back of the book says:

All he did was run over a badger - sad, but hardly catastrophic. But it wasn't Malcolm Fisher's day, for the badger turned out to be none other than Inglof, last of the Giants. With his dying breath, he reluctantly handed to Malcolm two Gifts of Power, and made him ruler of the world.
But can Malcolm cope with the responsibilty? Whilst averting wars, plagues and famines, he also has to protect himself against gods, dwarves, valkyries and other nefarious manifestations of the Dark Ages - none of whom think he is right for the job ...

The book have been published with three different covers.
When first published by Macmillan, MacDonald made the cover. When Tom Holt changed publisher to Orbit, Josh Kirby made the covers for the first two novels. Later on they switched cover artist to Steve Lee, which has made most of the covers to Tom Holts books.
Read more about the cover artists in the FAQ.

After reading this book I scribbled down this on the 31st of March 1997:

It's for sure that Malcolm didn't intended to run over the poor badger, but there you are. Imagine his surprise when the Badger turns out to be Inglof, one of the last Giants. Before Inglof enter the stadium called definetly-quite-dead-and-not-moving-at-all he, very much reluctantly, makes Malcolm the ruler of the world.
Malcolm didn't expect this at all, at least not from a badger, or at least not from a dying badger...
Life is never going to be the same for Malcolm who was used to quite living, now he's one of the most popular beings in the world, that is, the Gods don't think his the right bloke for the job, so they try to convince him to put his responsibilities on someone more suitable. This was Tom Holt's debut in the comic fantasy genre. Many Gods, Norns, Dwarves, Valkyries, Giants involved and one gets to learn that the Wagner didn't have much right about the story of the Tarnhelm.
I read this book over the easter-holiday and I can assure you that it was a very nice way to spend the evenings, not as good as plain sex, but still much fun.

This book is also being developed for the theatre: Musical/Theatre: Expecting Someone Taller.

Quotes from this book can be found in the quote-files.

Other people's reviews of this book

review 1 - review 2 - review 3 - review 4 - review 5 - Tom Knapp's review - Jim Loy's review
Rebecca Swains's review of the book

If you have read this book and have written down your thoughts, please mail me the location of your review and I will link it from here.

This book has also been translated to German.

What critics have said

`Intelligent, original and solidly entertaining...a superb debut'
Michael Moorcook

`Tom Holt will one day rank with....P G Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh'
Northern Times

`Ranks with the best in the genre,
mixing the cosmic and the comic with sensational effect!'
Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine

`Recalls both Tolkiens Lord of The Rings
and Twain's Connecticut Yankee...
An entertaining romp'
Publishers Weekly

`Literate, light-fiction, an under-appreciated genre of which Tom Holt has made himself a modern master.'
Washington Post

`Terry Pratchett has now a rival in comic fantasy.'
Daily Telegraph

Quote from Expecting Someone Taller
In fact, as they will be delighted to tell you,
Taunton is no longer a one-horse town; these days,
they have a bicycle as well.

(Tom Holt, "Expecting Someone Taller")

You can order this book online from
Amazon.co.uk: Expecting Someone Taller

http://www.edlin.org / holt

Contact: emsworth@gmx.net

All stories/filksongs is written by Tom Holt, and not by me.
This is a fan-page about Tom Holt, made by me: Calle,
Tom Holt is in no way responsible for whatever I put up or write here.