I have a knack for finding the middle books of a series, but I very rarely manage to find the first book in the series. And I have again managed to start a series with the second book. I thought I found the first book–but no. I picked up the second and third books of the series. Tcha.
Both In Your Dreams and Earth, Air, Fire, and Custard take place in a company that employs wizards, fairies, goblins, and dragon-slaying heroes. And the stories are centered around a character who, while he has magical abilities, is generally clueless and annoyed by all the weirdness around him.
The plots are unbelievable and you can’t describe them unless you take the length of a book to do it. But I will say that, especially in Earth, Air, Fire, and Custard, that it sometimes seemed like the plot went totally off the rails and into the deep blue absurd. I could follow it, but it really seemed that the book would have made a lot more sense if I had been imbibing a controlled substance. So, if you’re looking for a totally off the wall book, these books are perfect for you. I have rarely seen a more imaginative flight of fancy that didn’t collapse under the weight of its own weirdness.