The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove

Christopher Moore has a fluid and yet compact writing style that is descriptive enough to flow swiftly without tedium. What separates him from the rest of the pack are the fantastical events he unfolds in his comedic tales. A great Sea Beast awakens from his slumber, feeling a bit randy and ready to emerge. When he finds a tanker truck refueling at a gas station in Pine Cove, he mistakes its purring engines for a come-on signal from a female. However, mounting a gas tanker may have dire consequences, and our Sea Beast is badly burned in the process. He makes his way to a nearby trailer park, where he alters his outward appearance to look like just another trailer while he heals from his tanker encounter. He parks himself next to Molly Michon's trailer, an ex B-Movie queen with mental problems. She is the only one who knows the trailer is alive, and promptly names him Steve. The town of Pine Cove is a small, usually quiet tourist town, until Bess Leander, seemingly the queen of domestic bliss, commits suicide. Local psychiatrist Val Riordan blames herself for not paying enough attention to her clients, and promptly takes her entire patient list off of their antidepressants, while stoner constable Theophilius Crowe realizes there is something suspicious about Bess's death and decides to investigate despite the warnings of the county sheriff to just let it go. `Lust Lizard' is rich with colorful characters, fantastical delusions, a crusty bartender, some wonderful tie-in's to Moore's `Practical Demonkeeping', blues music, and a tasty peek into the mind of a lustful Sea Beast named Steve. And when Steve's feelings of lust bleed out into the human population, feelings explode into passionate actions. While through all of this, Theo must not only discover why everyone is behaving strangely, but what is behind the death of Bess Leander. One of the things I loved about `Lust Lizard' was Moore's addition of a character named Gabe Fenton, who is a scientist doing studies of the rat colonies around Pine Cove. Some of the similarities between Gabe's rats and the human colonies that surround us are worthy of pondering, comparing the behavior of one species as a herd to our own was very tongue in cheek and yet hilarious once noted and accepted. All in all, The Lust Lizard Of Melancholy Cove is a very funny romp into the human mind and the antics of an ancient creature named Steve. A worthwhile read. Enjoy!

Utterly delightful! Couldn’t put it down, and will presently go get the next book in the series. From smirks to snerks, titters to laughs, well written with enough heart to keep things interesting. Great characters!

Another fun romp from Moore. Going on to the next! Ten more words required my rear end, Amazon review bot. Bite me.

I enjoyed this book. I read it quickly and with a considerable amount of snickering. This is the perfect book to read if you want humor and a mostly happy ending. Christopher Moore is a quirky and hilarious author

Brief Synopsis: 'Lust Lizard' is set in Pine Cove, a small coastal town in Cali where the majority of the town has been taken off their anti-depressants on a whim by the one psychiatrist in town. There is a enormous sea creature masquerading as a trailer who happens to make people very horny (yes you read that sentence right). While all of this is happening, there is a underbelly of crime just simmering and waiting to overflow. Sound fun? Well it is. Unlike Moore's other books, this one does take a while to get going. The absurd and hilarious doesn't present itself much before 70 to 80 pages in, but to his credit, he is developing characters during that time. Each chapter is written with intention to focus on the thought process of one character. Every character has his or her own sense of charm and quirky habits. You have a stoner constable who is best friends with a recluse biologist who owns a dog named Skinner (funniest internal monologue btw). Those are just three of many. Each character gets ample time to develop, and each forms their own tapestry very well. There is nothing amazing or outstanding about the plot. The elements are all incredibly odd and don't seem like they would mesh quite right. (How can you expect a leather clad, broad sword wielding warrior princess to mix with a 80 year old blues singer???) But somehow it works. Yet, it all boils down to a simple, easy read. It's all in the presentation that makes this a hilarious ride. This books goes places you would never expect with characters that you would never imagine. Its a great read, one you should take.

I chose this for the title (for a reading challenge, category “the weirdest book title you can find”) and because I have read and enjoyed several of Christopher Moore’s books. I love his humor and hilarious way with language. This book is somewhat of a miss for me, though, due to the story being built around a gigantic sea monster / lizard / dragon. I enjoyed reading about the people of Pine (Melancholy) Cove, but I could have done without the sea monster (Lust Lizard). The idea that a sea monster could incite libidinous inclinations in all the townspeople suffering from low levels of serotonin was a bit much for me, as was the inter-species, ahem, romance. And, yes, if you are wondering, the details are explicit and raunchy. The first of Moore’s books I read was Lamb, which is one of my most favorite books. I also read A Dirty Job and Secondhand Souls, and loved both of them as well. I came to this book expecting a similar experience. I did laugh at loud in a few places, but ultimately the whole premise of the story was too much of a stretch for me.

I had read 'Practical Demon Keeping' (several times) years ago, and to my lasting shame, I did not know there was more from the same 'pen'. The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove was one of the best, and funniest, books I have read in years. I especially love the way Christopher Moore breaks each 'chapter' up into sub-chapters specific to an individual, that goes to making the whole complete. Never a dull moment, and so many twists and turns it was mesmerising! I am not going to buy any more of his books for a while, a) to keep the 'vibe' fresh, and (b) because I cannot trust myself not to read them cover to cover in one sitting as I did with this one. Although, having said that, even the best intentions are thwarted by the works of an outstanding author, and I have ordered two others in spite of myself.

Absurdly silly but Oh So Clever and hilarious .. I belly laughed my way thru this book. Christopher Moors is a very clever writer but dreadfully evil and naughty with his humour and imagination ..

This is the book that made me fall in love with Christopher Moore's zany work! A small town shrink decided to switch all her patients' mood-elevators to placebos after she becomes convinced that her lip-service treatment has caused a patient's suicide. At the same time, a giant sea-monster exuding powerful pheromones is attracted to this little town by the sound of his old nemesis' blues guitar. A pot-head deputy and disgraced B-movie actress charge in to save the day. This incredibly clever and rib-cracking funny novel is a mood-elevator! Moore's often ridiculous anti-heroes are so lovable, and they feel oddly real despite their caricature-like personalities. As for his twisted story-line, they might make you question the writer's sanity, but in the best possible way. I also highly recommend Moore's other novels "Fluke", "A Dirty Job", "Lamb" and "Fool".

Not so funny as it could be, but good. The last quarter the story speeds up and gets better and better page by page :)

Christopher Moore has again made a very entertaining, if slightly left of centre page turner. Read it, you'll enjoy it.