BOOK REVIEW: Adventure Time Encyclopaedia by Martin Olson (2013)
Inhabitants, Lore, Spells, and Ancient Crypt Warnings of the Land of Ooo Circa 19.56 B.G.E - 501 A.G.E.
This review was originally written in 2015 and posted on Goodreads
This may have been the most disappointing book I've ever read, but that might be my own fault. As soon as I realized there was an Encyclopaedia of Ooo, I bought it, without any further thought. Maybe I should've looked into it.
Nah, I'd have still bought it. Let's not kid ourselves.
My biggest problem with this book is that it is hardly an encyclopedia and more of a gag book of not-that-funny jokes. What I had wanted, when I bought this, was a book of information on the world and its inhabitants that would help expand and enlighten the reader on the fantastic and wonderful world of Ooo.
Instead, I got a sarcastically written book by "Marceline's dad" that spends more time repeating verbose insults than giving any information you wouldn't already have if you've watched the first few seasons of Adventure Time.
It was cool to look at a map, at least. But some of the writing, which is meant to sound like Hunson Abadeer trying to dissuade you from reading because you are unworthy, does exactly that: it dissuades you from reading because it's long and pointless and boring. This book isn't that big and it still took me a few weeks to read because there was not much in it that was new or interesting.
Also, I didn't find it especially entertaining, nor even particularly in-character for some of the characters, including (especially) Abadeer himself.
There were good parts to it, and the art was nice, but overall, this is the first bit of the Adventure Time transmedia that I didn't enjoy.
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