Simon Dale and the Pink Hippopotamus (Uncommon Adventures 1) by Dieter Moitzi
Genre | Gay / Urban Fantasy / Elves/Fairies/Sidhe / Psychic Powers / Vampires / Romance / Action/Adventure |
Reviewed by | Serena Yates on 03-January-2025 |
Genre | Gay / Urban Fantasy / Elves/Fairies/Sidhe / Psychic Powers / Vampires / Romance / Action/Adventure |
Reviewed by | Serena Yates on 03-January-2025 |
Young Brit Simon Dale has just obtained his master’s degree in political science and moved to his mother’s hometown Paris to look for a job. Unexpectedly, he is hired by an international agency he has never heard of before—the UNBUA or United Nations Bureau of Uncommon Affairs.
His new boss, Undersecretary Rodelio de Montferrat, turns out to be devastatingly handsome, reckless, and more than just a bit odd. Only an hour after Simon’s job interview, they are both on a plane headed to Luxor. It seems that the Egyptian president has been attacked, and they are supposed to investigate the incident.
Little does Simon know what awaits him. Even in his wildest dreams, he couldn’t have guessed it, either. “Odd” doesn’t even begin to describe the creatures he’s about to meet, the adventures he’s going to live, and the dangerous situations he must face.
Probably, the word “uncommon” should have set him thinking from the get-go…
What an adventure! This novel goes from surprise to unexpected turn to hilarious twist – and never let me take a breath or relax for even a moment. Simon and Rodelio made me laugh more than once, and the many unpredictable situations they found themselves in were “uncommon” indeed. Dieter Moitzi has built a most extraordinary world, inhabited by some known and some newly revealed supernatural creatures and forces that made me forget reality.
Simon is a somewhat naïve young man and seeing the world he finds himself in through his eyes was a lot of fun. He stumbles into a job he does not know why he got nor how to do and discovers things about himself that make him think he is not who he thought he was. Yet nothing is explicit so that by the end I was hoping for a second volume in this series to see whether his (and my) suspicions are right.
Rodelio is everything a vampire can be – mysterious, handsome, a little arrogant – and also a bit more. He is an enigmatic boss with more than one surprise up his proverbial sleeves. As it turns out, he can be taken by surprise as much as the next person and is not always as quick on the uptake as you might expect a vampire of his age to be. These small flaws (if you can call them that) make him a little more approachable and help Simon realize that there is a “man” behind the “façade.”
The secondary characters, from Simon’s father and his new work colleagues to the surprising creatures they discover, are an important part of this story and make this world come alive. The supernatural agency – UNBUA – Simon now works for is mysterious and as bureaucratic as any human organization, and the mystery Simon and Rodelio are sent to solve turns out to be a lot more mysterious than expected. Absolutely wonderful!
If you like supernatural adventures, if main characters with some flaws and more than a few secrets intrigue you, and if you’re looking for a novel that will hold you in its spell from beginning to end, then you will probably like this book as much as I did. I cannot wait for the next installment!
DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the author for the purpose of a review.
Format | ebook and print |
Length | Novel, 341 pages |
Heat Level | |
Publication Date | 10-January-2024 |
Price | $3.90 ebook, $15.90 paperback |
Buy Link | https://www.amazon.com/Simon-Dale-Hippopotamus-Uncommon-Adventures-ebook/dp/B0CPYTMCH4 |