Dr Gnoll - Geoff Habiger and Coy Kissee

Published as an ebook by Shadow Dragon Press: Tijeras, New Mexico, 2026.

Comedy is hard to write. What seems hilarious to one person can come across as just-plain-dumb or confusing to another. 

Or, just not that funny.

Dr Gnoll is meant to be a comedy. It is loosely a parody of James Bond, particularly 'Dr No.' It is also billed as a humour-filled parody of "everything from spy movies, role-playing games, and video games." I appreciate what the authors are intending to do here.

I just didn't find it that funny.

The 'humour' comes from wordplay (such as Dr Gnoll being a gnoll, James Bond's Q becoming "Kew", and the lead female being called Maxine Charisma), some innuendo (particularly regarding the MacGuffin rod that Dr Gnoll is after, and the way it is described once Dr Gnoll has it), and then very out-of-place references to the fictionality of the world being described. 

This latter element is a little jarring at times, as it is referenced so sparingly as to not fit the world consistently. The main characters refer to "saving throws" or that a nasty fall "maxes out at 20d6 damage", which makes it seem as though the characters are in a D&D style role-playing game. But why? Humour doesn't seem a strong enough reason, particularly as characters in a role-playing game shouldn't be aware of such features! 

Flint Dagger - our main character and James Bond proxy - also travels by "plot travel" more than once, turning up in a new location instantly because it is convenient to the plot. The other characters travelling with him acknowledge their surprise that this has happened, and Flint brushes it off as something that often happens, without any further in-universe explanation.

....hilarious?

If the world of Dr Gnoll was consistently outlandish and (for lack of a better term) "parody-ical" then such in-universe suspension of disbelief might be earned, but the attempts at humour are too sparse to fall into full-on comedy. Instead, we get a plot that is reminiscient of Dr No but in a fantasy world. A plot that, despite the bad puns, is generally played 'straight.'

Sadly, even in terms of its plot, the book is not that well written. Certain phrases or sentences run on in awkward ways, which could have been addressed with a few more careful edits, or even reading them back out loud. At one point a character remarks: "Dr Gnoll is up to something more nefarious than buying magic items faster than an adventurer thinking they are going to go slay a dragon." (chapter 5)

Awkward.

As you can probably tell, I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. That's not to say it didn't have some charms - the concept for the book is fun, and with a few more jokes or a bit more editing I could see it becoming something special.

Perhaps that is another reason why this particular version didn't do it for me.

Dr Gnoll is not a book I will revisit. Go read (or watch) Dr No instead.

Completed 2 June 2026.

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