I've read it so many times that I no longer laugh myself sick all the way through, but it cannot be recommended too highly. The
parody extends to the
foreword, the
map (I like "Land of the people with the
medium-sized teeth" tucked away between
Fordor and
Tudor), the
acknowledgements and
reviews, the other books in the
Harvard Lampoon series (David Matzohfield, the Matzoh of Casterbridge, etc.), and the
Prologue concerning
boggies.
This book is predominantly concerned with making money, and from its pages a reader may learn much about the character and the literary integrity of the authors. Of boggies, however, he will discover next to nothing, since anyone in the possession of a mere moiety of his marbles will readily concede that such creatures could exist only in the minds of children of the sort whose childhoods are spent in wicker baskets, and who grow up to be muggers, dog thieves, and insurance salesmen.
Boggies are an "
unattractive but
annoying people" who don't like machines more complicated than a
garotte or a
blackjack, and avoid the Big Folk except when they can assemble in a hundred or so against a lone farmer or hunter. Dwarves refer to them as "the boggie peril". They wear shiny grey suits with narrow
lapels,
alpine hats, and string ties.
Under the Naugahyde brothers Brasso and Drano the boggies settled in the Sty, where they organized a government that would have been considered unusually crude for a colony of cherrystone clams. Little happened until Mr Dildo Bugger went on an expedition with some dwarves and Goodgulf the wizard, and took the ring from Goddam. Our story begins years later.
At the giant pig-out that Dildo throws ("It takes a heap o' vittles to gag a boggie"), he and Frito learn that the Nine Nozdrul are abroad, and Sorhed has rearisen. The other two volunteer Frito to go and throw it away in the Zazu Pits, with his idiot servant Spam, plus the expendable twins Moxie and Pepsi.
In the Evilyn Wood they meet Tim Benzedrine and his chick Hashberry. Then at the Goode Eats & Lodging inn in Whee, where the staff are all dressed as suckling pigs, with false ears, snout, and tail, as they sit amid the Muzak contemplating the "Uncle Piggy's Oink-Oink Burger-on-a-Bun" from the menu, Spam ogles the scantily-clad "piglets".
One of the piglets sidled up to the table for their order as Spam greedily took stock of her big red eyes, crooked blond wig, and hairy legs.
"Youse slobs wanna order yet?" asked the piglet as she teetered uncomfortably on her spiked heels.
"Two Oink-Oink Burgers and two Bow-Wow Specials, please," answered Frito respectfully.
"Somethun' t' ring, uh, I mean, drink, sir?"
"Just four Orca-Colas, thank you."
As the waitress lurched off, wobbling on her heels and tripping over her long, black scabbard, Frito surveyed the crowd for anyone suspicious.
(The Strider character they meet is in fact called
Stomper.) And I could keep on summarizing until the cows come home, in fact there are a couple of
Jerseys nuzzling at the front door right now, but that's enough for one node. Drive carefully and don't take any
oaken thruppences.
The Lampoon also did Doon, a parody of Dune.