Review: Service Goat

Service Goat by Piers Anthony
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Service Goat is one of those reads where I wasn’t quite one hundred percent sure what I was getting into.

It seemed like such a basic concept, and yet there was more to it than I’d expected. There was a much deeper story than a mere investigation into the possible alien goat. It was one of those stories where you can see so much more, if you’re willing to stop and think for a few moments. It’s so simple, so straightforward, and yet there is much more than you’d imagine.

I fear saying too much, however. It’s such a short read that any information I give will offer up some kind of spoiler. Just know there is more to the story than the synopsis will have you believing.

Despite the hidden depth of the story, I found I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it as much as I had wanted to. Whilst the story offered up much more than I’d initially imagined, the characters left a lot to be desired. Most of the characters felt flat, so much so that they were interchangeable. They were supposed to come from different walks of life, and yet they all read the same. Moreover, even without this factor, I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy any of them. I wanted to enjoy them, and yet they didn’t have the depth I’d been hoping they would.

Moreover, I felt somewhat… well, confused is the best word I can think to use. The story felt as though it would be perfectly suitable for children, and yet there was a lot of sex. It wasn’t graphic or anything, it simply didn’t fit with the feel of the overall story. It felt as though it was thrown in pointlessly. Furthermore, one of the characters felt as though she was thrown in simply for this purpose. It simply didn’t feel right with the overall experience of the story. It just felt off to me.

Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable enough read. It was something different, something I could quickly complete.

As a final note, I would like to thank Dreaming Big Publications for contacting me for a review.

View all my reviews