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With Strings Attached, or The Big Pink Job
With Strings Attached, or The Big Pink Job, is a major epic fantasy whose main characters are the Beatles (well the ex-Beatles, given that it's set in 1980). One April morning the four awaken on another planet! Terrified, furious, and homesick, they must endure the insanity of two different civilizations, and the ministration of three obnoxious aliens, during their struggle to find out what's going on and how to get home. Eventually they find themselves spectacularly equipped to embark on a quest that, if successful, will remove a curse on a continent. Too bad they detest the place and its people... and too bad that not everyone wants them to succeed....A serious contribution to the overall literature of fantasy and often hysterically funny, as well as a sly and skewed parallel to their real experiences as Beatles, Strings is also distinguished by being the only fantasy ever written with four comitted pacifists as the protagonists. Yet it's filled with action, adventure, mystery, and even a touch of philosophy. Twenty-nine years in the writing, Strings has been praised for its very realistic depiction of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, whose book personalities are based on their real ones, not those created for their movies. There are also many entertaining secondary characters who help or hinder the four on their not entirely unwelcome journey across planets and universes. And then there's magic. Oh, yeah.
816 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 4, 2011
2 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 26, 2018
When I first heard about this book, I admit that I thought the concept of it -- a fantasy in which the four musicians collectively known to most of the world as The Beatles were thrust into another world -- was strange. But the oddness of it was itself enough to pique my interest. I like my stories to be outside the norm, and I figured that if nothing else, this would be an entertaining read. And boy, was I right. Rothschild not only gives us an entertaining romp, but she gives us four heroes who are snarky but sympathetic, and who aren't afraid to take jabs at the fantasy world they've landed in... and said fantasy world manages to subvert or mix up many of the standard cliches in refreshing and fascinating ways.
"With Strings Attached" follows four of the most famous musicians in the world -- Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr -- as they're yanked away from Earth and unceremoniously dumped onto the world of C'hou. Years younger than they were when they started out and thoroughly confused as to what's going on, the foursome sets out to find some trace of civilization... and immediately run into trouble with the locals. Soon the Fab Four find themselves embroiled in a high-stakes adventure involving gods, magic, alternate universes, and a powerful relic that could hold the power to send them home... or wreck C'hou and strand them forever. And that's not even taking into account other powerful beings who have their own reasons for meddling with the four's quest, some of which are far more selfish than others...
While reading "With Strings Attached," I couldn't help but wonder what the surviving Beatles might think if they ever got around to reading it themselves. I don't think they'd be disappointed with their portrayals, however -- Rothschild does a good job of keeping the four to their real-world personalities, and incorporating real details from their lives instead of inventing her own or falling back on their fictional personas from their films. And while the four of them acquire enormous powers over the course of the novel, they do take time getting accustomed to them and discovering the full extent of their abilities... and their desire to solve problems without killing the other party involved often complicates their quests.
The fantasy world Rothschild has constructed is a strange yet fascinating one, and often either subverts or just plain makes fun of some of the common cliches of fantasy worlds and magic in general. She's given us several unique civilizations, each with their own eccentricities and distinct culture, and isn't above pointing out how silly some of these aspects are. The writing is a little clunky in parts, and I found a few spelling errors as I read, but that doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel as a whole.
One of the strangest but most entertaining fantasies I've ever read, "With Strings Attached" was a wild ride from start to finish, and left me with a big smile on my face as I read. I'm eager to pick up the sequel and see what other adventures John, Paul, George, and Ringo get up to.
"With Strings Attached" follows four of the most famous musicians in the world -- Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr -- as they're yanked away from Earth and unceremoniously dumped onto the world of C'hou. Years younger than they were when they started out and thoroughly confused as to what's going on, the foursome sets out to find some trace of civilization... and immediately run into trouble with the locals. Soon the Fab Four find themselves embroiled in a high-stakes adventure involving gods, magic, alternate universes, and a powerful relic that could hold the power to send them home... or wreck C'hou and strand them forever. And that's not even taking into account other powerful beings who have their own reasons for meddling with the four's quest, some of which are far more selfish than others...
While reading "With Strings Attached," I couldn't help but wonder what the surviving Beatles might think if they ever got around to reading it themselves. I don't think they'd be disappointed with their portrayals, however -- Rothschild does a good job of keeping the four to their real-world personalities, and incorporating real details from their lives instead of inventing her own or falling back on their fictional personas from their films. And while the four of them acquire enormous powers over the course of the novel, they do take time getting accustomed to them and discovering the full extent of their abilities... and their desire to solve problems without killing the other party involved often complicates their quests.
The fantasy world Rothschild has constructed is a strange yet fascinating one, and often either subverts or just plain makes fun of some of the common cliches of fantasy worlds and magic in general. She's given us several unique civilizations, each with their own eccentricities and distinct culture, and isn't above pointing out how silly some of these aspects are. The writing is a little clunky in parts, and I found a few spelling errors as I read, but that doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel as a whole.
One of the strangest but most entertaining fantasies I've ever read, "With Strings Attached" was a wild ride from start to finish, and left me with a big smile on my face as I read. I'm eager to pick up the sequel and see what other adventures John, Paul, George, and Ringo get up to.
August 10, 2018
What fun! I didn't want to put it down - had to keep reading, had to see what happened next - how George, John, Paul and Ringo would handle the next challenge, and the next. With multiple intriguing fantasy worlds and touches of sci-fi well-blended together, "With Strings Attached" is an enjoyable read!
September 17, 2022
This book is difficult for me to talk about due to the sheer insanity of the premise. What if aliens kidnap the Beatles to play in their D&D world? It sounds absolutely mad, but the author puts in so much passion and thought into the story and setting that it creates a truly special novel. It has comedy and drama, suspense and sorrow. It takes the stock tropes of fantasy and Isekai and turns them on their heads. I started reading this and I could not put it down. There's just so much charm and wit put into its pages and you can tell the author had a blast writing it-- as much as I did reading it.
March 31, 2017
Really enjoyed this book. Ok, so it is Beatles fanfic, but it is good Beatles fanfic. No Mary Sues, no "let's get the Beatles together to record again" or any of that type of fantasy. It's spring 1980 and the (former) Fab Four get thrown into a bizarre world, with very different rules. If you don't like fantasy or science fiction, this probably isn't for you, but if you enjoy the idea of the Beatles going through a series of oddball adventures, you might want to give it a shot.
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