THE MOUSE THAT SAVED THE WEST

by Leonard Wibberley ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 22, 1981

The True and Secret History of How the World Oil Crisis Was Solved by the Duchy of Grand Fenwick""--in a blandly whimsical sequel to The Mouse That Roared which becomes truly funny only if you imagine the late, great Peter Sellers again playing all the key roles. The idea here is that the energy crisis has hit little Grand Fenwick hard--no hot water at the castle--so the Count of Mountjoy (""either the smartest statesman since Marchiavelli or the biggest fool ever to hold public office"") is determined to solve the crisis. His first plan: he'll give the Saudi Arabians the Q-bomb to protect them from Russia and to foster a ""power equilibrium"" which will end the oil-as-defensive-weapon syndrome. His second plan: he goes along with altruistic oil mogul Alfonso Birelli in a scheme whereby Birelli will secretly acquire two billion barrels of oil and pretend that they've come from a brand-new oil source--Grand Fenwick (thus lowering world prices). But though the schemers hire the two ""worst geologists in Switzerland"" to help fake this oil strike (""Let's look for more of those rocks with the eensy weensy shells in them""), oil is really found in Grand Fenwick--a development that's almost as cataclysmic as the discovery of a new, free energy source (""bird water"") by Grand Fenwick's Dr. Kokintz. Pleasant, though a bit too talky when the oil-economics is being explained: a just-passable sequel, with a handful of good chuckles, for Mouse enthusiasts.

Pub Date: April 22, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1981

Categories: FICTION