an icepick through the keyhole

It is. Or, well, it's a send-up of guidebooks as well as of the genre, sort of.

The entry on horses alone is worth the price of the book: "Horses are of a breed unique to Fantasyland. They are capable of galloping full-tilt all day without a rest. Sometimes they do not require food or water. They never cast shoes, go lame or put their hooves down holes, except when the Management deems it necessary, as when the forces of the DARK LORD are only half an hour behind."

It goes on like that. Really funny stuff.