Have to admit to finding the character stereotypes a little irritating initially and the storyline a little sluggish. The turning point was when the young girl went cold turkey. I was compelled to carry on as I do wanted to know her destiny

Some people may find it irritating that the author progresses the story by having various different characters narrate the events, hence the four stars.
I was not at all put off by this, however. Each character adds his or her own knowledge and experience to the storyline, building an overall picture of the drug culture in Britain.
Being a Ben Elton, however, the book is not without its quirkier moments (I especially enjoyed the representations of the Birmingham, or "Brummie" accent) and there are plenty of twists and turns in the plot leading up to its optimistic ending.
A book that sets the reader thinking and one I would highly recommend.

3.5/5

I really enjoy Ben Elton’s books. This one is very readable with lots of dark humour. The characters are well developed and you find yourself immersed in their individual stories. The Pop Star Tommy was highly irritating but really showed the grip of fame on society. The drugs stories are detailed and disturbing and therefore the idea of legalising them via one of the main characters Peter Pagent MP becomes intriguing and even possible.

The ending is shocking, dark and quite savage. I was genuinely amazed at the level that we descended to at the end, and although there is a little light at the end of the tunnel, this is no happily ever after.

Thought provoking, which I love in a book.

Peter Paget is a politician who is putting forward to private member's bill to legalize all drugs in the UK. Interwoven with Peter's own rise to fame and subsequent downfall, this novel also follows other members of "high society" from junkies to popstars. An entertaining read overall.

It took me a while to get through the book, but there was the point somewhere along the way where the stories were slowly coming together and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. This book is brilliant and is a clever way to explore a societal issue from different angles

It's ok. You can definitely tell Ben Elton wrote it as it has a ferocious pace and delivery to it. There isn't a shyness about the subject matter either.

I didn't find it as funny as others and found it to be a bit too on the lecture-y side of things. But I do think the subject matter is interesting and it does highlight some of the absurdities and corruption around keeping drugs illegal. The characters are reasonably fleshed out too, enough to tell compelling stories with them.

I read this when it first came out and it’s still a really good story showing all the different types of drug use and how drugs affect people in millions of different ways. It does feel a bit dated now, but still worth reading.

An extremely graphic but sadly realistic take on the diverse problems relating to the prevalence of illicit drugs, on both high and low society. The story focuses on three main characters - MP Peter Paget, who is introducing a revolutionary members bill to legalise all drugs in an effort to better control and profit from them; Tommy Hanson, a pop sensation who makes no secret of his widespread and constant use of all kinds of drugs; and Jessie, an abused and homeless teenager who is forced into a life of prostitution and heroin addiction. These exaggerated but somehow relatable characters get up to some darkly funny adventures while trying to understand publicise, legalise, find and escape from drugs in a truly wild ride of a story.

A very interesting reflection on our society. Ben Elton is always a delight.

Highly recommend, a bit hard to get into at the start but very well written in the end.

Ben Elton seems to have been quite a household name. That being said, it has taken me ages to read any of his work. Going off Goodreads reviews, he seems not to be the most respected of authors. I really enjoyed this book however. I mean, it wasn't perfect. The characters were well drawn but not especially likeable - save Jesse, the Scottish heroin addict. It had some humour but more than anything I found this story to be depressing and dark. Particularly the end of it all. The whole thing ends on quite a downer. Though Peter Paget really made his own bed and deserved to lie in it, I couldn't help feeling sorry for the poor guy. Tommy Hanson was equally entertaining and obnoxious. Some stories such as Inspector Leaman - (I listened to this on audio tape so aplogise for any incorrect spelling) - kind of fell apart into nothing. I liked it when he went after those two corrupt cops, but otherwise his was a character wasted.

All in all, I really liked this and am tempted to give it four stars. I think, however, it is one of those cases where the ending covered over some of the mediocrity from before.