Cracking pace. Fraught, funny writing style - but awful to think that this really is our world. It's a fictionalized eye-opener to the recreational drug-fuelled forces behind prostitution and sex slavery. Very adult themes.

Ben Elton is always good fun!

Easy quick read which I enjoyed a lot. Not really deserving of 4 stars - more like 3 and a half but rounded up as it engaged me throughout. It's a bit preachy in places (which is mildly annoying but to be expected from Ben 'lil bitta politics' Elton) but each of the main characters is a good enough mix of endearing and annoying to be captivating enough to carry you through, despite not being 100% believable as actual humans rather than symbols of an idea that the author needed to convey. I think Mr E has got progressively better as a writer: his first few were actually fairly awful, and his most recent (that I've read) have been really good. This one is kinda mid-period, and has some of the irritating features of his earlier stuff but is much more agreeable as a proper story in its own right rather than just a vehicle for polemic and/or comedy value.

I have only recently discovered Ben Elton as an author, humour being one of my favourite genres and I used to love his stand up shows and his witty, clever one-liners on tv in the past. Now, I want more…more of his sceptical, sometimes depressing, satirical view on life. And I still hear his voice telling the story. This book draws our attention back to the ever-present drug debate through the interlocking characters’ stories - they are in part gruesome and exaggerated but believable.

Typical Ben Elton. Very enjoyable.

Another great read from this author. Entertaining but at the same time hitting hard on life as it actually is.

MP Peter Paget has an idea that will solve the drugs crisis in the UK – a very simple one – if we legalise all drugs and set up a licensed supply chain, we could quite literally pull the rug from under the feet of the drug barons. Ben Elton puts this idea forward in a very entertaining, readable way. I found myself having some agreement with him during this read, which I have to say I didn’t find particularly laugh out loud funny, but I did really enjoy. It is told in a series of short and sharp chapters featuring a number of characters across a wide spectrum of society, who are all affected by the drugs trade. We had a drug mule stuck in a Bangkok jail, the young couple so obsessed with where their next fix is coming from that their baby son is starving to death, the society “it” girl, so out of her brain that she is putting herself in danger. By far the most moving though is the story of Jessie, young and naïve she is “captured” and forced into a life of prostitution to feed the habit that her pimps have deliberately given her.

One of the main characters is Tommy Hanson, gobby pop star who tells his story at his local AA/NA meetings. I have to say I found him really irritating, cocky and just plain annoying. This was the only real weakness in the story for me, because when he is telling his story he doesn’t show many signs of regret, especially at the start where he really comes across as just showing off to the other AA members. Imagine Liam Gallagher posturing at AA/NA and you have the general idea of the image that comes to mind with Tommy Hanson.

It is a dark read, full of unlikeable characters and one that really shows the despair, humiliation and degradation that comes with a drug habit. It is not a pleasant read at all, but is one that is thought provoking. It really did make me think about where I stood in the debate.

I really enjoyed this book, though I didn't really see it as comedy for the majority of it, to be honest. There were a couple of parts that made me smile ironically, but the real interest for me was in Jessie's story, despite the improbabilities of its ending. I'm not really a fan of the "all the main characters are connected in some way" trope unless it's done really, really well, but the writing and the satire was good enough overall for me to forgive that. I am interested in having a look at some of his other stuff as a result of this book though, so it must have done the job in some way!

I don't know, I mean it was ok as a story. A little far-fetched in places, it seemed like he was trying too hard to sound qualified to write a story about hard drugs. He attempts using street phrases and he just didn't come across as authentic. An interesting theory, but an utterly implausible one, is the basis for this book which means I think it was always going to struggle. It was just more bland than witty and had no literary style

this book radicalised me

Strap in its going to be a bumpy ride.

Many layers! Dark and dystopian in style. Fast paced, complex and compelling. Dealing with drugs, politics, perception and lies. Very clever and thought provoking story telling skills. Read it very quickly as I loved the style, hard hitting, provocative and most importantly entertaining and fun to read.I felt the end justified the means.

Ben Elton never disappoints.
I won't give the plot away but I love the way Ben Elton keeps the pace going and the chapters short and sharp so we can read for short periods and not lose track of the story if we are busy with other things in life.
A few twists and sub plots which somehow work into each other towards the end and , although it's a fictional piece, you could see how this could happen in reality.
Loved it!