Elton has a lot of fun with this one. Strange to think it’s around 30 years old as many of the topics are still prescient. A very enjoyable read.

Areal disappointment. I kept hoping that the characters would grow on me or that I'd find another level of humour but it just never happened. I've read other books by Ben Elton and enjoyed them but this one just didn't work.

Premise One: everything is interconnected. Premise Two: everyone is guilty. Premise Three: it remains possible to pull a happy ending out of a universal cesspool. Ben Elton’s third novel is a vaguely futuristic saga (in harmony with his first two) about an Earth that, in the words of Tom Waits, “died screaming.” The dividing lines between capitalist polluters and Eco-friendly activists are, however, even more under erasure than they were in STARK and GRIDLOCK. Hence #2, above. It is a novel of mutually assured destruction that has nothing to do with nuclear weapons, and it makes a plausible case for the notion that the most dangerous species on Earth is homo sapiens.

Excellent satire with page turning suspense.

In isolation, it's a fine yarn. It's just a pity he'd already written it four years earlier in Stark. Same impending environmental catastrophe, similar evil billionaire, similar hapless rebels, different dastardly solution.

I've read most of Ben Eltons books and this one disappointed a bit, and it was only when I realised it was written in 1993 did I understand why - some of the boo has already been realised - media crossover and blatant manipulation (are you reading this Simon Cowell?). Overall though it doesn't hang together quite as well as his more recent works.

A very insightful and interesting take on the social and political aspects of climet change.

It is sometime in the future and the world is in bad shape with regard to the environment. Plastic Tolstoy is all about marketing. He has created and sells the Claustrosphere. Only the rich can afford them, but that’s where people (those who could afford them) intend to go once the air is no longer breathable and water is no longer drinkable. Well, that’s already happening, but the effects are being staved off as much as possible. There is still an environmental movement, though, that believes that the Earth can be repaired.

There’s a lot more going on than what I’ve described and there are a lot of characters. The book is meant to be humourous, but mostly I found it odd. There were some funny parts. I did like how it ended. But, Ben Elton has better books.

Still funny, and unfortunately, still relevant. In fact, it's extremely depressing how much this reads like it was written a couple of years ago rather than 30. Oh well, I guess we're screwed, but it'll make a great movie!

This was the book that really got me thinking seriously about green issues. The chapter with the false alarm where one of the characters faces multiple years alone in a geodesic dome is a proper chiller! Oh, and it's funny too. I finished it on a train commuting home one night, and there were a few stops to go so I turned right back to page one, and ended up reading it all through again.

This sci-fi satire will appeal to Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams fans. It's very funny, terribly sad and always cuts close to the bone. The end of the world and the 'green issues' dealt with will unsettle a few readers.

One of the funniest books I have ever read. Can also recommend Stark