Ben Elton harking back to his "greenie" roots. It was published in 1993, at the height of his popularity, and it has the distinct feeling of a protest novel. I certainly don't begrudge Elton his platform, and I've been a fan since before he turned his hand to writing. I just feel the plot has been wrap around the message which makes this novel a little weaker compared to his previous (and subsequent) efforts.

Didn't age well.

A great read so far - more details later.

I somehow made it through This Other Eden, but I was helped by being on a bus in Brazil at the time and having finished the other books I had with me. It really isn't Elton's best work, mostly because it's far too much of a rant and, consequently, isn't very funny. I'm not sure whether it's my least favourite Elton, but the only other contender would be Chart Throb. That's in any case not really a far comparison, because I have no interest whatsoever in Pop Idol or the like, so the satire of that sort of TV show goes over my head.

I really like Ben Elton’s books. I find them thought provoking and interesting. This is another of his books set in the future.

I found it hard to get into the story at first and had to be in right frame of mind to read it. The story was quirky with good characters. Worth a read.

A succesful ménage à trois of sarcasm, irony and slapstick in a form of "funny" dystopia. This might sound a bit odd, thus you must read the novel yourself to get it.

This is also criticism towards the unholy matrimony of marketing, advertising and consumption which have broke loose from everyone's control.
The Consumption is the god and the ultimate goal of the consumption is to consume the planet Earth to a state where everything finally collapses and the (rich enough) people can live in limited artificial Edens locking out the rest of the world and population.

The grim irony in this story is obviously the fact that we are speeding towards that kind of a world and try not to do very much to stop the sinister, disastrous development.
We just sit and watch TV. And consume more; buy things we don't need with the money we don't have.

You can read this book as a funny and violent adventure but I do hope you'll see also the inconvenient truth behind that hilarity. Like many humorists Ben Elton is also a very serious writer.
Taking into account that he wrote this already in early 1990s we can say that he had a clear vision on things to come. We're close.

Read & think.

Eedenistä vikaan
WSOY 2005

A most bizarre and offbeat novel - very black humor. I can't even decide if I liked it or not. Certainly pieces made me laugh out loud, but it was too dark for me to really 'enjoy'.

I have really enjoyed the other novels that I have read by this author, so I'll try another.

Hugo recommended. I wasn't prepared to be impressed because I'd seen his stand up which I hated. Well, what a good read it turned out to be! I was so impressed I went out and bought Dead Famous

Блестящая книга, полная острой, умной, тонкой сатиры. Смеяться и глубоко задумываться можно почти над каждой фразой. К раздумьям располагает тема - гибель Земли от экологического Армагеддона, а к смеху - те тонкие и ироничные замечания о жизни общества и отдельно взятого человека, которыми пестрит книга. К тому же сюжет полон экшна и интриг, что делает чтение захватывающим. Элтон умница, и я обязательно буду читать его еще. И еще!

Ben Elton is a very clever and witty writer. This is typical of his work with a view of life in the future, probably not too far away. The world is about to destroy itself from all the harm caused by man. One of his earlier novels, this was written in 1993 when global warming was a two week holiday in Spain. It may have been fictional then, but it may well prove to be prohetic if we don't soon come to our senses. His satirical & cynical take of politicians, power hungry executives and media manipulation is behind the story of how the very rich few can influence the minds of the masses by creating a sales & marketing opportunity by destroying the world. Extremely funny at times, but the sort of book where you don't need any external distractions when trying to digest all the information. Because of this, I found parts of it a bit too intense, high-brow and boring. Luckily most of it is a fun read.

Not my favourite Ben Elton - but still fun. When the time comes I'll just stay

Written in that ineffable Ben Elton style with galaxy-loads of clever insight and witty sarcasms. The premise of our dying world was a little too real for comfort however so it did not rate as highly with me as some other Ben Elton gems. The conclusion, whilst thankfully sweet and benign ended like the world, not so much with a bang but a satisfying sigh of relief.