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 enlarge | Author: Christopher Brookmyre
Publisher: Little, Brown
Category: Book
List Price: £16.99
Buy New: £9.34
You Save: £7.65 (45%)
New (27) Used (8) from £7.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 750
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Large Print e.
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 5.8 x 1.4
ISBN: 0316027634
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780316027632
ASIN: 0316027634
Publication Date: August 14, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Sharp, Witty, Genius September 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am a big fan of CB and have been since I first read Quite Ugly One Morning many many years ago. I thought this was brilliant, right up there with All Fun and Games and a Big Boy Did It (And Ran Away). Thought provoking, funny, I will never watch reality TV in the same way again. It was only a matter of time before someone had a crack at the plethora of wannabe celebrities out there and I for one am glad it was someone with Brookmyre's wit and intelligence that did it. Not since I read 'Silence of the Lambs" have I secretly rooted for the serial killer and yet been glad to witness his downfall at the hands of a clever nemesis (or nemesi - whatever the plural is). Brilliant. Funny. Recommend it to friends and strangers.
 Alakazammy, stairheid rammy September 13, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Alakazammy stairheid rammy ! The perfect recipe add your best hero DI de Xavia resurrect your best villian Simon Darcourt, sprinkle with the charisma of the brilliant thief/magician Zal add lashings of dark cutting satire and shape into one of the best reads of 2008 so far.
So Simon Dacourt terrorist for hire last seen in A Big Boy Did It And Ran Away is not dead after all he's targeting celebrities and playing out his sick games through the Internet and dominating the media but for what reason why after all these years has he blown his cover ?
De xavia who brought about his demise last time is tasked with capturing him and recruits Zal (The Sacred Art Of Stealing) to assist
What follows is a fantastic story with loads of laugh out funny moments and a huge amount of twists and turns that any thriller writer would be proud, there is no way is anyone is going to guess what is going to happen next
Simon Cowell , big brother, wags, x factor, and right wing columnists are just some of the targets for his dark superb satire
With some fantastic funny uniquely Scottish turn of phrases that would make a builder blush
Hands up I thought after his last two novels that Brookmyre was on the wane but that was obviously just a bit of misdirection but not only is this a resounding turn to form but I think the might well be the best of all twelve of Brookmyre's books.
 Lacks Character September 12, 2008
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Sometimes I worry that I'm horribly out of touch, because books that seem to get universally glowing reviews on Amazon often leave me feeling a little bit disappointed. This is certainly the case with A Snowball in Hell, Christopher Brookmyre's latest satirical swipe at contemporary British society. Whilst others seem to have found it a wonderful read I came away with the distinct impression that it was a series of rants, albeit entertaining ones, hung on paper-thin plotting and characterisation, rather than a truly satisfying novel.
Part of the problem for me was the characters Brookmyre decides to revisit in the book. I never found Angelique D'Xavier or Zal Innez to be particularly interesting characters, and Simon Darcourt, the source of most of the satirical pot shots, feels like nothing more than a mouthpiece for the author's views on celebrity and society in general. None of them have wit of Jack Parlabane, the ordinary humanity of Jane Bell from 'All Fun & Games' or are as funny as the likes of Spammy from Country of the Blind. As a result I found myself investing far less in events on the page.
My second issue was the plot and structure of the book. Brookmyre loves his convoluted plots, which always skirt along the edges of plausibility, but I felt with this one he had to work so hard to avoid gaping holes developing that too much time was spent on exposition and explanation, slowing the pace of events in places and detracting from more important elements of the story. Furthermore by keeping all three main protagonists apart for two thirds of the book's length and thereby constantly swapping plot strands the narrative flow was more of a stop/start affair. It also resulted in a denoument that felts truncated and rushed once everyone was eventually brought together.
Finally, and most importantly, I found there to be a dearth of real laugh out loud moments on offer. Yes, some of Darcourts rants against the vacuity of modern life were sharp and spot on, but they didn't feel particularly original or come across as that funny. At most Snowball in Hell raised an amused smile or a wry chuckle, which isn't really enough for a Christopher Brookmyre novel.
I think that with Snowball In Hell Christopher Brookmyre had targets that he wanted to hit, from TV Talent shows to right-wing tabloid commentators, and he wrote a book that would allow him to do just that. What he forgot to do at the same time however, was to pay enough attention to wrapping a satisfying comedy thriller around the point scoring and this shows in the weakness of plot, character and comedy.
No doubt many ardent Brookmyre fans will disagree with my point of view, and Snowball in Hell hasn't put me off buying his next book. I still think he is a great writer, satirist and observer of the human condition. I just think that sometimes he allows his desire to score points against his chosen targets to get in the way of a great story and this is one of those times.
Slick, Sick and Hilarious September 7, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Its always a worry starting a new book by a favourite writer. What if they have jumped the shark with this one? You would still continue reading their books, but get less excited about the prospect and less fulfilled by the result. An additional worry is when you start the book and find that it is not set in the familiar place or with the familiar characters - will you take to the new setting? Did you actually like the writing of the previous books or just the characters?
No need to worry about jumping the shark with this new Brookmyre book though - its as good as ever. Jack Parlabane is given a rest this time though, and the star of the show is Angelique de Xavier from A Big Boy Did It And Ran Away and The Sacred Art of Stealing. Even better, the baddie from 'Big Boy' is back and nastier than ever and Angel X has to enlist the help of Zal Innez from 'Stealing' to help her out.
As per usual the story is immensely well plotted, with perhaps even more twists and turns. Again there is the humour, some of it very dark. To continue ticking all the boxes, there are the casual cultural and technical references revealing a writer in touch with the modern world and assuming his audience is too - when a cultural reference is thrown in there is no condescending explanation of it. On top of all this there is the social commentary, and it is all delivered with a generous helping of expletives. This mixture makes it like a Ben Elton novel but darker, grittier and much more Scottish.
My only criticism of the book is that it is too damned good. I was so eager to know what happens next that I put off doing other things just to continue with it and it was over in no time at all. My consolation is that I know I will be reading it again some time.
This time around the plot concerns the return of Simon Darcourt, previously thought dead. In his own way he is making a point about reality TV by creating his own version, kidnapping celebrities, subjecting them to humiliation, torturing them and killing them before streaming the results on the Internet. At times his schemes and traps are like the Saw movies - but with jokes.
The book is a clever mixture of first- and third-person with the transitions managed seamlessly. Likewise the jumps between the main narrative and flashbacks is effortlessly natural, even when it is being deliberately misleading. One theme of the book is misdirection - as a magician's technique and as it applies to criminal endeavours - and Brookmyre has no qualms about using a little playful misdirection himself. To give examples would spoil the plot, so you have to take my word for it.
Anyone who has read previous Brookmyre books will not need to know any more than that this is as good as the rest. I think this book would work for anyone not familiar with the two earlier ones featuring Angelique X as it does expand a little on past history but surely you get more from it having read 'Big Boy' and 'Stealing' first.
Fabulous September 7, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The latest and one of the best Brookmyres. Laugh out loud funny and gallops along at a great pace - no lulls here. Loved it.
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