Reality Bites! (24/7 - Jim Brown)

Member Name: Foxy-Lady

Product:	24/7 - Jim Brown
Date:	13/01/04 (114 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast-paced, Gripping

Disadvantages: Seems far-fetched at times

Theres quite simply no denying it.....we love watching people!

Call it interest, or just sheer nosiness, but we like to see how people respond and interact with each other, and how they deal with certain (usually difficult) situations.

Virtually the whole world seems to be obsessed with observing others and this has meant a vast increase in the new voyeuristic form of entertainment that is more commonly known as *Reality TV*!

Every time we turn on the television, we are confronted by these programmes. Reality game shows and fly-on-the-wall documentaries are constantly being thrown at us.....Big Brother, Survivor, Pop Idol, Wife Swap, The Salon, Airline, Shattered, Temptation Island.
Even celebrities (although mostly minor) are getting in on the act......Im a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, The Osbournes, Celebrity Fit Club to name but a few. I can even recall a programme that was on a while ago (the name escapes me) where celebrities were having colonic irrigation on TV!!

We all complain that we are sick of seeing these wannabies on our screens but lets face it, they are only brought to us because of demand....somebody (if not most of us) must be viewing them!

Can you imagine what it would be like to sit down to watch the opening episode of the latest reality game show, for it to suddenly go horribly wrong before your very eyes? It had never really crossed my mind until I started to read my copy of 24/7.

The book was aptly written a couple of years ago when the reality TV *phenomenon* was hitting America. The author, Jim Brown, is well known in the US as an award winning broadcast journalist on the NBC channel. As far as I am aware, he is the first person to adapt the concept of reality TV, and turn it into fictional story format.......

24/7 is the name of Americas latest reality TV game show, which combines elements of Survivor and Big Brother. Twelve contestants are marooned on a remote Caribbean isl
and (with a few crew members) ready to compete against each other and face certain challenges in the hope of being the last remaining player.....and winning 2 million dollars. The island is rigged up with masses of hi-tech equipment and cameras, so that the action can be filmed and broadcast to the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The whole thing takes a dramatically sinister turn just 15 minutes after the game begins. It goes somewhat pear-shaped and the crew mysteriously collapse and die, leaving the contestants alone and trapped on the island. It becomes apparent that they are no longer involved in a *game*....they are in fact competing for their lives!

The island has been taken over and the contestants are informed that they have all been infected with the same killer virus as the crew. A daily vaccine will be administered but with one catch.....even in these horrific circumstances, the public still have the responsibility of voting somebody off the island every day. This doesnt mean they will be sent home though, it means that the particular person who has been selected will not be given their vaccine, resulting in instant death.

This is part of the shock factor involved in this thriller. The public are so gripped by the events on the island that they are actually willing to carry on voting to condemn people to death!

To make things a little more interesting, the contestants have the chance to participate in personal challenges that revolve around their ultimate fears. Each challenge in itself is life-threatening, but whoever manages to overcome their fear is rewarded with some *safety stones*. These act as form of immunity and can be used to cancel out a percentage of negative votes that they receive. In other words, the stones are their only hope of survival.

In true Survivor/Big Brother style, the twelve participants are a mixture of stereotypes. A selection of individual characters have been chosen such as a
hunky pilot, a struggling single mother who desperately wants the prize money to care for her sick child, a distinguished doctor, an ex nun, a woman who quite obviously could never be a nun (if you know what I mean!), a computer boffin, a weirdo....they are all included in this story!

The character development within the book is good. You learn about each contestant, including a bit of their background history, as they get to know each other. Just enough to decide which are the genuine, likeable ones within the group.

Slowly but surely, events and the stress involved starts to bring out the best, and worst, in their personalities and they are tragically *voted off* one by one.

Alongside the main action there are also various sub plots which help to keep the story going. For example, off the island, you trace the steps of a young reporter who enthusiastically uses exclusive leaks about what is happening, to further his career. As he investigates, the reader is given clues as to who could be behind the island hijack. Just as you think youve got it all figured out, he uncovers further developments which change your viewpoint as to *whodunnit*.

The government and presidential task force are also detailed as they struggle to make the difficult decision of how to contain the virus. They dont know what it is, therefore remain clueless as to if it could spread and inevitably infect millions of innocent people.

These different elements result in frequent breaks and changes throughout the book. Chapters are quite short making it quick to read. It is also fast-paced.....one minute you are on the island, the next you are reading about the President in Washington DC and the military as they figure out how to solve the situation. This doesnt effect the readability though as each chapter is clearly marked so you know exactly where you are at all times.

Eventually, all the plots merge together to form an exciting and tense conc
lusion to the great story.


When you get to the end of the novel there is an interesting epilogue in the form of a narrative by the author. Here, he addresses the theory and ideas behind his book and the reality TV craze in general. You realise that the purpose of his book is in fact to question morals and the lengths people would go to in the name of entertainment.

He also wants the reader to decide if the events depicted in the book could actually happen. As you read the book, you find that its the sort of story that makes you think *as if!*. It seems far-fetched but it is fiction after all! But having said that, in this day in age with advances in technology taken into account, anything is possible. The more you consider the different factors of the book, you realise that something similar could actually occur. Maybe on a somewhat smaller scale but it could happen none the less. Quite a frightening thought really!

In this, his debut novel, Jim Brown has succeeded in creating what surprisingly turns out to be a really good book. Because of the nature of the story, many people would assume that it is only aimed at fans of reality TV but this isnt so. It is genuinely gripping and suspenseful. I was completely intrigued and couldnt wait to find out who was behind it all.

Overall, a truly entertaining blend of mystery and action which certainly shows us that reality bites!



Published by Pan Books £6.99 (I got my copy for a quid at Poundstretcher!)

ISBN: 0-330-49098-2

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