Dead Famous - Ben Elton

A-ha. And so we come Ben Elton. Yes, that’s right the man who brought us all the wonder of that great British flop ‘Maybe Baby’. Yes, that’s right, the knob gag man. Loony Lefty Ben. Is this what you’re thinking? Well, you’d be excused. Unfortunately, Mr Elton hasn’t been the most consistent director/ producer/ playwright/ performer of his generation and occasionally he has the odd turkey. I would include in this most of his stage plays, bar perhaps his play about the British press ‘Silly Cow’ which, although is slightly dated, is actually quite a well crafted play. I’ve been an avid reader of his ...  Read the complete review

I really disliked this book...but yet I found myself devouring each and every page. There is something so strangely compulsive about it that I just had to keep reading, and at such a rapid pace that I got from cover to cover in just over a day! A friend had recommended and lent the book to me but after discovering the subject matter I was originally very reluctant to even bother with it. I was keen to sample my first Ben Elton novel though and this was the factor that persuaded me to persevere and turn the first page. So, why was I put off by the content? Two very simple words....Reality TV. Or Big Brother to be even more precise. I’m not ...  Read the complete review

The story is a parody of Big Brother. Twelve contestants enter a house and are cut off from society. Each week someone is voted out based on the number of votes they receive from their fellow contestants and the general public. In Dead Famous, all goes according to plan until a disguised contestant murders another one. Panic ensues as the contestants and public speculate who the killer is. Chief Inspector Coleridge and his colleagues, Sergeant Hooper and Constable Patricia, are sent in to solve the case before every suspect is voted out. The humour was lacking. I chuckled from time to time, but mostly I just read to finish the book. Elton's Chart Throb, a ...  Read the complete review

My third experience with Ben Elton's novels...and the choice of satirical spin this time, Big Brother. Again, it's a fairly fast paced book, easy to read in a day or too, and gives you a little something to think about, and a bit of a laugh at the same time. The idea of there being cameras and microphones everywhere, recording everything, and yet no evidence in a murder, struck me as intriguing...and I do like a bit of conspiracy! I find it amusing and shocking, that as a nation overall, and indeed probably a world, we can watch these programmes as if they are fact, laugh at the deception of housemates as if we are in on a little secret as to what will ...  Read the complete review

It would be an understatement to say that this is a send up of Big Brother and the rest of the reality TV phenomena. The one big difference between this book and the real thing though is the fact that this is compulsive reading whilst I would hardly describe Big Brother as compulsive viewing. Ever since I saw Ben Elton perform live in Birmingham during my student days I have been a bit of a fan even if some of has recent material has seemed a bit jaded there can be little argument that he is not a talented comedy writer with a string of credits both in the world of TV, theatre and fiction writing. The Plot The clever part of this book is ...  Read the complete review