Ever wished for something...? (Spanky - Christopher Fowler)

Member Name: elvis42

Product:	Spanky - Christopher Fowler
Date:	12/08/00 (18 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Extremely well-written

Disadvantages: None

Ever wanted to escape your humdrum mediocre existence, ever allowed yourself the thought that you /should/ be the one being promoted, getting the girl of your dreams, being the person you feel you need to be to be accepted by outside society. Well, so did Martyn, hero(?) of Spanky. Then, one day in a random nightclub encounter (ok, ok, so it's one NIGHT) Martyn is offered the chance to have a personal daemon, Spanky, working with him (no strings!) to improve his life.

After initially turning down the offer, Martyn soon has second thoughts and persuades the charming Spanky to take on his case. Romps with beautiful girls, style and charm lessons and sorting out of family and work problems all start to become part of Martyn's life. But 'no strings' rarely means no strings when dealing with the supernatural, especially when dealing with them from the pen of an incredibly talented horror writer.

And so inevitably perhaps the plot veers towards horror as Martyn has to start to live with the outcomes of his base wishes and desires. After much soul-searching he takes Spanky on and starts to play against his one-time bosom buddy.

And of course, I'm not going to ruin the rest of the plot for you.

It's well-written, humourous, jaunty, scary, sick (at times only), an easy read in that the language and plot flows so well, and a lovely take on the time-honoured 'be careful what you wish for' folk tales. Plus it has a great front cover (or did when I first read it). I heartily recommend it.

Summary: