Product Description

Do you believe in ghosts? Do we really live on in some conscious form after we die, and is that form capable of communicating with the world of the living?...Aye, right. That was Jack Parlabane's stance on the matter, anyway. But this was before he found himself in the more compromising position of being not only dead himself, but worse: dead with an exclusive still to file. From his position on high, Parlabane relates the events leading up to his demise, largely concerning the efforts of charismatic psychic Gabriel Lafayette to reconcile the scientific with the spiritual by submitting to controlled laboratory tests. Parlabane is brought in as an observer, due to his capacities as both a sceptic and an expert on deception, but he soon finds his certainties crumbling and his assumptions turned upside down as he encounters phenomena for which he can deduce no rational explanation. Perhaps, in a world in which he can find himself elected rector of an esteemed Scottish university, anything truly is possible. One thing he knows for certain, however: Death is not the end ? it's the ultimate undercover assignment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2944 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
'Sharply satirical and poignantly funny, this is a gripping and highly entertaining read.' Time Out 'Brookmyre conducts a serious debate in the midst of his usual brilliant mix of absurd plot, extravagant characters and unbounded wit' Times 'A hilarious and heartening satire on stupidity and an expose of those who know how to exploit it' Daily Telegraph 'A thriller that is thought-provoking, terrifying and hilarious, and possibly Brookmyre's most accomplished book to date' Scotsman 'Chris Brookmyre is a genius.' Mirror

Metro
'Funny, fast-paced satire... a page-turning slice of Tartan Noir that further enhances Brookmyre's reputation'

Morning Star
'The publication of a new Christopher Brookmyre thriller is always an exciting affair. At his worst, Scotland's master of so-called tartan noir is still head and shoulders above his rivals, successfully combining dark plots involving murder and conspiracy with progressive political insight, satire and fast-talking razor-sharp wit. This time, he's gone one further'

Customer Reviews

oot The Windae
Was looking forward to this when I saw the title and that it was the return of Parlabane investigative journalist.

The book starts with jack telling us he's dead and it's due to his meeting TV psychic Gabriel Lafayette. The story is told by Parlapane and others in a past tense.As a confirmed cynic he's seen as the perfect candidate to take part in scientific experiemnts to prove or disprove as Jack would say all this pyschic nonsense.

It's only really the second half of the book where the tory gets going and I felt the twists for once were fairly easy to predict. The first half is very slow particularly if you already know the character. Maybe with the last two books not being about Jack, Brookmyre felt the need to reference his previous books more.

There's some genuine laugh out moments I particularly liked the character Spammy's explanation for giving up smoking canabis.

For those loyal Brookmyre readers this is ok not his best but still worth reading. For anyone who hasn't read his books before please don't start with this it won't give you a real feel for how good Brookmyre can be.

Jack Parlabane I thought was a great creation with his dry humour and "criminal" methods of investigating here he's led by others and comes across as stupid

To sum up if you love Brookmyre it's worth reading but if you wait for the paperback version you might be glad you waited and saved a few quid.

A welcome change of tone from Brookmyre
Well now, this is a pleasant surprise. Brookmyre's last novel was the first to really break the familiar though hugely enjoyable formula of all his other books - incompetent terrorists or wannabee gangsters getting into explosive siege situations with high bodycounts and an even higher expletive quotient. It was a formula however that was starting to get a bit stale, but with 'Blood and Hard Black Pencil' Brookmyre showed that he was capable of stretching his range a little bit. 'Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks' goes much further.

It might be slightly toned-down and lacking the usual barrage of one-liners, but Brookmyre's mordant sarcasm and bitter cynicism is still there, and there is no slacking in the writer's mischievous debunking of the establishment. If anything, his target in 'Rubber Ducks' is a rather more pertinent one than the usual government-led conspiracies, small-time ned gangsters and anonymous terrorist organisations. In his targeting of the fraudsters and tricksters who call themselves mediums, spiritualists and psychic entertainers, it's not too much of a stretch to see he is attacking the credulous public's growing tolerance and acceptance for the unscientific beliefs of Creationism and Intelligent Design and their encroachment into the nation's classrooms. (A few sideswipes at the Holyrood and the Daily Mail don't go amiss either).

Anyone looking for the familiar explosive Brookmyre pyrotechnics is going to be disappointed by this new book, but those who consider the author a talented writer will be delighted to see him develop his style and range and put all that bitter rage towards something more meaningful than the enjoyable but all-blurred-into-one homogeneity of his previous books. It's not perfect however. Brookmyre attempts a few sleights of hand of his own here which are delightful to see play out - his research into the tricks of the trade is evident and he makes a convincing case - but the major revelations are rather predictable in their outcome. Still, it's a welcome new change of direction and a progressive one that is very promising indeed.

He's at it again
"I don't like books which are full of gratuitous violence, sexual innuendo, and foul language."
"Aye right?"
"Right"
"Well what about Christopher Brookmyre, you like him?"
"He's different, coz you see he can write"
"So if the Guy can write, he needn't use bad language, need he?"
"Ah well he uses it like an artist uses paint. It's brilliant"
"And what's this, this here masterpiece called then?"
"Attack of the unsinkable rubber ducks"
"Funny name"
"Aye, well"
"Would you recommend it to my mother?"
"I'd recommend it to my mother"
"Aye, but your mother's deid."
"All the more reason"
"Come again, whit do you mean?"
"Not telling, you'll have to read it to find out."


Martin A Chambers