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Jack Parlabane #5
Attack Of The Unsinkable Rubber Ducks
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.
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.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published February 10, 2007
60 people are currently reading
1096 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Brookmyre
40 books1,540 followersChristopher Brookmyre is a Scottish novelist whose novels mix politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author. His debut novel was Quite Ugly One Morning, and subsequent works have included One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night, which he said "was just the sort of book he needed to write before he turned 30", and All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye (2005). Brookmyre also writes historical fiction with Marisa Haetzman, under the pseudonym "Ambrose Parry."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews
June 11, 2025
[7/10]
Death is not the end - it's the ultimate undercover assignment.
Investigative journalist Jack Parlabane has made the uncovering of government conspiracies and the unmasking of criminal masterminds his specialty. He can smell a rat from miles away, one of the best newshounds in the business. But his decision to go after charismatic psychic Gabriel Lafayette might have been a trifle hasty... considering the unexpected and embarrassing state he’s in.
‘ ... there are few things more hilarious in this world than someone who is smugly convinced he is right about something (and let’s face it, I can be abominably smug when I am right about something) suddenly being in the undignified position of himself constituting the living proof that he’s wrong.
Or not-living proof, as the case may be.
Jack Parlabane tries to look back at the events that led to his unfortunate demise by defenestration. In the spirit of fairness, the narration includes alternate points of view, presented by a journalist who has embraced the Lafayette cause early on. A third POV is provided by a young science student who embarks on his own private crusade to prove the famous psychic is a fraud.
Sceptics, we are told, are open minded and intend not to debunk or automatically disbelieve, but merely seek proof of what is claimed.
All three storylines converge on the campus of the university of Glasgow, the place where Jack Parlabane is voted rector in a student body election and where Gabriel Lafayette is demanding the creation of a Psychic Studies chair. The two come together after Parlabane is invited to join Project Lamda [and why is this not called project Lambda I don’t understand], in his quality as a renowned sceptic, and asked to observe and comment on the process and the results of Lafayette’s demonstrations.
Jack’s ‘accident’ occurs just as he was preparing to hand in his report.
>>><<<>>><<<
This is my fifth episode in the series, and I’ve rated all the previous ones four stars. You can safely say I am a fan both of Jack Parlabane and of the other books from the same author. The premise of this one is an almost guaranteed win, since I am also a long time fan of James Randi, who inspired the novel and is quoted on the first page of the story. Yet I was curiously unable to shed my early reservations about the obvious gimmick from the first chapter . I extended my doubting Thomas persona to the chapters that describe Gabriel Lafayette’s performances, private and public, mainly his mind reading and his talking with the dead acts. These were such obvious fakes that I couldn’t help wonder what respect, if any, Brookmyre has for his reader’s intelligence.
... anybody can be fooled, especially if they place too much trust in a single human source rather than objectively evaluating the data. No need the tangled web to weave, when mugs are desperate to believe.
Even as I found myself unable to put aside critical thinking and immerse myself in the plot, I was also laughing at the usual Parlabane antics and at his self-deprecating humour while waiting for the hard hitting gonzo-journalist rants on the given theme. He is preaching to the choir in my case, as I already know a lot about James Randi and his methods, but I think this book that was written in 2007 became even more relevant and important to discuss in our ‘post-truth’ era where investigative journalists like Jack are replaced by AI tools and corporate mouthpieces, where whistle blowers are jailed and where venal and cynical self-appointed leaders are convinced they can hoodwink us all and win.
I was a respected journalist, bound to find recognition among students for my fierce integrity and tirelessness in holding both individuals and institutions accountable to the public, and ... No, you’re not buying this at all, are you?
Parlabane is also known for ignoring the rule of law and being ready to do anything for a scoop . For me, Jack is also known for ignoring the black comedy and plot coherence in favour of longish rants against the system. This book is no exception, but it is saved in part by the subplot involving the young student Michael Loftus [ I wore a brown coat because I was a ‘browncoat’: I was – Keith nailed that too – a science geek with a chronic SF habit, and my drug of choice was Firefly ] , my favorite sections of the novel, as compared to Jack’s disingenuous smoke screens and the articles praising Lafayette, written by another journalist who acts more like a female groupie for the psychic.
‘Honestly, what does it matter if some people want to believe in ghosts, or that Gabriel Lafayette can hear voices of the dead?
Yes, these chapters are needed in the economy of the book in the interest of fairness and of hearing the arguments of the ‘other side’ in the debate. But they make some scary reading in the context of recent policies aimed at mass indoctrination.
There is more to this world than these entrenched scientists are prepared to admit,’ Lemuel said to me, thoroughly impassioned. ‘If we don’t explore it with open minds and open eyes, and we don’t teach it in our schools, then we are cheating our children.’
‘Oh, Christ,’ Sarah said, dismayed. ‘Teach the controversy.’
‘Keith says I’m becoming a zealot. Maybe he’s right. Maybe it’s a sign I’m going nuts that I seem to be the only one who thinks this stuff is dangerous.’
In order for these parasitic swindlers to prosper it is necessary that they muddle the waters, that they subvert science and claim discrimination when their opinions are challenged. Only today [10 June 2025] the entire science advisory for the CDC was fired by an antivaxx politician. Similarly, Gabriel Lafayette dons the mantle of science in order to argue for the inclusion of psychic studies in the school curriculum. And Jack is curiously unable to discover how the sleigh of hand is done. . The needs of the plot trump the need for character integrity in this particular case,
But they insist on using the argument that observation affects what is observed, in order to explain why psychics can’t perform their tricks under properly controlled test conditions.
Late in the novel, Jack Parlabane comes clean about his own deception and makes his plea to the readership that the end results should excuse the means. He had an argument to make, and this unreliable narrator trick was the best way he thought of in order to capture our attention:
considering the scale of the deception afoot here, you can forgive an honest reporter the odd wee misleading figure of speech.
I haven’t told you everything. Must be a symptom of hanging around Lafayette and Mather too long: you get a taste for the juvenile pleasure of gratuitously misleading people.
I have already forgiven him: the book was entertaining, in particular the young geeky romance between Michael and Laura, while the seriousness, the urgency of the debate cannot be stressed strongly enough. I see unsinkable rubber ducks everywhere:
‘The what? Unsinkable rubber ducks?’
‘It was coined by James “The Amazing” Randi, a Canadian magician and world-renowned sceptic, to describe persons who are determined to go on believing in woo, no matter how much evidence to the contrary you present them with.’
>>><<<>>><<<
extra extracts from the book, they probably need no explanation:
People are more easily disposed towards swallowing a lie that reinforces what they already believe. Or want to believe.
‘I consider it insulting to be told that faith is of itself a virtue. The act of believing in things for no good reason is something we need to stop revering and start ridiculing.’
‘That’s not the way the world really works any more,’ he continued. ‘We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality – judiciously, as you will – we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors ... and you, all of you, will be left to study what we do.’ [from an interview with a Bush era official, announcing the arrival of the enormous orange hippopotamus in the room]
Yes, it’s amusing just how wrong a person can be, and just as funny how gullible. But as you will learn, anybody can be fooled, especially if they place too much trust in a human source rather than objectively evaluating the data.
from the author’s wikipedia page: Between April 2008 and December 2015, he was the President of Humanist Society Scotland.[5]
Humanist is the answer I have given myself repeatedly when asked about my religious beliefs. Which probably explains why Brookmyre is on my favorite authors list.
Death is not the end - it's the ultimate undercover assignment.
Investigative journalist Jack Parlabane has made the uncovering of government conspiracies and the unmasking of criminal masterminds his specialty. He can smell a rat from miles away, one of the best newshounds in the business. But his decision to go after charismatic psychic Gabriel Lafayette might have been a trifle hasty... considering the unexpected and embarrassing state he’s in.
‘ ... there are few things more hilarious in this world than someone who is smugly convinced he is right about something (and let’s face it, I can be abominably smug when I am right about something) suddenly being in the undignified position of himself constituting the living proof that he’s wrong.
Or not-living proof, as the case may be.
Jack Parlabane tries to look back at the events that led to his unfortunate demise by defenestration. In the spirit of fairness, the narration includes alternate points of view, presented by a journalist who has embraced the Lafayette cause early on. A third POV is provided by a young science student who embarks on his own private crusade to prove the famous psychic is a fraud.
Sceptics, we are told, are open minded and intend not to debunk or automatically disbelieve, but merely seek proof of what is claimed.
All three storylines converge on the campus of the university of Glasgow, the place where Jack Parlabane is voted rector in a student body election and where Gabriel Lafayette is demanding the creation of a Psychic Studies chair. The two come together after Parlabane is invited to join Project Lamda [and why is this not called project Lambda I don’t understand], in his quality as a renowned sceptic, and asked to observe and comment on the process and the results of Lafayette’s demonstrations.
Jack’s ‘accident’ occurs just as he was preparing to hand in his report.
>>><<<>>><<<
This is my fifth episode in the series, and I’ve rated all the previous ones four stars. You can safely say I am a fan both of Jack Parlabane and of the other books from the same author. The premise of this one is an almost guaranteed win, since I am also a long time fan of James Randi, who inspired the novel and is quoted on the first page of the story. Yet I was curiously unable to shed my early reservations about the obvious gimmick from the first chapter . I extended my doubting Thomas persona to the chapters that describe Gabriel Lafayette’s performances, private and public, mainly his mind reading and his talking with the dead acts. These were such obvious fakes that I couldn’t help wonder what respect, if any, Brookmyre has for his reader’s intelligence.
... anybody can be fooled, especially if they place too much trust in a single human source rather than objectively evaluating the data. No need the tangled web to weave, when mugs are desperate to believe.
Even as I found myself unable to put aside critical thinking and immerse myself in the plot, I was also laughing at the usual Parlabane antics and at his self-deprecating humour while waiting for the hard hitting gonzo-journalist rants on the given theme. He is preaching to the choir in my case, as I already know a lot about James Randi and his methods, but I think this book that was written in 2007 became even more relevant and important to discuss in our ‘post-truth’ era where investigative journalists like Jack are replaced by AI tools and corporate mouthpieces, where whistle blowers are jailed and where venal and cynical self-appointed leaders are convinced they can hoodwink us all and win.
I was a respected journalist, bound to find recognition among students for my fierce integrity and tirelessness in holding both individuals and institutions accountable to the public, and ... No, you’re not buying this at all, are you?
Parlabane is also known for ignoring the rule of law and being ready to do anything for a scoop . For me, Jack is also known for ignoring the black comedy and plot coherence in favour of longish rants against the system. This book is no exception, but it is saved in part by the subplot involving the young student Michael Loftus [ I wore a brown coat because I was a ‘browncoat’: I was – Keith nailed that too – a science geek with a chronic SF habit, and my drug of choice was Firefly ] , my favorite sections of the novel, as compared to Jack’s disingenuous smoke screens and the articles praising Lafayette, written by another journalist who acts more like a female groupie for the psychic.
‘Honestly, what does it matter if some people want to believe in ghosts, or that Gabriel Lafayette can hear voices of the dead?
Yes, these chapters are needed in the economy of the book in the interest of fairness and of hearing the arguments of the ‘other side’ in the debate. But they make some scary reading in the context of recent policies aimed at mass indoctrination.
There is more to this world than these entrenched scientists are prepared to admit,’ Lemuel said to me, thoroughly impassioned. ‘If we don’t explore it with open minds and open eyes, and we don’t teach it in our schools, then we are cheating our children.’
‘Oh, Christ,’ Sarah said, dismayed. ‘Teach the controversy.’
‘Keith says I’m becoming a zealot. Maybe he’s right. Maybe it’s a sign I’m going nuts that I seem to be the only one who thinks this stuff is dangerous.’
In order for these parasitic swindlers to prosper it is necessary that they muddle the waters, that they subvert science and claim discrimination when their opinions are challenged. Only today [10 June 2025] the entire science advisory for the CDC was fired by an antivaxx politician. Similarly, Gabriel Lafayette dons the mantle of science in order to argue for the inclusion of psychic studies in the school curriculum. And Jack is curiously unable to discover how the sleigh of hand is done. . The needs of the plot trump the need for character integrity in this particular case,
But they insist on using the argument that observation affects what is observed, in order to explain why psychics can’t perform their tricks under properly controlled test conditions.
Late in the novel, Jack Parlabane comes clean about his own deception and makes his plea to the readership that the end results should excuse the means. He had an argument to make, and this unreliable narrator trick was the best way he thought of in order to capture our attention:
considering the scale of the deception afoot here, you can forgive an honest reporter the odd wee misleading figure of speech.
I haven’t told you everything. Must be a symptom of hanging around Lafayette and Mather too long: you get a taste for the juvenile pleasure of gratuitously misleading people.
I have already forgiven him: the book was entertaining, in particular the young geeky romance between Michael and Laura, while the seriousness, the urgency of the debate cannot be stressed strongly enough. I see unsinkable rubber ducks everywhere:
‘The what? Unsinkable rubber ducks?’
‘It was coined by James “The Amazing” Randi, a Canadian magician and world-renowned sceptic, to describe persons who are determined to go on believing in woo, no matter how much evidence to the contrary you present them with.’
>>><<<>>><<<
extra extracts from the book, they probably need no explanation:
People are more easily disposed towards swallowing a lie that reinforces what they already believe. Or want to believe.
‘I consider it insulting to be told that faith is of itself a virtue. The act of believing in things for no good reason is something we need to stop revering and start ridiculing.’
‘That’s not the way the world really works any more,’ he continued. ‘We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality – judiciously, as you will – we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors ... and you, all of you, will be left to study what we do.’ [from an interview with a Bush era official, announcing the arrival of the enormous orange hippopotamus in the room]
Yes, it’s amusing just how wrong a person can be, and just as funny how gullible. But as you will learn, anybody can be fooled, especially if they place too much trust in a human source rather than objectively evaluating the data.
from the author’s wikipedia page: Between April 2008 and December 2015, he was the President of Humanist Society Scotland.[5]
Humanist is the answer I have given myself repeatedly when asked about my religious beliefs. Which probably explains why Brookmyre is on my favorite authors list.
December 1, 2010
A carefully spoiler-free review.
I'd been in the mood to read a fast, fun thriller for awhile, and as I had several unread Brookmyre novels on my shelf I was definitely gravitating in that direction. When I found the audiobook of Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks I was sold – even though it's the fifth of the Jack Parlabane adventures and I haven't read all the previous ones yet, I didn't expect it to be a big obstacle as they are, like most crime series', not direct follow ons in anything other than events in the main characters' lives.
I must confess that as the story opened I felt slightly disappointed. The extract from a book by fictional Mail journalist Jillian Noble about an encounter with the supernatural seemed to be somewhat heavy-handed in signposting the direction the novel might take. Noble is smug, snotty, overly credulous and sneeringly dismissive of sceptical rationalism – so strongly antithetical to both Brookmyre and Parlabane that the set up for a fall seemed sadly obvious. Ironically, I should have had more faith in the author, because while it is indeed a set up, it is the reader who is being set up for a sudden, unexpected curve ball coming out of left field that whips any assumptions out from under you like a deftly pulled tablecloth. This is a trick Brookmyre pulls again and again throughout this superbly constructed, extremely well written book. He leads your expectations from one point of view before bringing in another angle to make you realise that you are balancing precariously on a crumbling ledge of unfounded assumption rather than the firm, flat bedrock of facts. There are also dawning moments of realisation that made me laugh out loud, to add to the many trademark chuckles you'd expect from a writer who has been called 'the Scottish Carl Hiaasen'. The twists and changes of perspective kept me guessing right up to the joyous payoff (although I had worked out a couple of the facts I wasn't certain of them, and doubt it was my own Holmsian deductive abilities that allowed me to work them out so much as cunning winks from the author to make me feel better about being duped!)
I realise I've said nothing about the plot – deliberately, as this would be an easy book to give spoilers on. Suffice to say it is a book about belief, deception and assumptions. If you like your thrillers clever, thoughtful and laugh-out-loud funny (not to mention quite sweary and not infrequently violent, although in this case less violent than usual), I highly recommend you acquaint yourself with Christopher Brookmyre
I'd been in the mood to read a fast, fun thriller for awhile, and as I had several unread Brookmyre novels on my shelf I was definitely gravitating in that direction. When I found the audiobook of Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks I was sold – even though it's the fifth of the Jack Parlabane adventures and I haven't read all the previous ones yet, I didn't expect it to be a big obstacle as they are, like most crime series', not direct follow ons in anything other than events in the main characters' lives.
I must confess that as the story opened I felt slightly disappointed. The extract from a book by fictional Mail journalist Jillian Noble about an encounter with the supernatural seemed to be somewhat heavy-handed in signposting the direction the novel might take. Noble is smug, snotty, overly credulous and sneeringly dismissive of sceptical rationalism – so strongly antithetical to both Brookmyre and Parlabane that the set up for a fall seemed sadly obvious. Ironically, I should have had more faith in the author, because while it is indeed a set up, it is the reader who is being set up for a sudden, unexpected curve ball coming out of left field that whips any assumptions out from under you like a deftly pulled tablecloth. This is a trick Brookmyre pulls again and again throughout this superbly constructed, extremely well written book. He leads your expectations from one point of view before bringing in another angle to make you realise that you are balancing precariously on a crumbling ledge of unfounded assumption rather than the firm, flat bedrock of facts. There are also dawning moments of realisation that made me laugh out loud, to add to the many trademark chuckles you'd expect from a writer who has been called 'the Scottish Carl Hiaasen'. The twists and changes of perspective kept me guessing right up to the joyous payoff (although I had worked out a couple of the facts I wasn't certain of them, and doubt it was my own Holmsian deductive abilities that allowed me to work them out so much as cunning winks from the author to make me feel better about being duped!)
I realise I've said nothing about the plot – deliberately, as this would be an easy book to give spoilers on. Suffice to say it is a book about belief, deception and assumptions. If you like your thrillers clever, thoughtful and laugh-out-loud funny (not to mention quite sweary and not infrequently violent, although in this case less violent than usual), I highly recommend you acquaint yourself with Christopher Brookmyre
May 17, 2008
I was very annoyed to find out that this would be the last of the Parlabane books. That he would die and that he would be killed off by a psychic was just too much. I was going to register my protest by not reading the damn thing – I mean, who do these damn authors think they are? They create a character and then, just when you start to like them, you find out that the author has had a death wish for them all along. I blame AC Doyle – topping Holmes like that so early on in the piece was bound to give other writers ideas.
This ought to be one of my favourite Brookmyre’s. It has a serious go at the spoon bending fraternity and even gives a backhand slap to the creationists – and if anyone needs a serious slapping, it is these two groups of nongs. But there is something about overtly ideological fiction that doesn’t quite cut it. It is something that Woolf talks about in A Room of One’s Own - that fiction needs to be fiction and based on a certain logic one might call ‘fictional logic’ – and the other sort of logic, the sort that is behind Brookmyre’s writing of this book or his other Not the End of the World isn’t quite what is meant by this fictional logic.
I find all this very hard to say, because ideologically I’m completely, totally and utterly on Brookmyre’s side. In fact, I think the man is a bloody genius and at times one of the funniest men alive – so that makes saying this isn’t him at his best stick in my throat. It is also not the funniest of his books - some of which are very, very funny.
All the same, I still think this is a book well worth reading. There comes a point, about half way through, where I think it would be very hard to put this book down. There are also some very clever bits to the story. I don’t want to say too much as I don’t want to spoil it, but this really is a clever idea – even if I’m not sure it is handled as well as I would have expected from Brookmyre, who is a consummate master and someone who normally crafts his stories in ways I could never fault.
I like how he brings back characters from other books and I’m really glad that Spammy gets another run.
The plot is based around those bastards who prey on the emotions of those who have lost someone. The bastards who do ‘cold readings’ designed to open wounds in the emotional flesh of these who have lost someone close to them. And as Brookmyre does at the end of his book I will do much the same here. James ‘The Amazing’ Randi is a truly great man and this book is dedicated to him. If you are in any doubt about how truly great this man is then all I can say is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxvPJF...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBEbfi...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp6Q-3...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF05m_...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMcg_6...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9Fjjr...
Thank you Randi – the world is a better place because of you.
There are bits of this book that really do zip along – the message of this book is also very important – and I really did enjoy it – But I still believe either Country of the Blind or The Sacred Art of Stealing are his best works. All the same, this is a very good read.
This ought to be one of my favourite Brookmyre’s. It has a serious go at the spoon bending fraternity and even gives a backhand slap to the creationists – and if anyone needs a serious slapping, it is these two groups of nongs. But there is something about overtly ideological fiction that doesn’t quite cut it. It is something that Woolf talks about in A Room of One’s Own - that fiction needs to be fiction and based on a certain logic one might call ‘fictional logic’ – and the other sort of logic, the sort that is behind Brookmyre’s writing of this book or his other Not the End of the World isn’t quite what is meant by this fictional logic.
I find all this very hard to say, because ideologically I’m completely, totally and utterly on Brookmyre’s side. In fact, I think the man is a bloody genius and at times one of the funniest men alive – so that makes saying this isn’t him at his best stick in my throat. It is also not the funniest of his books - some of which are very, very funny.
All the same, I still think this is a book well worth reading. There comes a point, about half way through, where I think it would be very hard to put this book down. There are also some very clever bits to the story. I don’t want to say too much as I don’t want to spoil it, but this really is a clever idea – even if I’m not sure it is handled as well as I would have expected from Brookmyre, who is a consummate master and someone who normally crafts his stories in ways I could never fault.
I like how he brings back characters from other books and I’m really glad that Spammy gets another run.
The plot is based around those bastards who prey on the emotions of those who have lost someone. The bastards who do ‘cold readings’ designed to open wounds in the emotional flesh of these who have lost someone close to them. And as Brookmyre does at the end of his book I will do much the same here. James ‘The Amazing’ Randi is a truly great man and this book is dedicated to him. If you are in any doubt about how truly great this man is then all I can say is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxvPJF...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBEbfi...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp6Q-3...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF05m_...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMcg_6...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9Fjjr...
Thank you Randi – the world is a better place because of you.
There are bits of this book that really do zip along – the message of this book is also very important – and I really did enjoy it – But I still believe either Country of the Blind or The Sacred Art of Stealing are his best works. All the same, this is a very good read.
June 5, 2011
If you write a ghost story which examines ideas of religion, spirituality and faith, and then dedicate it to Richard Dawkins and James Randi, then obviously you’re coming from a very particular place. And indeed there are long tracts of this novel which are a sceptic’s – or indeed, a cynic’s – wet dream. Some of the more outré beliefs of spiritualists, mediums and their ilk are taken out and given a right kicking, whilst religion itself – particularly Christianity – is treated to a Glasgow kiss. Now I speak as someone who is fairly sceptical and cynical (full disclosure: I was raised by fundamentalist atheists) and so I found a great deal of this book thoroughly enjoyable. But, I also did have a sense that I was trapped in a room watching a really clever undergraduate ride his hobbyhorse nearly to death. It’s all very clever, it knows which points to hammer home to really earn a cheer, but the whole is all a bit sound and fury. After all, Brookmyre must know he is preaching to the converted and that a book like this won’t change anybody’s mind.
‘Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks’ – the title apparently comes from a phrase coined by James Randi to describe those people who will continue believing in the impossible no matter what evidence you show them – pitches sceptics and believers into a full-on war. A financially backed television spiritualist campaigns for, and eventually gets, a seat to investigate psychic phenomenon in the Science department of a Scottish University. As more and more – seemingly unimpeachable – evidence of his supernatural skills are recorded, it is up to an extremely hard bitten journalist and a geeky student to try and discover whether our current scientific understanding of the world is absolutely wrong and there is such a thing as the other side, or whether there is some magnificent long con being played out.
Remember kids, if you ever find yourself investigating those who claim to have paranormal powers (and which of us doesn’t at one point or another?) then don’t take a scientist with you. Instead bring a magician.
This is a fun, entertaining and well paced novel with a lot of clever misdirection – but there are also a number of big, glaring flaws. Amongst the Scots on display there are some fine characters, but Brookmyre really does struggle to capture the American – and particularly New Orleans – accent. And for a book with the word ‘Unsinkable’ in the title, the twists and turns of the rather convoluted plot do leave the story almost capsized by the end.
Christopher Brookmyre is an author who didn’t flash across my radar until a recent visit to Edinburgh. Scottish bookstores like to put their own authors prominently on display. (I’m writing this review in Wales, and the same thing doesn’t hold true in this corner of the United Kingdom). From this initial taster, he seems to me a fun writer with a lot of interesting ideas whose oeuvre it would be worthwhile exploring. Undeniably this is a flawed book, but it is a rollickingly good ride which manages to hit a lot of really good points in a truly amusing way.
‘Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks’ – the title apparently comes from a phrase coined by James Randi to describe those people who will continue believing in the impossible no matter what evidence you show them – pitches sceptics and believers into a full-on war. A financially backed television spiritualist campaigns for, and eventually gets, a seat to investigate psychic phenomenon in the Science department of a Scottish University. As more and more – seemingly unimpeachable – evidence of his supernatural skills are recorded, it is up to an extremely hard bitten journalist and a geeky student to try and discover whether our current scientific understanding of the world is absolutely wrong and there is such a thing as the other side, or whether there is some magnificent long con being played out.
Remember kids, if you ever find yourself investigating those who claim to have paranormal powers (and which of us doesn’t at one point or another?) then don’t take a scientist with you. Instead bring a magician.
This is a fun, entertaining and well paced novel with a lot of clever misdirection – but there are also a number of big, glaring flaws. Amongst the Scots on display there are some fine characters, but Brookmyre really does struggle to capture the American – and particularly New Orleans – accent. And for a book with the word ‘Unsinkable’ in the title, the twists and turns of the rather convoluted plot do leave the story almost capsized by the end.
Christopher Brookmyre is an author who didn’t flash across my radar until a recent visit to Edinburgh. Scottish bookstores like to put their own authors prominently on display. (I’m writing this review in Wales, and the same thing doesn’t hold true in this corner of the United Kingdom). From this initial taster, he seems to me a fun writer with a lot of interesting ideas whose oeuvre it would be worthwhile exploring. Undeniably this is a flawed book, but it is a rollickingly good ride which manages to hit a lot of really good points in a truly amusing way.
November 19, 2023
Was very hesitant about this story until around half way, but then it grew on me. It is a rather straightforward story about science and pseudoscience, but Brookmyre complicates things quite a lot by serving us deceiving facts, alternating narrators and setting it all non-linearly. It works - well enough - and the overall results is better than you'd think after 100 or so pages. The missing start is because of this confusing start and also because it moves surprisingly slowly at times.
The basis here is the thought "what if the age old argument put to science by woo-woo'ists that 'your method prescribes that you keep an open mind, so the scientific method must mean that you take us into account, no matter the fact that we don't follow it' took hold?"
In the current, sorry, state of lack of understanding and disinformation, this is not so far-fetched. Especially since the woo-woo people in this story takes it one step further and actually agrees to adhere to science (apart from the fact that they set out to find any, even though fluctuating, support for their ready-made hypothesis, which is actually the opposite of the scientific method, but who'd understand that on a diet of 'X' and modern media?)
I don't mind fantasy at all, but had a hard time with squaring this with the 5th Parlabane story. It all worked out though and amounted to a quite enjoyable read.
The basis here is the thought "what if the age old argument put to science by woo-woo'ists that 'your method prescribes that you keep an open mind, so the scientific method must mean that you take us into account, no matter the fact that we don't follow it' took hold?"
In the current, sorry, state of lack of understanding and disinformation, this is not so far-fetched. Especially since the woo-woo people in this story takes it one step further and actually agrees to adhere to science (apart from the fact that they set out to find any, even though fluctuating, support for their ready-made hypothesis, which is actually the opposite of the scientific method, but who'd understand that on a diet of 'X' and modern media?)
I don't mind fantasy at all, but had a hard time with squaring this with the 5th Parlabane story. It all worked out though and amounted to a quite enjoyable read.
February 3, 2020
I’m giving this one 4.5 stars. And I’m not even going to attempt to give you a synopsis of the plot. It was very convoluted and others have done an admirable job with it. Also if you’re new to the series I would NOT start with this book, it was very slow to get going and set the scene. For those of us already on board with the dark Brookmyre wit, we just need to plod through the opening scenes to get to the gold. For a long time I wondered where this story was going but the ride was worth it. Brookmyre kept a lot of balls in the air with this one, juggling them all admirably to tie the plot up in beautiful knots of complexity and humour and sweet revenge. It was truly a thing of beauty.
January 18, 2023
This audio book was part of my revisit of the entire Parlabane series so I was cheating a bit, having already done "all the emotions" over the opening line of the blurb.
I do get the idea of telegraphing the end of Jack and the whole Parlabane series was going to grab some attention. And I understand fully that being elected Rector of Kelvin University was a bit of a parting surprise. I can even get behind the idea that Parlabane going out in a blaze of psychic attention seeking was just the ticket for getting your average fan steamed up and in a take no prisoners mood. And I will admit that even on first reading I was firmly trying to convince myself that "this is Christopher Brookmyre right?" And there's that "Or is he?". Is that the sliver of light in an otherwise hefty cloud of "what the's"?
Book number five in the Jack Parlabane series, ATTACK OF THE UNSINKABLE RUBBER DUCK is a glorious / clever title, for a seriously good book. Good because he's launching an almighty forehand at the spoon bending fraternity, with a very nice backhand lob at the creationists along the way (it's Australian Open time / I might have heard some terminology floating around...). Good because I'm particularly partial to Christopher Brookmyre when he mounts his umpires chair and starts chucking some pointed commentary from on high. Good in that it's got it's moments of hilarity and sheer weirdness. Good because he really shouldn't be rector of Kelvin University, and yet he really could be a worthy one. Perhaps not quite so good because it does take a while to get going, which did stand out a lot more in audio than I remember on the page. Even better ultimately because it's a complex plot, with the return of some favourite characters (Spammy has to be one of the all time greats - and the narrator's voice for him in these books has been gold).
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
I do get the idea of telegraphing the end of Jack and the whole Parlabane series was going to grab some attention. And I understand fully that being elected Rector of Kelvin University was a bit of a parting surprise. I can even get behind the idea that Parlabane going out in a blaze of psychic attention seeking was just the ticket for getting your average fan steamed up and in a take no prisoners mood. And I will admit that even on first reading I was firmly trying to convince myself that "this is Christopher Brookmyre right?" And there's that "Or is he?". Is that the sliver of light in an otherwise hefty cloud of "what the's"?
Book number five in the Jack Parlabane series, ATTACK OF THE UNSINKABLE RUBBER DUCK is a glorious / clever title, for a seriously good book. Good because he's launching an almighty forehand at the spoon bending fraternity, with a very nice backhand lob at the creationists along the way (it's Australian Open time / I might have heard some terminology floating around...). Good because I'm particularly partial to Christopher Brookmyre when he mounts his umpires chair and starts chucking some pointed commentary from on high. Good in that it's got it's moments of hilarity and sheer weirdness. Good because he really shouldn't be rector of Kelvin University, and yet he really could be a worthy one. Perhaps not quite so good because it does take a while to get going, which did stand out a lot more in audio than I remember on the page. Even better ultimately because it's a complex plot, with the return of some favourite characters (Spammy has to be one of the all time greats - and the narrator's voice for him in these books has been gold).
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
March 9, 2024
Lots of sleight of hand and misdirection in this story of the supernatural. Lacks some of the humour of his other stories but many satisfying twists and turns keep you going.
June 12, 2020
I've never read any of Christopher Brookmyre's books before, and, from the reviews I've just read, this probably wasn't a good place to start. (It was a random, secondhand, book my librarian daughter gave me.) I was intrigued by the plot enough that I carried on reading and wanted to know how it was all going to play out, but I'm not sure I enjoyed the journey.
One problem I had is that it wasn't always clear to me who was now narrating at the start of a chapter. Different voices, telling different parts of a story, is a technique I have always enjoyed, but, in this case, it felt too disjointed and caused me to have to start each chapter unsure of it's focus. Added to this, I found the whole book to be a bit, well, messy, in it's construction - not to the point of losing track of the plot. It just didn't gel well with me.
Having said all that, I'm glad I read it, and I have no doubt that many other people would love this book, and the others that go along with it. Sadly, I think it's the only Christopher Brookmyre book I'm likely to read.
One problem I had is that it wasn't always clear to me who was now narrating at the start of a chapter. Different voices, telling different parts of a story, is a technique I have always enjoyed, but, in this case, it felt too disjointed and caused me to have to start each chapter unsure of it's focus. Added to this, I found the whole book to be a bit, well, messy, in it's construction - not to the point of losing track of the plot. It just didn't gel well with me.
Having said all that, I'm glad I read it, and I have no doubt that many other people would love this book, and the others that go along with it. Sadly, I think it's the only Christopher Brookmyre book I'm likely to read.
January 26, 2013
Brilliant. Funny. Irreverant. Straight down the line hilarious.
Really enjoyed this book. The "hero" Jack Parlebayne is a classic, no nonsense, doesnt take crap for anyone sort of guy. This book is similar to most of Christopher Brookmyre's books - lots of back story, lots of "takin'the pish", lots of the reader thinking "WTF"....
The story always starts slowly, the author filling the pages flicking from one character, one sub-plot to another, giving you subtle glimpses of what is coming...and then about half way through the book you are sent helter skelter on towards the finish line...and left at the end thinking "wow- how did he get me here?"
PS: I listened to this as an audiobook (hearing the voices in the right accents just make it better (I think anyway)...
Full points for Mr Brookmyre - another classic.
Really enjoyed this book. The "hero" Jack Parlebayne is a classic, no nonsense, doesnt take crap for anyone sort of guy. This book is similar to most of Christopher Brookmyre's books - lots of back story, lots of "takin'the pish", lots of the reader thinking "WTF"....
The story always starts slowly, the author filling the pages flicking from one character, one sub-plot to another, giving you subtle glimpses of what is coming...and then about half way through the book you are sent helter skelter on towards the finish line...and left at the end thinking "wow- how did he get me here?"
PS: I listened to this as an audiobook (hearing the voices in the right accents just make it better (I think anyway)...
Full points for Mr Brookmyre - another classic.
September 27, 2019
This was a bit of an odd one - I was feeling very pessimistic about the book up until somewhere around the hundred page mark, the disjointed and partially told nature of the opening few chapters i found a bit irritating, information withheld from the reader a bit cheap an effect, and my high expectations from having enjoyed many of Brookmyre’s other novels very much not met.
It improved. The awkward set up was, on balance, worth it - an interesting tale about charlatans and believers, scientists and sceptics, some very intriguing discussions of those who con money from folk who fall for fakery. It was more ‘clever’ than ‘witty’ overall, less enjoyable a read than many of the inept Scots criminal thrillers that are more the author’s usual, and will never be my favourite, but a strong three and a half rounded up to four.
It improved. The awkward set up was, on balance, worth it - an interesting tale about charlatans and believers, scientists and sceptics, some very intriguing discussions of those who con money from folk who fall for fakery. It was more ‘clever’ than ‘witty’ overall, less enjoyable a read than many of the inept Scots criminal thrillers that are more the author’s usual, and will never be my favourite, but a strong three and a half rounded up to four.
January 7, 2024
3.5
I can only give it 3 stars here cause it has a weak start that really nearly put me off but I enjoyed it by the end and really liked the central conceit. It's clear it's never about what the answer is it's about how the trick is done.
However it does a very annoying thing of (at least initially) having two point of view characters with very similar narrative voices it's impossible to distinguish and switching in a way that is not clear. As the book goes on you get enough to go 'oh ok it's the student/journalist' but early on it's a bit annoying.
I might well read more of the series. This was a book I bought a long long time ago entirely on liking the title and cover design and has sat on my shelf since. And weirdly I bought it at the same time as The End of My Y, another novel with an intriguing title and great cover design.
And they turn out to both have been written about the same time and have the same focus and interest, in essentially the growth of both popular spirituality and skepticism of the 00s.
However that book was one of the worst I've read in a long time (really good short story in the novel though) and comes at it at the exact opposite tack. This book comes down on the right side of woo and also doesn't compare drug experiments on mice with the holocaust which is a bonus.
I can only give it 3 stars here cause it has a weak start that really nearly put me off but I enjoyed it by the end and really liked the central conceit. It's clear it's never about what the answer is it's about how the trick is done.
However it does a very annoying thing of (at least initially) having two point of view characters with very similar narrative voices it's impossible to distinguish and switching in a way that is not clear. As the book goes on you get enough to go 'oh ok it's the student/journalist' but early on it's a bit annoying.
I might well read more of the series. This was a book I bought a long long time ago entirely on liking the title and cover design and has sat on my shelf since. And weirdly I bought it at the same time as The End of My Y, another novel with an intriguing title and great cover design.
And they turn out to both have been written about the same time and have the same focus and interest, in essentially the growth of both popular spirituality and skepticism of the 00s.
However that book was one of the worst I've read in a long time (really good short story in the novel though) and comes at it at the exact opposite tack. This book comes down on the right side of woo and also doesn't compare drug experiments on mice with the holocaust which is a bonus.
January 23, 2022
I loved the way this book led you on in a way where you feel like you have so much information but no idea how it all fits together. Then at the end everything comes together and makes sense with a satisfying conclusion to boot. I don't think it's as good as the early ones in the series but I still enjoyed it.
November 5, 2025
DNF. The only thing I liked about this book is the title.
May 19, 2017
Psi und Co sind nur raffinierte Betrügereien, oder? Gabriel Lafayette scheint eine Ausnahme zu sein und erklärt sich schließlich sogar dazu bereit, seine Fähigkeiten unter wissenschaftlich kontrollierten Bedingungen unter Beweis zu stellen...
Fast das, gesamte Buch wird aus persönlichen Perspektiven verschiedener Akteure erzählt. Und das auf eine sehr unterhaltsame Art und Weise. Immer wider wird man als Leser aufs Glatteis geführt, und man bekommt abwechselnd Hinweise auf echte oder getürkte übersinnliche Fähigkeiten.
Ein sehr schön geschriebenes Buch, das die Problematik der psychischen Fähigkeiten auf eine witzige und eindrucksvolle Weise darstellt. Ein echtes Schmankerl.
Fast das, gesamte Buch wird aus persönlichen Perspektiven verschiedener Akteure erzählt. Und das auf eine sehr unterhaltsame Art und Weise. Immer wider wird man als Leser aufs Glatteis geführt, und man bekommt abwechselnd Hinweise auf echte oder getürkte übersinnliche Fähigkeiten.
Ein sehr schön geschriebenes Buch, das die Problematik der psychischen Fähigkeiten auf eine witzige und eindrucksvolle Weise darstellt. Ein echtes Schmankerl.
December 31, 2018
This is how I see the Jack Parlabane books – “I see you on the shelf. I can’t touch you right now. I have to work. I have to spend time with some ladies. If I touch you, I will lose my job and the lovely ladies to hang out with. Because you will suck me in, and you will suck me in enough to forget that everything else is shelved.” Thus, I make sure that I read ONLY ONE Jack Parlabane novel a year when it is safe to head into the abyss. God – What A Series! Also, the Jack Parlabane series has had the most unique names I have ever experienced. From the first “Quite Ugly One Morning”, the Jack Parlabane series has always had the most hilarious and apt names.
“Attack Of The Unsinkable Rubber Ducks” is the 5th adventure of Jack Parlabane, whose journalist methods and attitudes put him on the hit list of many. On reading the premise behind Brookmyre's latest, I was (as usual) highly intrigued about Parlabane talking to us from beyond the grave. I just knew that this HAD to be anothercrazy journey into the abyss of Jack Parlabane’s world. Now, for a regular reader, the concept of a recently-deceased journalist debunking evil psychics is a bit hard to take at first, but for a Jack Parlabane fan, it is exactly what is expected. The plot is extremely well handled and much less supernatural than you think.
Yes, as Jack Parlabane announces, he is dead. However, the circumstances behind his untimely demise are not revealed until very near the end of the book; the rest is the build-up of how it all came about, starting with his appointment as Rector of Kelvin University and subsequent task of overseeing a test of paranormal phenomena. An American scientist has found a psychic, Lafayette, who claims to be the real deal and is willing to be tested for it in controlled conditions; Parlabane is there to keep an eye out for cheating, because if the guy succeeds, it's the first step to establishing a Spiritual Science chair at the University and putting a nail in the coffin of serious science education. The thing is, Lafayette doesn't really appear to be cheating at all...
The theme of the book addresses the pseudoscience propaganda that gathers momentum at every possible opportunity around the world in different forms. The "unsinkable rubber ducks" of the title are the fervent believers in the paranormal and pseudo-science, who remain convinced no matter how strong the evidence, and Mr. Brookmyre paints a very vivid picture of exactly what these "psychics" do to reinforce that belief. Of course, as the bodies mount up, you know that Brookmyre's guys are going just a few steps further than is usual, but there's a lot of good research into normal spiritualist practice, and the profession as a whole comes off looking worse than even the ardent non-believer can portray it.
Now, given the presence of Parlabane, we have the usual problem of having his potted history shoehorned in at the beginning, which also contains spoilers for some of the funnier surprises from Be My Enemy, so I'd definitely recommend steering clear of this book until you've read the previous one. Elsewhere, the anti-pseudoscience passages are a little didactic at times but for those of us already interested in the topic, much of this covers old and familiar ground. The style is also a little different from the usual Brookmyre novel - it's all first-person from the perspective of Parlabane, a couple of students and a Daily Mail columnist. Being a classic Parlabane adventure it was a damn fine read. Is Parlabane really dead? Well, honestly, do you believe in ghosts?
For thriller lovers, the Jack Parlabane series is an ABSOLUTE MUST. You simply cannot miss this one. EXPLOSIVE is probably the only word that can define Jack Parlabane. The series is just MAGIC. As someone has said already “If you haven’t read the Jack Parlbane series, you haven’t lived”
“Attack Of The Unsinkable Rubber Ducks” is the 5th adventure of Jack Parlabane, whose journalist methods and attitudes put him on the hit list of many. On reading the premise behind Brookmyre's latest, I was (as usual) highly intrigued about Parlabane talking to us from beyond the grave. I just knew that this HAD to be anothercrazy journey into the abyss of Jack Parlabane’s world. Now, for a regular reader, the concept of a recently-deceased journalist debunking evil psychics is a bit hard to take at first, but for a Jack Parlabane fan, it is exactly what is expected. The plot is extremely well handled and much less supernatural than you think.
Yes, as Jack Parlabane announces, he is dead. However, the circumstances behind his untimely demise are not revealed until very near the end of the book; the rest is the build-up of how it all came about, starting with his appointment as Rector of Kelvin University and subsequent task of overseeing a test of paranormal phenomena. An American scientist has found a psychic, Lafayette, who claims to be the real deal and is willing to be tested for it in controlled conditions; Parlabane is there to keep an eye out for cheating, because if the guy succeeds, it's the first step to establishing a Spiritual Science chair at the University and putting a nail in the coffin of serious science education. The thing is, Lafayette doesn't really appear to be cheating at all...
The theme of the book addresses the pseudoscience propaganda that gathers momentum at every possible opportunity around the world in different forms. The "unsinkable rubber ducks" of the title are the fervent believers in the paranormal and pseudo-science, who remain convinced no matter how strong the evidence, and Mr. Brookmyre paints a very vivid picture of exactly what these "psychics" do to reinforce that belief. Of course, as the bodies mount up, you know that Brookmyre's guys are going just a few steps further than is usual, but there's a lot of good research into normal spiritualist practice, and the profession as a whole comes off looking worse than even the ardent non-believer can portray it.
Now, given the presence of Parlabane, we have the usual problem of having his potted history shoehorned in at the beginning, which also contains spoilers for some of the funnier surprises from Be My Enemy, so I'd definitely recommend steering clear of this book until you've read the previous one. Elsewhere, the anti-pseudoscience passages are a little didactic at times but for those of us already interested in the topic, much of this covers old and familiar ground. The style is also a little different from the usual Brookmyre novel - it's all first-person from the perspective of Parlabane, a couple of students and a Daily Mail columnist. Being a classic Parlabane adventure it was a damn fine read. Is Parlabane really dead? Well, honestly, do you believe in ghosts?
For thriller lovers, the Jack Parlabane series is an ABSOLUTE MUST. You simply cannot miss this one. EXPLOSIVE is probably the only word that can define Jack Parlabane. The series is just MAGIC. As someone has said already “If you haven’t read the Jack Parlbane series, you haven’t lived”
November 10, 2014
A book to win a skeptic's heart. This is not the funniest of the Parlabane books, but it's an absorbing thriller. It begins slowly, and if you were unfamiliar with the author - or if you hadn't taken the hint from the book's dedication to Randi and Dawkins - then you might think the author was going to come down on the side of woo. Brookmyre allows the "ducks" to present the most cogent and insidious of the arguments in favor of "keeping an open mind" when it comes to paranormal research.
An "unsinkable rubber duck" is James Randi's phrase to describe those who are determined to believe in woo no matter how much evidence to the contrary they are presented with.
The book is suspenseful, full of devious twists and turns, and the villains are as evil a bunch as Brookmyre has ever invented. The plot does have a big flaw, but it's a minor spoiler to even discuss it:
An "unsinkable rubber duck" is James Randi's phrase to describe those who are determined to believe in woo no matter how much evidence to the contrary they are presented with.
The book is suspenseful, full of devious twists and turns, and the villains are as evil a bunch as Brookmyre has ever invented. The plot does have a big flaw, but it's a minor spoiler to even discuss it:
July 14, 2019
I've read Unsinkables once before, but am currently reading through all Brookmyre 's books in chronological order. All I would say is that having read it previously may take away some of the surprise element, but it certainly bears a second read. Knowing how the plot unfolds gave me a sense of how the character Moira may feel - being wise to 'how it was done' helped me to see how cleverly the author chooses his words throughout.
Most of Brookmyre's books leave me with a slight sense of running to catch up with both the pace and sheer wit. If a second reading is what I need to keep pace, perhaps a third would make me feel one step ahead?! I suspect not; something tells me he's always playing the long con.
January 3, 2016
If you are Christopher Brookmyre you can surely risk losing your reader in the first few pages, and as someone who's first book of his definitely did not resonate, this might have lost me, because the tone of Jillian Noble's opening piece did not excite, and was not Parlabane.
However, once again I finished up believing that while there were writers as fiendishly clever at plotting around, I'm wasting my time trying, because this all finished up as neat and intricate as one could hope (but never envisage). So while I'd've given him 3.5 I've very pettily left it at three.
Oh, and as ever the tilting at the gullible world of the psychic is enlightening (and as someone else who's been conned by Reg Vardy it was good to see the dirt dug on him too).
However, once again I finished up believing that while there were writers as fiendishly clever at plotting around, I'm wasting my time trying, because this all finished up as neat and intricate as one could hope (but never envisage). So while I'd've given him 3.5 I've very pettily left it at three.
Oh, and as ever the tilting at the gullible world of the psychic is enlightening (and as someone else who's been conned by Reg Vardy it was good to see the dirt dug on him too).
August 23, 2015
I bought this book years ago because of the title, without even properly registering the blurb. I figured any book with a title like this one must be hilarious. So when I finally started reading it, I was pleasantly surprised to find as good a mystery as any I've read before. It took a while for me to really get into it, mostly because I have never read a Parlabane novel before, but once I got in I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I'll try to get my hands on the earlier instalments in this series; I like the character for a protagonist very much indeed.
December 11, 2017
If you've not read any Chris Brookmyre then this is probably not the best book to start off with. I love his books and have read most of them but I found this one hard to get into until about halfway when the story really starts to get going. If I hadn't been on holiday with plenty of time, I might not have made it to that point. However, by the end, I was raving as always about this great author.
October 11, 2022
It does come across as a serious book to start but turns into a well-developed, cleverly twisted book that really sucked me in. A mix of ghosts and magic but not really, and a story about those things but about our levels of belief in thym. This is the first Brookmyre book I’ve read and won’t be the last of the others are as cleverly written.
February 4, 2012
This book was a bit hard to get into, the first half dragged on a bit. But the second half was a lot better and I liked the way Brookmyre demonstrated how people get lured in by psychics and religious movements.
June 2, 2014
Boring pile of pap. I was half way through before the story was even vaguely interesting. The character/narrator changes at different chapters are confusing and so half of the time you are trying to work out who on earth is narrating now. If you were considering this book - don't bother.
February 16, 2015
Brookmyre on a subject that gets him angry - hard not to enjoy that really. The various first person accounts, while I see why he did it that way, didn't do a lot for me and ended up making the actual plot a little slim, but it's an entertaining story all the same from a consistently great writer.
February 20, 2016
Standard Brookymyre/Jack Parlabane fare. Hard to put down once you get involved.
Not at all interested by the paranormal so took a wee while to get into it also was a little disappointed at how obvious it unfolded until nearer the end. Still good stuff and enjoyable new characters.
Not at all interested by the paranormal so took a wee while to get into it also was a little disappointed at how obvious it unfolded until nearer the end. Still good stuff and enjoyable new characters.
May 6, 2019
If it has one star I liked it a lot
If it has two stars I liked it a lot and would recommend it
If it has three stars I really really liked it a lot
If it has four stars I insist you read it
If it has five stars it was life changing
If it has two stars I liked it a lot and would recommend it
If it has three stars I really really liked it a lot
If it has four stars I insist you read it
If it has five stars it was life changing
December 27, 2013
Rubbish! Have no idea what this was about even now! Won't be listening to it again!
July 19, 2020
Did not finish it. I really didn't care about the story. :(
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