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Sheer Purgatory
An hilarious romp through the Afterlife in a Douglas Adams meets Terry Pratchett kind of way. If Monty Python had shot another movie, this would probably have been the one they shot dead. Dan arrives in Purgatory with Victor 3157, his well-meaning but incompetent guardian angel, where he finds he has to wash away his sins, outsmart angelic security and figure out how to get his life back.“Divine Comedy!” – The Wednesday Times.It’s 8 a.m. in London, England, and Dan Trench is having a very bad morning. He has a terrible hangover from the night before, his girlfriend has left a message that she wants to talk to him right now, and he has left something he should not have lost in one of the bars he visited last night. But things are about to get very much worse, as unknown to him, his hapless guardian angel, Victor 3157, is also on his case. Dan is about to discover a whole new world where souls are washing away their sins in a place where they do things differently ... Historical novelist, Robert Carter, takes us on a detour into humor with his latest book, Sheer Purgatory. The author offers a glimpse into an afterlife that awaits 95% of us, whether we believe in it or not. Carter “I happened to read in the Daily Telegraph that Pope Benedict XVI had abolished Limbo, and I thought, well, if he doesn’t want it, I’ll have it.” The annexation of Purgatory soon followed.Sheer Purgatory leads its readers through territory beloved of fantasy fans and Python geeks everywhere. Carter’s background in physics has helped him create a consistent world running on rules that turn human behavior on its head, a world made not of matter and energy, but of ectoplasm and ether. From the moment of his demise, the hero must learn to get along and accomplish his goal of setting right a great injustice, and in the process discovers a whole new understanding of how things work on Planet Earth. “With a bit of luck,” says Carter, “Dante will be turning in his grave.”Sure to become a contemporary fantasy classic, Sheer Purgatory is fun-poking comedy at its best.
186 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2012
6 people are currently reading
710 people want to read
About the author
Robert Carter
13 books193 followersI was born in Staffordshire, near Etruria, the place made famous by Josiah Wedgwood, but was brought up in Sydney, Australia and later in Lancashire, England. I studied astrophysics at Newcastle University, where I started the student science fiction society. Writing novels has always played a part in my life, and I've tried to see the world enough to be able to write fiction with the help of personal experience.
After university, the US oil industry was booming so I went to Dallas, Texas, later on I worked on rigs in various parts of the Middle East and the war-torn heart of Africa. I was aboard the Ron Tappmeyer, a rig that blew out in the Persian Gulf, killing 19 men. It was dangerous work, but well-paid, and it took me to places that outsiders rarely see, like the Rub-al-Khali of Arabia and hard-to-reach parts of equatorial Africa.
When I left the oilfields, I spent time on travel, first to East Berlin and Warsaw, then to Moscow and Leningrad. From there I took the Trans-Siberian railway to Japan. In Hong Kong, I worked on a road survey, took tea with the heir of the last king of Upper Burma near Mandalay, and on the path to Everest base camp just happened to run into Sir Edmund Hillary. After traveling around most of India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, I returned home and took up a job with the BBC. Four years later, I left BBC TV to write. I finally settled in London, but I still like to head off to interesting parts when time allows.
After university, the US oil industry was booming so I went to Dallas, Texas, later on I worked on rigs in various parts of the Middle East and the war-torn heart of Africa. I was aboard the Ron Tappmeyer, a rig that blew out in the Persian Gulf, killing 19 men. It was dangerous work, but well-paid, and it took me to places that outsiders rarely see, like the Rub-al-Khali of Arabia and hard-to-reach parts of equatorial Africa.
When I left the oilfields, I spent time on travel, first to East Berlin and Warsaw, then to Moscow and Leningrad. From there I took the Trans-Siberian railway to Japan. In Hong Kong, I worked on a road survey, took tea with the heir of the last king of Upper Burma near Mandalay, and on the path to Everest base camp just happened to run into Sir Edmund Hillary. After traveling around most of India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, I returned home and took up a job with the BBC. Four years later, I left BBC TV to write. I finally settled in London, but I still like to head off to interesting parts when time allows.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 7, 2019
What a great read!? I went into this with fairly low expectations(independently published and all that), but it was wonderfully clever and funny. The jokes kept coming, and there was symbolism coming out at me on every page.
The concept of purgatory in this book is hilarious, and the author used it for all it's worth, without making it feel tired and redundant.
With books like this(witty satire), the characters can be weak with little depth and development. I really enjoyed this cast of characters. The only real development was made by the protagonist, but all the characters were unique and well thought out, with their own little quirks.
I'm not sure what caught my attention about this book, perhaps it was the cover or the comparison to Terry Pratchett in the description. Whatever it was, I'm glad it did.
The concept of purgatory in this book is hilarious, and the author used it for all it's worth, without making it feel tired and redundant.
With books like this(witty satire), the characters can be weak with little depth and development. I really enjoyed this cast of characters. The only real development was made by the protagonist, but all the characters were unique and well thought out, with their own little quirks.
I'm not sure what caught my attention about this book, perhaps it was the cover or the comparison to Terry Pratchett in the description. Whatever it was, I'm glad it did.
July 24, 2013
Interesting take on the afterlife. Funny and original.
February 1, 2014
Fun, silly read. Great for travel.
January 6, 2019
Safe to say, I never expected that a book about Purgatory would be so much fun and interesting! The author's take on Purgatory is well thought out and at times hilarious. Everyone trying to rid themselves of sin through a blend of kindness and embracing misery... shambling masses trying to do kind deeds at the expense of others... even the phlogiston lighting. This book has been compared to Monty Python / Douglas Adams / Terry Pratchett already and for good reason. It is worthy of the comparison. Truly a good read. My only criticism is that it seemed to get monotonous at times and the author overdid it a bit with the running gag about Dan's balls. 4/5
May 21, 2019
Great comic fantasy. Different to what I may have been expecting, but in all good ways. I want more.
December 17, 2016
I read the opening scene on a free preview and loved it, but the rest of the book didn't live up to that promise. Yes it was filled with funny one-liners, but without change to the tempo and pitch of the story, even these became a chore to get through.
I was never attached to the characters and found some of their behaviours inconsistent. I didn't experience any curiosity or suspense for a character outside the given focus at any point in the story.
And I don't think Carter found the balance between patronising the reader who knew what was going on and not alienating the reader who didn't: what was with the ongoing joke about the only person to rise from the dead? I thought it was about And what was the significance of Dan's balls (as funny as that sounds)? You can't not resolve the whole point to the book and leave it for the sequel.
The book was told in third person, but twice switched to first person for single phrases, both well after the halfway mark. At first I thought I'd missed something or lost track of characters, stopped to flick back and check, before deciding it was poor editing. But the third occurrence made it clear - Carter referred to himself, asking the reader if we didn't mind him intervening. Yes, I do mind. It's too late in the book and for what purpose?
I loved the reference to Lennon and Harrison, to God being a bird fancier and being okay with gambling, and the homage to Becher's, Stahl's, and ultimately Lavoisier's phlogiston (with its (appropriately) negative mass).
In short, there were pieces of brilliance in the story, but it needed a lot more work to connect them, to make me interested in the sequel.
Even absurdist fiction needs some kind of plot, resolution and character arcs.
I was never attached to the characters and found some of their behaviours inconsistent. I didn't experience any curiosity or suspense for a character outside the given focus at any point in the story.
And I don't think Carter found the balance between patronising the reader who knew what was going on and not alienating the reader who didn't: what was with the ongoing joke about the only person to rise from the dead? I thought it was about And what was the significance of Dan's balls (as funny as that sounds)? You can't not resolve the whole point to the book and leave it for the sequel.
The book was told in third person, but twice switched to first person for single phrases, both well after the halfway mark. At first I thought I'd missed something or lost track of characters, stopped to flick back and check, before deciding it was poor editing. But the third occurrence made it clear - Carter referred to himself, asking the reader if we didn't mind him intervening. Yes, I do mind. It's too late in the book and for what purpose?
I loved the reference to Lennon and Harrison, to God being a bird fancier and being okay with gambling, and the homage to Becher's, Stahl's, and ultimately Lavoisier's phlogiston (with its (appropriately) negative mass).
In short, there were pieces of brilliance in the story, but it needed a lot more work to connect them, to make me interested in the sequel.
Even absurdist fiction needs some kind of plot, resolution and character arcs.
January 2, 2013
The burning question has always been what becomes of us in the Afterlife. Not so with Robert Carter's highly engaging book "Sheer Purgatory," where ectoplasmic trees, Astro turf, and clever phrases abound and the skewed world of loyal angels, evil angels, and big brother government seeps in at the most unexpected moments. A sharp, cynical, and also uplifting look at human nature--wherever it happens to land, this is a fine read!
November 26, 2016
Fantastically funny, it was the first comedy book I have ever read about purgatory so it was very refreshing, Dan is taken long before his time and ends up in Purgatory , he meets two other passed souls and they stick to him like glue, much to his disappointment.
All Dan wants to do is go back to live the rest of his life on Earth , which is not an easy thing to do as it is against the natural order of existence once your in Purgatory, your stay until Judgement Day.
All Dan wants to do is go back to live the rest of his life on Earth , which is not an easy thing to do as it is against the natural order of existence once your in Purgatory, your stay until Judgement Day.
October 27, 2012
I had a wonderful experience with this story. I had never given the afterlife this kind of attention before and it was pure fun. Mr Carter does make you stop and think as he puts together a completely enjoyable rump through---not heaven and not hell, but Purgatory. That place between going up or going down. I would love to read a sequel to this story
May 14, 2016
Very cute story, easy read. Hilarious at times yet also thought-provoking.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews