Cola Boy

by Ryan Battles

'Quick-witted, Darkly Comic and Edgy'

The year is 1996. 24-year-old Jimmy Irvine quits the tombstone grey skies of Scotland for the sun-kissed beaches of Dubai. A news reporter and small-time club DJ, Jimmy soon becomes exposed to the city’s underbelly of organised crime - a seedy world which has infiltrated the cabin crew of an Arabian airline.

Strict sharia laws govern the country where premarital sex is a crime, homosexuality illegal, drugs sentences severe and censorship is regularly imposed across the media. But Jimmy is not subservient to authority. He is hell-bent on pushing boundaries, finding the scoops and daring to organise Dubai’s first desert rave, whatever the consequences.

'A nostalgic trip down memory lane of the 90s scene while opening my eyes to pastures new of Dubai in the 90s. The characters and story are as vivid and bright as the 49 degrees sun! Get involved with Cola Boy - it’s the real thing! ' Leo Gregory (Actor - Green Street, The Hooligan Factory)

‘A fast paced, kinetic debut from a writer with his finger on the pulse of the working class culture. Endearing, exciting and authentic.’ - Dean Cavanagh (Author & Screen Writer - Creation Stories, Crime, Svengali)

‘Sky high, stylish tales of Arabian nights from the down to earth cruder side of the expat Gulf scene. Cola Boy’s tale reads like a Dubai Rum Diaries in a sandstorm of uncomplacent reality. A bold, well paced debut.’ - DJ Dribbler (DJ and Author)

'A riveting birds-eye view of youth culture that perfectly transcends the blueprint of the northern soul beginnings, to the equally drug-fuelled partying of modern day clubbing and lifestyle. If you were there, you’ll love it!' - Yogi Haughton (DJ and Writer)'Cola Boy is a delicious portal into the 90's illegal rave scene fused with the danger and allure of Dubai's forbidden underworld. Living vicariously through Jack-the-lad Jimmy, the book kept me on edge, and hooked from start to finish. Quick-witted, darkly comic and edgy.' - Candis Nergaard, (Writer and Actor)

‘A brutal but hilarious semi-autobiographical account of Dubai in the 90s told by a young Scottish hack. A sobering story of excess and corruption with a mix of zippy dialogue, Tarantino violence and Trainspotting honesty about drugs and addiction. A must read!’ - Eva Pascoe (Entrepreneur and Writer)'A brilliant debut about Generation X getting lost in the desert. The heat, the music and the right gear in all respects jumps off the page at you. This is a rip roaring ride about how a man can be in the wrong place at the right time.' - Jonny Owen (Film Producer, Writer, Actor)

‘If you know the heat of the UAE then this book transports you right there with the added certainty that if you don’t play by the rules there are consequences. Cola Boy is a banging read for those hot summer beach vibes!’- Danny Clockwork (DJ and Author)

322 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2024

About the author

Ryan started his passion for writing at 21 when he launched a music and fashion fanzine in his home city of Aberdeen.

He then went onto to become a qualified journalist writing for national newspapers in the UK and in the United Arab Emirates. He was on the tail end of the Second Summer of Love, heading to Ibiza for the first time in 1990 and like so many came back with a different outlook on life. From then on, he DJ'd and promoted several nights and today runs the 'POV' vinyl only event in London.

Reviews

[Louis Battles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great entertaining read!

[Olivia Alter · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing is poor and the characters have no depth. It felt like it hadn’t been edited and came straight from someone’s mind onto paper. About 2/3 through it switches in random chapters written in the third person, in order for you to be given very clear and obvious information about what is happening in other characters’ worlds rather than building the story out with intrigue and tension, felt clunky. And even once you do know stuff, some storylines are left unexplored, some are abandoned at strange points, like the other characters didn’t care about a pretty tragic situation, and some are picked up again but still not seen through satisfactorily. It ends abruptly so obviously the author wants you to be intrigued enough to continue with the sequel, but I just don’t care to go through this again.

[Rachael Stevely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Being from Aberdeen it's a real trip down memory lane and pulls on my home sick heart strings, but it's also a tense thriller, loads of intrigue and adventure, plenty of humour and the characters are all likable and ring true, even the dodgy ones. I'm wondering how much of it is autobiographical because it's so well written and believable, it reads like one man's journey into the unknown. It's a rollicking read, in any case, for anyone, but in particular for aabody fae Aiberdeen, it's ace, min. Irvine Welsh, eat yer heart oot.

[Ricky Sherriff-Short · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not totally convinced on the main character or some of the others to be fair. The airline closely resembles Emirates and don't know enough air stewards working out of the middle east to check for accuracy.
The clubbing scene is fairly accurate based on my recollection of the 90's but the book jumped about a bit to much with a bit of a chaotic flow and abrupt ending. Apparently another to follow.
I thought this was going to be the equivalent to human traffic but sadly not.