Let There Be Lite

by Rpert Morgan

On a planet remarkably similar to our own, in the voraciously capitalist United States of Atlantis, the most powerful (i.e. richest) man in the world is media and IT tycoon John Lockes, who made his fortune by copyrighting the Return Key on computer keyboards. But Lockes is also a philanthropist and has, through his company Infologix, devised a scheme that will effectively end all tiny transmitters will be 'implanted' into convicted felons, allowing them to be tracked at all times by satellite. Once this 'Rectag' technology is in place, all that remains is to launch the satellite. But Lockes is an elusive figure, a man of many secrets and many guises. And the man who perhaps knows him best is embittered investigative journo-turned-tabloid hack Macauley Connor. Realizing he's reached rock bottom when he's sent to investigate a farmer who claims his chickens have been abducted by aliens, he readily accepts a commission to write a warts-'n'-all biography of Lockes. Meanwhile, a beautiful astronaut and an Infologix employee fall in love in orbit, a presidential candidate discovers he will stop at nothing to get elected and a bank heist goes horribly, and hysterically, wrong when two rival gangs hit the same place at the same time. Wicked, anarchic, outrageous and ebullient, Let There Be Lite is a first novel that takes some unerringly accurate swipes at - amongst other things - American politics, presidential elections, spin doctors, tabloid journalism, software billionaires, the fashion industry, fast food and food fads, chat shows (here hosted by the utterly asinine Lola Colaco) and the very nature of celebrity. Imagine Gary Larson's cartoons in novel form or The Fast Show on speed and you've some idea of what sort of glorious anarchy to expect within the covers of Let There Be Lite... 'Rupert Morgan's satire of modern life is brilliant. He is like Ben Elton at his wittiest but minus the although he makes salient points about our time, taking swipes at democracy, big business, justice and celebrity - you don't feel as if they are being rammed down your throat. His writing is fast and his characterization superb...Definitely one to watch' The Express 'Satire which takes you up to the edge of libellous - and gets away with it...Nothing is spared by Rupert Morgan's blistering neither love, family, democracy, race relations, politics, nor journalism. Atlanta is a place where logic is dangerously inverted and morality a dangerously old-fashioned concept. As a story it rattles along with the pace of a thriller. As an inventive swipe at the Establishment, it will make you laugh while you wince' Daily Mail 'Bittersweet, laugh-out-loud funny, and all too true' FAY WELDON 'Outstanding...Fans of Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams will adore this dazzling satire on the digital age, but it is startlingly original from its side-splitting first lines to the thoughtful conclusion...Packed with fresh comic touches' amazon.co.uk 'Rupert Morgan's irrepressible wit sees humour wherever he looks. The plot unfolds like a firework display, one explosion after another, each one more outrageous than the one before...The pace of the performance builds up into a grand finale that leaves you gasping and wide-eyed. This is a first novel by someone who has perfected his craft. The interweavings of plot and character are skilfully executed. But above all it is so good to be made to laugh - really laugh. This is one of those books, like Louis de Berniere's, which will have your friends and family furiously demanding to see what you are reading that makes you so roar with laughter' Oxford Times 'Amusing and inventive' PETER ACKROYD 'You must read Rupert Morgan's outstanding Let There Be Lite...It's fast-moving and hilarious...Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams will be spitting feathers' Esquire 'At its best when taking pot-shots at a wide variety of modern ills - fast food, tabloid media, downsizing, soap-opera politics...One of Morgan's nicer inventions is a computer program that boils down complex texts to their essentials. Its treatment of the Old Testament renders it down "Because I say so, that's why"' Independent 'The match of the madder moments of John Irving or Tom Sharpe...this is a promisingly entertaining "lite" read' The Times 'A really brilliant first novel, he is obviously a major talent' PRUNELLA SCALES

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Science Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

Reviews

[Ružica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant and funny book!

[Joy Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The caption of the book: in the beginning, there was laughter... And god it was good!
The book absolutely lives up to the caption. I didn't know this when I first read it many years ago, but it was probably my first introduction to themes of existentialism - the idea tt the universe is inherently absurd and there's nothing humans can do about it. It deals with some pretty intense and dark themes, politics, freedom, deomocracy, science, absurdity, religion... It delivers some pretty hard-hitting insights and I don't think I'll ever look at life the same way again. but amazingly, it never sounds preachy. It is always always side-splittingly funny; I laughed and laughed and laughed. This book is absolutely amazing, I don't understand why it is so seriously underrated. Go pick up a copy and read, please!

[Tihana Knjigožderonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://knjigozderonja.wixsite.com/kn...

Postoje brojne knjige koje su nam prije nekoliko desetljeća previdjeli kako ćemo polako, ali sigurno, s osmjehom na lici otići u… znate gdje. 1984., Životinjska farma, Sluškinjina priča, Divni novi svijet, nastavite niz. I sve su apsolutno sjajne i sve ih apsolutno trebate pročitati, ali budite svjesni da ćete biti depresivni kada pročitate koliko smo otišli u… (zvučim staro).

Ako volite čitati o tome koliko nam je svijet otišao u …, ali ne želite biti depresivni nakon toga, uzmite si Neka bude svjetlost.

Koja vas je knjiga u posljednje vrijeme nasmijala?

Grickajmo knjige zajedno!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

took a while to get going with this one, but when the subtleties started working its magic it turned out to be a truly enjoyable read, with an unexpected, though also unsurprisingly logical (as was the entire novel), finale.
in more detail, it's the punchlines, the randomly sowed philosophical dilemmas of the current era, the non-judgmental bystander perspective of the author that made me giddy thinking: i need to show this book to my friends! they'd LOVE it and i can't wait to hear what they think of it!

[Greenbear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Simply astonishing. The author is writing so cunningly and to-the-point that I just had to agree with whatever the current character was claiming, no matter how little sense it made. One of the best and most influencing books I have read in my entire life so far.

[Richard Mulholland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, amusing

[Ed van der Winden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the funniest book I have ever read. Nothing is sacred, funny from start to finish. And (amazingly) it even has an interesting story.

[Damjan Krstanović · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts brightly, but loses the edge throughout the book. It's perfectly alright, but misses that certain something for higher rating.

[Maja Lange · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absurdity galore; it's hilarious. :)