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Bedlam [Paperback]

Christopher Brookmyre (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Publication Date: 7 Feb 2013

Heaven is a prison. Hell is a playground.

Would it be your ultimate fantasy to enter the world of a video game?

A realm where you don't have to go to work or worry about your health; where you can look like a hero or a goddess; where you can fly space-ships, slay dragons, yet all of it feels completely real. A realm where there are no consequences and no responsibilities.

Or would it be your worst nightmare?

Stuck in an endless state of war and chaos where the pain and fear feels real and from which not even death can offer an escape.

Prison or playground. Heaven or hell. This is where you find out. This is white-knuckle action, sprawling adventure, merciless satire and outrageous humour like you've never experienced.

This is Bedlam.

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Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Orbit (7 Feb 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1408704072
  • ISBN-13: 978-1408704073
  • Product Dimensions: 15.6 x 2.8 x 23.1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 6,638,844 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Christopher Brookmyre
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Product Description

Review

Warm, funny, excellently violent and highly recommended. Game on (SCIFI NOW)

Brain-tickling . . . It is a genuinely engrossing, amusing and intelligent novel. (GUARDIAN)

Riddled with sci-fi in-jokes, humorous bathos and top-notch creative profanity . . . BEDLAM - both a jovial satire and a geeky celebration of gamer culture - is enthralling fun (FINANCIAL TIMES)

Back to his visceral, vicious, jaw-dropping, jobby-on-the-mantlepiece best (SCOTTISH DAILY EXPRESS)

Full of explosive action - but there are hilarious jokes and proper thoughtful sci-fi too. A gem (THE SUN)

A fascinating, fast-paced but thoughtful blend of science fiction and techno-thriller (Iain M. Banks)

Funny jokes, characters you can empathise with and devastatingly employed swearwords (Ed Byrne)

Brookmyre hits another high score with this brilliant, fast-paced nightmare (Charles Stross) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book Description

Christopher Brookmyre over-clocked and hardware-accelerated, this is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for a new generation.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Fast paced mayhem 9 Feb 2013
By D. Harris TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
I have a feeling this is going to divide Brookmyre's fans (again). It's a full blooded science fictional story, akin to last book but two Pandaemonium rather than the more recent "straight" crime fiction. Indeed, there's a case for saying that in narrative terms, this book picks up almost where Pandaemonium left off - with a character flung unexpectedly from this world into another reality, albeit that of a video game rather than a parallel universe.

So begins a breakneck narrative as Ross, a browbeaten Scottish techie with a Dilbertish outlook, tries to find out what has happened and how he can get back to familiar, damp Stirling and his girlfriend Carol. He soon discovers that there's more going on than a simple brain scanner accident, and that events inside and outside the game are threatening its reality: a Corruption is spreading...

It is an exciting story, interspersing chases, combat, philosophy (are we all in a simulation?) and ethical debate (if the simulated inhabitants of a game are sophisticated enough, does that make them human? If so, what rights should they have?) The plot is intricate and, for the first half of the book, pretty baffling, turning on a few unexpected reveals which it would spoil to say much more about. But everything does become clear in the end (perhaps there is a bit too much exposition in the final 20 pages or so) and - no surprise - it turns out to have been very deftly put together.

I enjoyed this book. Brookmyre shows his knowledge of 80s and 90s video games, moving Ross through a succession of different game milieux from first person shooters to platform games to a warped version of The Sims - yet as a non-gamer I never felt left out or baffled. (If I were a "Daily Mail" reader, I might have felt got at by one section...) Philosophically, it felt as though he was joining in an ongoing discussion among Scottish based SF writers about the "simulation hypothesis" and its consequences, coming after books such as Ken MacLeod's The Restoration Game and Charles Stross's The Rapture of the Nerds.

In a postscript, Brookmyre hopes readers will find this venture into SF proper worthwhile - so do I, because it would be a shame if there were no more like this.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A new foray into sci-fi for Christopher Brookmyre 17 Feb 2013
By YeahYeahNoh TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
With a few reviews now present, it's unlikely anyone will buy Bedlam expecting a novel in the style of the 'Jack Parlabane' series and similar for which the author is probably best known.
When he began a more traditional detective series (Where the Bodies are Buried) it caused some consternation amongst a number of regular readers, and his most recent other book (Pandaemonium) was also criticised for being different.
Well those who disliked those books for being different won't be happy here. This is a straight sci-fi novel, but with enough of the Brookmyre politics and wit present to be clearly identifiable. There are several of superb one-liners (not quoted here because of the naughty words) which would fit in any of the previous books, and a whole section devoted to criticising the Daily Mail, so it's on comfortable ground for those of us who've enjoyed all his previous books.
So, what we have here is a well executed, pretty much straight down the middle sci-fi novel. It's a clever premise, one explored in other books of recent times by other authors, but which comes with a clear knowledge of the computer games universe which the book inhabits. It's familiar reading for anyone who's played any of the leading games of the last 25-30 years.
Personally, I found it a little hard going at the start, but it was well worth sticking with. It does all make sense eventually, and I for one didn't see the eventual outcome at all.
Hats off to Christopher Brookmyre for tackling a new genre - for me it rates as a success attempt, and I'd be happy to read more.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Stick with it - it comes together very nicely!! 14 Feb 2013
By Jimbo
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I got this delivered to my Kindle on the day it came out and was very excited to read the new CB novel. However within the first few pages I was getting rather confused - it was not what I was expecting. I just was not sure what world I was in or what the heck was going on - a bit like the main character! As I had no reference point, I was not sure whether or not to continue but as I love Mr Brookmyre's works, I figured that I would go with it and see where it took me. Very glad I stuck with it - after the first few chapters you get a sense of the world that the characters are living in and then you get sucked out into "Meatworld" to get the back story. By about halfway through, I couldn't put it down and ended up reading until 3am to get it finished (I didn't want to go to sleep until I knew what was going on). It is actually classic CB but the beginning of the novel throws you a bit. The concepts that are developed really get you thinking and scarily will probably come true in the next few decades - hopefully the controls that are adopted in fiction will be adopted in reality. However I will not hold my breath! I really enjoyed this novel and have only knocked a star off because of the beginning - which felt like a bit of a slog to start with. It also took me back to my youth - I am not a gamer but did play Jet Set Willy (ZX Spectrum game that features along with a number of computer games) and was taken back to the days of yore when getting through the levels seemed to be the most important thing in life! So I can wholeheartedly recommend it, if you have enjoyed Christopher Brookmyre's books before - you will enjoy this one too.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Brookmyre needs to write more books - pronto
I have now read almost all of the Brookmyre books and it makes me terribly sad, because I have not read any that aren't brilliant, and every single one has had at least a couple of... Read more
Published 1 day ago by webeditrix
1.0 out of 5 stars Not the Brookmyre I know
A very disappointing book. I loved Brookmyre's early work but this gaming/fantasy adventure is just that - a game fantasy. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
Published 5 days ago by S. Wright
4.0 out of 5 stars SciFi with a cutting humourous edge
One can always rely on Mr Brookmyre for something a little off-the-wall and his foray into SciFi is no exception
Published 8 days ago by R C Pallash
5.0 out of 5 stars present for an even older grandson
yes - went down well with links to movie which is in process at moment would recommend it for wide age-range
Published 26 days ago by Geraldine O'Malley
2.0 out of 5 stars Not my favourite author anymore
From the time I acquired " Boiling a Frog", then bought the entire CB back catalogue, carefully reading them in order, CB has without doubt been my favourite author. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Sedgemoor
3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best
I loved everything Chris has written before but think this is targeted different audience ie 17 year old boys. I got to the end of the book but it was a struggle. Read more
Published 1 month ago by karen linton
5.0 out of 5 stars Another cracker from Brookmyre
I always look forward to a new Brookmyre, Christopher or Chris, and have yet to be disappointed. Another rollicking fantasy and I'm now looking forward to his next detective one
Published 1 month ago by Parky
4.0 out of 5 stars Know your games..
.. and you'll be alright with this. Very enjoyable and cleverly written, probably because I am almost exactly the target audience.
Published 1 month ago by Mr. Derek Law
2.0 out of 5 stars Stylishly written but ultimately disappointing
I'm not a sci fi fan but I am a massive Brookmyre fan. I found this disappointing, it was a "list" novel. As in I went here did this then went there did that. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Henry. Partridge
3.0 out of 5 stars Looking forward to the next one.
I bought this for my husband and he tells me that it was not one of his best, perhaps because the husband is the wrong generation to be interested in video games. Read more
Published 1 month ago by bigsister
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