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Dead Famous
 
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Dead Famous (Paperback)

by Ben Elton (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Dead Famous + Chart Throb + Past Mortem
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Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Black Swan; New edition edition (1 Jul 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0552999458
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552999458
  • Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.7 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 46,710 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #11 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > E > Elton, Ben

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Ben Elton's Dead Famous brings together his talents in comedy and crime writing to produce a hilarious and devastating novel on the gruesome world of reality TV. Peeping Tom productions invent the perfect TV programme: House Arrest. Its slogan is: "One house. Ten contestants. Thirty cameras. Forty microphones. One survivor." This is all a clever parody of the massive TV hit Big Brother, with its vain, ambitious contestants with their:
tattoos and their nipple rings, their mutual interest in star signs, their endless hugging and touching, and above all their complete lack of genuine intellectual curiosity about one single thing on this planet that was not directly connected with themselves.
However, Elton adds a clever twist to this very funny send-up. On Day 27 of the programme, one of the housemates is killed live on TV. Everyone in the country has a theory about the killer, "indeed the only person who seemed to have absolutely no idea whatsoever of the killer's identity was Inspector Stanley Spencer Coleridge, the police officer in charge of the investigation". Coleridge is an old fogey from the 1950s, who has to learn quickly about lesbians, piercings, blow jobs and the seductions of TV fame before he can crack the case. Elton's wicked parody of the housemates is brilliant, the murder fiendish in its ingenuity, and the ending wonderfully over the top. Dead Famous is great fun, and even has some social comment thrown in for good measure. --Jerry Brotton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"A book with pace and wit, real tension...and a big on-screen climax."

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Dead Famous
78% buy the item featured on this page:
Dead Famous 4.0 out of 5 stars (107)
£5.99
Chart Throb
6% buy
Chart Throb 2.8 out of 5 stars (71)
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Past Mortem
6% buy
Past Mortem 4.1 out of 5 stars (77)
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Blind Faith
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Customer Reviews

107 Reviews
5 star:
 (44)
4 star:
 (40)
3 star:
 (11)
2 star:
 (7)
1 star:
 (5)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (107 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Satirical, witty, and murderous fun. Ben does it again., 25 April 2002
By Steve Sutton (England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
One house. Ten contestants. Thirty cameras. Forty microphones. I bought this book, just to find out how the hell someone could get murdered in the "House Arrest" house, without anyone knowing about it.

When you peel away the wrappings, this book is a classic whodunnit. Ten people are in a house, and one of them is dead. One of the survivors must be the killer. But who is it, what's the motive, and why oh why wasn't it Woggle who was killed?

But whatever you do, don't simply peel away the wrappings. This is book is more than that. Ben Elton has stripped down the "Big Brother" phenomenon, and given it his treatement. The result is a satrical look at the whole state of affairs, through the eyes of those who love, hate, or take part in it.

This book is not just for "Big Brother" fans, detractors will be able to sympathise with Chief Inspector Coleridge, but it would help if you are at least familiar with it.
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting twist on a Big Brother style story, 8 Nov 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Dead Famous (Hardcover)
Although I've never been a particular fan of Ben Elton I am a fan of comedy novels, whodunnits and reality T.V. and so I decided to give this book a go.

For the first half of the book I couldn't help but think that this was just a rip off of Big Brother and anyone who was an avid viewer of either of the UK series' will notice many similarities between the characters in the book and the housemates and even a couple of the things that happened in the book brought to mind things that had happened in the show. In fact, Ben Elton even says at the front of this book that it could not have been written without Andrew, Anna, Craig etc and Amma, Brian, Bubble etc.

By the time I reached the second half of the book though I was enthralled and I couldn't put it down. I really wanted to know who had done it and how it had been done. I certainly didn't expect the person who had done it to be the murderer.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick easy read. I'd have finished the book in one sitting if I hadn't had to go to work but as it was I still managed to finish it in a little over a day.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Big Bruv is watching..., 21 Nov 2002
By Philip Roberts (Brighton - UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
I was a little reluctant at first to read this, as the 'Big Brother' frenzy has been overdone, but I bought this to take on holiday and really enjoyed it. The characters are very colourful and individual with some very bizarre personalities, but its one of those books where we all know someone like one of the characters, and the next time you meet them, you will remember the book and grin.

It is quite easy to read, and the formula is that of a good old fashioned who-done-it set in a Big Brother style reality TV show, that kept me guessing until the very end, in fact I think at some point i was SURE of each and every one of the housemates guilt.

The ending is particularly good and the 'twist' is funny and unexpected. A good read.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars If you like the original BB you'll like this
Some books are timeless. This one is not. The characters are strongly based on the housemates from first three series of Big Brother (and are equally as annoying), and yes, the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by MangoChesney

5.0 out of 5 stars Most gripping book i ever read
This is the first Ben Elton book I'd ever read and one things for sure - it's the reason i'm now so hooked. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ms. L. Hopkins

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and easy read
Dead Famous is a richly entertaining piece of reading. The moment you flip the opening pages, you are glued to the novel. Read more
Published 4 months ago by P. DATTA

5.0 out of 5 stars Hate or like Big Brother, you'll appreciate this!
My mum actually recommended this book for me, she thought it was brilliant, as do I. For the first half of the book or so, you don't even know who's murdered, leaving you guessing... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mrs. G. M. Watson

2.0 out of 5 stars Insufferably smug sneer at popular culture
The only other Ben Elton book I'd read before I attempted this was his Great War whodunnit The First Casualty and I thought that was so-so. It was predictable and clichéd. Read more
Published 13 months ago by happyreviewer

4.0 out of 5 stars This will happen one day
This is yet another great book by Ben Elton.But there have been so many reviews that everything has been said.so, i'm just gonna agree with the good ones.Highly recommended.
Published 18 months ago by mr Average

3.0 out of 5 stars Bigged Up. We Like That. But Not Perfect.
I actually read this book after having read "Past Mortem" and I have to say that while it is a great page-turner, it is not quite as "maturely" written as I would have liked... Read more
Published on 24 Jun 2007 by >KârK<

2.0 out of 5 stars Not that good really
I read this book and never quite got to the end - it just wasn't worth the effort. The work-reward ratio didn't make it worth finishing. Read more
Published on 17 April 2007 by Mr. Richard Bristol

4.0 out of 5 stars Comedy meets social critique
I'm one of those people who think you can't go far wrong with Ben Elton - his sarcasm and biting wit never fail to hit the spot. Read more
Published on 1 April 2007 by maria1971

5.0 out of 5 stars Dead Brilliant
This is a wonderful satire looking at the world of reality television. The characters in the "Peeping Tom" house are annoying, arrogant, self-obsessed idiots, Colebridge is a... Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2007 by Me123

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