Jam [Paperback]

'Jam' reads like an hilarious cross between a zombie apocalypse story, The Blob and a slacker comedy. If you've ever read or watched any of Ben Croshaws internet material or his first novel 'Mogworld' you know what to expect. Black humour and an atmosphere of cynicism that hangs in the air like a toxic vapor. Fortunately it all works really really well (for the most part). This book is funny, has likable (or very deliberately annoying) characters, insane cults of bag wearing hipsters and obviously the whole 'death of the world by strawberry jam' thing. If you've ever enjoyed books like 'Red Dwarf' or 'The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy' then this will be right up your ally.

Unfortunately it isn't all perfect. I was ready to give this a full five stars right up until the very ending. The last few chapters manage to solve a couple of plot threads that didn't really need answering, but leave a few you would like to see closure on dangling. The pace also becomes a bit too frantic, the lead monster gets to re-appear with no good reason, and the tired old 'Eeeeeevil Americans' plot gets dragged out (some of the logic is also a little questionable). Its not nearly enough to ruin the book, but it leaves it a little bit flat.

Still this is a solid book, you'll have a blast reading it and it has a ton of funny moments and memorable characters. Hopefully Croshaws next book will be earn the full five stars this one was close to getting.

I have just finished Yahtzee Croshaw's book, Jam, and I can honestly say that it is one of the best books that I have read for a very long time, even amidst a lot of Terry Pratchett. I didn't eat jam at all during my time reading it. It is a survival-horror about a thick layer of jam that attacks the Australian city of Brisbane, and four every-man characters who have to deal with it, along with other problems that arise in their fellow survivors.

The pacing is just fantastic. Literally every time my dad told me to stop reading and go to bed, something massive had just happened in the story. The plot was easy to follow, but not simplistic and doddery, which are the kind of plot problems that are addressed in Croshaw's reviews, but incidentally, for people who are fans of Zero Punctuation, I would say that it is not as farcical as them, but it would be very difficult to transplant all of the review humour into this book, and it definitely wouldn't feel right either, as, realistically, the jam is still very dangerous. Don't worry though, there's still a generous helping of laughs.

One of the main reasons why me (and my dad) love this book so much is because of the ordinary-ness of the characters. The fact that they are not humongous action-hero-mary-sues is actually what makes them such a breath of fresh air in a genre otherwise dominated by them in every form of media. I felt great to know that there were main characters in a book who aren't really good at much, like me, but are still not dead. The systematic smashing of clichés was also warmly accepted (NO stupid, over-dominating romance sub-plot that makes the story stop every 5 seconds! Thank the lord!)

Lots of people say that the first-person narrator is flat, and I'm not saying that he isn't, but this is an intentional decision, as you can see from how the other characters talk to him. I personally really liked him, and the "flatness" helped me to sort of project myself onto him and engage myself even more with the story than if it been told from a third-person POV, or even from the perspective of a character with more depth. I feel sort of bad for making good out of a flat character, something which is frowned upon in literary circles, or whatever they're called, but these are exactly my opinions, and I think that it works really well.

I do agree with others that the ending needed a bit more oomph, and it would have been nice to see a little more character development in some characters, but those are really my only criticisms.

In conclusion, if you like dramatic characters, oozing with pages and pages of pained backstory and traumatic childhoods, then this is probably not for you, but if you prefer just getting on with a good story, are not intensely bothered about character depth, and like the sound of plenty of Charlie Brooker-esque satire to go along with it, then you should definitely pick up this book, as it certainly needs more recognition.

Brilliant book, very funny and witty, with so many twist and unexpected moments you will have an amazing time reading this book. I know I did. ^^ I have known of Yahtzee from his show on the internet called 'Zero Punctuation' and he has yet to dissapoint me in what he has done and I hope he writes a lot more.

Keep up the great work Yahtzee