Amazon.co.uk Review
Stuart MacBride Reviews King of the Road
It might seem a little odd to be recommending the third book in a series, but this was probably the best book I read last year.
King Of The Road follows Royston Blake as he tries to reclaim his place in society after a particularly disastrous outing in Booze and Burn left him cooling his heels for a while in a secured psychiatric hospital. The whole Mangel series is narrated from Blake’s point of view, and a lot of the joy comes from picking up on all the clues he’s oblivious too. There are jokes aplenty, moments to make you wince, others to make you curse Blake for the idiot that he most definitely is...
It might seem a little odd to be recommending the third book in a series, but this was probably the best book I read last year.
King Of The Road follows Royston Blake as he tries to reclaim his place in society after a particularly disastrous outing in Booze and Burn left him cooling his heels for a while in a secured psychiatric hospital. The whole Mangel series is narrated from Blake’s point of view, and a lot of the joy comes from picking up on all the clues he’s oblivious too. There are jokes aplenty, moments to make you wince, others to make you curse Blake for the idiot that he most definitely is...
You could just read this on its own, or better yet: start with the first two books in the series. That way you’ll get the whole build up, and it’ll make the payoff all the sweeter.
Review
"'Deadfolk was a fantastic debut and Fags and Lager is even better. Royston Blake is a truly original anti-hero' Mark Billingham 'Fags and Lager is yokel Tarantino... Roll on Mangel book three' Metro London 'There's a real depth to the characters... anyone famillar with small town life will appreciate the pitch-black sense of humour' Big Issue in the North (6/6/05) 'Blake is a dazzling creation of well-intentioned prejudice and overblown machismo, dripping with dramatic irony' BBC Online 'Fags and Lager is seriously funny... Anyone who's ever grown up and put up with rude boys, growlers and thugs in a crappy, rain-soaked market town in the middle of nowhere, will no doubt fall in love with this all-too-fictional nonfiction' Front"
