Good News, Bad News: Amazon.co.uk: David Wolstencroft: Books

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Product Description

Book Description
The stunning debut novel from the creator of SPOOKS, re-inventing the spy novel for a new generation --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author
DAVID WOLSTENCROFT was born in 1969 and grew up in Edinburgh. He is the creator of SPOOKS, the BAFTA award-winning spy drama, produced by Kudos for BBC ONE. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

Average Customer Review

3.3 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Rollercoaster Ride That Falls of the Track, 2 Feb 2006

By	Sam "samueltyler" (Reading, Berkshire) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Good News Bad News: Home (Paperback)

Good news - this book is fast paced, exciting and gripping from the start.

Bad news - it’s too fast and becomes confused by its own twists and turns.

Two spies are pitted against one another only to realize they are not the enemies they think they are. Instead they must uncover the truth before it kills them

David Wolstencroft has the pedigree to write a good spy novel, he created the hit BBC drama Spooks. He takes this glossy look at the spy world and adapts it to what can only be described as airport fiction. Each chapter is around 5 pages long so the story moves at a vigorous pace. This in one way is a positive as you do not have the time to reflect on any inconsistencies.

However, this over fast nature is also its downfall. In particular the last part of the book hurtles along at much too fast a pace, twisting and turning like an Austrian Bobsleighed.

With a tighter reign on his imagination and more relaxed approach to storytelling this could have been excellent - instead it is just average.

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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good twists...bad twists, 5 Oct 2004

By	Jim (the Philippines) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good News, Bad News (Hardcover)

This book was penned by the writer of the BBC spy drama "Spooks" and sometimes it feels a little too much like a script. What redeems it is the cracking pace and the writer's wonderful sense of the absurd. This is a great positive when dealing with the plotline of human error and escalating consequences.
Additionally the author answers the espionage question, Who are the new enemies in the post cold war period?, without resorting to the terrorist or tired nuclear arsenal plotline. There is also not a mention of a code anywhere, something I find very gratifying in the current literary environment. There is instead, some very nice explanations of new and old tradecraft; interesting and entertaining.
A couple of small quibbles. I felt that the two central characters could have been fleshed out a little better. One of them felt like a caricature of Le Carre's Smiley. Additionally the final denouement felt a little too forced and revolved around a twist too far. At least for my liking.
The author's originality makes him a welcome addition to this genre.

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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, tense, exciting, surprising . . ., 4 May 2005

By	"dentonanne" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good News Bad News (Hardcover)

'Good News, Bad News' by first-time novelist David Wolstencroft has been a revelation to me. I am not a regular 'spy' fiction reader, but this book has kept me spellbound throughout. Intelligently written, yet entirely accessible, this novel examines the relationship between two men who are thrown together by circumstances, and follows their thrilling defiance of the establishment. At turns comical, surprising, touching and exciting, the novel kept me totally gripped. I thoroughly recommend it to both regular 'spy' readers, as well as any other fans of great fiction.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Good and mixed...
There's good news and, well, mixed news.

The good news; two guys working in a photolab in the underground. Read more

Published 10 days ago by freedomrulesok

5.0 out of 5 stars Good news...it's an excellent book.
'Good news, bad news' is a fantastic novel which has you utterly hooked from the word go. The first few chapters have several twists which are totally unexpected and this only... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Lesley-anne Murray

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't expect the quality or the plotting of 'Spooks'
When I started `Good News, Bad News,' I really couldn't understand why the other reviewers had disliked it so much. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Snapdragon

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
I've never seen the TV programme that the author had written, so I was not entirely sure what sort of style or genre I was letting myself in for. Read more

Published on 31 Jan 2007 by BC

1.0 out of 5 stars Another desperate attempt at writing a best seller!
This book at first seems to be one that wiil be an all nighter! Think again. I certainly feel cheated at reading it all hopeing that something interesting was going to happen... Read more

Published on 8 May 2006 by Khalil Akbar

3.0 out of 5 stars Good News Bad News
This is a well written and engaging book, but perhaps only initially engaging. There is a tendency these days for crime/spy fiction to be stretched beyond its natural limit and I... Read more

Published on 7 Sep 2005 by towser15

3.0 out of 5 stars Strange
This is a strange book, featuring strange people doing strange things for strange reasons.
It starts well, with the two reluctant spies (or whatever you want to call them)... Read more

Published on 11 Aug 2005 by Peter Smith

1.0 out of 5 stars Should have been shorter
I have just finished reading this and would probably describe myself as feeling a little 'cheated'. I felt the book was too long and too many of the twists unbelievable.

Published on 16 Jun 2005 by Doc Martin

5.0 out of 5 stars TERRIFIC FUN AND THRILLING TOO
WONDERFULLY ENJOYABLE READ, BOTH A THRILLER AND VERY VERY FUNNY. I STARTED THE BOOK TO READ AT NIGHT BUT ENDED UP FINISHING IT STRAIGHT AWAY, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. FIVE STARS.

Published on 12 Jun 2005 by roe97

1.0 out of 5 stars Not very exciting
It was not the worst book I have ever read and it wasn't the best book I have ever read, and I read it in two days. But would I tell my friends to read it - certainly not! Read more

Published on 6 Jun 2005

› See all 15 customer reviews...

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Good News, Bad News (Paperback)

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