Ben Elton

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BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR


Title: Popcorn: Description:
Controversial and past caring, equal parts cool and cruel, Bruce Delametri is Hollywood's hottest director. Tonight, he's at the apex of his career, with an Oscar cradled in one hand and Miss February in the other. But then he gets a visit from two special fans, and all hell (quite literally) breaks loose. Popcorn, a novel from British sitcom writer Ben Elton (Blackadder, The Young Ones), is the satirical novel done 1990s style. It is a book about the movies that indicts the movies, and that has every chance of being made into a movie. It rings all the familiar changes on the theme of Hollywood vapidity, crassness, and decadence; however, Popcorn accomplishes this so deftly that you may not realize that you've heard it all before until you're finished with the book. Popcorn has little new to say about America and the culture for which it stands: talk-show hosts that are vacuous, movies that are violent, and audiences that are moronic. (The one benefit to shooting this particular fish in this particular barrel is that most readers will find it hard to disagree.) That said, the book generates an undeniable tension. Popcorn is a pleasing (if not always pleasant) page-turner, and the last 20 pages will definitely give you pause.

Title: Stark: Description:
Stark has more money than God and the social conscience of a dog on a croquet lawn. What's more, they know the Earth is dying. Deep in Western Australia where the Aboriginals used to milk the trees, a planet-sized plot takes shape. Some green freaks pick up the scent. A Pommie Poseur, a brain-fried Vietnam Vet, Aboriginals who lost their land...not much against a conspiracy that controls society. But EcoAction isn't in society; it just lives in the same place, along with the cockroaches. If you're facing the richest and most disgusting conspiracy in history, you have to do more than stick up two fingers and say 'peace'.

Title: Dead Famous: Description:
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

Title: Popcorn: Description:
Bruce Delamitri makes cool films about killers. Films in which people die to a rock and roll soundtrack. Meanwhile, psychotic, unbalanced Wayne and Scout are actual killers. On Oscar night, as Bruce becomes King of Hollywood, they go on a murderous rampage, and it is not quite to Bruce's liking

Title: Inconceivable: Description:
Whenever Sam thinks about babies, he envisages rivers of vomit and sleepless nights. But wife Lucy can't walk past Mothercare without crying. What's more, she can't seem to conceive--not by traditional methods, anyway. Hippy confidante Drusilla suggests an array of New Age remedies, including the intimate use of nutmeg oil and al fresco lovemaking. As Lucy faces a possible verdict of infertility, her love for Sam enters tailspin, accelerated by the advent of arrogant actor Carl Phipps. Meanwhile Sam, desperate to escape his tedious BBC job, conceives the inconceivable--turning the intimacies of their battle for babies into an acclaimed movie script. Inconceivable tells a poignant and heart-rending story with Elton's trademark wit, creating a novel that is entertaining and emotionally satisfying; as explosive as Popcorn and with the incendiary humour of Blast From the Past. It courageously tackles its central theme from both the male and the female points of view, and while delivering laughs on every page, it steers clear of laddish clichés. Lucy's tale, though pregnant with unfulfilled emotion, never stints on humour. "There seem", she fumes, "to be more urban myths attached to infertility than there are to ... film stars filling their bottoms with small animals." Aside from the rich vein of gags about DIY conception (Sam has to leave a power lunch with the excuse: "Sorry, my wife is ovulating ..."), Elton also subjects the TV industry to relentless stand-up-style bombardment, giving birth to some brilliant asides, which enrich the main story but never overpower it. Funny, tragic, true and ultimately heart-warming, this book should be available on the National Health Service. --Matthew Baylis

Title: Blast From The Past: Description:
It's 2.15 a.m. and the phone wakes you. Only someone bad would ring you at such an hour, or someone with bad news, which would probably be worse. You hear the answer-machine kick in and feel your heart beat. You listen. And then you hear the voice you least expect - a blast from the past." Blast From The Past is the fifth novel from Ben Elton, the celebrated and controversial comedian/playwright/author whose TV credits include The Young Ones and Blackadder as well as the previous novels Stark and Popcorn. Jack Kent, US Captain stationed at Greenham Common during the early eighties, has a secret and unlikely affair with the Polly Sacred Cycle of the Womb and Moon, a 17-year-old ideological peace protester: the star-crossed lovers made Romeo and Juliet look like an arranged marriage! Pamela Anderson and the Ayatollah Khomeni would have made a more natural-looking couple. Sixteen years later and a four star General, Kent returns to Britain to seek out his only true love. Polly, now a lonely thirtysomething Equal Opportunities employee, is being stalked by the Bug when the phone rings. Set in the staid, politically-correct nineties of New Labour Britain, the story flashes back with comic effect to the early eighties, a time of protest, strikes and Cold War. While hardcore Elton fans might be disappointed with the weak plot and smaller helpings of piercing wit and wacky socio-political observations, Blast from the Past still offers up some laugh-out-loud lines and entertaining reading. --Andrew Crawford

Title: Past Mortem: Description:
great

Title: The First Casualty: Description:
It is Flanders in June 1917: a British officer and celebrated poet, is shot dead, killed not by German fire, but while recuperating from shell shock well behind the lines. A young English soldier is arrested and, although he protests his innocence, charged with his murder. Douglas Kingsley is a conscientious objector, previously a detective with the London police, now imprisoned for his beliefs. He is released and sent to France in order to secure a conviction. Forced to conduct his investigations amidst the hell of The Third Battle of Ypres, Kingsley soon discovers that both the evidence and the witnesses he needs are quite literally disappearing into the mud that surrounds him. Ben Elton's tenth novel is a gut-wrenching historical drama which explores some fundamental questions. What is murder? What is justice in the face of unimaginable daily slaughter? And where is the honour in saving a man from the gallows if he is only to be returned to die in a suicidal battle? As the gap between legally-sanctioned and illegal murder becomes evermore blurred, Kingsley quickly learns that the first casualty when war comes is truth

Title: Inconceivable: Description:
Whenever Sam thinks about babies, he envisages rivers of vomit and sleepless nights. But wife Lucy can't walk past Mothercare without crying. What's more, she can't seem to conceive--not by traditional methods, anyway. Hippy confidante Drusilla suggests an array of New Age remedies, including the intimate use of nutmeg oil and al fresco lovemaking. As Lucy faces a possible verdict of infertility, her love for Sam enters tailspin, accelerated by the advent of arrogant actor Carl Phipps. Meanwhile Sam, desperate to escape his tedious BBC job, conceives the inconceivable--turning the intimacies of their battle for babies into an acclaimed movie script. Inconceivable tells a poignant and heart-rending story with Elton's trademark wit, creating a novel that is entertaining and emotionally satisfying; as explosive as Popcorn and with the incendiary humour of Blast From the Past. It courageously tackles its central theme from both the male and the female points of view, and while delivering laughs on every page, it steers clear of laddish clichés. Lucy's tale, though pregnant with unfulfilled emotion, never stints on humour. "There seem", she fumes, "to be more urban myths attached to infertility than there are to ... film stars filling their bottoms with small animals." Aside from the rich vein of gags about DIY conception (Sam has to leave a power lunch with the excuse: "Sorry, my wife is ovulating ..."), Elton also subjects the TV industry to relentless stand-up-style bombardment, giving birth to some brilliant asides, which enrich the main story but never overpower it. Funny, tragic, true and ultimately heart-warming, this book should be available on the National Health Service. --Matthew Baylis

Title: Popcorn: Description:
Hilarious satire

Title: Inconceivable: Description:
Sam and Lucy seem like the perfect couple. Successful, happy and in love. But life isn't that simple. Lucy thinks Sam is a sad, cold, sensitivity-exclusion zone who would rather read a newspaper than have an emotion. Sam thinks Lucy is blaming him because she can't walk past Mothercare without getting all teary. The problem is that they might be infertile. And in more ways than one. Lucy wants a baby. Sams yearns to write a hit movie. And given that the average IVF cycle has about a one in five chance of going into full production, Lucy's chances of getting what she wants are considerably better than Sam's. What Sam and Lucy are about to go through is absolutely inconceivable. The question is, can their love survive ? Sometimes it's possible to want something too much. That's when you risk losing what you have.

Title: Dead Famous: Description:
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

Title: Gridlock: Description:
The world is driving itself to its own funeral. The car, for so long the symbol of freedom and liberation has become society's ball and chain. In human and environmental terms it wreaks more destruction than decent-sized wards, and in return it carries us about our cities rather more slowly than a bicycle. How did we ever let it come to this? After all, everybody wants to unblock the jams. Or perhaps they don't. Everybody wants cleaner, more efficient car engines. Maybe. Everybody longs for the day when filthy poisonous expensive oil will no longer be the very blood in the veins of our way of life. Surely that has to be the bottom line? Well, of course it all rather depends on how much we are prepared to lose. Most of us stand to lose plenty: the endless wasted hours of gnawing the steering wheel and wishing that everyone else on earth would just 'get out of the sodding way'; the billions of tons of pollution; the endless catalogue of death and disablement; the wholesale destruction of our environment. But there are of course those who would lose something much more important than these things. They would lose money and power.

Title: Blast From The Past: Description:
It's 2.15 a.m. and the phone wakes you. Only someone bad would ring you at such an hour, or someone with bad news, which would probably be worse. You hear the answer-machine kick in and feel your heart beat. You listen. And then you hear the voice you least expect - a blast from the past." Blast From The Past is the fifth novel from Ben Elton, the celebrated and controversial comedian/playwright/author whose TV credits include The Young Ones and Blackadder as well as the previous novels Stark and Popcorn. Jack Kent, US Captain stationed at Greenham Common during the early eighties, has a secret and unlikely affair with the Polly Sacred Cycle of the Womb and Moon, a 17-year-old ideological peace protester: the star-crossed lovers made Romeo and Juliet look like an arranged marriage! Pamela Anderson and the Ayatollah Khomeni would have made a more natural-looking couple. Sixteen years later and a four star General, Kent returns to Britain to seek out his only true love. Polly, now a lonely thirtysomething Equal Opportunities employee, is being stalked by the Bug when the phone rings. Set in the staid, politically-correct nineties of New Labour Britain, the story flashes back with comic effect to the early eighties, a time of protest, strikes and Cold War. While hardcore Elton fans might be disappointed with the weak plot and smaller helpings of piercing wit and wacky socio-political observations, Blast from the Past still offers up some laugh-out-loud lines and entertaining reading. --Andrew Crawford

Title: The First Casualty: Description:
Gut-wrenching historical drama which explores some fundamental questions. What is murder? What is justice in the face of unimaginable daily slaughter? And where is the honour in saving a man from the gallows if he is only to be returned to die in a suicidal battle?

Title: Past Mortem: Description:
An absolute coup of black comedy - Daily Telegraph

Title: High Society: Description:
Ben Elton's new novel High Society initially appears to be a cautionary tale about Britain today, but its vision of a society totally in thrall to criminality has elements of the visionary novel about it. Happily, the state of the nation is not (yet) quite as awful as it's rendered in this terrifying kaleidoscope. We're taken into a world in which drug use holds total sway, and the whole world essentially functions as a single criminal network. From royalty and the upper crust to drug abusers and prostitutes--right across the social spectrum--we are (in Elton's unsparing universe) plunging into a criminal world. Elton's cast of characters is massive, but all (notably a government minister who is trying to push through a bill to legalise drugs) are etched in with maximum vividness. Interestingly, although Elton casts a cold eye across the whole of society (including an unforgiving look at the media) the final effect of the book is anything but bleak. All the trademark wit is here, along with a sense of focus that is considerably more sophisticated than anything Elton has tackled before. As a serious satirical novel (yes, there is such a thing), High Society makes an indelible mark. --Barry Forshaw

Title: Gridlock: Description:
Gridlock is when a city dies. Killed in the name of freedom and in the name of oil and steel. Choked on carbon monoxide and strangled with a pair of fluffy dice. But how did the world come to this and how did the freedom machine end up paralyzing everyone? From the Publisher Too many cars and not enough space equals gridlock. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. About the Author BEN ELTON’s career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he is the writer of such TV hits as The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line. Most recently he has written the BBC series Blessed on the subject of young parenthood.Elton has written three musicals, The Beautiful Game, We Will Rock You and Tonight’s the Night and three West End plays. His internationally bestselling novels include The First Casualty (out in Black Swan paperback in April 2006) Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society.He wrote and directed the successful film Maybe Baby based on his novel Inconceivable starring Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Title: This Other Eden: Description:
In this novel, Elton returns to his favourite theme of the threatened environment. From the Publisher Comic apocalyptic satire by the No. 1 bestselling author. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. About the Author BEN ELTON’s career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he is the writer of such TV hits as The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line. Most recently he has written the BBC series Blessed on the subject of young parenthood.Elton has written three musicals, The Beautiful Game, We Will Rock You and Tonight’s the Night and three West End plays. His internationally bestselling novels include The First Casualty (out in Black Swan paperback in April 2006) Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society.He wrote and directed the successful film Maybe Baby based on his novel Inconceivable starring Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Title: Gridlock: Description:
By the television comedy writer of "Blackadder" and "The Young Ones", this is an ecological disaster novel written with humour but containing an underlying seriousness. His first novel was "Stark". From the Publisher Too many cars and not enough space equals gridlock. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. About the Author BEN ELTON’s career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he is the writer of such TV hits as The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line. Most recently he has written the BBC series Blessed on the subject of young parenthood.Elton has written three musicals, The Beautiful Game, We Will Rock You and Tonight’s the Night and three West End plays. His internationally bestselling novels include The First Casualty (out in Black Swan paperback in April 2006) Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society.He wrote and directed the successful film Maybe Baby based on his novel Inconceivable starring Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Title: Chart Throb: Description:
Chart Throb is the ultimate pop quest. There are ninety five thousand hopefuls, three judges, just one winner. And that's Calvin Simms, the genius behind the show. Calvin always wins because Calvin writes the rules. But this year, as he sits smugly in judgement upon the mingers, clingers and blingers whom he has pre-selected in his carefully scripted 'search' for a star, he has no idea that the rules are changing. The 'real' is about to be put back into 'reality' television and Calvin and his fellow judges (the nation's favourite mum and the other bloke) are about to become ex-factors themselves. Ben Elton, author of "Popcorn" and "Dead Famous" returns to blistering comic satire with a savagely hilarious deconstruction of the world of modern television talent shows. Chart Throb has one winner and a whole bunch of losers. From the Inside Flap Chart Throb.The ultimate pop quest. Ninety five thousand hopefuls. Three judges. Just one winner. And that’s Calvin Simms, the genius behind the show. Calvin always wins because Calvin writes the rules. But this year, as he sits smugly in judgement upon the mingers, clingers and blingers whom he has pre-selected in his carefully scripted ‘search’ for a star, he has no idea that the rules are changing. The ‘real’ is about to be put back into ‘reality’ television and Calvin and his fellow judges (the nation’s favourite mum and the other bloke) are about to become ex-factors themselves. Ben Elton, author of Popcorn and Dead Famous returns to blistering comic satire with a savagely hilarious deconstruction of the world of modern television talent shows. Chart Throb. One winner. A whole bunch of losers. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. From the Back Cover Crazed, no talent fame junkies…And that’s just the judges. Chart Throb.The ultimate pop quest. Ninety-five thousand hopefuls. Three judges. Just one winner. And that’s Calvin Simms, the genius behind the show. Calvin always wins because Calvin writes the rules. But this year, as he sits in judgement upon the Mingers, Clingers and Blingers whom he has pre-selected in his carefully scripted ‘search’ for a star, he has no idea that the rules are changing. The ‘real’ is about to be put back into ‘reality’ television and Calvin and his fellow judges are about to become ex-factors themselves. Ben Elton, author of Popcorn and Dead Famous, returns to blistering comic satire with a savagely hilarious deconstruction of the world of modern television talent shows. Chart Throb. One winner. A whole bunch of losers. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER About the Author Ben Elton’s career encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty-five years.His TV writing and performing credits include such multi-award-winning shows as The Young Ones, Blackadder, Saturday Live, The Man from Auntie and The Thin Blue Line. His three hit West End stage plays are Gasping, Silly Cow and Popcorn, which won the Olivier Award for best comedy. He wrote and directed the feature film Maybe Baby, starring Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson, which was based on his novel Inconceivable. He has also written three stage musicals including the global phenomenon We Will Rock You, which he created with Queen and which he also directs worldwide. He has written ten internationally bestselling novels including Dead Famous, The First Casualty and High Society, which won the WH Smith People’s Choice Award. He recently returned to stand-up comedy after a gap of almost ten years and his new show, Get a Grip, played to packed houses in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Title: This Other Eden: Description:
If the end of the world is nigh, then surely it's only sensible to make alternative arrangements. Certainly the Earth has its points, but what most people need is something smaller and more manageable. Of course there are those who say that's planetary treason, but who cares what the weirdos and terrorists think? Not Nathan. All he cares is that his movie gets made and that there's somebody left to see it. In marketing terms the end of the world will be very big. Anyone trying to save it should remember that.

Title: Stark: Description:
Stark has more money than God and the social conscience of a dog on a croquet lawn. What's more, they know the Earth is dying, so, deep in Western Australia, a planet-sized plot takes shape. Unfortunately, all that stands in the way of the conspiracy is four inept green freaks. From the Publisher Ben Elton’s earth-shattering début novel. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. From the Back Cover Stark is a secret consortium with more money than God, and the social conscience of a dog on a croquet lawn. What’s more, it knows the Earth is dying. Deep in Western Australia where the Aboriginals used to milk the trees, a planet-sized plot is taking shape. Some green freaks pick up the scent: a pommie poseur; a brain-fried Vietnam vet; Aboriginals who have lost their land…not much against a conspiracy that controls society. But EcoAction isn’t in society: it just lives in the same place, along with the cockroaches. If you’re facing the richest and most disgusting scheme in history, you have to do more than stick up two fingers and say ‘peace’. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. About the Author BEN ELTON’s career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he is the writer of such TV hits as The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line. Most recently he has written the BBC series Blessed on the subject of young parenthood.Elton has written three musicals, The Beautiful Game, We Will Rock You and Tonight’s the Night and three West End plays. His internationally bestselling novels include The First Casualty (out in Black Swan paperback in April 2006) Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society.He wrote and directed the successful film Maybe Baby based on his novel Inconceivable starring Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Title: Dead Famous: Description:
A thriller about a reality TV show where a murder takes place on live TV yet no one knows who did it.

Title: Popcorn: Description:
Bruce Shoots Movies. Wayne and Scott shoot to kill. In a single night they find out what is real and what is not, who's the hereo and who is the villian.

Title: Popcorn: Description:
The book takes place in different parts of Los Angeles, US. The date is never actually specified, but various clues suggest it is set in the near future. Mostly the story takes place in the center of Hollywood. By showing different environments the reader can see the big differences between different social groups in America. From the rich people with guards, Bruce Delamitri for instance, to the less rich people like Wayne and Scout. But apart from that it doesn’t matter where it takes place, it could be in almost any...

Title: Blind Faith: Description:
As Trafford Sewell struggles to work through the usual crowds of commuters, he is confronted by the intimidating figure of his Parish Confessor. Why has Trafford not been streaming his every moment of sexual intimacy onto the community website like everybody else? Does he think he's different or special in some way? Better than his fellow man and woman? Does he have something to hide?Imagine a world where everyone knows everything about everybody. Where what a person 'feels' and 'truly believes' is protected under the law, while what is rational, even provable is condemned as heresy. A world where to question ignorance and intolerance is to commit a Crime against Faith. Ben Elton's dark, savagely comic novel imagines a post-apocalyptic society where religious intolerance combines with a confessional sex obsessed, self-centric culture to create a world where nakedness is modesty, ignorance is wisdom and privacy is a dangerous perversion. It offers a chilling vision of what's to come? Or something rather closer to what we call reality? From the Inside Flap Imagine a world where everyone knows everything about everybody. Where what a person 'feels' and 'truly believes' is protected under the law, while what is rational, even provable, is condemned as heresy. A world where to question ignorance and intolerance is to commit a Crime against Faith. Imagine it. Or just wait until After The Flood. On a hot Sagittarian morning in the year 56 ATF, Trafford Sewell struggles to work through the usual crowds of near-naked commuters. He is confronted by the intimidating figure of his Parish Confessor. Why has Trafford not been streaming his every moment of sexual intimacy on to the community website like everybody else? Does he think he's different or special in some way? Better than his fellow man and woman? Does he have something to hide? Ben Elton's dark, savagely comic novel imagines a post-apocalyptic society where religious intolerance combines with a confessional sex -obsessed, egocentric culture to create a world where nakedness is modesty, ignorance is wisdom and privacy is a dangerous perversion. A chilling vision of what's to come? Or something rather closer to what we call reality? From the Back Cover Imagine a world where everyone knows everything about everybody. Where 'sharing' is valued above all, and privacy is considered a dangerous perversion. Trafford wouldn't call himself a rebel, but he's daring to be different, to stand out from the crowd. In his own small ways, he wants to push against the system. But in this world, uniformity is everything. And even tiny defiances won't go unnoticed. Ben Elton's dark, savagely comic novel imagines a post-apocalyptic society where religious intolerance combines with a sex-obsessed, utterly egocentric culture. In this world, nakedness is modesty, independent thought subversive, and ignorance is wisdom. A chilling vision of what's to come? Or something rather closer to home? --This text refers to the Paperback edition. About the Author BEN ELTON's career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he is the writer of such TV hits as The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line. Most recently he has written the BBC series Blessed on the subject of young parenthood. Elton has written three musicals, The Beautiful Game, We Will Rock You and Tonight's the Night and three West End plays. His internationally bestselling novels include Chart Throb,The First Casualty, Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society. He wrote and directed the successful film Maybe Baby based on his novel Inconceivable starring Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson.

Title: Chart Throb: Description:
"Chart Throb" is the ultimate pop quest. Ninety five thousand hopefuls. Three judges. Just one winner. And that's Colin Simms, the genius behind the show. Colin always wins because Colin writes the rules. But this year, as he sits smugly in judgement upon the mingers, clingers and blingers whom he has pre-selected in his carefully scripted 'search' for a star, he has no idea that the rules are changing. The 'real' is about to be put back into 'reality' television and Colin and his fellow judges (the nation's favourite mum and the other bloke) are about to become ex-factors themselves. Ben Elton, author of "Popcorn and Dead Famous" returns to blistering comic satire with a savagely hilarious deconstruction of the world of modern television talent shows. "Chart Throb" is about one winner and a whole bunch of losers. From the Inside Flap Chart Throb.The ultimate pop quest. Ninety five thousand hopefuls. Three judges. Just one winner. And that’s Calvin Simms, the genius behind the show. Calvin always wins because Calvin writes the rules. But this year, as he sits smugly in judgement upon the mingers, clingers and blingers whom he has pre-selected in his carefully scripted ‘search’ for a star, he has no idea that the rules are changing. The ‘real’ is about to be put back into ‘reality’ television and Calvin and his fellow judges (the nation’s favourite mum and the other bloke) are about to become ex-factors themselves. Ben Elton, author of Popcorn and Dead Famous returns to blistering comic satire with a savagely hilarious deconstruction of the world of modern television talent shows. Chart Throb. One winner. A whole bunch of losers. From the Back Cover Crazed, no talent fame junkies…And that’s just the judges. Chart Throb.The ultimate pop quest. Ninety-five thousand hopefuls. Three judges. Just one winner. And that’s Calvin Simms, the genius behind the show. Calvin always wins because Calvin writes the rules. But this year, as he sits in judgement upon the Mingers, Clingers and Blingers whom he has pre-selected in his carefully scripted ‘search’ for a star, he has no idea that the rules are changing. The ‘real’ is about to be put back into ‘reality’ television and Calvin and his fellow judges are about to become ex-factors themselves. Ben Elton, author of Popcorn and Dead Famous, returns to blistering comic satire with a savagely hilarious deconstruction of the world of modern television talent shows. Chart Throb. One winner. A whole bunch of losers. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER --This text refers to the Paperback edition. About the Author Ben Elton:BEN ELTON’s career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he is the writer of such TV hits as The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line. Elton has written three musicals, The Beautiful Game, We Will Rock You and Tonight’s the Night and three West End plays. His internationally bestselling novels include Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society.

Title: High Society: Description:
The war on drugs has been lost. The simple fact is that the whole world is rapidly becoming one vast criminal network. From pop stars and princes to crack whores and street kids, from the Groucho Club toilets to the poppy fields of Afghanistan, we are all partners in crime. High Society is a story about our world today, a collection of criminal nations in which everyone is either breaking the law or knows people who do. It takes the reader on a hilarious, heart breaking and terrifying journey through the kaleidoscope world that the law has created and from which the law offers no protection. From the Publisher The searing new novel from the bestselling author of POPCORN, INCONCEIVABLE and DEAD FAMOUS From the Back Cover The war on drugs has been lost. The simple fact is that the whole world is rapidly becoming one vast criminal network. From pop stars and royal princes to crack whores and street kids, from the Groucho Club toilets to the poppy fields of Afghanistan, we are all partners in crime. High Society is a story about Britain today, a criminal nation in which everybody is either breaking the law or knows people who do. It takes the reader on a hilarious, heartbreaking and terrifying journey through the kaleidoscope world that the law has created and from which the law offers no protection. About the Author BEN ELTON’s career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he is the writer of such TV hits as The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line. Most recently he has written the BBC series Blessed on the subject of young parenthood.Elton has written three musicals, The Beautiful Game, We Will Rock You and Tonight’s the Night and three West End plays. His internationally bestselling novels include The First Casualty (out in Black Swan paperback in April 2006) Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society.He wrote and directed the successful film Maybe Baby based on his novel Inconceivable starring Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson. Excerpted from High Society by Ben Elton. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. St Hilda's Church Hall, Soho'My name's Tommy Hanson and I'm an alcoholic.'The young man had risen from his place in the circle of grey plastic chairs and now, having thus announced himself, surveyed the ring of expectant faces. The atmosphere in the little church hall, which until then had been quietly respectful, was suddenly electric. 'But of course you know that.'That famous smile. Those puppy-dog eyes. That jolly, wise, endearing Accrington accent, still only slightly Americanized. 'We're all alcoholics, us. That's why we're here. AA - Arseholes Anonymous as I like to call it. 'Why state the fookin' obvious? But we have to go through the motions, don't we? Do it right. That's the rules, in't it? Make your confession, pray for serenity, chip in for the biccies and wash up your teacup.'There wasn't a woman in the circle who wouldn't have washed Tommy's teacup for him and more besides - some of the men, too, but everyone tried to concentrate. This was after all supposed to be anonymous.'So, like I say, my name's Tommy Hanson and I'm an alcoholic. Plus I'm also a cokehead, but that's me narcotics meeting. Eh,I've got a full day 'aven't I? All day talking about being astupid, screwed-up, self-indulgent twat. I'll be knackered by teatime. I'll need a drink and a nice line or two of charlie.'Don't get me wrong. I love my meetings, I do. Live for 'em. We all do, us arseholes. Testifying, emoting, talking about ourselves. That's all we've got left, in't it? 'So I'm going to tell you about that night - the famous night of the Brit Awards - because I don't think it would be possible for a person to be any more drunk than I ended up that night. Well, you've seen it all in the papers, anyway, so I'm not telling you anything you don't know, except that this is what really happened, not what them bastards put in the stories they wrote. As it happens, I'd fallen off the wagon that day, see, so I was a disaster waiting to happen, weren't I? You know the score, all you repeat offenders. That's the problem with laying off the beer for a while. You lose your tolerance, so when you do give it a shake, you're monged on three halves of shandy. I'd been dry for a whole month, which had been a huge effort for me 'cos I love me pint, I do, but Elton John had said that if he ever saw me with another drink in me 'and he'd whack me with his tiara. So I was making a special effort. Well, he is rock royalty, so you have to do it, don't you?'God, though, I were sick of being sober and there was just no way I was going to keep it up. You know the rules, you have to want to get clean, don't you, and I didn't. Well, come on. It was the Brits! What is the point of being sober at the fookin' Brit Awards? Believe me, I've won a toilet full of them things in my time and that is one crap night if you're straight. One crap boring night. But if you're buzzing, if you're pissed up and mad for it, if you're Champagne Charlie on a spree, then it's brilliant. And when I say charlie I think you know what I mean. Because I wasn't off the charlie, don't forget. No way! One wagon at a time, I say, so I was wired even before I started drinking, strung out tighter than a duck's arse. But I wanted to be drunk, see. Some nights you want to do drugs, but some nights you want to get lathered, and the Brits is a booze night for sure, or at least that's how you want to kick off. If you're pissed up at the Brits the night's your oyster. You can fight all the other pop-star lads. You can chuck ice and bread rolls at the pathetic politicians who are sat there pretending to be hip and leering at all the birds. You can pull a couple of the dancers and you can make a speech so dazzlingly shite that it actually sounds ironic and a bit John Lennon-ish. Basically, you can do what you fookin' well like. You can have it as large as you fancy. But you can't if you're sober. Like, if you're kidding yourself you're on the wagon.'So as I live and breathe, God save me from ever being sober at the Brits. Which is why, as of this moment, seeing as how I've definitely gone straight and I'm here talking to you lot at this meeting, I have sworn I will never go to another one. Mind you, I said the same thing last year, didn't I?'The Paget household, DalstonPeter Paget stared at his wife. She stared back at him. In all their years of marriage never had they felt such a bond. Never had they been so alive together, locked in union as a single force. They knew that the decision they had just made would change their lives for ever. Their lives and their daughters' lives. It would certainly bring down untold anger and contempt upon Peter's head. It would cost him the party whip and almost inevitably his job come the next election. The path that he had chosen led directly to professional ruin.'You have to do it, Pete. I'm proud of you. Really, really proud. The girls will be, too, when we tell them.''Oh sure. Hey, girls, your dad's going to make himself unemployed and unemployable on a point of hopeless principle.''They won't see things that way and you know it.''No, I suppose not. They're good girls. Smartarse little cows, of course, but good deep down.'

Title: Black Adder The Whole Damn Dynasty 1485 - 1917: Description:
A collection of complete scripts from all four of the "Blackadder" television series. From Medieval times through the Elizabethan and Regency periods to World War I, Edmund Blackadder and his downtrodden sidekick Baldrick veer from one calamity to another.

Title: Blind Faith: Description:
Imagine a world where everyone knows everything about everybody. Where 'sharing' is valued above all, an privacy is considered a dangerous perversion.

Title: This Other Eden: Description:
If the end of the world is nigh, then surely it's only sensible to make alternative arrangements. Certainly the Earth has it's good points, but what most people need is something smaller and more managable. Of course there are those who say that's planetary treason, but who cares what the wierdos and terroists think? Not Nathan. All he cares is that his movie gets made and that there's somebody left to see it.