David Hadley

I've enjoyed David's work in the past and this one really tickled me.

The Dirty Book

Amazon.com link

My review -

Robert Block is a writer with literary pretentions, whose agents has tried without success to get a publisher for one of his elevated works. Under pressure to produce more, he finds a forgotten work on his hard drive – Her Dark Confession – written in his early days. He self-publishes it and it’s a runaway best-seller. It should be easy to confess and take the credit for his dirty book’s success but for various reasons, some of his own making, he can’t.

I really enjoyed this sideways look at the world of writing and publishing, book snobbery and populism. Block has talent but he’s also idle and self-indulgent. It’s a treat to watch him dig himself in deeper with things he ought not to have touched in the first instance. I don’t want to give too much away but I enjoyed the ending too. A good read and a good laugh.

David Hadley

This is a bit of fun but it'll make you think.

In The Beginning

Amazon.com

My review -

In this light-hearted novel, Albert, recently made redundant, takes up a new hobby, urged by his friend, Pete. He buys his own, tiny universe which he sets up in his shed and monitors via his computer. It sounds great. He can add moons, extra planets and, interestingly, people. Poor Albert doesn't realise what he's got himself into.

This book is full of gentle, wistful humour and a good deal of wisdom. Albert, though the creator, and able to manifest himself to the people on his world, is frequently baffled at their stubbornness and idiocy. His own life is baffling to him too. There are some great scenes in the job centre when the simplest thing rapidly runs out of control. He also has to keep his wife sweet, try to understand his friend Pete and avoid Pete's wife Jenny whenever possible. Superficially just a fun read, this gives plenty to ponder on too. Very enjoyable.

David Hadley

This is the first longer work I've read from David Hadley and it gave me a lot of chuckles!

Juggling Balls

Amazon .com Juggling Balls

My review - 

Martin lives in a shared house and begins to realise the other inhabitants have memories that he should share but he doesn't. He has to rely on the others who inform him he's their leader. Someone is trying to take over the world but in a benign way. He doesn't want power or riches, but to make people cooperate and to end wars. He's known as the Colonel. Would you want peace at the price of a chip in your brain which takes away your free will? And this chip is going to be activated by... Elvis! This is really off-the-wall stuff and a quirky mix of fantasy, sci-fi and humour.

I enjoyed this story and found the characters very individual and distinct which isn't easy with a big cast. The story is funny bordering on silly but I loved some of the detail. The Colonel's guards are called the Hound Dogs, for example. This book as has a high enjoyability quotient and is a light, fun read.