Attack Of The Unsinkable Rubber Ducks [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Christopher Brookmyre (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2007

Do you believe in ghosts? Do we really live on in some conscious form after we die, and is that form capable of communicating with the world of the living? Aye, right. That was Jack Parlabane's stance on the matter, anyway. But this was before he found himself in the more compromising position of being not only dead himself, but worse: dead with an exclusive still to file. From his position on high, Parlabane relates the events leading up to his demise, largely concerning the efforts of charismatic psychic Gabriel Lafayette to reconcile the scientific with the spiritual by submitting to controlled laboratory tests. Parlabane is brought in as an observer, due to his capacities as both a sceptic and an expert on deception, but he soon finds his certainties crumbling and his assumptions turned upside down as he encounters phenomena for which he can deduce no rational explanation. Perhaps, in a world in which he can find himself elected rector of an esteemed Scottish university, anything truly is possible. One thing he knows for certain, however: Death is not the end ? it's the ultimate undercover assignment.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Sharply satirical and poignantly funny, this is a gripping and highly entertaining read.' Time Out 'Chris Brookmyre is a genius.' Mirror 'Brookmyre has no equal.' Maxim 'Exhilerating linguistic fluency and keenly subversive intelligence' Scotland on Sunday --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Chris Brookmyre was a journalist before becoming a full time novelist with the publication of QUITE UGLY ONE MORNING. Since the publication of A BIG BOY DID IT AND RAN AWAY he and his family decided to move away from Aberdeen and now live near Glasgow. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Isis Audio; Unabridged edition (December 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753127954
• ISBN-13: 978-0753127957
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 7.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,895,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks by Christopher Brookmyre, January 18, 2008

By 

GW "audio book junkie" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Attack Of The Unsinkable Rubber Ducks (Audio Cassette)

Christopher Brookmyre is a wickedly funny author who knows how to get the reader involved in a story. After only five minutes of listening to the audio on this one, I was completely hooked. Brookmyre's main character, Jack Parlabane, is sarcastic, world-wise, and more than a bit left of the main stream when it comes to his opinions on important subjects such as religion and education. This story focuses on the question of psychic powers and the afterlife and to say more would spoil a great plot.

The audio is performed by Billy Boyd of "Lord of the Rings" fame. His performance enhances what is already a very good book. He helps to bring the characters to life by giving them individual voices and accents. The author is from Scotland and so there might be a few expressions in the book with which some American readers would not be familiar but nothing that would keep the reader from enjoying the story. I enjoyed this one so much that I have since ordered another of Brookmyre's books. Great plot, interesting idea, and excellent audio. A very nice find all around.

3.0 out of 5 stars the book is great, October 15, 2011

By 

Kay Griffin - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Attack Of The Unsinkable Rubber Ducks (Audio CD)

I love this book and the storyline but when i ordered this I had ordered the one in which Billy Boyd had read and didn't get it, so had to reorder it

4.0 out of 5 stars Another great Brookmyre novel, February 6, 2011

By 

J. Collins (Huntsville, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks (Paperback)

A book to win a skeptic's heart. This is not the funniest of the Parlabane books but it's an absorbing thriller. It begins slowly, and if you were unfamiliar with the author - or if you hadn't taken the hint from the book's dedication to Randi and Dawkins - then you might think the author was going to come down on the side of woo. Brookmyre allows the "ducks" to present the most cogent and insidious of the arguments in favor of "keeping an open mind" when it comes to paranormal research.

An "unsinkable rubber duck" is James Randi's phrase to describe those who are determined to believe in woo no matter how much evidence to the contrary they are presented with.

The book is suspenseful, full of devious twists and turns, and the villains are as evil a bunch as Brookmyre has ever invented.

This is the fifth novel to feature Scottish journalist Jack Parlabane. The books in order are:
Quite Ugly One Morning
Country of the Blind
Boiling a Frog
Be My Enemy
Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks