Blast from the Past [Paperback]

Ben Elton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2000

Ready to follow Nick Hornsby and Helen Fielding as the next big thing from Cool Britannia to hit America is Ben Elton. Already known to a wide public television audience as the funnyman behind Blackadder, The Young Ones, and The Thin Blue Line, Elton, author of Popcorn, lights up the literary sky with Blast from the Past.

Part noir thriller, part hilarious send-up of the politics of extremism, Blast from the Past is the new novel from English comedy phenomenon (stand-up, playwright, television writer, and author) Ben Elton--a name soon to be known in all circles once Joel Schumacher's film of his book Popcorn reaches the silver screen.

In the early 80s, when Polly was a seventeen-year-old ideological peace protestor and Jack was a U.S. Army captain stationed at England's Greenham Common, the two had a secret and very unlikely affair. No two people could have had more to argue about, save that they couldn't live without each other, yet one day Jack came to the conclusion that he loved soldiering more than Polly and sacrificed their love to be a career army man.

Now, sixteen years later, Polly is a lonely thirty-something social services employee and Jack is a four-star general who has returned to Britain to find her, his only true love. With only one night to resolve their differences, and a knife-wielding stalker lurking in the shadows, for everyone concerned this will be a night like no other.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British stand-up comic, playwright and author Elton (Popcorn) brings a new, if unconvincing, twist to the term "sexual politics" in his fifth off-the-wall novel. Polly Slade is a stereotypical leftist activist, but, ? la Bridget Jones, she's also sadly single. When Polly was 17, she had a brief and improbable sub rosa love affair with American Captain Jack Kent, who was stationed at the airbase in Greenham, England where, in the '80s, there was a year-long demonstration against American militarism. Polly, radical protester-for-peace in the bloom of her punkish pulchritude, is shortly abandoned by the ambitious Jack, whose pursuit of army life cannot be derailed. Now 16 years have passed and Jack has risen in the U.S. ranks, in line to become the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Polly's career hasn't been so steady, as she passed through anarchist, feminist and labor support groups. She's dated both politically correct and lying married men. But now she's got a stalker, Peter (whom she nicknames "The Bug"), a former client at the Office of Equal Opportunity where she works. When Jack comes to London and looks up Polly, whom he's never stopped loving, his quest coincides with Peter's escalating harassment. The collision of Polly's loneliness and nostalgia, Jack's egomaniacal personality and "The Bug's" psychosis, which Elton sets up deftly enough, doesn't quite gel. Kent, part Manchurian candidate, part Rambo and overall a blatant symbol of U.S. political corruption, doesn't make a credible figure, especially when his enduring passion for Polly turns deadly. Elton's condescending asides about Polly's ultra-leftie politics render his heroine ridiculous. While the combination of U.S. and British politics, thematically linked with sexual obsession and blood-thirsty ambition, is a promising melange, these characters haven't the mettle to engage most readers in their violent and melodramatic love games. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Elton's new novel is a black-humor take on the stalker-thriller genre. Sixteen years before this novel begins, an unlikely pair have a passionate affair in the confines of England's Greenham Common. He was an up-and-coming U.S. military man, and sheAknown at the time as Sacred Cycle of the Womb and MoonAwas a peace protester. Now Gen. Jack Kent is up for promotion as head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and she, now simply Polly Slade, is a social worker in England. One of her clients, known as "The Bug," is stalking her, and when Kent shows up on her doorstep one morning, it seems that Polly is up against a pride of men who need her. Those expecting social commentary from Elton (author of the popular British TV series Blackadder) will not be disappointed; the 16-year gap allows him to skewer some of the less savory political elements of the Eighties, including Reagan and Thatcher. Those looking for a John Sandford thriller, however, might find that the author's wit dilutes the frightfulness of the stalkings. Elton's current popularity, plus an upcoming movie version of his earlier novel, Popcorn, should make this a popular book with patrons of most public libraries.
-ABob Lunn, Kansas City P.L., MO
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Delta (October 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385334524
• ISBN-13: 978-0385334525
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,002,363 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 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Elton has tried, and failed, to write a semi-serious book., June 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Blast from the Past (Hardcover)

Why oh why?

I absolutely loved Elton's first three novels (Stark, Gridlock and This Other Eden) which were topical, political and most importantly the funniest books I have read. In Blast from the past, however, Elton dumps his usual extreme-and-action-packed-plot-intertwined-with-hilarious-comedic-observations style in favour of a more sombre look at love and politics.

Unfortunately, Elton is not good at it. His 'subtle as a steamroller' tone worked well in his first three novels where character development needed to be sacrificed to comedy, but in a book that focuses on two central characters, it falls flat.

And in a book that is meant to be little less extreme than its predecessors, the dialogue is simply implausible. After all, if a lover who disappeared 16 years previously turned up at 3 in the morning, would you spend the first hour of your reunion discussing Thatcherite politics?

Even the characters themselves are tired and unoriginal. In all of Elton's books there has been an attractive left-wing woman who has it in for a right-wing male a**hole. Blast from the Past continues this tired tradition and makes you wonder if Elton is good at anything else.

And while this book does have it's funny moments (the first chapter for example), they are few and far between and do not justify the boring political banter and teen lovers angst that fills the rest of the book.

Elton, stick with what you do best: comedy!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun Ben book, August 14, 2000

By 

Michael J Harrington (Phoenix, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blast from the Past (Hardcover)

I have been a huge Ben Elton fan for years (unusual for a yank for sure, however lived in Australia for 8 years, so...), and have read all his books. I felt that this had it's truly enjoyable Elton comic moments, however the story was rather weak. Buy, hey, what the hell! Ben's books have never been literary masterpieces nor the top of the pops when it comes to 'the most clever plot line' either. Stark was better than this, however this was a far cry better than the pathetic 'Other Eden' thing he did a few years back. Overall, this book moves along pretty well, and sprinkles some of the ole Elton humour liberally amongst the situations. Can Ben really write the thriller of the year? NO - however this book is great bit of fun, and we all need that every so often, eh?

Enjoy it for what it is - Ben is not out to be the next Hemingway or anything - I think he just likes to write, and he doesn't do a bad job of it at all.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and thought-provoking, but also very funny., April 7, 2000

By 

G.Spider - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blast from the Past (Hardcover)

This is the best kind of comedy, the kind used in shows such as Blackadder, Red Dwarf and One Foot in the Grave - plenty of humour and hilarity but also a serious underlying theme.

'Blast from the Past' is a masterpiece. The characters are believable and all of them, even the disturbed stalker, are sympathetic. Though there is no shortage of political and social humour (a certain head of state even makes an appearance), the 'Fox and Hound'-type storyline - two characters who live in a society which refuses to allow them to be close because of their backgrounds - means you genuinely care about the two central characters and are kept glued to the book until the very end.