Lux the Poet [Paperback]

Martin Millar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2009

There is something about Lux. He’s a thief and a liar; he is selfish and self-absorbed and hopelessly vain. But while he looks like Lana Turner and romances like a true Casanova, Lux is actually more like a bumbling, oblivious Mary Tyler Moore.

Amid shouting mobs, police shields, and the hurled bricks of the ’80s Brixton riots, Lux is searching for Pearl—the love of his life. Her home has been burned down by a stray petrol bomb, and she’s searching for sanctuary along with her friend Nicky. Nicky is traumatized after having killed her computer—her best friend—and is herself being followed by Happy Science PLC. It is their plan to breed a superior next generation by implanting the sperm of genius men inside beautiful women. She knows too much about the plan. Lux is helped in his quest by Kalia, a castaway of Heaven attempting to get back in God’s good graces by performing one million good deeds over countless lifetimes. There’s also a thrash metal band, a riot-party, past lives, and KY. Lots of KY.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British novelist Millar offers up another nutty slice of interconnected lives in this tale of a lovelorn poet's quest for love. As London's Brixton riot rages, Lux, a 17-year-old vagabond poet waiting for fame to find him, dodges fire bombs, police and an awful thrash metal band as he searches for Pearl, who he is in love with, though she doesn't care for him all that much. She's fleeing the melee with her lesbian lover Nicky, who suspects her bosses at Happy Science are scheming to artificially inseminate her. Meanwhile, Kalia, an expelled angel trying to work her way back into heaven, moves through the ages performing good deeds as devil incarnate Johnny seeks to undo them. Their converging stories, minced together in a quick, Spartan prose, offer laughs and, finally, some touching insights into life's trajectory. (May)
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Review

"I've been a fan of his work for almost twenty years." -- Neil Gaiman

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Soft Skull Press (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593762313
• ISBN-13: 978-1593762315
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #345,855 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, July 30, 2009

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lux the Poet (Paperback)

LUX THE POET, by British author Martin Millar, offers a fun, eccentric story of a poet in search of eternal fame and fortune.

As Lux searches a Brixton riot for Pearl - the lesbian love of his life - he meets the resistance of those he has wronged while avoiding the brutality going on around him.

Lux's positive attitude of eternal optimism and vanity make this book an enjoyable read. However, this story would not be complete without the escapades of Lux's past lives. We learn more of his antics through the eyes of an angel who has been misjudged and sent to earth to complete a million acts of kindness, only to be foiled by her nemesis, an angel who revels in evil-doing.

It was these stories that give the book depth and make Lux an enjoyable character.

There are moments in this book that make it more suitable for an adult audience because of its crude nature; although fleeting, it would still be inappropriate for a younger audience. But it is this mix of oddities that makes the book an entertaining and witty novel.

Reviewed by: LaLeesha Haynes

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and Manic, June 1, 2009

By 

Coy R. Powers - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lux the Poet (Paperback)

It's about a fairly self centered young man, and set during a riot...
I can't say much more without having to explain, re-explain, and then explain new stuff that I mentioned in the previous explanations.
Let's just say that it moves at a break-neck speed, is friggin' funny, and absolutely worth a read.

After seeing a negative review of Millar's 'Lonely Werewolf Girl' I feel that it's important that I also say that this is a comedy. It's not serious, you aren't going to find any heart-rending poems, etc.

Warning, there's some violence, sex, and drug use...also a scientist who does 'foetus experiments.' ...buy it for yourself, not for your kids. If they need a book, get "Graveyard Book" by Gaiman.

2.0 out of 5 stars lux the poet, May 17, 2011

By 

Gabriel R. Dendinger "lumpkin" (huntington beach, ca, usa) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lux the Poet (Paperback)

i loved the fairies of new york and the lonely werewolf girl, but this book seemed very tedious and impossible to get into. all the fun of the previous books is gone and the language seemed labored. i couldn't even finish it. it was very disappointing because especially the fairies of new new was so fresh and entertaining.