Not the End of the World [Hardcover]

Christopher Brookmyre (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 1998

The crew of an oceanic research vessel goes missing in the Pacific along with their mini-submarine. An evangelical media star holds a rally next door to a convention in LA devoted to "nubile" cinematic entertainment. The cops have been expecting this, but not the Glaswegian photographer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British author Brookmyre (One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night; Quite Ugly One Morning; etc.) makes his American debut with this thriller, but seems to have left most of his punch on the far side of the ocean. Scottish photographer Steff Kennedy is attending a B-list movie festival, held at an L.A. hotel, where he intends to snap some pics and joke about the self-importance of Hollywood. There he meets and makes eyes with Maddy Witherson, a sweet, misunderstood porn star famous for her leading role in Whore of Babylon; it is later revealed she was sexually abused as a girl by her Bible-waving father, a U.S. senator. Meanwhile, LAPD officer Larry Freeman is investigating the mysterious disappearance of a group of scientists from an ocean research vessel. Everyone's paths cross when a conservative Christian group decides to augment its anti-Hollywood rhetoric with a well-placed bomb, which literally dumps Maddy into Steff's arms. The bombers, however, demand an even more extreme remedy Maddy's suicide on national television as an act of public repentance or they'll blow up a boat full of Hollywood executives. While it's obvious that everyone will scramble to stop the bombers, less plausible elements like a bunch of long-lost religious scrolls and lots of chatter about the impending end of the world, are distracting. Brookmyre's previous book may have achieved some success across the Atlantic, but this jumbled effort feels like it's been cobbled together from whatever trashy American TV shows are currently in British syndication.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Brookmyre, a Fleet Street journalist turned fiction writer, has the rep in the UK of being a master of the comic thriller. This is his first novel published in the U.S. It fully lives up to its British press, delivering fast, just this side of out-of-control action, characters at once bizarre and sympathetic, and a cynical take on both sides of the law. When an oceanic research ship is found with not a single member of its crew on board, Sergeant Larry Freeman of the LAPD, sleepwalking through his job after the death of his son, is sprung from his security duties at a shabby B-movie festival and assigned to the case of the missing crew. The trail takes Freeman right through the tangle of the L.A. underworld and into the middle of a terrorist plot, the untangling of which involves dealing with the crazed and confused--and with his own despairing inertia. Excruciating suspense. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown (July 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316640654
• ISBN-13: 978-0316640657
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,683,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark Social Satire, January 28, 2002

By 

Dr. Christopher Coleman (HONG KONG) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not the End of the World (Hardcover)

NOT THE END OF THE WORLD is an apocalyptic millennial book that is dark comedy at its darkest. Although Brookmyre missed a bit on the facts and timing, this tale of fanatical religious zealots trying to destroy America and rebuild it in their image is unfortunately all too timely. The zealots in this fictional account are Christian, not Moslem; but when dealing with fanaticism the exact flavor scarcely matters. However, Brookmyre uses his book to mount a scathing attack on fundamentalism of any sort and simultaneously makes a compelling, albeit tragically jaded, case for atheism: "Some wee old spinster in Coatsbridge, in her hairy coat, plastic Rainmate and furry boots, nipping into the Co-op minimarket for a half-pound of cheap mince on the way home from the chapel, Scottish Catholic Universe under her arm, might tell herself she wasn't, spiritually speaking, doing any harm. But she'd be kidding herself. And acting the humble innocent wouldn't help. Hardline Islamics would have her on the dress-code, for a start. Vain, shameless slattern, flaunting herself like that in public, for all the world to see. Hindus wouldn't go a bundle on her planned ingestion of bloody flesh, or her wider complicity in the sacred animal's slaughter. Attendance at the 'temple of the Satanic anti-Christ of Rome' remains something of a no-no as far as the Scottish Free Presbyterians and Ian Paisley's mob are concerned. And as for a woman being able to read, well, ask the Taleban about that in Kabul. Then duck. Cumulatively, the world's religions could provide a God-given justification to hate anything about anybody. Steff had decided some years ago to hate them all back." And there is much more. In fact, Brookmyre's apparent vitriol toward organized religion is so strong that I am surprised the book was published in America at all.

But those of us who are not offended by that point of view will find NOT THE END OF THE WORLD a terrific thriller, with a fascinating and ever-twisting plot that engages the reader throughout. Just when I thought I knew what would happen next the action took another unexpected but plausible turn. And the characterizations were engaging; even the villains had some sympathetic motivations to their heinous plans.

Brookmyre has a darkly wicked sense of humor and pays homage to the Monty Python gang and Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, among others. All in all, NOT THE END OF THE WORLD is definitely worth a read, even though the dates in the book didn't quite pan out. People are still reading 1984, aren't they?

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Funny, October 18, 2001

By 

Tom Munro "tomfrombrunswick" (Melbourne, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not the End of the World (Hardcover)

Christopher Brookmyre is an unusual writer. His works are sort of detective fiction, sort of block buster thriller and sort of left wing satire. Until this book all of his books were set in Scotland. His first book quite ugly one morning introduced a new sort of hero, a short sarcastic investigative reporter called Parlabane.

This book is set in Los Angles but one of the main characters is a visiting Scots photographer. The plot is as with his other works somewhat convoluted and ends in a climax which would not be out of place in a Bruce Willis movie. Along the way there is a ferocious satire of Baptist Evangelical Sects and the consumerist aspects of American life.

The main attraction of the book apart from the non stop action is the fact that it is side splittingly funny. Brookmyre is one of the most amusing authors to write mystery fiction. The humour however has a distinctly adult bite to it.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BRILLIANT, March 30, 2001

By 

Barry Firth (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not the End of the World (Hardcover)

I guess, reading the other reviews, you either love Brookmyre or you hate him! I loved him. Brilliant book, brilliantly written, with more than a touch of black humor. This guy has guts, and he tells it like it is. Recommended reading for anyone who lives in the real world.