All Fun And Games Until Somebody Loses An Eye (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
I like to think that I’m a pretty open minded reader, I will give any genre a go and always finish a book no matter how dire it is. My boyfriend is the complete opposite. For him reading consists of Christopher Brookmyre, Christopher Brookmyre and Christopher Brookmyre. I thought this author must be good if he’s created this much of an addiction so I gave him a try. Now all I can say is, “I want to read another one!”Brookmyre introduces us to a variety of unique main characters, most of which form the Tiger Team. They are all incredibly interesting, with their own back stories. However the book is read from three perspectives; Jane, Alexis and Ross. These characters are truly believable and Jane’s section in particular is brilliant, making me feel as though I was sneaking a peek into a middle aged woman’s diary. We can feel all of the characters’ emotions; fear, excitement, confusion, lust. Even the secondary characters came to life, most notably Bett, who developed from a robot into a normal human being. The interactions between Bett and Jane were superb and my only issue with Brookmyre’s characterisation was a slight sense of unease about the speed of Jane’s transformation.Brookmyre’s writing is fast and witty and while it tediously started off as very, “He said, she replied, he shouted, she responded,” it soon wore off and reached a steadier and rapid flow. He was descriptive without being overburdening and he made it easy to understand the technical jargon regarding weapons and equipment.If I’m honest the only part that disappointed me was the ending, which I felt Brookmyre skimmed over. The twists revealed at the end are brilliant but I felt that it was lacking as a conclusion leaving many avenues of the story still open.Overall a brilliant, addictive, imaginative thriller that had me taking the train to work just so I could squeeze in some extra reading.
Intussen ook nog wat gelezen: van een uitstap naar Londen eens All Fun And Games Until Somebody Loses An Eye (2005) van Christopher Brookmyre meegebracht. Aan de stapels boeken te zien moet Brookmyre een held zijn in z’n land, en dat is eigenlijk best te begrijpen. Het is immers een bijzonder flukse, slim in elkaar gestoken roman met een gezonde combinatie van humor en actie, pulp en literatuur. De uitgerekte proloog was aanvankelijk wat verwarrend, waardoor het meer dan vijftig pagina’s duurde voor het verhaal op gang kwam, maar daarna schoot het adrenalinepeil de hoogte. Het boek is een beetje de literaire tegenhanger van de hi-tech-toestanden van James Bond, La Femme Nikita en Alias. Jane Fleming is een fortysomething wiens leven eigenlijk al een hele tijd geleden eindigde. Kinderen het huis uit, geen hobby’s, jeugdige rebellie opgegeven voor een huwelijk met een patattenzak wiens leven draait rond voetbal en TV. Dan wordt het verhaal natuurlijk opengetrokken, als de zoon van Fleming, die tewerkgesteld is in de wapenindustrie, wordt ontvoerd omdat hij kennis zou hebben van iets dat miljarden waard zou zijn. Per ongeluk wordt Fleming betrokken in de spiraal van geweld, en wat blijkt? Ze is ervoor geboren en slaagt erin op recordtempo opgeleid te worden tot vechtmachine/spion. Allemaal bij de haren gesleepte onzin, maar door clevere koerswijzigingen, al dan niet verdoken verwijzingen naar voorgangers uit film en literatuur en bakken typisch Britse wittiness, blijft All Fun And Games… boeiend tot vierhonderdste pagina. (***1/2)
What do You think about All Fun And Games Until Somebody Loses An Eye (2005)?
Brookmyre’s tales are always good fun, invariably a thriller tale wrapped up in dark humour and spun out as an edgy comic caper. So it is with All Fun and Games Until Someone Loses an Eye, which has a very nice hook about a dour Scottish housewife making a transformation into Lara Croft as a secret agent. The set-up is very nicely done, as is the unfolding of the plot and the denouement, with the action sequences particularly well conveyed. As usual, Brookmyre develops a colourful cast of characters, placing them a number of them slightly or fully out of place, and riffing on their interplay. The result is humour is ever present, though rarely spills over into belly laughs. The only downside is there is far too much explication and back story, with rambling long passages that added little but padding. Some judicious editing would have added a little pace and verve. Overall, an entertaining, well conceived, tongue-in-cheek thriller.
—Rob Kitchin
If you ever wanted to read a novel version of the movie True Lies but without any of the humor or charisma that Schwarzenegger and Curtis brought to the roles, than this is the book for you.The book starts of all right, but then seems to turn into a farce by creating a series of unbelievable cliches and trying to present them as characters. You might be able to enjoy the farce if there was actually anything humorous going on.On the plus side the book is fast paced and the technical descriptions (computer hacking and gravity well resolution as examples) along with the thought put into the action set pieces were nice. He seems like a capable writer, he simply took a swing and missed on this novel.
—Sebadiaz
2.5 stars. Brookmyre has come up with plenty of wacky plots, but this one is so ludicrous that I had trouble enjoying the story. It’s still an amusing read at times, but it requires great suspension of disbelief.Jane has spent 25 years raising children and keeping house for her boring husband. She’s a fan of James Bond movies, though, so when her adult son is threatened by wicked arms dealers, it only takes a little target practice and a few judo lessons to transform her into an espionage agent extraordinaire.Brookmyre often places an ordinary person in a situation where he’s forced to go on the offensive against terrorists, for instance, but it’s usually handled in a more believable (yet comedic) way. I’m totally open to a story where a middle-aged housewife saves the day, but Jane’s attitude, not to mention her astonishing effectiveness, seemed utterly implausible to me.The plot thread concerning the weapons manufacturers also had me rolling my eyes, but it’s partially redeemed by the twist at the end. Early on I had hopes for the romance, but it became mushy and predictable, and caused an improbably fast change of personality in one of the parties.This book is much less graphic and violent than a typical Brookmyre novel. It’s also a bit less cynical and contains hardly any ranting - sure, we learn that guns are bad and the defense industry is evil and hypocritical, but the lecture is relatively mild and isn't allowed to overwhelm the book.
—Jamie
