More Burglar Diaries by Danny King

More Burglar Diaries won't have you pondering the infinite. It won't bring you any answers to the deep philosophical question of life such as: Why is there never a complete pair of socks in my sock drawer? Why does the wife keep moving everything around? Where the feck is the TV remote? And finally it won't tell you why Jeremy Clarkson and Piers Morgan are such a pair of annoying t*ats. What it will do, if you're not careful, is have you spraying the tuna sandwich you were eating across the nearest wall or hapless old lady who just happens to be in front of you on the bus (sorry Ethel).

Bex and his hapless sidekick Ollie blunder from one botched burglary to another creating mayhem as they go. The dialogue is smart and hilarious. In particular Bex's wisecracks guarantee more than a chortle a chapter. The running gags are excellent. On the face of it a lighthearted comical read but King effortlessly weaves in little twists to the various jobs the boys find themselves on. A great mix of recurring characters, witty banter and slapstick humour.

Genre:  Humour

Publisher:  Byker Books

Format:  E-Book & Paperback

Rating:  4/5

Critical Failures by Robert Bevan

Critical Failures is an interesting blend of a novel. The story starts with a group of lads Tim, Cooper, Julian and Dave awaiting the arrival of a new Games Master for their weekly game of Caverns and Creatures, a Dungeons and Dragons style role playing game. As you might expect the author takes every opportunity to poke fun at the stereotype gamer, nerds with absolutely no prospect of ever finding a girlfriend. When the Games Master finally arrives, wearing a cape, they all take the opportunity to have some fun at his expense. Matters go from bad to worse and our "heroes" find themselves magically transported to the Games World with the GM having full control over this environment.

Bevan neatly combines the fantasy and comedy genres with quite a lot of action for the characters but with them of course fully aware of their game characters strengths and weaknesses. The strength of this novel lies in the humour. I found myself laughing out loud a lot but also rooting for our hapless heroes. Fantasy and RPG fans will get the jokes and find this funny. Anyone who is partial to slapstick humour will enjoy this also I'd imagine. It's not a high brow book and the humour isn't subtle but we all need a laugh sometimes and Critical Failures does this effortlessly.

Genre: Fantasy / Humour
Format: Paperback & E-Book
Rating: 5/5