Book review: All Fun and Games until Someone Loses an Eye – Christopher Brookmyre

Once again Christopher Brookmyre has produced an irritatingly good book.

His characters are beautifully, yet succinctly, drawn.

His scene-setting is pointedly brief.

His dialogue is (for the most part) crisply authoritative.

But none of these is the best part.

The best part is Mr Brookmyre’s brilliant ability to coin a phrase that epitomises the zeitgeist.

Irritating, as I’ve said.

But also…

Excellent.

I don’t believe Christopher Brookmyre is (yet) good enough to be considered a great author.

In fact I think his work-to-date peaked with the brilliant ‘Fine Art of Stealing’.

But what ‘All Fun and Games until Someone Loses an Eye’ does is showcases what a way above average writer can do.

It highlights his ability to maintain suspense.

And it benchmarks the standards of observational skills coupled with descriptive narrative that every author needs to meet.

And that sets the bar very high for the rest of us.

As with previous works, his cleverness in ‘All Fun and Games (etc)’ is erratic, but that doesn’t make it less clever.

I love his wit, his technological grasp, his ability to suspend belief, his prose and the glimpses of a Scotland that you won’t get on a travel-ad!

His understanding of human characteristics and motivations.

But best of all I love his observations.

And his descriptive narrative.

And his ability to capture the zeitgeist.

Yes I know that’s three ‘best of alls’ but his skills in these areas really are that good.

Completely bloody irritating, as I’ve said.

But (also as I’ve said)… Excellent.

All Fun and Games until Someone Loses an Eye by Christopher Brookmyre.