This was a very strange book indeed. It seems to take elements from several of de Bernieres early novels and weaves them into the landscape of Devon and Cornwall, where he sets a novel that looks at the end times from the point of view mostly of a man who is a genius at quantum mechanics. Q or Artie as he later becomes, lives in London, working for the government as he attempts to fend off cyber attacks on the electronic systems that now monopolise the lives of humans. People are so bored they spend their days dressed as characters from history and employing bots as stand ins for real human contact. Artie escapes to Devon where he befriends a park ranger and his daughter and goes about an elaborate doomsday prep that takes the rest of the book and introduces many characters along the way. From mystics waiting for the rapture to crusty anti government anarchists to ghosts and tame lynxes, there is a lot here. In fact, too much I think. I really enjoyed parts of the book but other parts seemed so daft they were distracting. Also, some of the gender and sex based material seemed a little tasteless and at times much along the lines of the 'Ooh, I identify as a pot plant' brigade and I found myself getting a bit wearied. This reminded me of the initial Latin American trilogy, indeed it steals chunks from it, but here the idea is stretched to a ridiculous degree and shoehorned into something else. I felt like it couldn't make its mind up.

This was such a different book to Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, the only other book that I have read by Louis de Bernieres.
Set sometime in a very bleak future, the main character, Q, works for the government and is worried about the future so decides to find somewhere remote to keep himself safe. He moves to an old farmhouse in Cornwall and aims to become self-sufficient. He meets several eccentric characters as well as reconnecting with his family. The cities are falling apart whilst Q thrives in the Cornish countryside.
The story is compelling and I found myself rooting for Q though I did find some of the other characters a bit too unconvincing. Overall it kept me interested to the end.

This book surprised me with its unique story. It grabbed my attention and I couldnt put it down. Probably better than Captain Corelli.

This book got me out of a bit of a reading slump. I have read quite a few mediocre novels recently and was getting a little down over it.

However, I turned to a trusty old friend in Louis de Bernieres who delivers time and time again