Kill ’Em All

I recently read Kill your Friends so wanted to this, the sequel, fairly soon after. There are very few books that give you the horrible dirty feeling that you get after you read a John Niven book - they are so horrible that you want to put them down and burn the book so that noone else has to read it.... but you just can't keep away as the stories and characters are so hilariously horrible that they quickly become addictive. Knowing that Stelfox has no morals from the first book I had to smile with the line on the back of this novel "There's no line he won't cross".... Stelfox was compelling before but this time he is insanely rich as well. He seems to have his health in check and is clear about what he wants in life so I found it hard to pity him like I did in the last novel. Of course, most people will find him despicable but there is a slither of admiration that keeps coming back - its very clever writing to be able to play with the reader's emotions as much as this book does. We may hate him but we love to read about him. The structure of the narrative is interesting. We hear Stelfox in the first person but all the others characters which are focused on are seen in the third person. This gradually takes effect and you realise you are empathising with Stelfox - a phrase I thought I'd never say! Observing the other characters rather than getting in their heads allows them to be monsters - we don't need to understand them and are given permission to just be horrified about what they are all doing. Stelfox is different - we get his justifications and, understanding him, give him more space to explain his actions. Lots of thoughts about the obvious Michael Jackson comparisons but nothing that I'm sure hasn't already been said - brilliant way to weave him into this novel. Also loved the ending which perfectly fits in with the rest of the contradiction that is Steven Stelfox

Steven Stelfox returns and despite being as deplorable as ever, Niven throws him into the modern world, a world where even this aged, millionaire, trolling, sexist, egotistical, eccentric, MURDERER and lunatic is....... A Hero??? Without giving too much away the novel follows Stelfox helping an old friend, and stand out side character from Kill Your Friends, James Trellick. One of Trellicks signed acts is Lucius De Pre a not so subtle in fact blindingly obvious homage to Michael Jackson. De Pre is a criminal without giving too much away and Stelfox has ti figure out a way tocombat black mailers and recoup the millions that Lucius has wasted. What follows is a visceral as expected entertaining cat and mouse and is honestly truly gripping. The conclusion is extremely satisfying with Stelfox finally being one upped in the novels final moments by someone close to him. As with Kill Your Friends he wins, but loses. The novel has a more elaborate plot than Kill Your Friends but is still just as shocking while still being witty. However the character of Terry Rawlings is a deux ex machina that ties every issue up with farcical whimsy. This novel is incredible. Fans of its predecessor Kill Your Friends and suedo prelude The Second Coming will he thoroughly entertained but new readers will be able to jump into the wild life of Steven Stelfox. Just be careful if you are a new reader as Nivens writing is raw, not so much tongue in cheek as genitalia in alligators mouth.

Ever wondered about the depravity of the music industry? Well this goes deep. Very, very funny, entirely credible and extremely bloody nasty/

Great read

Sequels are normally inferior to the first one, but this bends that rule. Again we are treated the evil Mr Stelfox and he really has in this become that horrid version of Patrick Bateman and Simon Cowell. A great read and real page turner and cuts to core of todays self centred narcissistic entertainment industry and elements of society at large. If you want book with hero in it don’t bother you won’t find one none of the characters are likeable and so bad that you almost want Stelfox and his diabolical schemes to work. A big improvement on Kill your friends and Niven really has brought the main character to where he should be. An evil sociopath who will do anything to succeed. Modern satire working well.

We had a brief reunion with Stelfox with Second Coming but was left gagging for more so this was more than a welcome return of one of the best characters I’ve ever stumbled across... Niven’s dry wit never ceases to crack me up and have me bent over laughing out loud (usually surrounded by bizarre looks as I keep everyone drowned out with my headphones) When this popped up earlier this year I’ve been counting down the days and months and it’s safe to say that I wasn’t disappointed in any way whatsoever. Very tongue in cheek with a lot of the characters but great fun and one hell of ride... Just don’t leave it so long to follow this one up next time

I enjoyed the book, but wasn't mad about the ending. That's probably because some idiot revealed it in the reviews below. Don't read them if you're thinking of buying it. If you liked the first, you'll like this one, but obviously it's not as good. But it's still very, very funny and worth a read.

The second Steven Stelfox book, just as funny as the first, but better written. John Niven really knows how to put a story together. This is twenty years after Kill Your Friends, and Stelfox is a loaded music mogul, given the mission of covering up the questionable activities of the world's biggest pop star. If you've read Kill Your Friends, and given more than a cursory glance at the title, you know how this will end. And given the parallels with a real life pop star who was once with us, I'm amazed that John Niven hasn't had his ass sued off over this book, but I'm also glad as it really hits the spot.

One of his best works - hilarious yet poignant. He just gets better with age - one of world's best modern writers.

Niven is back and so is Stelfox! I loved this book, almost more than its predecessor Kill Your Friends. It was engaging and a very fast read. It only took me a couple of days to burn through the whole thing.

Nicht sein bestes aber auch nicht sein schlechtestes Werk. Ich hatte meinen Spass und schau mal wie die deutsche Übersetzung gelungen ist.

Brilliant, dark, funny and unputdownable.

Was soll man sagen? Niven hat absolut alle Register gezogen. Wunderbar.