“A mix of Red Dwarf and John Milton. At times hilarious, and the first part of a trilogy. So the Gods are human after all! Great fun, particularly the exchanges between angels and demons”…..Gateway Monthly Literary Review March 2007
"The humour ranges from plain hilarious to down right side splitting . . . Derek Lawrence certainly has a knack for comedy, and as this is the first novel in the Divine Cock Up Trilogy, I look forward to the next."…… Richard Hawkins, SCIFI UK March 2007
“In the Middle Ages Skaters, Trekkies & Cool Dudes would have gotten Derek Lawrence burned at the stake. Fortunately we live in more enlightened times and people are now free to enjoy such stories (both reading and writing them).
God and the Devil are missing, presumed… well no-one knows – they have disappeared and there are committees running things, they are not happy and want them found.
When I started reading this it reminded me strongly of the opening of Garth Ennis’s comic book series Preacher. This perception took a 90 degree turn when it was revealed that God had a penchant for dressing up as Captain James T. Kirk (personally I think Captain Picard would be a better choice but it is only a minor quibble and anyway His ways are mysterious) – no prizes for guessing which Trek character the Devil is.
This book is a mad, fun read – Derek Lawrence has a way with a phrase (I could tell that he had fun writing the dialogue) that appeals to my sense of humour. The story has an even flow and makes sense even at the craziest times. Fortunately it is the first book of three (The Divine Cock Up trilogy) with the second title due out later this year.
ST&CD will appeal to older teens and adults who enjoy sci-fi and theology tied together with lashings of wild humour and general weirdness”……..Teen Librarian March 2007
“What can I say! I have been an avid Pratchett fan for many many, years, but after reading Skaters Trekkies & Cool Dudes, I am now convinced that a new king of comedy fantasy has arrived on the scene. The story is clever, the characters are both funny and paranoid, and the style of writing refreshing and new. Embram Ferret Frightener (what a name!) is a star in the making, and the Archangel someone or something you should never quite trust completely. I bought the book originally for my two teenage sons, but after flipping through the first chapter, they had to wait the two days it took me to read it, before they even had a look in. The only question I would like to ask... is when will we see the 2nd part of the Divine Cock-Up Trilogy. Soon I hope!”
AnotherBook March 2007 (Readers Review)
“Like the previous review, Skaters Trekkies & Cool Dudes did it for me. I am a 15 year old teenager, whose mother dared to buy him a book... I am so pleased she did. Skaters is fantastic, funny, brilliant, and any other word of praise you can think of.
I read it in an evening, then read it again (a first for me). The fun is everlasting and the story riveting...Well done the author, and keep them coming!” AnotherBook April 2007 (Readers Review)
“ Last friday, March 30th, my mother picked me up from school as usual and told me that she had bought a book for me that day. Well, as all self respecting 15 year old teenagers will understand, I was mortified. Mum buying me a book! I had this terrible vision of Narnia or Harry Potter being given to me over the tea table that evening, my older brother never letting me forget that mum still thinks I'm 12. But was I wrong! Oh how wrong I was.
The book was 'Skaters Trekkies & Cool Dudes, a very, very funny fantasy novel, which had me laughing from page one, and crying with joy by page 231.It's a brilliant book with amazing characters, and a plot which left me begging for more. In fact I laughed so much that my brother is now reading it, just to see what all the fuss is about.
Bring on book two Derek Lawrence, I can't wait.”
Reviewer: Chris Saws Teen Librarian April 2007
'When God and Lucifer go missing and Heaven and Hell start to descend into chaos, the Joint Darkness and Light Emergency Committee decides that urgent action is needed...' (back cover blurb)I think that most people like to believe that there's some sort of logic and order to the universe. It makes life easier to cope with. Me? I'm not so sure.Which could be why I loved this book so much. It takes every sombre thought anyone might ever have had about Abrahamic religion, turns it upside down and JUMPS on it. In hobnailed boots!'Now many unusual and strange scenes have been witnessed in and around the celestial offices over time immemorial, some, it must be said, far more memorable than others. For example, take the time Lucifer attempted to make Hell a registered charity to avoid the Dark Committee's new heating tax; or the day Moses had to explain why he had engraved 'Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's Marijuana plants' as the eleventh commandment.' (p12)It's very tempting to turn the whole review into a series of quotes from the book - there's something screamingly funny and infinitely quotable on every page (just about). However...Without the Bosses, the bureaucracies that run Heaven and Hell are beginning to break down and the urgent action that the Joint Committee chooses to take is to send a joint team of inhabitants to Earth to find and retrieve them. Lumbered with the job are four... beings:The Archangel Gabriel, who is a more or less OK sort of type, a bit short-tempered and not really at home in present day England, who seems to think an immaculate pin-striped grey suit, Union Jack Doc Martens, multiple facial piercings and an eight-inch red, white and blue Mohican is a good disguise for an angel on a mission...I suppose he could have a point, I would think twice before bothering someone who looked like that...Oh, and he has an irrational and overpowering fear of cockroaches. Well, got to have some sort of character flaw!And the head of the cherub "whose chosen name was Marcus Enderholt the Third, or Randy to his friends." (p10) Yes, just the head. It's a short story, told in full detail in the first chapter. Read the book, you know I try not to give spoilers!And from Hell's side:The gargoyle ('a level 12 demon from the Chasm of Endless Torment') Master Embram Ferret Frightener is actually a decent sort of chap, face like a 'bad tempered Komodo dragon on a Monday morning, and a set of teeth that would make a Nile alligator cry with envy' (p 22) but pleasant enough in his own way. He does have two problems though. Firstly, he's afraid of fire. Secondly is the fourth...being...on the team.Embram has a pet. Not, as you'd expect, a hideous beast from the pit. No. Embram's pet is a miniature blue-rinse poodle named Fifi Lamoure.Actually, as far as I'm concerned, that does count as a hideous beast from the pit. Give me a wolfhound any day. However, Embram assumes the disguise of a grungy skateboarder, complete with hoodie and baseball cap. And Fifi? 'It must be a sign of the times that no one takes any notice of a blue-rinse poodle in designer sunglasses riding a fluorescent green skateboard.' (p 99)This motley bunch arrive in Worcester, UK, to hunt down God, currently calling himself Gerald, and Lucifer, currently calling himself Samuel. Unfortunately, Gabriel and Co. aren't the only beings seeking the Bosses and the other agency has a far more sinister purpose...The story is quite complex, involving double and triple crosses, a variety of nefarious doings and suspenseful moments with some thought-provoking and eye-opening concepts mixed in with the breakneck pace and sheer hilarity. If you take your religion at all seriously you'll probably hate this book. All the more reason to read it, as far as I'm concerned. It does a great job of puncturing a few sacred cows - metaphors deliberately mixed. For the open-minded with a keen sense of the absurd it's a (literally) wickedly funny read and I can't wait for the next volume. If nothing else, I want to see if Gabriel actually does get the M16 assault rifle he's been trying to requisition to replace his sword...Joules Taylor (Crowsnest)
"A feast of wit and imagination" Joyce Holmes
(Author of the Fizz & Buchanan Mysteries)
Review by Nigel Rating (8/10)
Review by NigelWhat would happen if celestial events were run by committee rather than omnipotent autocrats? If there were no God or the Devil, who would make the decisions? Would it be for the better?
This is the main premise for Skaters, Trekkies and Cool Dudes. The Joint Darkness and Light Emergency Committee, taking over duties in the absence of God and Lucifer, see the running of things slightly differently and so ensues mild chaos in the normally smooth administration of the afterlife. You think being stranded at the airport is a pain, wait until you are trying to get into heaven or hell and the system doesn’t work.
To be seen to be doing their best to reinstate the rightful rulers, the committee recruit (putting it one way) an Archangel and a Demon (so being seen as fair) to locate the missing all powerful, who are thought to be on Earth. Unfortunately the team is rather management heavy on one side, namely the Archangel being Gabriel, with the demon being… well, no demon of any import really, which is very much of a surprise to him.
The pair set out on their appointed quest, accompanied by the bodiless head of a Cherub and a three headed hellhound call Fifi (honestly), to try and bring the rightful rulers home. As you have probably guessed not all is as it seems and so ensues a humorous extravaganza as the pair come to terms with each other, sworn immortal enemies from the beginning of time, and their impossible task… how do you locate omnipotent beings that don’t want to be found?
The story is full of wonderful comedic situations and amusing running gags; one of my favourites was the constantly changing name of the demon throughout.
Don’t be put of by the title; this book has very little to do with Star Trek other than to parody it and its followers (in a nice way, no offence to Star Trek fans); it’s basically poking fun at the cult fan thing really.
A very entertaining (if you don’t mind laughing too much) book that will suit anyone with a slightly dark sense of humour. I only hope it isn’t really like that, heaven help us…Nigel (BookLore 17th July 2007)
1 comment:
Well said.
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