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The senior pupils of St Peter's High School are on retreat to a secluded outdoor activity centre, coming to terms with the murder of a fellow pupil through the means you would expect: counselling, contemplation, candid discussion and even prayer - not to mention booze, drugs, clandestine liaisons and as much partying as they can get away with. Not so far away, the commanders of a top-secret military experiment, long-since spiralled out of control, fear they may have literally unleashed the forces of Hell. Two very different worlds are on a collision course, and will clash in an earthly battle between science and the supernatural, philosophy and faith, civilisation and savagery. The bookies are offering evens.
User reviews
LibraryThing member austcrimefiction
Fans of Christopher Brookmyre's dark, black-comedic writing are probably going to do what I did when this book arrived. A bit of dignified happy dancing and a general clearing of the activity calendar to sit down for a jolly good read and, along the way, a lot of very undignified laughing. A lot of
Sure Christopher Brookmyre writes gory, savage, lunatic satire with little regard for "social sensibilities" or "political correctness". But within the lunacy of a bunch of school kids, pretty well intent on the things that teenagers have always been intent on - the booze, sex, drugs and partying bit of the recovery retreat; there is some fantastic sense and sensibility in the way that Brookmyre gives us a storyline, a morality play in many many ways and a set of characters to really get involved in.
It goes without saying that any military base, deep in the highlands of Scotland, that appears to have opened the very Gates to Hell, releasing horned creatures with long tails, is probably going to stuff it up. Calling in Cardinal Tullian of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith aka The Inquisition, allowing him to torture and torment the demons, and then announcing the shutdown of the place would obviously lead to a spot of sabotage, and the release of the demons of Hell. Which has to happen about the same time as a bunch of school children arrive in a slightly damaged bus at a resort very nearby. Of course the bus is damaged, a simple bus trip full of kids isn't going to be a method of transporting people from A to B in Brookmyre's hands - it's got to get a bit pear-shaped just to make sure that the group's chaperones arrive at the resort just that little bit frazzled to start off with.
And lunacy, gore, elaborate death scenes, and a hefty does of utter and total chaos needless to say happens. But in all this build-up, and within the night where all hell breaks lose, Brookmyre does what he does so well. Stereotypes are tipped on their heads, expectations turned inside out, people - kids; adults; bullies; goths; priests and the preachy; bitches and the sweet; the chaste and the profligate all step up to the mark, and you find yourself caring about each and everyone of them. You also find that what you see is not always what you get, and sometimes people are more than the sum of their external persona, and sometimes they're not. The portrayal of teenagers in this book is particularly delightful - and particularly reminiscent, and something I wish I'd read when I was that age and wondering why I was the only one in the world that thought / looked / behaved / stuck out like I did.
Undoubtedly extremely violent, gory and confrontational, (it's fiction for goodness sake, personally I'm not convinced that I need to worry I could be torn limb from limb by the demons of Hell in the middle of the Scottish Highlands), PANDAEMONIUM is considerably more than it's external persona. Not just a bit of a dig at a bunch of societal attitudes, Brookmyre digs a hole through to the depths of hell and buries a heap of garbage in it, and he does it delivering something that will make you snort with laughter, hold your breath with anticipation, and finish with great regret.
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readers new to this writer may be stepping away from the book (and this review) in droves. But really - don't. To steal a famous phrase - do yourself a favour (perhaps this needs to come with a strong language alert).Sure Christopher Brookmyre writes gory, savage, lunatic satire with little regard for "social sensibilities" or "political correctness". But within the lunacy of a bunch of school kids, pretty well intent on the things that teenagers have always been intent on - the booze, sex, drugs and partying bit of the recovery retreat; there is some fantastic sense and sensibility in the way that Brookmyre gives us a storyline, a morality play in many many ways and a set of characters to really get involved in.
It goes without saying that any military base, deep in the highlands of Scotland, that appears to have opened the very Gates to Hell, releasing horned creatures with long tails, is probably going to stuff it up. Calling in Cardinal Tullian of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith aka The Inquisition, allowing him to torture and torment the demons, and then announcing the shutdown of the place would obviously lead to a spot of sabotage, and the release of the demons of Hell. Which has to happen about the same time as a bunch of school children arrive in a slightly damaged bus at a resort very nearby. Of course the bus is damaged, a simple bus trip full of kids isn't going to be a method of transporting people from A to B in Brookmyre's hands - it's got to get a bit pear-shaped just to make sure that the group's chaperones arrive at the resort just that little bit frazzled to start off with.
And lunacy, gore, elaborate death scenes, and a hefty does of utter and total chaos needless to say happens. But in all this build-up, and within the night where all hell breaks lose, Brookmyre does what he does so well. Stereotypes are tipped on their heads, expectations turned inside out, people - kids; adults; bullies; goths; priests and the preachy; bitches and the sweet; the chaste and the profligate all step up to the mark, and you find yourself caring about each and everyone of them. You also find that what you see is not always what you get, and sometimes people are more than the sum of their external persona, and sometimes they're not. The portrayal of teenagers in this book is particularly delightful - and particularly reminiscent, and something I wish I'd read when I was that age and wondering why I was the only one in the world that thought / looked / behaved / stuck out like I did.
Undoubtedly extremely violent, gory and confrontational, (it's fiction for goodness sake, personally I'm not convinced that I need to worry I could be torn limb from limb by the demons of Hell in the middle of the Scottish Highlands), PANDAEMONIUM is considerably more than it's external persona. Not just a bit of a dig at a bunch of societal attitudes, Brookmyre digs a hole through to the depths of hell and buries a heap of garbage in it, and he does it delivering something that will make you snort with laughter, hold your breath with anticipation, and finish with great regret.
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LibraryThing member riverwillow
It took me a while to get into this book, as the narrative is split between the top secret US military base under Ben Trochart in the Scottish Highlands, and the teenagers from St Peter's High School on their way to the Fort Trochart Outbound Facility.
There are a lot of teenagers in this book and,
Of course it soon reallly goes to hell as the 'demons', with some human help, overrun the installation and start to hunt down the teenagers. This is where the book really starts to take off as the teenagers, aided by the centre staff and a couple of teachers, fight back - its a very silly demon who takes on a chain saw wielding teenager singing 'Iiiiiiii'm a lumberjack and I'm okay ....' with others showing skills acquired playing 'Doom'. The book hits its stride, with a rising body count and searing indictment of, well, you'll have to read the book, but if you are familiar with Brookmyre's work, the real tragedy and its demonice cause won't be that surprising.
There are a lot of teenagers in this book and,
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just as in 'A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Pencil' Brookmyre effectively encapsulates the teenage world with its mix of sexual anxiety, curiosity, and its peculiar tribal nature, even providing a list of the main teenage players and their relevant tribes and roles in school society at the beginning of the book. Meanwhile the scientists and the US military find themselves in an uneasy alliance with the Vatican, or if you prefer the Inquisition (with the pre-requisite Monty Python joke) as they try to investigate and understand just what it is that they've uncovered, with a strong suspicion that it may well be Hell. Of course it soon reallly goes to hell as the 'demons', with some human help, overrun the installation and start to hunt down the teenagers. This is where the book really starts to take off as the teenagers, aided by the centre staff and a couple of teachers, fight back - its a very silly demon who takes on a chain saw wielding teenager singing 'Iiiiiiii'm a lumberjack and I'm okay ....' with others showing skills acquired playing 'Doom'. The book hits its stride, with a rising body count and searing indictment of, well, you'll have to read the book, but if you are familiar with Brookmyre's work, the real tragedy and its demonice cause won't be that surprising.
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LibraryThing member gbsallery
Extremely entertaining light romp through a twisted gothic scenario. In essence, it's one class of Scottish schoolkids versus the forces of darkness - a grisly tale, told with style, pace and panache. Brookmyre excels even his own high standards with his one.
LibraryThing member ruthm2010
As ever with Christopher Brookmyre the dialogue is laugh-out- loud funny but I was a bit disappointed in the storyline. A wee bit unbelievable for me.
LibraryThing member AHS-Wolfy
A group of Scottish catholic school students are sent to an outbound retreat at Ben Trochart in the Highlands to come to terms with the murder of one of their classmates by another who then committed suicide. An eventful trip is somewhat overshadowed by what happens at the party that's laid on for
As with a lot of Brookmyre's work, the stereotypical characters that you start out with don't end up the way you expect and it's these characters that really make his work as enjoyable as it is. You also get the customary bad language and high blood spatter and body count you'd expect in a horror tinged spectacle such as this. Though that is where this work differs from his previous as they were all set in the crime/thriller genre whereas this one is most certainly not. The set-up is quite long in this book but it all adds up to setting the scene with a few reveals left until after the action starts. The humour is of the laugh in the face of death type which usually manifests in the excellent dialogue and with this one you don't need the glossary of local vernacular that was included in a previous novel.
Another solid effort from Mr. Brookmyre that will entertain his regular readers and may add a few new ones with the supernatural/horror story setting.
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Saturday night. There's a very secret military base residing on the doorstep specialising in R&D and it just seems to have opened a portal to hell. The current guise of the Inquisition (did you expect that?) has taken control of the project and is just about to shut it down much to the disappointment of the scientists on board but things don't go as planned. Real life game of Doom anyone?As with a lot of Brookmyre's work, the stereotypical characters that you start out with don't end up the way you expect and it's these characters that really make his work as enjoyable as it is. You also get the customary bad language and high blood spatter and body count you'd expect in a horror tinged spectacle such as this. Though that is where this work differs from his previous as they were all set in the crime/thriller genre whereas this one is most certainly not. The set-up is quite long in this book but it all adds up to setting the scene with a few reveals left until after the action starts. The humour is of the laugh in the face of death type which usually manifests in the excellent dialogue and with this one you don't need the glossary of local vernacular that was included in a previous novel.
Another solid effort from Mr. Brookmyre that will entertain his regular readers and may add a few new ones with the supernatural/horror story setting.
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LibraryThing member Lillput
I love Brookmyre's dark and wrong dialogue and storylines. I've read all his stuff and liked each one.
This one is slightly different in style in that the usual parallel storylines have a more obvious linkage much early in the book than in others of his. It might have been this that made it slightly
In any event, last night I went to bed to read my usual couple of chapters but I found I simply couldn't put the book down until I finished some two hours later.
It's probably the least believable of the storylines but is utterly engaging for all that.
Loved it.
This one is slightly different in style in that the usual parallel storylines have a more obvious linkage much early in the book than in others of his. It might have been this that made it slightly
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easier to read for me.In any event, last night I went to bed to read my usual couple of chapters but I found I simply couldn't put the book down until I finished some two hours later.
It's probably the least believable of the storylines but is utterly engaging for all that.
Loved it.
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LibraryThing member sanrak
Pretty funny, all and all. The dialogue was great, but I thought the plot was just a little too strained. I'd read more Brookmyre, though.
LibraryThing member JonArnold
Brookmyre abandons the black humoured crime thriller for re-enacting Doom with a bunch of schoolkids. There’s little new in his satirical target or the often extreme gruesomeness, nevertheless Brookmyre’s usual energy and sick humour means it’s a lot of fun.
LibraryThing member Cassandra2020
I've been contemplating what to say about this. Normally CB's books have a pattern: comically inept criminals, unlikely heroes, Scottish theme (either based in Scotland or characters are Scottish), but despite that, they do always feel different. A lot of these are present here, but this time the
So the blurb on the jacket says:
" A gothic horror story for the twenty-first century...
The senior pupils of St Peter's High School are on retreat to a secluded outdoor activity centre, coming to terms with the murder of a fellow pupil through the means you would
expect: counselling, contemplation, candid discussion and even prayer - not to mention booze, drugs, clandestine liaisons and as much partying as they can get away with.
Not so far away, the commanders of a top-secret military experiment, long-since spiralled out of control, fear they may have literally unleashed the forces of Hell.
Two very different worlds are on a collision course, and will clash in an earthly battle between science and the supernatural, philosophy and faith, civilisation and savagery.
The bookies are offering evens. "
Personally, I felt the book took too long to get going - lots of scene setting, lots of exploration of the St Peter's characters & back story. In fact if he'd just stuck to that - the teens & teachers & the way they explored & came to terms with their feelings - it might even have been a better book. But it was supposed to be gothic horror & it didn't kick in til over halfway through the book. When it did, it was a rollercoaster to the end. Maybe a bit predictable, but this isn't a genre I normally bother with, so that was fine by me.
As always, the characters were well observed & drawn & the kids were fabulous. So funny. Was saddened with the ending. Would have liked to carry on a little further & seen what happened next. Having said that, CB has a habit of throwing old characters into new books, so maybe we'll meet some of them again & find out whether they followed up on the new relationships they forged.
The only other thing that I found a little annoying was the tub thumping anti-religion. I happen to agree with most of what he's getting at, but felt this time he forced it down our throats a little too much. We get it! Don't keep on!
Lastly, there was one para that I really liked:
"The sun that "gave birth" to us died billions of years ago in a supernova, which created the higher elements that make up our solar system. And that means that every one of us here is literally made of stardust."
Still like CB, will continue to await his next offering eagerly, but hopefully this is his one & only attempt at Gothic Horror.
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genre is 'Gothic Horror' rather than 'Crime'.... and I'm not sure that it works for me. It certainly isn't as good as his usual stuff, but having said that I did still enjoy it. So the blurb on the jacket says:
" A gothic horror story for the twenty-first century...
The senior pupils of St Peter's High School are on retreat to a secluded outdoor activity centre, coming to terms with the murder of a fellow pupil through the means you would
expect: counselling, contemplation, candid discussion and even prayer - not to mention booze, drugs, clandestine liaisons and as much partying as they can get away with.
Not so far away, the commanders of a top-secret military experiment, long-since spiralled out of control, fear they may have literally unleashed the forces of Hell.
Two very different worlds are on a collision course, and will clash in an earthly battle between science and the supernatural, philosophy and faith, civilisation and savagery.
The bookies are offering evens. "
Personally, I felt the book took too long to get going - lots of scene setting, lots of exploration of the St Peter's characters & back story. In fact if he'd just stuck to that - the teens & teachers & the way they explored & came to terms with their feelings - it might even have been a better book. But it was supposed to be gothic horror & it didn't kick in til over halfway through the book. When it did, it was a rollercoaster to the end. Maybe a bit predictable, but this isn't a genre I normally bother with, so that was fine by me.
As always, the characters were well observed & drawn & the kids were fabulous. So funny. Was saddened with the ending. Would have liked to carry on a little further & seen what happened next. Having said that, CB has a habit of throwing old characters into new books, so maybe we'll meet some of them again & find out whether they followed up on the new relationships they forged.
The only other thing that I found a little annoying was the tub thumping anti-religion. I happen to agree with most of what he's getting at, but felt this time he forced it down our throats a little too much. We get it! Don't keep on!
Lastly, there was one para that I really liked:
"The sun that "gave birth" to us died billions of years ago in a supernova, which created the higher elements that make up our solar system. And that means that every one of us here is literally made of stardust."
Still like CB, will continue to await his next offering eagerly, but hopefully this is his one & only attempt at Gothic Horror.
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LibraryThing member jkdavies
2.5 stars really. It was OK, I'm just in a bunged up and headachey mood so it's getting rounded down.
This one fell a little flat for me, it covered some of the same sort of ground as Charles Stross's Laundry novels, but did so less well in my opinion. Whether it was intentional or not, the cheesy
This one fell a little flat for me, it covered some of the same sort of ground as Charles Stross's Laundry novels, but did so less well in my opinion. Whether it was intentional or not, the cheesy
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pairing up of characters as the monster breathes down their necks as per cheesy horror movies didn't work for me... Show Less