“Declan Burke is his own genre. The Lammisters dazzles, beguiles and transcends. Virtuoso from start to finish.” – Eoin McNamee “This bourbon-smooth riot of jazz-age excess, high satire and Wodehouse flamboyance is a pitch-perfect bullseye of comic brilliance.” – Irish Independent Books of the Year 2019 “This rapid-fire novel deserves a place on any bookshelf that grants asylum to PG Wodehouse, Flann O’Brien or Kyril Bonfiglioli.” – Eoin Colfer, Guardian Best Books of the Year 2019 “The funniest book of the year.” – Sunday Independent “Declan Burke is one funny bastard. The Lammisters ... conducts a forensic analysis on the anatomy of a story.” – Liz Nugent “Burke’s exuberant prose takes centre stage … He plays with language like a jazz soloist stretching the boundaries of musical theory.” – Totally Dublin “A mega-meta smorgasbord of inventive language ... linguistic verve not just on every page but every line.Irish Times “Above all, The Lammisters gives the impression of a writer enjoying himself. And so, dear reader, should you.” – Sunday Times “A triumph of absurdity, which burlesques the literary canon from Shakespeare, Pope and Austen to Flann O’Brien … The Lammisters is very clever indeed.” – The Guardian

Monday, July 21, 2008

The Best Things In Life Are Free … Books

Tony Black has his hotly anticipated debut novel PAYING FOR IT published tomorrow (jump here for a first chapter sample), and the good folk at Preface, out of Random House UK, have been kind enough to give us three copies to give to you. Yes, YOU! First, the blurb elves:
Gus Dury once had a high-flying career as a journalist and a wife he adored. But now he is living on the edge, a drink away from Edinburgh’s down-and-outs, drifting from bar to bar, trying not to sign divorce papers. But the road takes an unexpected turn when a friend asks him to investigate the brutal torture and killing of his son, and Gus becomes embroiled in a much bigger story of political corruption and illegal people-trafficking. Seedy doss-houses, bleak wastelands and sudden violence contrast with the cobbled streets and cool bistros of fashionable Edinburgh, as the puzzle unravels to a truly shocking ending.
Lovely. To be in with a chance of winning a copy, just answer the following question. Is Tony Black:
(a) Benjamin Black’s son;
(b) Ingrid Black’s brother;
(c) A third cousin, twice removed, to that guy Black who sang Wonderful Life;
(d) Not related to anyone in the world anywhere – he’s actually an orphan who needs to sell all the books he can in order to scrape together the cash to find his long-lost family. Sob.
Answers via the comment box, please, leaving an email contact address, using (at) rather than @ to confuse the spam-munchkins, by noon on Wednesday, July 23. Et bon chance, mes amis

12 comments:

Gerard Brennan said...

Oh, I like the look of this one. Scottish hardman crime. Couldn't beat that with a caman (shinty stick)!

I'll go with d), he's an orphan. Poor tyke.

gerardforpresident(at)yahoo.co.uk

gb

colman said...

Bollox..........I only went and bought this a week ago

David Baynham said...

Dec, Well, this is a debut book that looks terrific, so go with d). Aren't all first time authors orphans of a sort?

Unknown said...

(d) Not related to anyone in the world anywhere – he’s actually an orphan who needs to sell all the books he can in order to scrape together the cash to find his long-lost family. Sob

rawsonkeith at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

If American's are eligible I'd like to toss my email into the hat
sandraseamans (at) yahoo.com and I pick (d) And tell that poor orphan boy (Hi Tony!) if he manages to strike it rich we'll adopt him, oh wait, he's written a book? Is there money in that? Well, we'll take him anyway.

Sandra

Anonymous said...

Too easy! It's "d" of course. Couldn't be anything else, could it?

acranis(at)cgi.edu

Josh Schrank said...

I read on his website that he was kicked out of Australia as a wee tike, so you know if you're bad enough to get kicked out of a former penal colony, you just HAVE to have parent issues. I'll go with d).. but his goal is be able to afford Macallans.

David Baynham said...

Now there, I went and did it again, leaving my email address off; wouldn't make a very good criminal with my absent-mindedness!

djbaynham(at)aol.com

Anonymous said...

Lets go for d
poor orphan needs to sell books to get cash, like many authors!
it sounds great, lets hope he does well
Allen McKay

allenmckay(at)hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

Hi Dec

I will go with d) Not related to anyone in the world anywhere – he’s actually an orphan who needs to sell all the books he can in order to scrape together the cash to find his long-lost family. Sob.


Thanks
Fiona

fiona.mccartney(at)oceanfree.net

Anonymous said...

I am going out on a limb and I am going to say (c).

Cohighfield(at)aol.com

Anonymous said...

Oh he has to be a poor little orphan boy doesn't he? Aren't all crime writers?

norby871 (at) yahoo.com