Everything Is Sinister

'Violence is the new language. Celebrity is the new currency.' Its 2010 and Ed Raynes is the chief showbiz correspondent for The Voice of the People the UK’s biggest selling tabloid magazine where tales of MP’s and their affairs make headline news daily. Ed Raynes is covering Lockdown the nations favourite reality TV show where the contestants are locked in a disused prison the winner achieving vast amounts of money and fame. Ed Raynes knows a shocking secret about the favourite to win and is beginning to think that there is something wrong with the industry.

After an incident involving a skinhead Ed quits his job and becomes a recluse. His only escape from the flat is the TV, internet and the food delivery man. The longer he stays inside and more TV he watched he realises that it’s not the industry, there is in fact ‘something wrong with people’. Ed’s life soon becomes a mission, a mission that nightmares are made of.

David Llewellyn has done a fantastic job with what a subject that many people are making a farce of. This is a dark brooding novel that looks at humans as a whole and what could happen to society. I got a feeling of slight Irvine Welsh and Haruki Murakami as there is a very surreal feel to what is a gripping modern storyline. There is also a slight feeling of Orwell too, its a disturbing look into the very near future. There is also an edge to this novel that comes from Llewellyn's writing and that was also in ‘Eleven’ Llewellyn’s debut novel about 9/11. David Llewellyn is a name to watch out for, a serious talent I look forward to the next book.