Feel cheated, 28 Aug 2007
I feel a little used by this book. They are nothing more than fairly banal, heavy-handed morality tales, but because the reviewers are not widely-read, they touted this book as being original, new, "no one is doing this stuff!" but of course people are, they're just not in the general fiction section of your bookstore, because their writers didn't write TV shows.

He seems to be attempting the same kind of short stories as Neil Gaiman writes - dark, edgy, unsettling, intriguing - but he isn't very good at it. He gets two stars, not one, because he's not a bad writer, as such. This reads like your average writers first high school book attempt - bland, derivitave - the one that never gets published. If he wasn't already famous, your average editor would have handed him a rejection slip saying that while he had talent, he needed to work a lot harder to hone his skills.

Also, the fabricating of the proverb to justify the book's title felt a bit cheap.

Note: I don't think he's imitating Gaiman: I doubt he's read Gaiman. If he had, he would have realised there's a whole genre out there, and learned a bit more about it before he handed his final draft in.

very funny yet strangely philosophical, 05 Mar 2007
i know it sounds odd but this book really made me think (as well as laugh out loud) its very funny and you dont have to be a fan of short stories to enjoy it. i reccommed it with all my might!!!

p.s. we who walk through walls is my favourite!!!

What will he think of next?, 20 Apr 2004
I barely need to mention that Jeremy Dyson is, of course, the solenon-performing member of the acclaimed and influential comedy outfit TheLeague of Gentleman, and it is precisely this which invites a degree ofhealthy scepticism. A collection of macabre short stories which put a darkspin on everyday life... hardly the most original of concepts. Is Dysonsimply another rank-and-file screenwriter peddling mildly quirky yetunremarkable fiction by trading on his earlier success? Without thecreative and dramatic support of Gatiss, Pemberton and Shearsmith, will hestand up to scrutiny?
Happily, it is clear from the outset that he has no intention of coveringold ground. His flair for the grotesque is as much in evidence as ever,but these stories are less gruesome horror yarns than uncompromisingfables, where come-uppances are served to appallingly convincingwrong-doers in stark, violent detail. More surprisingly, there is littlerelish in the telling; often Dyson delivers the coup de grace with abarely controlled rage which is both disturbing and exhilarating.
A background in sketch writing is a useful one when approaching shortfiction, as both forms are dependent on precision and detail, and there isnowhere to hide. Reading Dyson's short stories is like watching an expertdriver turn a car round in its own length; his ability to manoeuvre anintricate plot within a relentlessly taut narrative structure is nothingshort of awesome. He is also reassuringly at ease with dialogue (so oftena stumbling-block for young writers), finding some truly distinctive andpowerful voices among his characters.
While few stories in this collection fail to convince, there are of courseflaws such as may be expected in a debut. A wonderfully austere prosepassage will suddenly veer off into the realms of the baroque, sproutingornate ramblings worthy of Mervyn Peake. Colloquialisms are at timesoverstrained, and a couple of the plot twists have an air ofself-conscious cleverness. Such faults, however, are easily forgiven whenthey appear in the company of far more important qualities. Dyson is athis best when he is at his most oblique and abstract, as he is in thefinal story "All in the Telling", for it is then that the focus shiftsfrom his (admittedly formidable) intellect to what really lies at theheart of his writing - an almost shockingly impassioned moral outrage,directed with deadly accuracy and unrestrained force at the seamier sideof human nature.
Readers looking for a Royston Vasey fix will be disappointed, but theimmense potential apparent in this collection will make many others keento see where this restless and inventive mind will turn to next.

Weird but so good!, 10 May 2003
I'm not usually one for short stories, but the write-up on Amazon prompted me to buy this book. I definitely don't regret it! I got into each story easily and was soon caught up in the strange, rather twisted, events within each one. Most of them left me feeling slightly unnerved, but satisfied at the turn of events and the conclusion. For anyone who likes something a little bit different, a little on the weird side, I'd certainly recommend "Never Trust a Rabbit".

Not So Special Stuff, 10 Jun 2002
Such blandishments cannot pass unchallenged. This is entertainment of medium order but it ain't literature. Jeremy Dyson is of course the non-acting member of The League of Gentlemen, purveyors of fine black comedy to the post-Alan Partridge (but pre-The Office generation). Naturally this is spattered all over the cover and reviews, but the fiction has precious little in common with his TV work.

On the cover (and special mention goes to that: shockingly cheap it is, not even ugly enough to attain kitsch status when the time comes for I Love 2001, but just dull and badly designed, the sort of thing which looks as though it's been awaiting a rejacketing since the mid-70s) Adam Mars-Jones, a notoriously fussy critic, says "his stories nestle in the little vacant chink between Roald Dahl and Borges." This is high praise indeed, and specific enough to give you a fair idea of what the stories are like before you read a single one. It is also completely wrong.

Yes there is a menace to the stories, and yes there is an air of other-worldliness and "phantastic" goings-on, but Borges and Dahl shared a lightness of touch which is entirely absent here, not to mention an imagination which is mostly absent. It may in fact be clever to place your story in the hands of a dull protagonist in a humdrum world, then take it somewhere unexpected in the last page, but it feels more like not having the courage of your convictions, or more simply, cheating. There is an almost childish patness about the trickery of the endings.

If you have ever been led, as I have, to wonder what The League of Gentlemen would be like if they allowed themselves to get blacker and blacker, and even dispense with the laughs altogether, then wonder no more. And be careful what you wish for.

Alan Simpson

Feel cheated, 28 Aug 2007
I feel a little used by this book. They are nothing more than fairly banal, heavy-handed morality tales, but because the reviewers are not widely-read, they touted this book as being original, new, "no one is doing this stuff!" but of course people are, they're just not in the general fiction section of your bookstore, because their writers didn't write TV shows.

He seems to be attempting the same kind of short stories as Neil Gaiman writes - dark, edgy, unsettling, intriguing - but he isn't very good at it. He gets two stars, not one, because he's not a bad writer, as such. This reads like your average writers first high school book attempt - bland, derivitave - the one that never gets published. If he wasn't already famous, your average editor would have handed him a rejection slip saying that while he had talent, he needed to work a lot harder to hone his skills.

Also, the fabricating of the proverb to justify the book's title felt a bit cheap.

Note: I don't think he's imitating Gaiman: I doubt he's read Gaiman. If he had, he would have realised there's a whole genre out there, and learned a bit more about it before he handed his final draft in.

very funny yet strangely philosophical, 05 Mar 2007
i know it sounds odd but this book really made me think (as well as laugh out loud) its very funny and you dont have to be a fan of short stories to enjoy it. i reccommed it with all my might!!!

p.s. we who walk through walls is my favourite!!!

What will he think of next?, 20 Apr 2004
I barely need to mention that Jeremy Dyson is, of course, the solenon-performing member of the acclaimed and influential comedy outfit TheLeague of Gentleman, and it is precisely this which invites a degree ofhealthy scepticism. A collection of macabre short stories which put a darkspin on everyday life... hardly the most original of concepts. Is Dysonsimply another rank-and-file screenwriter peddling mildly quirky yetunremarkable fiction by trading on his earlier success? Without thecreative and dramatic support of Gatiss, Pemberton and Shearsmith, will hestand up to scrutiny?
Happily, it is clear from the outset that he has no intention of coveringold ground. His flair for the grotesque is as much in evidence as ever,but these stories are less gruesome horror yarns than uncompromisingfables, where come-uppances are served to appallingly convincingwrong-doers in stark, violent detail. More surprisingly, there is littlerelish in the telling; often Dyson delivers the coup de grace with abarely controlled rage which is both disturbing and exhilarating.
A background in sketch writing is a useful one when approaching shortfiction, as both forms are dependent on precision and detail, and there isnowhere to hide. Reading Dyson's short stories is like watching an expertdriver turn a car round in its own length; his ability to manoeuvre anintricate plot within a relentlessly taut narrative structure is nothingshort of awesome. He is also reassuringly at ease with dialogue (so oftena stumbling-block for young writers), finding some truly distinctive andpowerful voices among his characters.
While few stories in this collection fail to convince, there are of courseflaws such as may be expected in a debut. A wonderfully austere prosepassage will suddenly veer off into the realms of the baroque, sproutingornate ramblings worthy of Mervyn Peake. Colloquialisms are at timesoverstrained, and a couple of the plot twists have an air ofself-conscious cleverness. Such faults, however, are easily forgiven whenthey appear in the company of far more important qualities. Dyson is athis best when he is at his most oblique and abstract, as he is in thefinal story "All in the Telling", for it is then that the focus shiftsfrom his (admittedly formidable) intellect to what really lies at theheart of his writing - an almost shockingly impassioned moral outrage,directed with deadly accuracy and unrestrained force at the seamier sideof human nature.
Readers looking for a Royston Vasey fix will be disappointed, but theimmense potential apparent in this collection will make many others keento see where this restless and inventive mind will turn to next.

Weird but so good!, 10 May 2003
I'm not usually one for short stories, but the write-up on Amazon prompted me to buy this book. I definitely don't regret it! I got into each story easily and was soon caught up in the strange, rather twisted, events within each one. Most of them left me feeling slightly unnerved, but satisfied at the turn of events and the conclusion. For anyone who likes something a little bit different, a little on the weird side, I'd certainly recommend "Never Trust a Rabbit".

Not So Special Stuff, 10 Jun 2002
Such blandishments cannot pass unchallenged. This is entertainment of medium order but it ain't literature. Jeremy Dyson is of course the non-acting member of The League of Gentlemen, purveyors of fine black comedy to the post-Alan Partridge (but pre-The Office generation). Naturally this is spattered all over the cover and reviews, but the fiction has precious little in common with his TV work.

On the cover (and special mention goes to that: shockingly cheap it is, not even ugly enough to attain kitsch status when the time comes for I Love 2001, but just dull and badly designed, the sort of thing which looks as though it's been awaiting a rejacketing since the mid-70s) Adam Mars-Jones, a notoriously fussy critic, says "his stories nestle in the little vacant chink between Roald Dahl and Borges." This is high praise indeed, and specific enough to give you a fair idea of what the stories are like before you read a single one. It is also completely wrong.

Yes there is a menace to the stories, and yes there is an air of other-worldliness and "phantastic" goings-on, but Borges and Dahl shared a lightness of touch which is entirely absent here, not to mention an imagination which is mostly absent. It may in fact be clever to place your story in the hands of a dull protagonist in a humdrum world, then take it somewhere unexpected in the last page, but it feels more like not having the courage of your convictions, or more simply, cheating. There is an almost childish patness about the trickery of the endings.

If you have ever been led, as I have, to wonder what The League of Gentlemen would be like if they allowed themselves to get blacker and blacker, and even dispense with the laughs altogether, then wonder no more. And be careful what you wish for.

Alan Simpson

Hauntingly melancholic, 30 Jan 2008
I wasn't sure what to expect of this book. I quite like League of Gentlemen and seem to recall enjoying Mr. Dyson's previous book, though I'll be damned if I can remember a thing about it. I bought What Happens Now on the strength of the reviews on the back cover really. And I am incredibly glad I did. Though at times it reads a little like confessional, nostalgic man-lit(and there's nothing wrong with that) it has a darkness and melancholy at its core that is never far away. It is a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. Well worth the time and money. Top stuff!

Haunting...A great debut, 03 Nov 2007
Fifteen-year-old Alistair Black is something of an outsider, spending his time making cassette tapes about the imaginary world he has created. That is until a TV producer from the teen series 'Then and Now' comes to his school and casts him in their latest drama. Being cast changes the course of Alistair's life particularly because he meets Alice, a girl he begins to fall for.

I liked this novel very much. It has an underlying darkness and I really enjoyed the intricate structure that transports the reader back and forth in time, allowing us to see both Alice and Alistair as they were in 1981, but also the people that they became. I deducted one star because I felt it dragged a little in the middle, but the ending and the 'defining moment' more than made up for it.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Dyson will produce next. A really promising debut. Recommended.


Stunning Debut, 28 Aug 2007
I'm not sure why I picked up this novel; the name of the author rang a bell. Then I realised this was one of the creators of The League of Gentlemen. Compared to Mr Gatiss' work; it's in a league of its own. The story is extremely well-written, the characters are fully fleshed out and the sense of foreboding grows throughout the book. It's a journey, of sorts, from awkward adolescence through to adulthood, via memories of the past and a train journey into the unknown. Highly recommended.

excellent, surprisingly touchung., 21 Sep 2006
i was very moved by this book and i didnt think i would be. im not sure what i was expecting but i was pleasently surprised. readers of all genres will find something here i highly recommend it to everybody.

Fictional Bliss, 16 Aug 2006
I've literally just finished this book and felt compelled to write something about it.
I cried, laughed and was shocked at times. I loved this book from cover to cover. Please please read.
Thank you Jeremy

Feel cheated, 28 Aug 2007
I feel a little used by this book. They are nothing more than fairly banal, heavy-handed morality tales, but because the reviewers are not widely-read, they touted this book as being original, new, "no one is doing this stuff!" but of course people are, they're just not in the general fiction section of your bookstore, because their writers didn't write TV shows.

He seems to be attempting the same kind of short stories as Neil Gaiman writes - dark, edgy, unsettling, intriguing - but he isn't very good at it. He gets two stars, not one, because he's not a bad writer, as such. This reads like your average writers first high school book attempt - bland, derivitave - the one that never gets published. If he wasn't already famous, your average editor would have handed him a rejection slip saying that while he had talent, he needed to work a lot harder to hone his skills.

Also, the fabricating of the proverb to justify the book's title felt a bit cheap.

Note: I don't think he's imitating Gaiman: I doubt he's read Gaiman. If he had, he would have realised there's a whole genre out there, and learned a bit more about it before he handed his final draft in.

very funny yet strangely philosophical, 05 Mar 2007
i know it sounds odd but this book really made me think (as well as laugh out loud) its very funny and you dont have to be a fan of short stories to enjoy it. i reccommed it with all my might!!!

p.s. we who walk through walls is my favourite!!!

What will he think of next?, 20 Apr 2004
I barely need to mention that Jeremy Dyson is, of course, the solenon-performing member of the acclaimed and influential comedy outfit TheLeague of Gentleman, and it is precisely this which invites a degree ofhealthy scepticism. A collection of macabre short stories which put a darkspin on everyday life... hardly the most original of concepts. Is Dysonsimply another rank-and-file screenwriter peddling mildly quirky yetunremarkable fiction by trading on his earlier success? Without thecreative and dramatic support of Gatiss, Pemberton and Shearsmith, will hestand up to scrutiny?
Happily, it is clear from the outset that he has no intention of coveringold ground. His flair for the grotesque is as much in evidence as ever,but these stories are less gruesome horror yarns than uncompromisingfables, where come-uppances are served to appallingly convincingwrong-doers in stark, violent detail. More surprisingly, there is littlerelish in the telling; often Dyson delivers the coup de grace with abarely controlled rage which is both disturbing and exhilarating.
A background in sketch writing is a useful one when approaching shortfiction, as both forms are dependent on precision and detail, and there isnowhere to hide. Reading Dyson's short stories is like watching an expertdriver turn a car round in its own length; his ability to manoeuvre anintricate plot within a relentlessly taut narrative structure is nothingshort of awesome. He is also reassuringly at ease with dialogue (so oftena stumbling-block for young writers), finding some truly distinctive andpowerful voices among his characters.
While few stories in this collection fail to convince, there are of courseflaws such as may be expected in a debut. A wonderfully austere prosepassage will suddenly veer off into the realms of the baroque, sproutingornate ramblings worthy of Mervyn Peake. Colloquialisms are at timesoverstrained, and a couple of the plot twists have an air ofself-conscious cleverness. Such faults, however, are easily forgiven whenthey appear in the company of far more important qualities. Dyson is athis best when he is at his most oblique and abstract, as he is in thefinal story "All in the Telling", for it is then that the focus shiftsfrom his (admittedly formidable) intellect to what really lies at theheart of his writing - an almost shockingly impassioned moral outrage,directed with deadly accuracy and unrestrained force at the seamier sideof human nature.
Readers looking for a Royston Vasey fix will be disappointed, but theimmense potential apparent in this collection will make many others keento see where this restless and inventive mind will turn to next.

Weird but so good!, 10 May 2003
I'm not usually one for short stories, but the write-up on Amazon prompted me to buy this book. I definitely don't regret it! I got into each story easily and was soon caught up in the strange, rather twisted, events within each one. Most of them left me feeling slightly unnerved, but satisfied at the turn of events and the conclusion. For anyone who likes something a little bit different, a little on the weird side, I'd certainly recommend "Never Trust a Rabbit".

Not So Special Stuff, 10 Jun 2002
Such blandishments cannot pass unchallenged. This is entertainment of medium order but it ain't literature. Jeremy Dyson is of course the non-acting member of The League of Gentlemen, purveyors of fine black comedy to the post-Alan Partridge (but pre-The Office generation). Naturally this is spattered all over the cover and reviews, but the fiction has precious little in common with his TV work.

On the cover (and special mention goes to that: shockingly cheap it is, not even ugly enough to attain kitsch status when the time comes for I Love 2001, but just dull and badly designed, the sort of thing which looks as though it's been awaiting a rejacketing since the mid-70s) Adam Mars-Jones, a notoriously fussy critic, says "his stories nestle in the little vacant chink between Roald Dahl and Borges." This is high praise indeed, and specific enough to give you a fair idea of what the stories are like before you read a single one. It is also completely wrong.

Yes there is a menace to the stories, and yes there is an air of other-worldliness and "phantastic" goings-on, but Borges and Dahl shared a lightness of touch which is entirely absent here, not to mention an imagination which is mostly absent. It may in fact be clever to place your story in the hands of a dull protagonist in a humdrum world, then take it somewhere unexpected in the last page, but it feels more like not having the courage of your convictions, or more simply, cheating. There is an almost childish patness about the trickery of the endings.

If you have ever been led, as I have, to wonder what The League of Gentlemen would be like if they allowed themselves to get blacker and blacker, and even dispense with the laughs altogether, then wonder no more. And be careful what you wish for.

Alan Simpson

Hauntingly melancholic, 30 Jan 2008
I wasn't sure what to expect of this book. I quite like League of Gentlemen and seem to recall enjoying Mr. Dyson's previous book, though I'll be damned if I can remember a thing about it. I bought What Happens Now on the strength of the reviews on the back cover really. And I am incredibly glad I did. Though at times it reads a little like confessional, nostalgic man-lit(and there's nothing wrong with that) it has a darkness and melancholy at its core that is never far away. It is a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. Well worth the time and money. Top stuff!

Haunting...A great debut, 03 Nov 2007
Fifteen-year-old Alistair Black is something of an outsider, spending his time making cassette tapes about the imaginary world he has created. That is until a TV producer from the teen series 'Then and Now' comes to his school and casts him in their latest drama. Being cast changes the course of Alistair's life particularly because he meets Alice, a girl he begins to fall for.

I liked this novel very much. It has an underlying darkness and I really enjoyed the intricate structure that transports the reader back and forth in time, allowing us to see both Alice and Alistair as they were in 1981, but also the people that they became. I deducted one star because I felt it dragged a little in the middle, but the ending and the 'defining moment' more than made up for it.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Dyson will produce next. A really promising debut. Recommended.


Stunning Debut, 28 Aug 2007
I'm not sure why I picked up this novel; the name of the author rang a bell. Then I realised this was one of the creators of The League of Gentlemen. Compared to Mr Gatiss' work; it's in a league of its own. The story is extremely well-written, the characters are fully fleshed out and the sense of foreboding grows throughout the book. It's a journey, of sorts, from awkward adolescence through to adulthood, via memories of the past and a train journey into the unknown. Highly recommended.

excellent, surprisingly touchung., 21 Sep 2006
i was very moved by this book and i didnt think i would be. im not sure what i was expecting but i was pleasently surprised. readers of all genres will find something here i highly recommend it to everybody.

Fictional Bliss, 16 Aug 2006
I've literally just finished this book and felt compelled to write something about it.
I cried, laughed and was shocked at times. I loved this book from cover to cover. Please please read.
Thank you Jeremy

Hauntingly melancholic, 30 Jan 2008
I wasn't sure what to expect of this book. I quite like League of Gentlemen and seem to recall enjoying Mr. Dyson's previous book, though I'll be damned if I can remember a thing about it. I bought What Happens Now on the strength of the reviews on the back cover really. And I am incredibly glad I did. Though at times it reads a little like confessional, nostalgic man-lit(and there's nothing wrong with that) it has a darkness and melancholy at its core that is never far away. It is a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. Well worth the time and money. Top stuff!

Haunting...A great debut, 03 Nov 2007
Fifteen-year-old Alistair Black is something of an outsider, spending his time making cassette tapes about the imaginary world he has created. That is until a TV producer from the teen series 'Then and Now' comes to his school and casts him in their latest drama. Being cast changes the course of Alistair's life particularly because he meets Alice, a girl he begins to fall for.

I liked this novel very much. It has an underlying darkness and I really enjoyed the intricate structure that transports the reader back and forth in time, allowing us to see both Alice and Alistair as they were in 1981, but also the people that they became. I deducted one star because I felt it dragged a little in the middle, but the ending and the 'defining moment' more than made up for it.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Dyson will produce next. A really promising debut. Recommended.


Stunning Debut, 28 Aug 2007
I'm not sure why I picked up this novel; the name of the author rang a bell. Then I realised this was one of the creators of The League of Gentlemen. Compared to Mr Gatiss' work; it's in a league of its own. The story is extremely well-written, the characters are fully fleshed out and the sense of foreboding grows throughout the book. It's a journey, of sorts, from awkward adolescence through to adulthood, via memories of the past and a train journey into the unknown. Highly recommended.

excellent, surprisingly touchung., 21 Sep 2006
i was very moved by this book and i didnt think i would be. im not sure what i was expecting but i was pleasently surprised. readers of all genres will find something here i highly recommend it to everybody.

Fictional Bliss, 16 Aug 2006
I've literally just finished this book and felt compelled to write something about it.
I cried, laughed and was shocked at times. I loved this book from cover to cover. Please please read.
Thank you Jeremy

Feel cheated, 28 Aug 2007
I feel a little used by this book. They are nothing more than fairly banal, heavy-handed morality tales, but because the reviewers are not widely-read, they touted this book as being original, new, "no one is doing this stuff!" but of course people are, they're just not in the general fiction section of your bookstore, because their writers didn't write TV shows.

He seems to be attempting the same kind of short stories as Neil Gaiman writes - dark, edgy, unsettling, intriguing - but he isn't very good at it. He gets two stars, not one, because he's not a bad writer, as such. This reads like your average writers first high school book attempt - bland, derivitave - the one that never gets published. If he wasn't already famous, your average editor would have handed him a rejection slip saying that while he had talent, he needed to work a lot harder to hone his skills.

Also, the fabricating of the proverb to justify the book's title felt a bit cheap.

Note: I don't think he's imitating Gaiman: I doubt he's read Gaiman. If he had, he would have realised there's a whole genre out there, and learned a bit more about it before he handed his final draft in.

very funny yet strangely philosophical, 05 Mar 2007
i know it sounds odd but this book really made me think (as well as laugh out loud) its very funny and you dont have to be a fan of short stories to enjoy it. i reccommed it with all my might!!!

p.s. we who walk through walls is my favourite!!!

What will he think of next?, 20 Apr 2004
I barely need to mention that Jeremy Dyson is, of course, the solenon-performing member of the acclaimed and influential comedy outfit TheLeague of Gentleman, and it is precisely this which invites a degree ofhealthy scepticism. A collection of macabre short stories which put a darkspin on everyday life... hardly the most original of concepts. Is Dysonsimply another rank-and-file screenwriter peddling mildly quirky yetunremarkable fiction by trading on his earlier success? Without thecreative and dramatic support of Gatiss, Pemberton and Shearsmith, will hestand up to scrutiny?
Happily, it is clear from the outset that he has no intention of coveringold ground. His flair for the grotesque is as much in evidence as ever,but these stories are less gruesome horror yarns than uncompromisingfables, where come-uppances are served to appallingly convincingwrong-doers in stark, violent detail. More surprisingly, there is littlerelish in the telling; often Dyson delivers the coup de grace with abarely controlled rage which is both disturbing and exhilarating.
A background in sketch writing is a useful one when approaching shortfiction, as both forms are dependent on precision and detail, and there isnowhere to hide. Reading Dyson's short stories is like watching an expertdriver turn a car round in its own length; his ability to manoeuvre anintricate plot within a relentlessly taut narrative structure is nothingshort of awesome. He is also reassuringly at ease with dialogue (so oftena stumbling-block for young writers), finding some truly distinctive andpowerful voices among his characters.
While few stories in this collection fail to convince, there are of courseflaws such as may be expected in a debut. A wonderfully austere prosepassage will suddenly veer off into the realms of the baroque, sproutingornate ramblings worthy of Mervyn Peake. Colloquialisms are at timesoverstrained, and a couple of the plot twists have an air ofself-conscious cleverness. Such faults, however, are easily forgiven whenthey appear in the company of far more important qualities. Dyson is athis best when he is at his most oblique and abstract, as he is in thefinal story "All in the Telling", for it is then that the focus shiftsfrom his (admittedly formidable) intellect to what really lies at theheart of his writing - an almost shockingly impassioned moral outrage,directed with deadly accuracy and unrestrained force at the seamier sideof human nature.
Readers looking for a Royston Vasey fix will be disappointed, but theimmense potential apparent in this collection will make many others keento see where this restless and inventive mind will turn to next.

Weird but so good!, 10 May 2003
I'm not usually one for short stories, but the write-up on Amazon prompted me to buy this book. I definitely don't regret it! I got into each story easily and was soon caught up in the strange, rather twisted, events within each one. Most of them left me feeling slightly unnerved, but satisfied at the turn of events and the conclusion. For anyone who likes something a little bit different, a little on the weird side, I'd certainly recommend "Never Trust a Rabbit".

Not So Special Stuff, 10 Jun 2002
Such blandishments cannot pass unchallenged. This is entertainment of medium order but it ain't literature. Jeremy Dyson is of course the non-acting member of The League of Gentlemen, purveyors of fine black comedy to the post-Alan Partridge (but pre-The Office generation). Naturally this is spattered all over the cover and reviews, but the fiction has precious little in common with his TV work.

On the cover (and special mention goes to that: shockingly cheap it is, not even ugly enough to attain kitsch status when the time comes for I Love 2001, but just dull and badly designed, the sort of thing which looks as though it's been awaiting a rejacketing since the mid-70s) Adam Mars-Jones, a notoriously fussy critic, says "his stories nestle in the little vacant chink between Roald Dahl and Borges." This is high praise indeed, and specific enough to give you a fair idea of what the stories are like before you read a single one. It is also completely wrong.

Yes there is a menace to the stories, and yes there is an air of other-worldliness and "phantastic" goings-on, but Borges and Dahl shared a lightness of touch which is entirely absent here, not to mention an imagination which is mostly absent. It may in fact be clever to place your story in the hands of a dull protagonist in a humdrum world, then take it somewhere unexpected in the last page, but it feels more like not having the courage of your convictions, or more simply, cheating. There is an almost childish patness about the trickery of the endings.

If you have ever been led, as I have, to wonder what The League of Gentlemen would be like if they allowed themselves to get blacker and blacker, and even dispense with the laughs altogether, then wonder no more. And be careful what you wish for.

Alan Simpson

Hauntingly melancholic, 30 Jan 2008
I wasn't sure what to expect of this book. I quite like League of Gentlemen and seem to recall enjoying Mr. Dyson's previous book, though I'll be damned if I can remember a thing about it. I bought What Happens Now on the strength of the reviews on the back cover really. And I am incredibly glad I did. Though at times it reads a little like confessional, nostalgic man-lit(and there's nothing wrong with that) it has a darkness and melancholy at its core that is never far away. It is a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. Well worth the time and money. Top stuff!

Haunting...A great debut, 03 Nov 2007
Fifteen-year-old Alistair Black is something of an outsider, spending his time making cassette tapes about the imaginary world he has created. That is until a TV producer from the teen series 'Then and Now' comes to his school and casts him in their latest drama. Being cast changes the course of Alistair's life particularly because he meets Alice, a girl he begins to fall for.

I liked this novel very much. It has an underlying darkness and I really enjoyed the intricate structure that transports the reader back and forth in time, allowing us to see both Alice and Alistair as they were in 1981, but also the people that they became. I deducted one star because I felt it dragged a little in the middle, but the ending and the 'defining moment' more than made up for it.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Dyson will produce next. A really promising debut. Recommended.


Stunning Debut, 28 Aug 2007
I'm not sure why I picked up this novel; the name of the author rang a bell. Then I realised this was one of the creators of The League of Gentlemen. Compared to Mr Gatiss' work; it's in a league of its own. The story is extremely well-written, the characters are fully fleshed out and the sense of foreboding grows throughout the book. It's a journey, of sorts, from awkward adolescence through to adulthood, via memories of the past and a train journey into the unknown. Highly recommended.

excellent, surprisingly touchung., 21 Sep 2006
i was very moved by this book and i didnt think i would be. im not sure what i was expecting but i was pleasently surprised. readers of all genres will find something here i highly recommend it to everybody.

Fictional Bliss, 16 Aug 2006
I've literally just finished this book and felt compelled to write something about it.
I cried, laughed and was shocked at times. I loved this book from cover to cover. Please please read.
Thank you Jeremy

Hauntingly melancholic, 30 Jan 2008
I wasn't sure what to expect of this book. I quite like League of Gentlemen and seem to recall enjoying Mr. Dyson's previous book, though I'll be damned if I can remember a thing about it. I bought What Happens Now on the strength of the reviews on the back cover really. And I am incredibly glad I did. Though at times it reads a little like confessional, nostalgic man-lit(and there's nothing wrong with that) it has a darkness and melancholy at its core that is never far away. It is a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. Well worth the time and money. Top stuff!

Haunting...A great debut, 03 Nov 2007
Fifteen-year-old Alistair Black is something of an outsider, spending his time making cassette tapes about the imaginary world he has created. That is until a TV producer from the teen series 'Then and Now' comes to his school and casts him in their latest drama. Being cast changes the course of Alistair's life particularly because he meets Alice, a girl he begins to fall for.

I liked this novel very much. It has an underlying darkness and I really enjoyed the intricate structure that transports the reader back and forth in time, allowing us to see both Alice and Alistair as they were in 1981, but also the people that they became. I deducted one star because I felt it dragged a little in the middle, but the ending and the 'defining moment' more than made up for it.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Dyson will produce next. A really promising debut. Recommended.


Stunning Debut, 28 Aug 2007
I'm not sure why I picked up this novel; the name of the author rang a bell. Then I realised this was one of the creators of The League of Gentlemen. Compared to Mr Gatiss' work; it's in a league of its own. The story is extremely well-written, the characters are fully fleshed out and the sense of foreboding grows throughout the book. It's a journey, of sorts, from awkward adolescence through to adulthood, via memories of the past and a train journey into the unknown. Highly recommended.

excellent, surprisingly touchung., 21 Sep 2006
i was very moved by this book and i didnt think i would be. im not sure what i was expecting but i was pleasently surprised. readers of all genres will find something here i highly recommend it to everybody.

Fictional Bliss, 16 Aug 2006
I've literally just finished this book and felt compelled to write something about it.
I cried, laughed and was shocked at times. I loved this book from cover to cover. Please please read.
Thank you Jeremy

Choose the best translation, 02 Jun 2008
The Double is a Kafkaesque novel, 70 years before Kafka. A dark, gripping psychological thriller, it tells the story of Goliadkin, whose life unravels when an identical-looking man starts to impersonate him. Short, surreal, economically written, mean-spirited and carrying a strong anti-establishment vibe, this is a far cry from the novels of Dostoevsky's golden period 20 years later. Despite this, it's surprising how much of the familiar Dostoevsky style is there in embryonic form: a grimy everyday setting; frantic, turbulent dialogue; high-strung characters; attention to psychological detail; a mischievous narrator; and a good helping of black humour. Though The Double is not clearly the work of the same author who (after a spell in Siberia) would go on to write a series of masterpieces, the clues are there.

As with all Dostoevsky's work, getting a good translation will transform your experience of the novel. I strongly recommend the brand new Pevear/Volokhonsky translation, contained in a single volume with The Gambler. By preserving the idiosyncracies of the author in fresh, modern English, these acclaimed translators make Russian literature as brilliant and rich as it should be.

Good, but odd for Dostoevsky, 08 Apr 2006
Most of Dostoevsky's famous works were written after his spell in prison and mock execution had profoundly affected his world view. 'The Double' was written before all this, and is consequently very different from the other books of his I have read. It is the story of Golyadkin, a socially inept clerk who is encouraged by his physician to socialise more. No sooner has he received this advice than another Golyadkin appears on the scene, physically indistinguishable from the first, but much more confident. This second Golyadkin frustrates the ambitions of the first in love, at work and in society, precipitating a shocking end.
Although many of Dostoevsky's trade-marks are in evidence here, such as the feverish ant-hero and the criticism of Russian society, the hallucinatory style is unusual for him. Impossible events are described very matter-of-factly and the supernatural premise to the whole book is accepted by all the characters, giving the story a surreal feel. It is also comic in places, more obviously so than his later books (though I think that Dostoevsky is often more tongue-in-cheek than he is given credit for). 'The Double' could easily read as a horror story (albeit a largely psychological one). The whole thing reminded me of Gogol's short story 'The Nose', as much as anything. All this meant that it was very unlike anything else of his that I have read. It was still very good, but a bit strange for Dostoevsky. Definitely worth a read, but not one to judge the rest of his stuff by.

Feel cheated, 28 Aug 2007
I feel a little used by this book. They are nothing more than fairly banal, heavy-handed morality tales, but because the reviewers are not widely-read, they touted this book as being original, new, "no one is doing this stuff!" but of course people are, they're just not in the general fiction section of your bookstore, because their writers didn't write TV shows.

He seems to be attempting the same kind of short stories as Neil Gaiman writes - dark, edgy, unsettling, intriguing - but he isn't very good at it. He gets two stars, not one, because he's not a bad writer, as such. This reads like your average writers first high school book attempt - bland, derivitave - the one that never gets published. If he wasn't already famous, your average editor would have handed him a rejection slip saying that while he had talent, he needed to work a lot harder to hone his skills.

Also, the fabricating of the proverb to justify the book's title felt a bit cheap.

Note: I don't think he's imitating Gaiman: I doubt he's read Gaiman. If he had, he would have realised there's a whole genre out there, and learned a bit more about it before he handed his final draft in.

very funny yet strangely philosophical, 05 Mar 2007
i know it sounds odd but this book really made me think (as well as laugh out loud) its very funny and you dont have to be a fan of short stories to enjoy it. i reccommed it with all my might!!!

p.s. we who walk through walls is my favourite!!!

What will he think of next?, 20 Apr 2004
I barely need to mention that Jeremy Dyson is, of course, the solenon-performing member of the acclaimed and influential comedy outfit TheLeague of Gentleman, and it is precisely this which invites a degree ofhealthy scepticism. A collection of macabre short stories which put a darkspin on everyday life... hardly the most original of concepts. Is Dysonsimply another rank-and-file screenwriter peddling mildly quirky yetunremarkable fiction by trading on his earlier success? Without thecreative and dramatic support of Gatiss, Pemberton and Shearsmith, will hestand up to scrutiny?
Happily, it is clear from the outset that he has no intention of coveringold ground. His flair for the grotesque is as much in evidence as ever,but these stories are less gruesome horror yarns than uncompromisingfables, where come-uppances are served to appallingly convincingwrong-doers in stark, violent detail. More surprisingly, there is littlerelish in the telling; often Dyson delivers the coup de grace with abarely controlled rage which is both disturbing and exhilarating.
A background in sketch writing is a useful one when approaching shortfiction, as both forms are dependent on precision and detail, and there isnowhere to hide. Reading Dyson's short stories is like watching an expertdriver turn a car round in its own length; his ability to manoeuvre anintricate plot within a relentlessly taut narrative structure is nothingshort of awesome. He is also reassuringly at ease with dialogue (so oftena stumbling-block for young writers), finding some truly distinctive andpowerful voices among his characters.
While few stories in this collection fail to convince, there are of courseflaws such as may be expected in a debut. A wonderfully austere prosepassage will suddenly veer off into the realms of the baroque, sproutingornate ramblings worthy of Mervyn Peake. Colloquialisms are at timesoverstrained, and a couple of the plot twists have an air ofself-conscious cleverness. Such faults, however, are easily forgiven whenthey appear in the company of far more important qualities. Dyson is athis best when he is at his most oblique and abstract, as he is in thefinal story "All in the Telling", for it is then that the focus shiftsfrom his (admittedly formidable) intellect to what really lies at theheart of his writing - an almost shockingly impassioned moral outrage,directed with deadly accuracy and unrestrained force at the seamier sideof human nature.
Readers looking for a Royston Vasey fix will be disappointed, but theimmense potential apparent in this collection will make many others keento see where this restless and inventive mind will turn to next.

Weird but so good!, 10 May 2003
I'm not usually one for short stories, but the write-up on Amazon prompted me to buy this book. I definitely don't regret it! I got into each story easily and was soon caught up in the strange, rather twisted, events within each one. Most of them left me feeling slightly unnerved, but satisfied at the turn of events and the conclusion. For anyone who likes something a little bit different, a little on the weird side, I'd certainly recommend "Never Trust a Rabbit".

Not So Special Stuff, 10 Jun 2002
Such blandishments cannot pass unchallenged. This is entertainment of medium order but it ain't literature. Jeremy Dyson is of course the non-acting member of The League of Gentlemen, purveyors of fine black comedy to the post-Alan Partridge (but pre-The Office generation). Naturally this is spattered all over the cover and reviews, but the fiction has precious little in common with his TV work.

On the cover (and special mention goes to that: shockingly cheap it is, not even ugly enough to attain kitsch status when the time comes for I Love 2001, but just dull and badly designed, the sort of thing which looks as though it's been awaiting a rejacketing since the mid-70s) Adam Mars-Jones, a notoriously fussy critic, says "his stories nestle in the little vacant chink between Roald Dahl and Borges." This is high praise indeed, and specific enough to give you a fair idea of what the stories are like before you read a single one. It is also completely wrong.

Yes there is a menace to the stories, and yes there is an air of other-worldliness and "phantastic" goings-on, but Borges and Dahl shared a lightness of touch which is entirely absent here, not to mention an imagination which is mostly absent. It may in fact be clever to place your story in the hands of a dull protagonist in a humdrum world, then take it somewhere unexpected in the last page, but it feels more like not having the courage of your convictions, or more simply, cheating. There is an almost childish patness about the trickery of the endings.

If you have ever been led, as I have, to wonder what The League of Gentlemen would be like if they allowed themselves to get blacker and blacker, and even dispense with the laughs altogether, then wonder no more. And be careful what you wish for.

Alan Simpson

Hauntingly melancholic, 30 Jan 2008
I wasn't sure what to expect of this book. I quite like League of Gentlemen and seem to recall enjoying Mr. Dyson's previous book, though I'll be damned if I can remember a thing about it. I bought What Happens Now on the strength of the reviews on the back cover really. And I am incredibly glad I did. Though at times it reads a little like confessional, nostalgic man-lit(and there's nothing wrong with that) it has a darkness and melancholy at its core that is never far away. It is a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. Well worth the time and money. Top stuff!

Haunting...A great debut, 03 Nov 2007
Fifteen-year-old Alistair Black is something of an outsider, spending his time making cassette tapes about the imaginary world he has created. That is until a TV producer from the teen series 'Then and Now' comes to his school and casts him in their latest drama. Being cast changes the course of Alistair's life particularly because he meets Alice, a girl he begins to fall for.

I liked this novel very much. It has an underlying darkness and I really enjoyed the intricate structure that transports the reader back and forth in time, allowing us to see both Alice and Alistair as they were in 1981, but also the people that they became. I deducted one star because I felt it dragged a little in the middle, but the ending and the 'defining moment' more than made up for it.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Dyson will produce next. A really promising debut. Recommended.


Stunning Debut, 28 Aug 2007
I'm not sure why I picked up this novel; the name of the author rang a bell. Then I realised this was one of the creators of The League of Gentlemen. Compared to Mr Gatiss' work; it's in a league of its own. The story is extremely well-written, the characters are fully fleshed out and the sense of foreboding grows throughout the book. It's a journey, of sorts, from awkward adolescence through to adulthood, via memories of the past and a train journey into the unknown. Highly recommended.

excellent, surprisingly touchung., 21 Sep 2006
i was very moved by this book and i didnt think i would be. im not sure what i was expecting but i was pleasently surprised. readers of all genres will find something here i highly recommend it to everybody.

Fictional Bliss, 16 Aug 2006
I've literally just finished this book and felt compelled to write something about it.
I cried, laughed and was shocked at times. I loved this book from cover to cover. Please please read.
Thank you Jeremy

Hauntingly melancholic, 30 Jan 2008
I wasn't sure what to expect of this book. I quite like League of Gentlemen and seem to recall enjoying Mr. Dyson's previous book, though I'll be damned if I can remember a thing about it. I bought What Happens Now on the strength of the reviews on the back cover really. And I am incredibly glad I did. Though at times it reads a little like confessional, nostalgic man-lit(and there's nothing wrong with that) it has a darkness and melancholy at its core that is never far away. It is a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. Well worth the time and money. Top stuff!

Haunting...A great debut, 03 Nov 2007
Fifteen-year-old Alistair Black is something of an outsider, spending his time making cassette tapes about the imaginary world he has created. That is until a TV producer from the teen series 'Then and Now' comes to his school and casts him in their latest drama. Being cast changes the course of Alistair's life particularly because he meets Alice, a girl he begins to fall for.

I liked this novel very much. It has an underlying darkness and I really enjoyed the intricate structure that transports the reader back and forth in time, allowing us to see both Alice and Alistair as they were in 1981, but also the people that they became. I deducted one star because I felt it dragged a little in the middle, but the ending and the 'defining moment' more than made up for it.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Dyson will produce next. A really promising debut. Recommended.


Stunning Debut, 28 Aug 2007
I'm not sure why I picked up this novel; the name of the author rang a bell. Then I realised this was one of the creators of The League of Gentlemen. Compared to Mr Gatiss' work; it's in a league of its own. The story is extremely well-written, the characters are fully fleshed out and the sense of foreboding grows throughout the book. It's a journey, of sorts, from awkward adolescence through to adulthood, via memories of the past and a train journey into the unknown. Highly recommended.

excellent, surprisingly touchung., 21 Sep 2006
i was very moved by this book and i didnt think i would be. im not sure what i was expecting but i was pleasently surprised. readers of all genres will find something here i highly recommend it to everybody.

Fictional Bliss, 16 Aug 2006
I've literally just finished this book and felt compelled to write something about it.
I cried, laughed and was shocked at times. I loved this book from cover to cover. Please please read.
Thank you Jeremy

Choose the best translation, 02 Jun 2008
The Double is a Kafkaesque novel, 70 years before Kafka. A dark, gripping psychological thriller, it tells the story of Goliadkin, whose life unravels when an identical-looking man starts to impersonate him. Short, surreal, economically written, mean-spirited and carrying a strong anti-establishment vibe, this is a far cry from the novels of Dostoevsky's golden period 20 years later. Despite this, it's surprising how much of the familiar Dostoevsky style is there in embryonic form: a grimy everyday setting; frantic, turbulent dialogue; high-strung characters; attention to psychological detail; a mischievous narrator; and a good helping of black humour. Though The Double is not clearly the work of the same author who (after a spell in Siberia) would go on to write a series of masterpieces, the clues are there.

As with all Dostoevsky's work, getting a good translation will transform your experience of the novel. I strongly recommend the brand new Pevear/Volokhonsky translation, contained in a single volume with The Gambler. By preserving the idiosyncracies of the author in fresh, modern English, these acclaimed translators make Russian literature as brilliant and rich as it should be.

Good, but odd for Dostoevsky, 08 Apr 2006
Most of Dostoevsky's famous works were written after his spell in prison and mock execution had profoundly affected his world view. 'The Double' was written before all this, and is consequently very different from the other books of his I have read. It is the story of Golyadkin, a socially inept clerk who is encouraged by his physician to socialise more. No sooner has he received this advice than another Golyadkin appears on the scene, physically indistinguishable from the first, but much more confident. This second Golyadkin frustrates the ambitions of the first in love, at work and in society, precipitating a shocking end.
Although many of Dostoevsky's trade-marks are in evidence here, such as the feverish ant-hero and the criticism of Russian society, the hallucinatory style is unusual for him. Impossible events are described very matter-of-factly and the supernatural premise to the whole book is accepted by all the characters, giving the story a surreal feel. It is also comic in places, more obviously so than his later books (though I think that Dostoevsky is often more tongue-in-cheek than he is given credit for). 'The Double' could easily read as a horror story (albeit a largely psychological one). The whole thing reminded me of Gogol's short story 'The Nose', as much as anything. All this meant that it was very unlike anything else of his that I have read. It was still very good, but a bit strange for Dostoevsky. Definitely worth a read, but not one to judge the rest of his stuff by.

Hauntingly melancholic, 30 Jan 2008
I wasn't sure what to expect of this book. I quite like League of Gentlemen and seem to recall enjoying Mr. Dyson's previous book, though I'll be damned if I can remember a thing about it. I bought What Happens Now on the strength of the reviews on the back cover really. And I am incredibly glad I did. Though at times it reads a little like confessional, nostalgic man-lit(and there's nothing wrong with that) it has a darkness and melancholy at its core that is never far away. It is a book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. Well worth the time and money. Top stuff!

Haunting...A great debut, 03 Nov 2007
Fifteen-year-old Alistair Black is something of an outsider, spending his time making cassette tapes about the imaginary world he has created. That is until a TV producer from the teen series 'Then and Now' comes to his school and casts him in their latest drama. Being cast changes the course of Alistair's life particularly because he meets Alice, a girl he begins to fall for.

I liked this novel very much. It has an underlying darkness and I really enjoyed the intricate structure that transports the reader back and forth in time, allowing us to see both Alice and Alistair as they were in 1981, but also the people that they became. I deducted one star because I felt it dragged a little in the middle, but the ending and the 'defining moment' more than made up for it.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Dyson will produce next. A really promising debut. Recommended.


Stunning Debut, 28 Aug 2007
I'm not sure why I picked up this novel; the name of the author rang a bell. Then I realised this was one of the creators of The League of Gentlemen. Compared to Mr Gatiss' work; it's in a league of its own. The story is extremely well-written, the characters are fully fleshed out and the sense of foreboding grows throughout the book. It's a journey, of sorts, from awkward adolescence through to adulthood, via memories of the past and a train journey into the unknown. Highly recommended.

excellent, surprisingly touchung., 21 Sep 2006
i was very moved by this book and i didnt think i would be. im not sure what i was expecting but i was pleasently surprised. readers of all genres will find something here i highly recommend it to everybody.

Fictional Bliss, 16 Aug 2006
I've literally just finished this book and felt compelled to write something about it.
I cried, laughed and was shocked at times. I loved this book from cover to cover. Please please read.
Thank you Jeremy