Jimmy

As someone who watched plenty of British comedy while living in the UK as well as being an avid follower of the Would I Lie To You? show, Unruly comes across as a very faithful representation of what it would be like if David Mitchell did an extended history show, replete with sardonic side-notes and rambling rants together with some astute observations. I essentially read this book with the iconic voice of David Mitchell in my head, without even needing the audiobook.

I found it a decent balance between a good chortle and some serious historical analysis, which certainly provides a modern-day dressing down of some of the institutions, relics and personages which are considered hallmarks of British history, but I can see the enjoyment of this book depends heavily on whether the reader enjoys David Mitchell's sense of humour. I'm also unsure about the impact or longevity of the book for a non-UK reader thanks to its high concentration of references to contemporary and recent UK events, many of which would have flown over my head had I not lived there for a few years.

If you are looking for a detailed and intensely researched chronological narrative of the English monarchs, this is not the book for you, but if you instead want to take a cynically lighthearted romp through the Dark to Middle Ages of British history with a focus on those at the top, I think this suits well. Bonus points if you are already semi-engaged with British politics and culture.

I think it’s hard to deny that The Devils is a very entertaining book from Joe Abercrombie. The question is whether the entertainment is delivered in a way that is enjoyable to every reader, and that is where it becomes quite subjective. The dark scatological humour is dialled up to the max, the violent action is generally as graphic as it is gratuitous, and the characters are equal parts colourful and caricature. The storytelling style is direct, vivid and draws the reader in, and often borders on being over-dramatic. The pacing ebbs and flows well in my opinion, but as others have noted, did have a movie-like cadence - even feeling like a video game storyline with boss battles of increasing scope and difficulty. I can see how this was immediately picked up for film adaptation, though I’m not sure I see James Cameron in this as much as something more in the style of Matthew Vaughn.

A number of other factors ended making this middling for me. The overall plot was completely predictable after the first dozen chapters or so, though there were a few twists in how it reached the end. The prose suited the tone of the story and I often found myself having a little wry chortle, though it also sometimes became a bit repetitive and overdone with some of the characters' internal and external dialogues. As for the characters themselves, while I found them both individually distinctive and engaging as an ensemble, I didn't feel like I built any strong emotional connections with any of them, and they seemed to have the same overall arc of being more than meets the eye with their vice being as much be their virtue. And I think that's a lot of what it comes down to - I certainly enjoyed reading The Devils, but this is also not a book that leaves you with lasting emotions, resounding themes or profound thoughts, and that meant it couldn't really be elevated beyond some good fun. There's definitely a place for this kind of book in my reading rotation, but it isn't calling for a reread soon.