When did Ben Elton go from funny social commentator with a penchant for satiric wit to a bitter, bitter old man? Even if you've been in denial for a while, Blind Faith is terribly disappointing.

The story

It's become a post-apocalyptic world - "not with a bang, but a whimper". Global warming and a variety of wars and laws have turned London into dirty, hot, disease ridden pit - and that's the good bit. "feeling" and revealing everything about yourself is the law; having privacy isn't. Trafford and his wife, Chantorria, have a new baby... which has a fifty percent chance of dying young.

Trafford doesn't like to share. He doesn't like exposed skin. He doesn't want to know about the sex life of his neighbours. He hungers for more than feelings - he hungers for knowledge, proof, an internal life. So when he is approached by a work colleague with an illegal proposition, he is intrigued.

Trafford discovers a hidden world underneath the world where everything is revealed. Not only does his life become enriched, but he finds a woman - who is even more secretive than himself. As his knowledge grows, so does his belief that the world, as it has become, is terribly wrong.

Trafford comes up with a plan - a revolutionary plan. He wants to reintroduce evolution, science, and literature to the world, and he thinks he knows just how to do it. But with his secret in danger, his wife becoming more and more unstable, and the very real possibility of betrayal lurking around every corner, it's a race against time...

The style

Ben Elton used to be funny. This man wrote The Young Ones! And Blackadder! Even when he was writing his trademark, issue based, satirical fiction, he still managed to be funny. That, I think, was the beauty of Ben Elton. He managed to take an issue, like environmentalism, and bring it into the reader's consciousness in a funny, eye-opening way. It's what made him so good at issue-based novels. He grabbed the attention and held on, using humour and good characters, and then the reader got engaged with the issues withing the story as well.

Blind Faith doesn't fall into that category.

Basically, Blind Faith raises issues to do with religion, science, T.V., technology, the internet, music videos, sharing (in the Oprah sense of the word), dressing children in g-strings and then complaining about pedophiles, and so forth. The futuristic world he creates contains all of these elements, taken to an extreme. My first problem with this creation is that it was clumsily done. It was a bit over the top, a bit high-school, a bit "the reader is so stupid, I really have to make this shit obvious". For a veteran with eleven novels under his belt, this is unforgivable. And this brings me to my next point: Ben Elton seems to have lost all faith in humanity. It's depressing, and it's as though he thinks people are so stupid, and society is in such a desperate state, that this is where we're all going to end up. And frankly, I don't like to read about how stupid I am, and how shit the world is, and have it be so over the top and depressing that it isn't even funny. I DON'T think people are, as a whole, that stupid. I mean, sure, there are a lot of stupid ones out there, don't get me wrong. But really. Not THAT many.

This was one of the most disappointing books I've read in some time. Probably because, even though he has been getting rant-ier, I expect better. Sorry Ben Elton.

Who is this book for?

Die hard Ben Elton fans, I guess. And of course, people who are just as cranky and jaded as he is with plight of western civilisation.

If you like this book, you would also like...

Try something else! You could look into Elton's earlier works, they're much better. You could read Carl Hiassen, who combines entertainment with serious environmental issues. Or, if you want a light-hearted romp, you could read Tuxes, by Scott Fivelson. It's not so much with the serious issues, but it is satirical AND funny and you don't feel depressed at the end.

Which is important.

In short