Customer Reviews
Not his best - By: The Inquisitor, 17 Nov 2006 
As an academic exercise this is fine: Elton makes his point persuasively -the war on drugs has been lost & the answer is legalisation & control - & his interweaving of characters & storylines is clever. But as a novel it's not his best by a long way: the 'uplifting' stories are completely unbelievable & the realistic ones just depressing; & the characters are so unsympathetic it's hard to care anyway.
Just read it... - By: Lauren, 12 Jun 2006 
The author covers some of the most taboo issues in today's society by splitting the book into a range of different stories & portraying a massive amount of characters. Elton takes us into the criminal world of drugs abuse. He shows how drugs affect every class & every branch of society - from prostitutes & the homeless up to the upper classes & royalty- & he does it well. Elton shows both sides of the argument between drug legalization & drug addiction.
Even though this book is fiction it makes you wonder about the truth behind it & it helps you get into the minds of hundreds of drug abusers & addicts around the world. This book is aimed at older readers due to its explicit nature & it is not written for the easily offended. This book is gruesome but impossible to put down.
Worth a read... - By: Somnambulist, 17 May 2006 I was a bit uncomfortable when I started reading this book & thought that I was going to hate it after 20 pages, however the book & subject matter does grow on you.
Having read a number of BE's other novels, the skill with which he weaves a number of characters towards an inevitable conclusion is to be admired, if the result is a little predictable.
In the end I couldn't put the book down as I wanted to know what happened to one of the characters in particular.
The book is BE's take on how the British media has the power to make & then break people. These are subjects which have been close to BE throughout his comedy career, & his distaste for the media & modern politics in general, shines through.
High Society - Ben Elton - By: Alison Thomson, 03 Mar 2006 
A ‘Must’ read! Usuallly I am into thrillers, but this had me gripped from the first page. It might be difficult for a non-native English speaker as Ben introduces many colloquial accents (Scottish & Brummie etc) fairly early on. The story was tragic, gripping & too true to life not to take seriously. In places it’s utterly shocking, eye opening & horrific, but it depicts the underworld that many of us choose to ignore. Which ever way you look at it drugs are evil & the barons behind them just get richer & richer.
A poignant chapter for me was when Tommy was left to fend for himself on the street after being beaten up & without his numerous ‘minder’s & ‘fixers’ to sort everything for him – how easy it would be to falll into the abyss of the homeless & the sordid drug related word.
I loved the ending, I know it’s only a story but I was left in deep thought about the thousands of addicted victims of this world.
Well done Ben!
He makes me sick - By: KEN SCOTT author, 21 Feb 2006 Ben Elton makes me sick. Comedy writer, comedian, playrite, producer & now novelist. As much as I wanted to criticise his writing skills or the plot or the characters, I can't. The book takes a candid look into the murky world of drugs & asks some searching questions of government policies & peoples attitude to one of society's major problem. Well written, well researched, simply fantastic.
