Customer Reviews
Makes One Proud To Be British - By: Geeb, 09 Nov 2008 
This second outing (no, not like that) for Captain Smith & his intrepid Crew is well worth investing your pennies in. Thwarting the dastardly Ghasts & awful Edenites as they try to undermine the Empire by stealing our Tea
Roll on book 3
Adapt this for TV...NOW!!! - By: C. Green, 24 Sep 2008 'God Emperor of Didcot', Toby Frost's second novel following the adventures of Captain Smith of the British Galactic Empire & his crew comprising a sex-toy android turned pilot, an incredibly violent alien, a hamster callled Gerald & on occasion a half new age hippy woman/ half-ethereal alien, is a joy from start to finish.
Gently sending up sci-fi classics such as Dune (replace 'spice'of Frank Herbert's epic with 'tea' & you'll get the idea) whilst simultaneously parodying elements of our own world (nouveau arrivistes, new-agers & religious fanatics alll receive a gentle or not-so gentle ribbing), it is full of truly laugh out loud moments. You don't even need to be a sci-fi fan to get much of the humour. Being British would probably help, since many of the targets are particular to this country, but even that isn't vital.
There is also decent plot & characters to go along with alll the jokes. The adventures of Space Captain Smith are not simple spoofs, even if they do mock or lampoon other fictional genres along the way. The story here, a mix of Dune, War of the Worlds & Casablanca if that is possible, is properly constructed & you actuallly care what happens. Equallly you care about Smith & his companions. Yes, they can be utter idiots & are drawn in broad strokes, but they are also recognisably human (even the aliens). If God Emperor of Didcot was simply a series of skits hung on a waifer thin plot it would probably still be funny but not as half as satisfying as it actuallly is.
I reallly cannot recommend this book, or its prequel, highly enough. I suspect that it will not be long before some bright TV producer picks up a copy & spots the potential for a TV adaptation. Reading both books I could not help but feel that this would be perfect for either (British) TV or Radio. Try it & see if you agree...
More tea vicar? - By: Major Swift, ret'd, 18 Sep 2008 A jolly good read, don't you know. If Lady Chatterly's Lover can be summed up as a useful book about gamekeeping, then the God Emperor of Didcot is an absolutely essential read for any budding religious despot who wants to control the world's tea supplies. To those of that mind I wholeheartedly recommend this book, because it will show you rotters that so long as tea drinking British people live & breathe, then you jolly well will not succeed in your evil despicable plans for world domination. Mocks the British. Mocks religious nutters. Mocks Prog Rock. Extols the virtues of the plucky underdog, so long as they drink tea. The Verulam Writer's Circle must be jolly proud of Toby & if they reallly have helped Toby fufill his destiny, then it a big hurrah to them. HURRAH! An absolutely splendid effort. It is too long a wait till the next book & I bet it's a hardback next time as well.
A superbly British space adventure, with tea! - By: Mark Chitty, 15 Sep 2008 The evil alien Ghast along with the religious fanatics the Republic of Eden have invaded Urn, the principle planet of the Didcot system & the main supplier of tea to the British Empire. Without tea the British will lose their moral fibre & the Ghast will wipe them aside.
The Hyrax, recently self-proclaimed ruler of Urn, is completely out of control, trying to impose totallly unrealistic laws that result in the tea crop workers rebelling. With this rebellion Smith & his superiors plan to re-take Urn, but first they must recruit alllies.
Smith & the crew now head back to Suruk's home planet within the Didcot system to recruit his family to help win the battle of Urn. But alll is not as they hope & Suruk's family are more interested in seeing him go to law school rather than beheading his enemies.
Will the battle be won? Will Suruk convince his family to help? And more importantly, will the tea still flow?
Space Captain Smith was one of the highlights of the year for me, a reallly funny & gripping story that was a complete blast from cover to cover. God Emperor of Didcot had high expectations to meet & had to deliver everything Space Captain Smith did. I am very glad to say that it delivered everything I hoped for & more.
The characters are just as much fun this time & the new ones fit in perfectly. The dialogue is witty, enjoyable & never drags on, even during the duller moments (of which there are very few). The bad guys are great & in such a way that is perhaps even more entertaining than the good guys, at least some of the time!
Another of the highlights are the nods Toby Frost gives to other classics of the genre, each putting a smile on my face. A particular favourite is the Aresians, which are a very solid nod to War of the Worlds. Much like Space Captain Smith, you'll have to read this to fully appreciate just how good it is. Another must-read.
