“It turns out that sinning is what makes the world go round.”

The story starts off when Chesney accidentally summons a demon; it could happen to anyone. But Chesney doesn’t want to sell his soul to the devil and his choice has disastrous consequences. What follows are a lot of negotiations, a preacher with a far-out theory on the meaning of life and an agreement with the devil which shapes the rest of the novel.

The book got off to a good start, I was chuckling in places and then suddenly a deal was made. Without giving too much away, the deal was the turning point and it felt a bit like a different book from there on. Whilst I enjoyed the writing and the general concept, Chesney came across as a bit of a two-dimensional character and I didn’t really warm to him.

I think this would appeal to fans of Robert Rankin and superheroes (that’s fans of superheroes, not the caped crusaders themselves…not that they wouldn’t enjoy it). Actuaries will probably be happy with their representation too; I bet they don’t get featured in many novels.

About the author:

Matt was born sixty years ago in Liverpool, England, but his family moved to Canada when he was five. He has made a living as a writer all of his adult life, first as a journalist, then as a staff speechwriter to the Canadian Ministers of Justice and Environment, and – from 1979 until a few years back – as a freelance corporate and political speechwriter in British Columbia. He is a former director of the Federation of British Columbia Writers and used to belong to Mensa Canada, but these days he’s conserving his energies to write fiction.

He’s been married to a very patient woman since the late 1960s, and he has three grown sons.

Of late, Matt has taken up the secondary occupation of housesitter, so that he can afford to keep on writing fiction yet still eat every day. He’s always interested to hear from people who’ve read his work. — www.archonate.com

The Damned Busters is published by Angry Robot (and with a name like that, they have to rock). An ebook will be available in EPUB format direct from the Angry Robot Store. Publication dates are as follows:

UK/Australia
5th May 2011
352pp B-format paperback
£7.99 UK
ISBN 978 0 85766 102 9

US/Canada
31st May 2011
416pp mass-market paperback
$7.99 US $8.99 CAN
ISBN 978 0 85766 103 6

eBook
May 2011
price £4.49 Sterling
ePub ISBN 978 0 85766 104 3