Rollercoaster by James Essinger
Wacky, outrageous, imaginative, bonkers, Rollercoaster is also really rather fun.
Written by James Essinger in 1979 when he was a virgin, it tells the story of how warm-hearted would-be hippie Rod Coaster teams up with illustrious senior policeman Chief Superintendent Pickling Fox-Foetus, who has never made a mistake, to try to thwart a terrorist attack on one of West Germany’s most pretentious hotels.
After many adventures, Rod finally finds true love with a charismatic Finnish beauty.
‘Rollercoaster’ is a book you won’t easily forget, even if you’re no longer a virgin.
About the author.
James Essinger was born in Leicester in 1957 and has lived in Canterbury in Kent since 1986. He was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys, Leicester, and at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he read English Language and Literature. Since 1988, James has been a professional writer. His other works include the novel ‘The Ada Lovelace Project’, the libretto and lyrics for ‘Ada’s Algorithm - the Ada Lovelace musical’, the Young Adult novel ‘The Lost City of Cantia’, and, with Jovanka Houska, ‘The Mating Game’. a widely-praised novel set in the world of chess.
Review.
This is one old crazy book! Obviously, in a good way. It evokes the atmosphere of a 1970’s thriller but dashed with the humour of Jasper Fforde’s books. I'm in awe of people who can write funny and James certainly can.
It tales the tale of hippie Rod Coaster who is travelling around France just hitching rides where he can. Rod ends up teaming up with Chief Superintendent Pickling Fox-Foetus to try and stop a terrorist attack on one of West Germany’s most prestigious hotels.
Rod reminded me of my mum’s ex-boyfriend who in the late ’80s was still living the hippie lifestyle and whose name was Newton! It's as if they would have been brothers. I quite liked him. I found Finn’s back story to be quite heartbreaking in a way, those Soviets caused a lot of harm and I found this part of the story very realistic. The rest of the story bat shit crazy! I loved it!
If you are up for a laugh and want to just escape all the crap of the real world then you should give this a bash!
