Paul Sparks, commonly known even to his nearest and dearest as Sparks, is a waster. An overgrown man-child, he’s a lazy aficionado of videos, junk food and the pub closest to his ‘office’, where his job involves (infrequently) replicating 1970s t-shirts. It’s a sorry state of affairs, but it has always suited Sparks and it’s only when his girlfriend Alison dumps him in exasperation that Sparks realises he could have handled things a bit better. When he stumbles across a very esoteric website, which suggests the possibility of alternate universes, Sparks comes to a decision. He might have lost Alison in this world, but if there really are parallel worlds out there, he’s determined to search through them until he’s found the one, perfect world, in which he can win her back forever...

For the rest of the review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/01/18/sparks-david-quantick/ ( )

David Quantick was one of the best things about the NME when I began buying it; in conjunction with the exuberant Steven Wells they were funny, provocative and unafraid to touch a nerve with artists or readership. He’s also been part of some of the best British TV comedy of the last couple of decades; The Day Today, Brass Eye and The Thick of It. I’ll always give a chance to a reliably funny writer, particularly when it’s cheaper than chips (apart from the fries in McDonalds).

It’s a well-worn premise; man (Sparks) loses girlfriend and looks for a way to get her back. Quantick’s SF twist is the Random Life Generator, which allows access to alternative universes with splendidly mundane premises (no Nazis won WW2 dullness here). It’s a good ramble which gives Quantick the excuse for some typically great one-liners but it often feels meandering and simply an excuse to fit in a few more jokes until the author works out how to end it all. Which, in fairness, he does rather well and not too abruptly, unlike this review. ( )