If you’ve been keeping up with the new Doctor Who spinoff Class on BBC Three, you’ll know it’s had kind of a mixed reception. We can’t stand the theme tune, and its influences are very clear, but otherwise it’s generally a good use of 45 minutes a week.
When it was first announced many moons ago, we gave it a bit of a sideways glance but figured we’d probably watch it anyway. Then we saw that Guy Adams was one of the authors chosen to bring the series to life in book form and we resolved to read his take on the series as soon as it came out. If it was a bad book, then we could at least work a series of poor school jokes into the review (“see me”, “this one gets a D from us”, that sort of thing). Sadly, we can’t get away with that when the book is great. Sucks for us, but you guys will enjoy it a lot.
You see, Adams is a properly good genre author. You might remember our rave reviews of the Clown Service trilogy. Once again he has knocked it out of the park and crafted a funny novel that you will race through in hours. He comes up with lines that blindside you, like, “ convinced that the council move the things at night. Or maybe it’s Ranesh at the local kebab shop, knowing that he’s bound to get hungry as he wanders lost, trying to get home.” One of his strengths is that he captures very relatable parts of the human experience, such as having a big brother that you trust because they’re your big brother or the joys and pitfalls of living life as a secondary school student.
Joyride is about the joys and pitfalls of body surfing. One consciousness temporarily overtaking another is hardly a new idea, but it’s great fun to read about here and it fits well into the setting. Adams asks some great questions about responsibility, as events unfold in a very believable way. You know, given the circumstances.
The publishers are welcome to give us a ring and let us know when he’s written his next outing. We’ll be the first in line to buy it. As a piece of work, this earns top marks.
CLASS: JOYRIDE / AUTHOR: GUY ADAMS / PUBLISHER: BBC BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
