There's a clever story in here, with some decent humour but for me, personally, the undertone of sexism and 1980s machismo was a turn off.
I almost want to put two ratings for this book. One for the story and one for how I enjoyed the story. Amazingly I've actually read everything that Pearson (the author) has published. I really enjoyed the early works and the Clement series is pretty strong - though the last Clement book had similar tones that this book had. I can't quite articulate it, but it feels like Jim Davidson…
The actual story, once it gets around 30% and we meet Mungo Thunk, is pretty entertaining. The protagonist is (unrealistically, but works for the story) transformed from a completely unreliable and irresponsible idiot - into a thoughtful, caring, responsible and somehow a successful entrepreneur.
Amazingly the core of the story makes sense and there's a decent twist.
But, for me personally, I don't enjoy books that a so riddled with that slimy Jim Davidson feeling.