Review: Author Alan Hardy creates his own genre: humorous-political-sexual satire
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 4, 2014
I’ve read so many books that I have found that it is a rare event when I stumble upon something truly original. Originality is what it’s all about. This was the second book I’ve read by Alan Hardy and too prove they are both unique and completely original, I don’t believe you can put either one of them into a category. With this book, author Alan Hardy has created his own category. I don’t know exactly how to describe it. It’s kind of a humorous-political-sexual satire. It’s biting. It hits British society a few inches below the belt. It’s hysterical. It’s sexually arousing but most of all it is a no-holds barred critique of British royalty, and the love of royalty by the common folk. This story will make you laugh and it may arouse you and it may even tug at your heart strings.Another sign of a talented writer is to develop a character that readers can relate to. If you can’t relate to the main character Jason then you probably aren’t being honest with yourself. Jason is a socially awkward oddball with s psychological form of impotence. The way the author describes Jason’s battle with his impotence is amazing. Jason’s sexual hang-ups run through the story like the wick of a candle but they are not the central focus of the story. Jason is complex and although I still haven’t decided if I like him, he does have a noble dream. Jason can’t be bought (or can he?).Good Queen Beth is more than a satirical look at British society. It is also a satire of the culture of celebrity worship found in many countries. It takes an unfiltered look at how celebrities are “produced” and sold to a gullible public (don’t want to mention any names like Kim what’s-her-name with the lovely twins). It takes a look at how totally lame the current rise of reality TV is.If you happened to be one of those people who hung around outside of Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds than you may be a bit shocked by this book but you will probably still laugh through most of it. As for those of us who live on the other side of the pond, I do wish Alan Hardy would write a satire of American culture. We have royalty also. There are nine of them. They wear black robes, they aren’t elected, they can do whatever they want and they are there until they die or retire.Did I mention there is a lot of non-stop action in the book and a nicely developed romance between two of the main characters? I highly recommend this five-star book to anyone who wants to laugh and be entertained. I look forward to Hardy’s next book. If you haven’t read Gabriella by Alan Hardy than you are missing another sexually humorous classic.