I know that I originally picked up this book because of the connection to red dwarf, one of the few Tv series in recent years that is both science fiction and brittish. What I liked most about this book is the fact that the humor and situations were britished based, narry an american in site.
The basic humor in the book is based on the premise that anti discrimination legislation had been taken to extreams, you can nolonger be sacked, or discriminatied against for being obviously incapable of doing a job. leading to lots of people being in positions that they are completly incapable of doing. The main character than has to navigate this world and live with the consequences. The main character is obvously capable but is thwarted by the situations that this puts himself in.

When he hires a car he finds that the person issuing the cars is incapable of going through a simple checklist with him, so he signs anyweay and finds that the car is missing an important componant that means he cannot drive away. this leads him to in the end hire another car as he cannot, after a humerous try to make it work, dirive it at all.
this book is impossible to discribe well, you will simply have to read it ( )

too busy trying to be clever to remember to be readable. Read the first 11 chapters / 80 pages then gave up on it. ( )

I picked up this book, and several others by Rob Grant, because I am a tremendous fan of the Red Dwarf books, which were written in collaboration with Doug Naylor based upon the fantastic (for the first 4 or 5 seasons at least) T.V. series they had written. Actually only the first two books in the series were written in collaboration. The second two were both third installments in the series written separately by each of them. I found I much preferred Grant's third book for the series to Naylor's, hence my buying this and other of his books.
Ok, intro done away with.
I'm a little disappointed with this book.
It's not up to comedy par with his Red Dwarf work and seems to try to make up for it with a parody noir wordiness that can be tiresome. The adolescent sex fantasy qualities that were charming and fun in Red Dwarf felt tacked on and embarrassing in Incompetence, though there were only two or three really so it wasn't much of a problem. And as an American I can't help but take some exception at the America bashing that is incorporated into much of the book. What makes it especially annoying is that much of it is justified, which is always the hardest kind of criticism to take.
How does he bash America? well there are a number of flat out statements that make said bashing pretty clear, but it's more in the underlying premise of the novel. That being a Europe that has unified itself even further than at present Into a nation resembling the good ol' US of A, and as stated in the books blurb a nation that has outlawed bigotry against the incompetent. Of course I think he meant this as much if not more as a critique of the overly bureaucratic direction Europe is galloping in, as he did a critique of the present state of the U.S. It still stings a bit though.
Ultimately, though, I would have to say that it was a pretty decent read. Entertaining more often than tiresome by a pretty good ratio. Not his best work but still fun, and it has spies.
There are points where it's publication prior to our current economic collapse and the U.S.'s continuing descent into non-world-powerhood make some of the jokes a bit dated, and turn their humor more bitter than was probably intended, but they occur at the end of the novel so I can't mention them specifically. ( )

This is without question the funniest book I ever read! I laughed so hard I woke my kid! Grant's satire is merciless. The plot, I agree, is not so much. However, I am of the opinion that the plot is merely a vehicle for Grant's mission in "Incompetence": to make you put on your big ol' cynic glasses, look around at what you see around you, and laugh your head off. It's better than crying. ( )

Incompetence is full of great humour, witty one liners and amusing thoughts. Rob Grant has a unique and old school sense of humour, which is undeniably English to the core. Incompetence is a great showcase for Grant, unleashing his style in a futuristic Europe, where stupidity is norm. Incompetence fails in the long term though. Despite the persistent humour, the actual story is rather mundane, through to a rather routine finale. With a better structure this book could have been great, however as it stands it remains good, if a little laborious at times. ( )