Craig Charles (1) (1964–)

What do you expect from a cult TV spin off book? Mildly amusing and probably ghost written this book purports to be a history of the World. Of course, as Dave Lister is the last surviving human being, all human knowledge has been discovered and the book does make an occasional good point by describing the absurd lengths to which a current concept has been taken in future times.

Not a challenger for the Pulitzer prize, but an entertaining divertisment.

Read: March 2020
Rating: 3/5 stars

This was quite a confusing little book to read. I'm a big fan of Red Dwarf (series 1-6 are the best but I still enjoy the later series as well) and picked this up thinking that it would be written 'in character' as Dave Lister, giving us his perspective on life on Earth as the last human being alive. Some parts of it did read that way in the beginning and I enjoyed those, especially the humorous futuristic snippets of information he dishes out here and show more there:
"The search for extra-terrestrial life was finally curtailed in 2196 when the world government reasoned that we had more than enough weird characters on our own planet. The last thing we wanted to do was contact a whole bunch more" pg 31.
However as the book continued, the more disjointed it became. Part of it was almost like a memoir for Craig Charles as he reminisced on Liverpool, his one and only tap-dancing lesson, and his (imaginative) views on London. The rest was filled with lists, general advice and a selection of very Lister-like recipes; e.g. his 'Food Vindaloo' and 'Sugar Puff sandwiches' recipes! The occasional futuristic reference was occasionally thrown in but it became increasingly jarring as it didn't really make sense anymore.
I did enjoy this book and found it an easy, afternoon read but, unless you're already a fan of Red Dwarf, this probably wouldn't be that enjoyable to a casual reader. show less

Great book! Craig Charles knows just what Dwarfers want, and gives it wonderfully.