Goes Down Well - Rated 
That Adrian Edmondson wrote a novel in the mid nineties was a bit of a surprise considering that his writing until that point had been in collaboration with Rik Mayall for The Comic Strip, slap stick, cartoon violent characters The Dangerous Brothers, Eddie Monsoon whom they morphed through `Mr Jolly Lives Next Door' into Eddie Hitler in Bottom their hit, quite literally, sit com. His other writing efforts without Mayall had been the sketch book `How to be a Complete Bastard' which was as subtle as its title suggests. And so a novel with characters with real emotion and a story was not what I had anticipated.
Julian Mann is a successful comedian whom considered the only down side to his fame was that it was this kind of notoriety that made it so difficult for him to buy pornographic magazines. He enjoyed the celebrity and enjoyed the bad boy reputation he had carefully fashioned with the drinking and womanising seen as the reward for his genius. That his psycho fan `The Gobbler' of the title is now stalking him and threatening to blow his world and his marriage apart is something that requires a solution Julian may not find in the bottom of a bottle, but he still spends a great deal of time looking for it there.
And so despite being a surprise I was actually gripped by this novel and wanted to find up how it ended. Definitely more sophisticated that being hit repeatedly other the head with a rubber shovel but not necessarily more amusing. I did enjoy the new Adrian Edmondson but on reflection prefer the old Adrian Edmondson. Well no-one likes change.
Gobble gobble.... - Rated
'Write what you know' is the standard advice for new authors, so perhaps it's no suprise that Adrian Edmondson's debut novel revolves around the misadventures of a TV comedian, though given the dire state of alcoholic anti-hero Julian Mann one can only hope there isn't too much autobiographical influence here! Possibly the weakest aspect of 'The Gobbler' is it's narrative, which isn't particularly gripping (most of the action consists of Mann trying to escape his problems with alcohol), and the melding together of slapstick comedy, emotional melodrama and a thriller plot about a crazed stalker fan isn't always successful. However, this is stil a good readable first novel, and the central character of Julian is monsterous enough to be compulsively interesting. Not quite as assured a debut as from Stephen Fry (to make an obvious comparison with another TV comedian turned author) but Edmondson's prose is good enough that it seems a shame that - over a decade later - 'The Gobbler' remains his sole literary outing.
A readable funny book - Rated 
I found this book on holiday and was very pleased thatr I read it. The writing style is very easy and flows particulairly well. There are also some hilarios slap stick scenes which read as if they had come straight from a "Bottom" script. I thought Julian was a great character as was Tom , the pretentious thespian. You certainly get an insight into the world of a BBC actor and you have to wonder how many of the scenes have been taken from Edmunson's own life. In conclusion then a hilarious read that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys their humour in the style of Bottom and the The Young Ones.
The Gobbler - Rated 
This is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. It had me laughing out loud and I didn't want to put it down.
More amusement from Ade... - Rated
I personnally think this book is one of the best thing's i've read.
It may not be to a lot of people's tastes, but if you like the sort of humour that Adrian is into, then it's for you. I thought the storyline was brilliant, and it keeps you guessing, difficult to see what's coming next. Great twist at the end, which you don't really expect from the beginning. It's not an intellectually challenging book, but why should it be? a must for all Ade fans, and especially fans of his character 'Eddie'...
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