Abysmal antipodean antics

"Meet Archibald Winston Spinks."

I did. But I wish I hadn't bothered.

"The year is 1973 and never having left the UK before, young Archie sets sail aboard the SS Kioni for a three month voyage around the world."

Well, that all makes sense so far. The Kioni is essentially a cruise ship bound for Australia, and it will eventually make its way back to Blighty. The story follows the fortunes of Archie, who has managed to get a job on board as part of the entertainment team. But it appears that he is simply a big cliche, as he puts himself about on the boat, manages to ensnare a hot young lady, and generally drinks and takes drugs in order to have fun.

At the same time we find out the story of Archie growing up, and this doesn't really add anything of interest to the overall tale. It just proves a distraction to the main story about life on board ship. We also find out about life after cruising around the world.

According to the PR, "John H Livings gives us a central character that is impossible to resist."

It would seem that I can defy this fact, since I found it very easy to resist the character. He's just so stereotyped and one dimensional, drinking, smoking, taking drugs, sleeping around. You just can't invest in the characters and care what they do or what happens to them.

And for a book with an Australian title, and featuring someone writing from an "adopted Australian" point of view, there's a distinct lack of interesting things said about Australia. I was waiting on every page for something recognisable from down under, and you only get a few glimpses of this interesting and varied land.

So, in summary, this is not a book worth bothering with.