- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Arrow/Children's (a Division of Random House (October 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0091876389
- ISBN-13: 978-0091876388
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Ned Maddstone has it all. He's handsome and talented; he has the love of a beautiful woman and in 1980, he stands at the brink of a glittering future. He rounds off an outstanding public school career with a sailing trip to Scotland, which is where his fortunes enter a terrifying tailspin. Determined to honour the dying wish of his sailing instructor, Ned returns to London, where the schemes of jealous classmates catapult him into a 10-year nightmare. Confined to a solitary Hell, believed dead by all those who loved him, Ned transforms from a terminally nice guy into a creature bent on revenge, a revenge both satisfying and apocalyptic.
Few writers can deliver so much in one package, but here Stephen Fry combines a riotous satire of the privileged classes with elements of the darkest thrillers. While the plot bounces from the sublime to the surreal, his characters remain acutely real. Ned's classmates, slow-witted hedonist Rufus Cade, and the Machiavellian climber Ashley Barson-Garland--who is aroused by the sight of straw boaters--are masterful creations. This novel has nothing to do with tennis, and everything to do with the cruel logic of Fate. Game, set and match to Mr Fry. - - Matthew Baylis --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
“A Count of Monte Cristo for the dot.com generation…whatever Stephen Fry does, he has it — that rare, unlearnable quality. When he speaks, you listen. When he writes, you read.” — Literary Review
“Stylish…written up with zest and humour…a page-turner and full of fun.” — Spectator
“A revenge tragedy for our times.” — The Times
“A taut thriller…a talent for terror and suspense-writing.” — Sunday Telegraph
From the Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
“Stylish…written up with zest and humour…a page-turner and full of fun.” — Spectator
“A revenge tragedy for our times.” — The Times
“A taut thriller…a talent for terror and suspense-writing.” — Sunday Telegraph
From the Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Stars Tennis Balls, or the Count of Monte Cristo,
By william powell (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Stars' Tennis Balls (Paperback)
I read the book a week before watching the 1970s film of Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, with Pleasance and Chamberlain. I don't want to give anything away but there were so many similarities of plot that I wondered why the book wasn't advertised as an updating of a timeless classic. At the risk of boring you, I found (1) The two heroes carry a letter to an unknown (to them) character who politically is dangerous and are dealt with by an influential policeman who knows the addressee, whom he wants to protect, personally. (2) Both almost marry a woman whose son "could have been" theirs, and who attempts to avenge their actual fathers. 3) Both these actual fathers, rivals for the woman's affections but only able to marry her when the hero conveniently vanishes, have committed rape in Africa, and in both stories the victim comes back to confront them shortly before their deaths. (4) Both heroes meet mentors during their long absence from society, and these mentors educate them in all kinds of ways, philosophical and practical. (5)Both heroes take their mentors' place in identical situations. (6) The heroes, armed with information from their mentors which will make them multimillionaires, come back to take appropriate revenge on each of the four who have destroyed their lives and counts them off each time. (7) The heroes end their tales avenged but unfulfilled and heading back to islands.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quite a ride!,
By starspangledgirl "starspangledgirl" (Arlington, MA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Stars' Tennis Balls (Paperback)
I knew nothing about this book when I picked it up, other than it was written by the actor/comedian who played Oscar Wilde. Based on the first few pages, I thought it would be a fun, witty story about some young people in prep school, their romantic entanglements, with a bit of British politics thrown in. And for a while it is this--a nice light satire.Then this novel takes an amazing radical turn and becomes harrowingly serious in a vivid description of a kidnapping and confinement. Then it turns once again to be a suspenseful escape story, and finally a step by step "Count of Monte Cristo" revenge story (the latter of which is a bit unsatisfying as the main character becomes an efficient revenge machine and we lose the sense of him as a person that the middle of the book had so wonderfully built). Still, Fry is an excellent writer to be able to pull off all of these tones in a single book. It is a great read, and it makes me want to seek out other works by Stephen Fry. Recommended!!
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Stars' Tennis Balls,
By Gemma Smith (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Stars' Tennis Balls (Hardcover)
Hi, I read this book while I was in my sickbed and it really made me feel a lot better. The story was very gripping, but I got confused at the beginning about who the main character was, Ashley or Ned, until it became clear that it was Ned. I agree with the other reviewer Bettina that the book would make a great movie. I've read another Stephen Fry book, the Liar, and this was much better. I think the ending was a bit weak, which was something I noticed about the Liar too. Anyway, I would definitely recommend it!
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