“His characters went away with food for thought”

Author Rupert Stanbury has pledged to give all the royalties from his latest title to charities helping homeless people.

Cambridge graduate Rupert hit the bookshelves again in October with his latest from the Gods Galore series, which sees him fuse Ancient Gods with modern day humour. In Pimlico People, goddesses Artemis and Hebe have decided to have a few days in the capital to gain more understanding of how ‘normal people’ are living their lives.

It is probably no coincidence then that Rupert is linking with homeless charities as it is almost certain that the goddesses may have seen some of the more unpleasant aspects of modern life.

The fact that a roof over your head and some food in your belly is no way guaranteed these days, the goddesses probably went away with food for thought.

Anyway, what you get with Pimlico People is a plot to bomb a foreign embassy along with a the theft of valuable paintings from a major art gallery by a gang of sophisticated criminals.

Probably more than the goddesses bargained for on their London trip and it gives them more questions than answers about how the human race was progressing.

This blend of Terry Pratchett with popular children’s author Rick Riordan, who specialises in the ancient gods, will bring some smiles among the, ultimately, fantasy version of London, as well as a huge dollop of criminality for those who like a slice of crime with their fiction.

Pimlico People is an entertaining read and while the book itself is reasonably hefty, the story rips along at a good pace and the reader will soon realise that they are enjoying this book and will begin to rue that the ending is hurtling towards them.