“It’s 2.15 a.m., you’re in bed alone and the phone wakes you. Your eyes are wide and your body tense before it has completed so much as a single ring. And as you wake, in the tiny moment between sleep and consciousness, you know already that something is wrong. Only someone bad ould ring at such and hour. Or someone good with bad news, which would probably be worse. You lie in the darkness and wait for the answer machine to kick in. …And then you hear the one voice in the world you least expect…your very own Blast from the Past

This was my first Ben Elton book, but it definitely won’t be my last. I had heard one of his other books recommended. I’m not sure what it is, something futuristic that explores the lack of privacy we’ve become accustomed to, what with Myspace, reality shows, blogging about everything in your life etc. This book wasn’t what I expected, but it was still great.

It starts out like a typical love story. (typical, other than the heroine’s stalker, but he’s not part of the love story). Boy (who is actually 36, and an ambitious American soldier) meets girl (17 year old British peace activist). Boy leaves girl after a brief, passionate affair. Boy returns after 15 years. His reasons for leaving, and for returning are what put the twist on the story. The shocker at the end is something that I, at least, never expected.

In the book, Elton explores several political ideas about the military and gender. For example, does affirmative action really work, or does it result in reverse discrimination? And should we use affirmative action in the military? Not only questioning if women and homosexuals don’t belong, but should the military even want men who have lost their manliness. Men who don’t gawk at a woman and act stupid when she comes into the room. Men who don’t want guys looking at them in that same way. And are men who don’t put women in compromising situations gentlemen, or sissies? It puts a lot of things in perspective, and makes you look at them a different way. You don’t necessarily agree with the viewpoints, but you can see where they’re coming from. Combined with a twisty plot line, well-developed and believable characters, and shocker ending that isn’t sappy sweet, it all makes for a great novel.