I didn't realize this was a sequel but in my opinion it was fine being read as a standalone novel.

Steven Stelfox is a very rich music mogul or so he thought. He realises not a real player, so he becomes determined to become one

Very wild enjoyable read.

This scurrilous sequel to Kill Your Friends sees amoral music business mogul Steven Stelfox becoming embroiled with the comeback of Lucius Du Pre. Once the biggest pop star in the world, the drug addled, depraved predator - a white man who wants to be black - has squandered his millions on his Narnia ranch... and paying off blackmail threats. Suffice to say his return to the big time is not going to be an easy one. John Niven's humour is pitch black and the savage satire is jaw-droppingly outrageous. Prepare to gasp!

I'd only seen the film rather than read the first book, but I really enjoyed it and I was keen to see what the follow up would be like.

Well, wow. It's gloriously over-the-top and unbelievable, but in a good way. Characters lurch from one disaster to another and you wonder how on earth it can ever be resolved, but it is and in the only way that makes perfect sense.

Antiheroes can be tough to write because people don't like an unlikable character, but John Niven somehow carries it off and you find yourself rooting for the lead, even though he's utterly despicable.

Ridiculous amounts of fun!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

Steven Stelfox is a music industry mogul who has made a fortune producing pop talent shows and girl bands. He is now properly rich, or at least he thinks he is until David Geffen's yacht pulls in next to his. Stelfox realises that he is still really only small change and not a real player, so he becomes determined to make that happen.

His opportunity arises when his old mate James summons him to help with a crisis. James runs a record label whose star signing is Lucius du Pre, a childlike superstar who lives in a secluded ranch called Narnia surrounded by animals and hosting parties for little boys. One of those little boys has some compromising footage, and hence the crisis. Stelfox pulls no punches and brings all his resources to bear to both resolve the crisis and ensure that he enriches himself further in the process.

This novel is just a romp, but a hugely enjoyable one. Stelfox is a splendidly contemptuous and sardonic narrator; his continual put-downs of people less fortunate than himself and his idolisation of Donald Trump make him an appealing anti-hero for our times. The book is populated with a myriad of grotesque and exaggerated supporting characters, much in the style of Tom Sharpe. I would say that anybody who likes Sharpe would enjoy this.

I enjoyed the first book a few years ago, to my surprise, so jumped at the chance to read the sequel, set 20 years after the first one. Steven is still as ruthless as ever and unfortunately, this book is very current and believable. Due to the political climate we live, the reader has no problems with believing people like this exist because we see them everyday in the news. There was several moments I was like 'you can't say that, you can't do that, that's going a bit far', but I couldn't put the book down. To say this book is not for the faint-hearted is an understatement. It's satirical, it's funny and it's outrageous. And to my surprise, I loved it.

An old classic given a new lease of life, this is a real insight (perhaps?!) into a cutthroat industry. A really enjoyable read.

I wanted to read this because I enjoyed No Good Deed but it didn't work for me in the same way. Well written but the humour just felt too predictable and the voice of the character monotonous. DNF

This was a slightly interesting but difficult read. With no one to empathise with it’s quite hard to care what happens in the storyline, and the acts as described will likely leave some not wanting to get past the first chapter.

I am such a pushover for an evil anti-hero and they don’t come much more evil, ruthless or amoral than Steven Stelfox, a man so steeped in selfish skulduggery that you can’t help but to love him whatever he gets up to.

Kill Em All is the blackest of black comedies. It is set mainly in Trump’s America with Stelfox helping to salvage a falling superstar’s reputation and making sure he personally profits very richly in the process (because, let’s face it, doing anything to help another human being would be a mug’s game).

Lucius Du Pre is a grotesque parody of the late Michael Jackson and he is being blackmailed for certain crimes that I won’t go into in this review. Stelfox comes up with an outrageous plan to save Lucius’s career and to catapult himself from being merely obscenely rich into true billionaire status and it all makes fabulous, if somewhat uncomfortable, reading throughout. Stelfox’s lack of conscience and total disregard for the welfare of anyone else in the world would be ugly and shocking if he wasn’t so brilliantly funny. The man has no filter whatsoever. He even despises us, with our pathetic little lives, for reading his story.

Great entertainment from John Niven.

Many thanks to Mr Niven, to Cornerstone Digital and to NetGalley for letting me read and review this marvellous book.

Thankfully, this novel stands alone although it is a sequel to Kill Your Friends, which I have not read.

I don’t think that this is a book for the faint hearted or if you are easily offended. There are some contentious topics and beliefs touched upon.

Stephen Stelfox is a Simon Cowell type of character who made lots and lots of money and has now semi-retired at the ripe old age of 42. Occasionally though, he will do the odd bit of work as a consultant for certain friends (or should that be frenemies?) or if it’s something that Stephen is particularly interested in.
Which is how Stephen finds himself helping out his old friend who is the president of large record label based in the US.
A pop star (who bears more than a passing resemblance to Michael Jackson) is about to become embroiled in a scandal that is about to ruin both his and the record companies lives.

I don’t doubt at all, that the majority of subjects touched on in this novel are not a million miles from the truth – and that in itself is terrifying. BUT, this is an enjoyable read as long and made me thankful for being little old boring me.

...or The Art of the Deal by Stephen Stelfox.

Kill 'Em All will appeal to fans of novels such as High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, the Vernon Subutex series by Virginie Despentes, and the film 24-Hour Party People (2002), directed by Michael Winterbottom.

Kill 'Em All is the sequel to John Niven's most well-known 2008 novel Kill Your Friends, that was adapted into the 2015 film of the same name, directed by Owen Harris, and starring Nicholas Hoult in the role of the main character Stephen Stelfox, a filthy rich, cynical, and cunning A&R rep. Whereas Kill Your Friends was set in the music industry at the height of the Britpop craze in the 90s, this book is set in 2017 and feels very of the moment since the events unfold on the backdrop of Brexit and the Trump era, and Stephen Stelfox feels like the poster boy of late-stage capitalism - an immoral playboy that uses any opportunity and measure to accumulate more personal wealth, and is aware of the inequalities that exist in society, but doesn't really care about the struggles of the poor. At the same time, the  author manages to make the cynical inner monologues of a professional troll darkly comedic and fun to read, like, for example, this passage when Stephen is at the airport, preparing to board a private jet:

"I send a couple of pro-Trump tweets from my troll accounts ('#godonald! #MAGA #inauguration') to take my mind off my pre-flight anxiety while Grahame deals with luggage and the whole check-in palaver, out there in the chill January dawn. Passport and security take all of two minutes. ('Hi, Sir! Nice to see you again.') When I do this, I spare a thought for you out there - the dear, the gentle - taking your belt and shoes off, furiously scrabbling through your bag for that laptop or iPad, wearily walking back through the scanner, then extending your arms skywards as the guy with the wand does his stuff, the whole thing taking an eternity because, in the queue ahead of you, there are people, who, today, in 2017, seemingly haven't been on a plane since Mohamed Atta and his lads did their thing back in 2001. Who don't understand about the whole laptop, belt and shoes deal. Who are utterly astonished when they are asked to take these things off/put them in a tray/ whatever. By the time you stumble out of security two hours later you're needing that pint of Tits in the Dog and Lettuce. You're suicidal and you haven't even left the fucking airport yet."

After making a ton of money from an American Idol-type reality show, Stephen Stelfox is semi-retired at the age of 42 and is living the high life of the ridiculously rich, while also spending some time doing consulting work in order to avoid thinking about the fact that his life is essentially empty. One day, Stephen gets a call from his old friend James Trellick, president of a big US record label Unigram, asking him for help in dealing with a potentially huge blackmail scandal that is about come to light involving the ageing pop-star Lucius Du Pre. Stephen agrees to help and comes up with an elaborate and outrageous plan to "fix" the situation, but when it becomes clear that things will not go according to his plan, Stephen is forced to improvise... 

Behind the fast-paced, over the top plot, somewhat stereotypical characters, and very dark humour, the book offers a scathing critique of the misogyny, racism, populism, greed, and abuse of power that seems to be thriving in modern-day society. It's also a very compelling satire of the modern music industry and celebrity culture, but definitely not a book for readers, who are easily offended.

Although this is a sequel to Kill Your Friends, the novel stands on its own, and I thoroughly enjoyed it even though I haven't read the previous book, and I will definitely need to pick that one up at some point in the future.

After reading 'Kill Your Friends' I was delighted to have found an author who could hold a candle to one of my favourites, Irvine Welsh.

So, I was even happier when I found out that there was a sequel to this book! Unfortunately my memory is so dreadful, so I wasn't really as familiar with the characters - I do wish I had a bit of a recap of the first book in advance. But fortunately this book does stand out as a separate title, and can survive on its own. The protagonist is a pretty bad person, I remembered this much - and he maintains that reputation, although age has watered him down a bit.

This book is not for the faint-hearted, there are some pretty controversial topics approached head on and dealt with in not overly sensitive language. I learned to take it with a pinch of salt, but initially the introduction of the 'King of Pop'-esque character did make me question whether I had grown out of this kind of controversial writing style in my older age (and since being a parent).

Ultimately, I soldiered on through it and eventually realised that this is mere fiction with the intent to shock a bit. The story itself progressed really well and by the end had me gripped, wondering how the tangled web would resolve itself.

A great read. Ideal for fans of Irvine Welsh, and fans of the earlier Niven works too.

Simon Stelfox is back! Back! BACK!

The former A&R man is now hugely rich thanks to his involvement with a TV show that is in no way modelled on America's Got Talent, uh huh, no sirree. One of his former acquaintances in the music business needs help. One of his musical superstars, a tremendous singer and dancer of uncertain skin tone, is being blackmailed over his paedophilia, on the eve of a series of prestigious comeback shows. I cannot think who this might be based on. Stelfox takes on the case, looking as always to turn it to his best advantage, and we are off on a rollercoaster of drugs, money, hitmen, conspiracy theories, white trash, fake news, luxury parties and Donald Trump. It's a riproaring ride, fast paced and outrageous / outraged.

This is not a restrained book. It is funny, scabrous, cynical and Michael Jackson's lawyers may well take an interest. Fans of Kill Your Friends will lap it up.

Another acidic and viciously funny outing for Steven Stelfox, who has to be one of my favourite literary characters of all time - although if I actually met him I'd probably want to kill him!
His is truly a nasty and yet somewhat painfully accurate take on the world, the underlying, bitter truth lingering as an aftertaste. This is satire at it's sharpest, a definite case of laughing instead of crying.
I really enjoyed this novel, and can't wait to see what comes next for Stelfox. Especially as the ending was one of the finest that Niven has ever written!

Heads up, Stephen Stelfox is back and he really doesn't seemed to have mellowed in his old age. Dividing his time between consultancy work, living the high life and anonymously winding people up on twitter, Stelfox gets a call from an old record industry friend who desperately needs his help with his star asset, international singing megastar, Lucius Du Pre. Du Pre is caught up in a potential child abuse scandal and is being blackmailed for a huge amount of money which he doesn't even have. Enter Steven Stelfox who cooks up an audacious plan to not only make the blackmailers go away but also to revive the flagging fortunes of record company Unigram.

This is a rip roaring read which zips along at quite a pace. John Niven has a real talent for taking the most outrageous elements of the music industry and then turning them up a notch further. Just when you think he's taken the premise to the furthest limits, he switches it round and surprises you again. My best advice would be to buckle up and enjoy the ride as this is who John Niven is as a writer.It's an outrageous book which had me laughing out loud at several points. It doesn't take a genius to work out who Du Pre is based on which makes me wonder just how awful the figures at the top of the music industry really are. There's a little nagging tug of conscience that Stelfox experiences for the first time when he starts a serious relationship but then he'll do something so terrible that you think he'll never really change. He's a really fun character to read and I imagine he must be just as much fun to write. I loved Kill Your Friends and I would love to read another Stelfox book, though maybe I'm just being greedy! Fantastic book from a consistently brilliant writer.

I received a ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

Steven Stelfox is a truly unpleasant individual. He is a demigod of death. He is also a crazy genius and a teller of truth even if we don't want to hear it. Kill ‘em all is both a satire of Trump's United States and a celebration of it. For those people who are willing to plumb any depths to get what they want, Trumpland is the place to do it. Stelfox makes a staggering success of his terrible life. The worse he behaves, the better it gets.
Stelfox, in this reality the creator of American Idol in all but name, is drafted in to provide crisis management. A globally successful pop star has been filmed doing something truly awful. Our anti-hero doesn't judge, but instead uses it to leverage himself into a different level of riches. The pop star is a thinly veiled version of someone no longer alive to be parodied. Kill ‘em all is not for the faint-hearted but for anyone who enjoys black-hearted satire, this is the novel for you.

Kill ‘em all is relentlessly unpleasant. The antihero, Steven Stelfox, is an unreconstructed misogynistic, racist, homophobic music producer / TV producer / personality now working as an occasional consultant following huge success as a Simon Cowell-type figure. Another key figure is based loosely (well, fairly explicitly) on Michael Jackson, with drug addiction and paedophilic behaviour his main activities. As i said, relentlessly unpleasant.

Crucially, it’s also hilariously, scabrously funny and genuinely gripping. I found the first book (Kill Your Idols) unpleasant and amusing, set as it was in the Britpop era that was my musical awakening. This is bang up to date - Trump’s election, the “Muslim ban”, the terrorist attack at borough market, Trump’s tax cuts all form the background - but the tension feels greater, with higher stakes and an increasingly ridiculous build up to the grand finale. This book won’t be enjoyed by all, and i feel almost dirty after reading it, but it really is highly entertaining.

I have a confession, I have a rather bad crush.

Psychopathic, narcissistic, immoral; but it isn’t all good, he’ll kill you if you get in his way. Or just for a laugh.. But oh ladies don’t we love a bad boy, and he makes me fondly nostalgic for my first marriage.

The peerless (who’d want to be? Plenty, believe me) Stelfox is back. Extracting a major label from a catastrophic paedophile scandal with his usual panache and complete disregard for other people’s lives.

I loved “Kill your friends” (the portobello gastro pub renamed “go home and die, you old cunt”. I’d definitely visit). But I liked this even more in fact it may be the funniest book I’ve ever read. Hateful though the protagonist is there’s a germ of truth lurking between the un PC vitriol which is irresistible.

This also features an excruciating examination of the Weinstein scandal. Underneath the horror and distaste has anyone not been reluctantly impressed by the sheer commitment of the man, whipping his genitals out of bathrobes like a hideous dandini. Can you get Terry towelling carpet burns? No wonder he always looks so knackered.

I look forward to the next instalment where Stelfox becomes a committed feminist and possibly transgender.

Calabasas and the communications network and the time thanks for a life pretty muddy and angus Reid said that the great news bbc sport and a lemon drizzle and angus Reid is a great here are the great

Kill 'Em All is the modern day follow up to the dark Kill Your Friends, a tale of the cutthroat music industry in the 90s. It is now 2017 and Steven Stelfox is older, richer, and about to take on a fake news challenge of his own. Aiming to go from mega rich to billionaire, Stelfox agrees to take on a consultancy job for his old friend James Trellick, president of record company Unigram. They have an issue with a pop star on the brink of being exposed as a sexual predator and paedophile. The horrifically devious Stelfox must find a way to spin this and make money, but things get more complicated and it becomes clear that he must manipulate various elements of modern American media culture to stay afloat.

Make no mistake, this a very dark, satirical novel that takes Kill Your Friends (published in 2008 and set in 1997) and gives it an immediate relevance that makes it even more monstrous. Some elements go even beyond satire (Stelfox gets to shake hands with Trump at one point) and others may be hard for even fans of Niven's other books and authors like Bret Easton Ellis to face due to their modern day relevance (Easton Ellis gets a shout out in the book itself). At times too excessive, it is regardless more successful than Kill Your Friends in its satire, and feels cleverer and less derivative (I wasn't a fan of Kill Your Friends, but have liked other of Niven's books).

Kill 'Em All is a book about fake news, about the media in modern America, and about how the monsters of 90s novels would revel in this world. You don't need to have read Kill Your Friends to enjoy it, but you do need to be prepared to have a monstrous main character with awful views utilise horrors of modern America for his own gain.