I haven't seen the movie and that was probably a mistake. I did not enjoy the main character at all. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the free eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

I really enjoyed this! Perfect for fans of the film, but great fun for anyone looking for fast, fun sci-fi.

Let's get the main objection to a novelisation of Zardoz out of the way first: unlike the film, you can't see Sean Connery running around in red underpants. Well, that's what your imagination is for. Use it.

In the future, the bloodthirsty Exterminators are urged to kill by their god, Zardoz, a giant flying stone head. Doubts about his god lead Zed to uncover a conspiracy of Eternals, immortals who live a life of luxury far removed from the brutality Zed knows.

But Zed has been bred to kill...

I really enjoyed this. The story is very close to the film, but as a novel can go deeper into a character's motivations, it adds welcome depth. I never really understood why Zed (Sean Connery) snuck into the head, other than because he can. The novel explains that, as well as the relationships between the Eternals, a bit better.

The story remains as off-the-wall as ever, with a particular 70s vibe to it all. But because of how well it's written, it's not dated, more a time-capsule of the ideas of that period, and a great romp, with some ideas about privilege behind it all.

There isn't much extra information to be gleaned in the forewords or the interview, but it's still well worth a look for being quite a bit unlike anything else you're likely to read!

A fun page-turner that can stand on its own, or be used to watch the film with a slightly different perspective.

I received an advance copy from Repeater via Net Galley - thank you! - but that hasn't influenced my opinion of this wonderfully bonkers book!

Zed, post-apocalyptic warlord. The guy with all the gifts-brain, gun, and special wedding tackle. Zed is cooler than the eggheads. If the eggheads were any use, they would have fixed the world, and they didn't. Now it's up to Zed and his special wedding tackle.

The end, it was terrible.