Bear with me here. This is a story about Michael Point, aged 28. He is a hit man. As the principal narrator of the tale he is very irritating, doesn’t seem to be able to stick to the point and keep uses the stock phrases over and over. So irritating in fact that more than once I nearly threw the book across the room. However, the story develops. Is he really involved in some sort of divine battle or is he just nuts? Not is all is answered, in fact little is; but it is interesting. I can’t really recommend you buy the book; It’s All About The Money. If you can borrow or cadge a copy, probably worth sticking with. Otherwise, Just Walk Away.sci-fi4 s Corwyn MatthewAuthor 5 books8

Ok...it pains me to only give this 4 stars. I mean, in entertainment value alone it deserves 5. In creative fucking-about-with-imagery it deserves 5. In a-mockery-of-sophistication-and-pseudo-intellectualism it deserves 5. In wit and grit and clever storytelling it deserves 5. But, I gotta be realistic here. I may have not been able to get through it if I read most folks do and just tackled one book at a time, thoroughly digging in to one new world and giving it my all. You can't really do that here. If you try you might give up after the fifth or sixth chapter of Spurrier's repetitive prose. And if you did that, you'd be missing out on some monumentally fulfilling vomiting-of-the-mind; a regurgitated miasma of colorful bitterness and utter confusion.

Ok, wait. Let me explain. Let me try to make sense of something that doesn't. Let me try to piece together my thoughts on this in some recognizable or relatable shape that you can fit into your mouth and take a big, saucy bite out of. Let me wrap your brain in this itchy, paranoia-inducing, hypothetically diseased blanket and call it an offering of good faith so to keep you warm/incapacitated long enough to for me to have my way with your brain and be off in the night without so much as a tangible explanation for why you spent your time reading this. Let me tell you. This. This paragraph here. This is/was his prose for the entire novel.

You see what he/I did? I unfurled this long-ass, bitingly strange paragraph to get one very simple point across that I could have just said in four words: His. Prose. Was Repetitive.

But he did it in such a fun and entertaining way, dark and, at times, straight up fucking hysterical, that the damn thing was low-key brilliant. I mean, I seriously feel a better writer now just for having been exposed to this lunatic's ramblings. He's forced my mind wide forceps in a vulva and shoved all sorts of uncomfortable shit in there - cold, hard, prickly shit that doesn't belong in a human mind or body - and made me realize, once again, that I can do more.

The story? It's cool. I got a bit lost in the end, but that's just as much from me sucking at reading as him not clearly getting it across. I usually get lost by the end of a novel anyway because my focus is shit. But the story was irrelevant when you take into account the entertainment value of the words themselves and - if you dark, gory lunacy - his uniquely described imagery.

So, should you read this book? Oh, hell yeah. But I suggest you take it in stride because the prose can get trying, especially if you're picky. And if you're more in it for the Overall Story... I feel it might leave you wanting for a more, clearly defined "Purpose of it All." But, in stride, in cute little doses you can choke down when you need a breath of something...different..., this just might be as entertaining for you as it was for me.

Go on. Take a bite. It's only bitter for the first half of the animal. The ass-end slides down your throat without so much effort as ever having to chew.favorites2 s Kieran Lewis3

One of the best books I’ve ever read. Very creative and all over the place, easily an essay worthy book that should be taught to people who want to learn to write. Tldr; very fun and different.3 s Neko495 44

This book was very poorly written. It's very roughly written and gritty..It needs to be picked apart and redone but it won't. I'm never one to give up on a book..I usually force myself to even keep reading a book I don't but I gave it 40 pages and it's not getting any better, I'm not going to give it my usual 100 pages before I make up my mind, I can't waste anymore time of this pile of crap.

Yes, my review is very harsh but it's just the book..Harsh!bad-book2 s Guy HaleyAuthor 256 books598

As the hero of Contract says, pieces of paper can be very important. In his case, it’s the contract he signs, in Spurrier’s case, it’s that on which his stream-of-consciousness novel is printed.

Spurrier’s worked for years as a writer for 2000AD, and has also had a handful of 2000AD and Warhammer 40,000 spin-off novels published. Ask his colleagues about him and they say nice things. It’s not then altogether surprising that this book’s not bad at all.

Mike Point is a hit-man, a pretty good one, who finds himself in a great deal of bother when one of his hits gets back up again. This episode, unsettling even for a hardened killer him, is followed by a meeting with a man who somehow knows his name, which in turn leads Point to taking a contract for one million pounds. All this is highly irregular, but, as Point tells us: ‘It’s. All. About. The. Money.’ So he decides to do it anyway, only to discover that the guy he’s signed the contract with is the one guy you should never, ever sign a contract with.

The storyline is nothing unusual– hitman gets stuck up to his neck in wierd-ass doo-doo. What makes the book is it’s narrative style. Spurrier has opted for a breathless, repetitive, rhythmic mode which is as relentless as the beats of life – air in a car window, heartbeats, heavy music, hooves on turf, pounding headaches – he weaves in as a clever counterpoint. This is a book with a thumping great bass beat. Just when you think you could quite happily throttle the self-obsessed narrator, Spurrier throws in a second character, Mike’s only friend Sally, whose secret notes nicely deflate Mike’s (and by extension Spurrier’s – it feels there’s a lot of him in Point) pomposity – a piece of wicked self-deprecation on the part of the writer. His other big idea is ‘borrowed wisdom’, a riff that plays on over the jarring drums of Point’s life. Point is an internet-educated trivia buff, and though he endlessly dismisses what he’s read or heard as irrelevant, it’s actually only this “borrowed wisdom” that allows him to do his job. Think of both sides of the “Is Wikipeadia evil?” debate, played out over a catchy dance tune.

That Spurrier’s opted for such a non-conventional style is great. It’s the book’s biggest strength, but it is also its greatest weakness because, if you don’t buy into the tempo, it’ll irritate the crap out of you.1 Jarrel Oliveira88 2

I was content with the intrigue of a contract killer story. I was pushed to buy and read this book when I realized his victims, scratch that, his targets came back to life to kill him.

I was not, however, expecting myself to love, hate, dis, be interested in, feel disgust for, and a great desire to distance myself from Michael Point, the strange protagonist of this story.

I felt I was on drugs while reading this and not for any bad reason. And I don't do drugs.

But I loved the vivid, hate fueled description of all things surrounding the mind of a man who kills for a living and is losing his head at the same time.

Throughout certain parts of the book I knew. J. W. A.

But, just Michael, I too, at times, am J. A. T. M.

It's always, just about the money.

The ending left much to be explored but how good can the end of a deranged, amoral, post religious, corrupt minded, contract killers book be?

It was a rushed read. Repetitive at times. Mind you, the deranged madman in focus. And it was fun. It was funny.

It was Deadpool, on drugs, lots of drugs somewhere in London before Deadpool was somebody.

I recommend it.fiction1 Samantha91 10

I was very disappointed by this book. It definitely had some interesting concepts and ideas but they didn't seem all that fleshed out. It was very well researched and the writing quality was good. But the constant repetition and the endlessly grating, rant of a narrative really did not endear me to it. I started off interested in Michael Point but quickly wanted him to shut up and Get To The Point.

The ending whilst answering some questions led on to larger questions which are left to the reader. Confusing and lacking proper cohesion the ending left me as irritated as the main character.

So much potential but ultimately lacking.

Best advice? Take my Borrowed Wisdom and Just Walk Away. 1 Baldwin6

This book shouldn't work. The ideas are so convoluted that they'd make mud look transparent. I spent the first half of the book having absolutely no idea what was going on - it seemed simple, even. That's a strange thing to confess after having read the rest of it.

See, the writing style is so very unique; it's jarring and wry and blunt, and it's perfect. It lifts some very fertile soil out of the mud which its ideas preside in. What germinates is a book that is definitely readable, and absolutely entertaining, but still completely insane. But show me more: this is what inhibits Spurrier's work from transcending the three-star label I've given it.

There are so many opportunities for some clear meaning to be injected into this text. And yet nothing is there; it relies on pure entertainment and confusion to finish. Don't get me wrong - there's nothing inherently wrong with that. I d it. You should read it, if dark, twisting and confusing plots are your thing. But does that mean it deserves more than three-stars? I doubt it - not unless you're really looking for a greater understanding of the versatility of the word 'fuck'. Sarah212 6

I'm going, to be honest, I read word for word until 102 and then I proceeded to skip chapters to read Sally's pov as well as search for the purpose of this novel. I also skimmed the ending as well, kinda confused but I can also make a few educated guesses about whats happened and I'm glad I gave up.

The writing style was so hard for me to read, I struggled so much Micheal point just really needed to fuck off. I spent more time rereading a sentence I'd just read just to make sure I read it right than actually progressing further. For example, the writing style spoiled the first scene with the target who comes back to life, absolutely butchered it. I think Mr. know it all's info-dumping would have been interesting if it had been done in a sherlock homes or McGregor style.

Overall a painful mis-advertised read with the somewhat right ideas but the wrong execution. Where was that heavenly war???dnf Brent Coros8

Overall enjoyed the book but at points just wanted to get finished or for something interesting to happen. The ending also left something to be desired. I d the style of the writing and rants from the main character but it became overkill, and I was wishing Mr. Point would just make his point already. Note I am not even a minor in literature and my ratings tend to be generous. Matt Lewicki13

The storyline, plot and idea are all there but this was poorly written. Bekah11

DNFd. About 200 pages in I had to give up. Steve Page20 Read

i picked this up in a second hand bookshop in Charing Cross Road, London. Loved it - read it twice Kareem Choubassi19

Unique.
Sharp.
Repetitive but unpredictable.
What is real and what isn’t.
Bear with me here. Matt182 3

Imagine a rather self-absorbed know-all with ADD. Imagine listening to this guy rant and ramble for the length of time it would take you to read approximately 400 pages. This is Michael Point, hitman. The book Contract is about marks coming back to life and a struggle between good and evil. Or possibly just plain old insanity. Who knows, really?

I have to admit, I read the first page and I thought to myself "The whole book isn't going to be written this, is it?" Honestly, I know people who talk Point and they aren't necessarily my favourite people. I flicked forward a few pages, chapters, etc and saw that yes the whole book was written in an annoying rambling POV similar to that of, as I said, a self-absorbed know-all with attention deficit disorder.

If you can get past that (and I wondered if I could, for quite a while), it is actually a fairly decent book. In fact, Michael Point, despite my initial intense dis for the guy, kind of grew on me. At the end, I even kind of felt for him. As for the book, it grew on me too.2009 crime supernatural Pickle1 review

I really enjoyed this book. This book is written in the first person perspective which i quite in books.

The writing of this book really gives Michael Point a voice and a character not a very deep one but it works for the story(crazy would sum him up). I think this still beats having the main character functioning as nothing more then a camera with hands which is relatively common in First Person novels.

I completely understand people having trouble reading this the main character is full of annoying habits and can be very annoying at times. the ending was not great and could have used a bit more concluding and explaining.

Overall its a interesting read that is a different from the norm and all the better for it!first-person-perspective Ridge CresswellAuthor 2 books

So, you take a story about a hitman going insane or becoming involved in a divine conflict between good and evil, make it all ambiguous, and utterly rip off Chuck Palahniuk's writing style. That's kind of it. Some interesting observations, but it lacks Palahniuk's subtlety and grace. I made it through it, was entertained, but won't be looking for anything more from Simon Spurrier. Samantha Davenport123 12

Great fun. Crime and the occult with most excellent pacing. Think Angel Heart meets Glen Duncan. I know the author does mostly comics but I hope he decides to do more novels because he's good at it--his other one was also very good and had an awesome trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abOuV...fiction Paul233 11

The literary equivalent of Pulp Fiction. With walking corpses. Dark, violent and very funny, the book is smartly plotted with a superbly unreliable protagonist who manages to maintain a sense of uncertainty, right up to the end, as to what is really going on. Tasha353 49

I just discovered that one of my favorite comic book writers also writes novels. It has awful , but I am excited anyway.

I d the ending. Gave it an extra star because the ending really pulled it together. Lisa Campbell6

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