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Ezicash: How to Usurp a Totalitarian Behemoth with a Monkey Wrench
An alternate cover for this ASIN can be found here.
The year is 2060, the month June, and it's raining outside.
So starts this tale of a time when the men and women of the United Kingdom, more specifically the residents of Stoke Hammond - a place some seven miles south of what used to be Milton Keynes - have to rise up and vanquish a posturing foe.
Set forty years after the collapse of the European Union, this story tells of a titanic struggle between Europe's strangling, new shadow, EZICASH, a plumber called Phil Lud and his apprentice, Snot.
Called out to what appears to be nothing more than a dripping tap, they are soon pulled into a conspiracy where their actions could very well change the world forever. Banding together, a community is formed, one that could see these fair isles free, truly free, from its controlling yoke just a few watery miles away.
Can they defeat EZICASH? Will another European behemoth fail? Will Britain finally succumb to a destiny plotted so many years ago?
Or can a plumber put a spanner in the works...
The year is 2060, the month June, and it's raining outside.
So starts this tale of a time when the men and women of the United Kingdom, more specifically the residents of Stoke Hammond - a place some seven miles south of what used to be Milton Keynes - have to rise up and vanquish a posturing foe.
Set forty years after the collapse of the European Union, this story tells of a titanic struggle between Europe's strangling, new shadow, EZICASH, a plumber called Phil Lud and his apprentice, Snot.
Called out to what appears to be nothing more than a dripping tap, they are soon pulled into a conspiracy where their actions could very well change the world forever. Banding together, a community is formed, one that could see these fair isles free, truly free, from its controlling yoke just a few watery miles away.
Can they defeat EZICASH? Will another European behemoth fail? Will Britain finally succumb to a destiny plotted so many years ago?
Or can a plumber put a spanner in the works...
133 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 23, 2015
15 people are currently reading
243 people want to read
About the author
Ian Thompson
3 books41 followersIan Thompson is from South London, UK. To date he has three books published, EZICASH, a satirical look at Health and Safety mixed with greed, and 54th State, a mix of political intrigue, a space mission and a love story, are both available on Amazon and are in the Select program. Murder at the Jolly Jester is available on Amazon, but not in Select. It is, however, available on instafreebie - see website for details.
Murder At The Jolly Jester is a dozy mystery of truly un-epic proportions featuring an impossible murder, an idiot of a protagonist and a cast of suspects, all set in a Kent village.
Whilst currently writing humorous books, Ian has a love of fantasy and expects to complete a book or two in that genre as well, although humorous fantasy seems inevitable. If you fancy a taster of my writing, look up fantasyspoof.com for a satirical look at fantasy, or planettommo.com for more musings.
Murder At The Jolly Jester is a dozy mystery of truly un-epic proportions featuring an impossible murder, an idiot of a protagonist and a cast of suspects, all set in a Kent village.
Whilst currently writing humorous books, Ian has a love of fantasy and expects to complete a book or two in that genre as well, although humorous fantasy seems inevitable. If you fancy a taster of my writing, look up fantasyspoof.com for a satirical look at fantasy, or planettommo.com for more musings.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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February 5, 2016A side splitting laugh a minute. I got so caught up in this very funny book I could not put it down. Cannot wait for the sequel. Bring back Snot!
March 23, 2016
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, through Reading Deals, so I could give an honest review.
Not many books get me laughing out loud and reading snippets to my poor husband, but this one fit the bill. EZICASH takes place in a world where Health and Safety is the order of the day. If you live in the dome, your home is inspected, the speed limits are 5 mph, and your clothes are made to protect you from everything from falling to cosmic rays. Outside, on the other hand, normal people scrabble to make a living. Of course, since manufacturing and trades are inherently dangerous, most of the goods and services provided inside the dome are made by the folks living outside it.
Arthur Pope, a man who was so fastidious that he managed a 9.9 out of 10 score for his abode's safety score (and thinks he's figured out how to fix the other .1), heads to work today and finds *gasp* a puddle on the ground and panicky people milling around it. He gets all the safety cones and warning signs up and is put in charge of fixing the cause of the puddle, a leak in the second floor bathrooms. No one has the appropriate clearances to go try to turn off the water, and of course, there are no plumbers in DOSH-1, so he has to find one in the Outreaches. I don't want to say too much more because I don't want to ruin the book, but suffice to say it all goes downhill (or uphill) from there.
If you enjoy dystopian novels, then you have to read EZICASH. It's almost like 1984 meets Douglas Adams. So, pick it up, buckle your seatbelt, and enjoy racing at madcap speeds of 8 mph through a world ruled by rules!
Not many books get me laughing out loud and reading snippets to my poor husband, but this one fit the bill. EZICASH takes place in a world where Health and Safety is the order of the day. If you live in the dome, your home is inspected, the speed limits are 5 mph, and your clothes are made to protect you from everything from falling to cosmic rays. Outside, on the other hand, normal people scrabble to make a living. Of course, since manufacturing and trades are inherently dangerous, most of the goods and services provided inside the dome are made by the folks living outside it.
Arthur Pope, a man who was so fastidious that he managed a 9.9 out of 10 score for his abode's safety score (and thinks he's figured out how to fix the other .1), heads to work today and finds *gasp* a puddle on the ground and panicky people milling around it. He gets all the safety cones and warning signs up and is put in charge of fixing the cause of the puddle, a leak in the second floor bathrooms. No one has the appropriate clearances to go try to turn off the water, and of course, there are no plumbers in DOSH-1, so he has to find one in the Outreaches. I don't want to say too much more because I don't want to ruin the book, but suffice to say it all goes downhill (or uphill) from there.
If you enjoy dystopian novels, then you have to read EZICASH. It's almost like 1984 meets Douglas Adams. So, pick it up, buckle your seatbelt, and enjoy racing at madcap speeds of 8 mph through a world ruled by rules!
December 31, 2015
"He now understood that freedom was a luxury that could be so easily exploited by the overbearing and their lexicon of lies, that it was in itself a fragile state. He realised now that the border gates were there to keep folk in, that the lies and propaganda were there to feed fear, and that if a free thinker were to emerge, Mr Hendrickx waited in the shadows."
This final paragraph from Chapter 15 in "Ezicash" by Ian Thompson sums up the gist of this quirky satire most eloquently. I admire a writer who can make me laugh, and truly respect one who can do that while actually scaring the pants off me at the same time. This political satire about a Totalistic, Utopian society where there is no need to think or take any personal responsibility in the "safer" world hits a home run in both entertainment value and as a profound statement on current societal ills.
Highly recommended!
This final paragraph from Chapter 15 in "Ezicash" by Ian Thompson sums up the gist of this quirky satire most eloquently. I admire a writer who can make me laugh, and truly respect one who can do that while actually scaring the pants off me at the same time. This political satire about a Totalistic, Utopian society where there is no need to think or take any personal responsibility in the "safer" world hits a home run in both entertainment value and as a profound statement on current societal ills.
Highly recommended!
December 21, 2018
This started out a bit weird, but once you get about 10% into it, you can understand what's going on. The story is good, even though there are lot of characters and its easy to get confused.
The only draw back (at least for me) was the British slang. It took a bit before I could understand what many of the words were meant to convey, and some are pretty offensive in the U.S.
All in all, an entertaining read.
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, through Reading Deals, and I gave an honest review.
The only draw back (at least for me) was the British slang. It took a bit before I could understand what many of the words were meant to convey, and some are pretty offensive in the U.S.
All in all, an entertaining read.
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, through Reading Deals, and I gave an honest review.
March 6, 2019
I received a free copy of this book through Reading Deals in exchange for an honest review.
I found this book to be highly entertaining and a decidedly humorous approach to dystopian literature. Without giving away the plot, I saw the story as an allegory of the relationship between the UK and the EU pre-Brexit. I found all of the characters entertainingly written in a manner not unlike Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. There were many laugh out loud moments. There were a couple of places where the story bogged a bit down, but overall it flowed well and kept me reading. I only knocked off a star because there were quite a few grammatical errors scattered throughout the book, from incorrectly applied (or missing) punctuation to the dreaded there/their/they're confusions. However, I highly recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more from Ian Thompson.
I found this book to be highly entertaining and a decidedly humorous approach to dystopian literature. Without giving away the plot, I saw the story as an allegory of the relationship between the UK and the EU pre-Brexit. I found all of the characters entertainingly written in a manner not unlike Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. There were many laugh out loud moments. There were a couple of places where the story bogged a bit down, but overall it flowed well and kept me reading. I only knocked off a star because there were quite a few grammatical errors scattered throughout the book, from incorrectly applied (or missing) punctuation to the dreaded there/their/they're confusions. However, I highly recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more from Ian Thompson.
March 1, 2017
3.5 stars.
I liked this book, with its pokes at politics and the way one may choose to live. I deducted half a star for some editing blemes (the apostrophe in particular seemed to cause uncertainty: "Crap! I haven't used one for a while, so I'll put one in . . . there! Right. Okay, then."). Nevertheless, I will read more by this author.
I liked this book, with its pokes at politics and the way one may choose to live. I deducted half a star for some editing blemes (the apostrophe in particular seemed to cause uncertainty: "Crap! I haven't used one for a while, so I'll put one in . . . there! Right. Okay, then."). Nevertheless, I will read more by this author.
August 27, 2018
I LOVE tongue-in-cheek!
If you have a brain cell at ALL, you'll love the witty one-liners in this novel! I had so much fun reading it!
If you have a brain cell at ALL, you'll love the witty one-liners in this novel! I had so much fun reading it!
April 22, 2016
I laughed out loud reading this. EZICASH is a really good satire of health and safety culture and where it could go. Like the best comedy it makes you think, and reminds you how modern life can veer off track from what is really important.
EZICASH is set a couple of decades in the future. The world has divided into those that take safety and health seriously, and those outside their safe bubbles. DOSH-UK-1 is a huge domed town near Milton Keynes. All its inhabitants live in houses rated for safety and wear high visibility protective clothing at all times. The pavements and roads are rubberised and have a 5mph speed limit. Running is forbidden.
One day, on arriving at the office, Abraham Pope discovers a leak has covered the floor in water and it is running out of the front door. No-one seems to know how to deal with this unprecedented hazard. So Pope steps up and barriers it off. This brings him to the attention of the higher ups. It also leads to him involving an external plumber from outside the dome.
The people outside the dome are at the other end of the spectrum. They drink, smoke, drive and live off all day breakfasts (or so it seems). Phil Ludd is the lucky plumber called to deal with the leak, and the regulars of his local pub (life revolves around the pub) spot this for the money tree it is.
What I liked about it were the wide cast of characters, all with odd nicknames. It drew on a stereotypical observation of pub culture before the smoking ban, which reminded me of my youth working in such places. The primary characters were well rounded, and both Lud & Pope develop significantly across the course of the story.
I did at one point think it was a bit too much of a brexiteer manifesto, but that was just the stage of the story, building up to safe and peaceful denouement. All in all I heartily recommend it.
EZICASH is set a couple of decades in the future. The world has divided into those that take safety and health seriously, and those outside their safe bubbles. DOSH-UK-1 is a huge domed town near Milton Keynes. All its inhabitants live in houses rated for safety and wear high visibility protective clothing at all times. The pavements and roads are rubberised and have a 5mph speed limit. Running is forbidden.
One day, on arriving at the office, Abraham Pope discovers a leak has covered the floor in water and it is running out of the front door. No-one seems to know how to deal with this unprecedented hazard. So Pope steps up and barriers it off. This brings him to the attention of the higher ups. It also leads to him involving an external plumber from outside the dome.
The people outside the dome are at the other end of the spectrum. They drink, smoke, drive and live off all day breakfasts (or so it seems). Phil Ludd is the lucky plumber called to deal with the leak, and the regulars of his local pub (life revolves around the pub) spot this for the money tree it is.
What I liked about it were the wide cast of characters, all with odd nicknames. It drew on a stereotypical observation of pub culture before the smoking ban, which reminded me of my youth working in such places. The primary characters were well rounded, and both Lud & Pope develop significantly across the course of the story.
I did at one point think it was a bit too much of a brexiteer manifesto, but that was just the stage of the story, building up to safe and peaceful denouement. All in all I heartily recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews