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Niall Griffiths� novel about a group of wasters spending almost 500 pages getting drunk, high, beaten, depressed and then sleeping with each other is riddled with problems.

The main issue is that almost none of it is original.

Described as a ‘welsh Trainspotting�, this is more of a wholesale rip-off. The characters spend most of their time waiting for their next fix or coming down off their last one, like in ‘Trainspotting�. One member of the group is a violent, sadistic monster with no regard for anyone else, like in ‘Trainspotting�. And at the end, one character takes his things and runs away in the direction of London, again just like in ‘Trainspotting�.

It truly beggars belief that Irvine Welsh himself gave Griffiths his endorsement. He should have given him a court order.

Even if you haven’t read ‘Trainspotting�, there are numerous flaws.

First, you never find yourself really caring about any of the characters. The story just lurches from incident to another with no sentiment or pathos at all. You would expect to feel at least some kind of sympathy for these people but you just end up hating them, waiting for the end of the book to come in the hope that they might die. I certainly did.

Things aren’t helped by clumsy structuring. Each character gets a chapter to themselves, only to recount the events that everyone else tells in almost exactly the same order. This can work (like in ‘The Rules of Attraction�) but not when the same ground is raked over time and again by several different people. It just creates confusion and leaves the reader bored.

The other problem is the book’s setting. You really need to have a good knowledge of Aberystwyth’s geography to get anything from the book. I was lucky enough to live there for 3 years while at University but I imagine anyone who hasn’t would enjoy the book even less.

To sum up, it’s hard to find any real point to the book. It lacks the humanity and flair of the book it is so desperately trying to emulate (yes, ‘Trainspotting�) and shows nowhere enough quality or creativity to stand alone as a novel in its own right. I often found myself bored, wishing I was reading something else.

I can only really recommend this to people who know Aberystwyth and want to revisit familiar locations or people who enjoyed ‘Trainspotting� so much that they will read anything that even remotely resembles it.

For the rest of you, just say no. It’s really not worth it.