Versus — Robin Anderson

Gladiator meets Brideshead Refisted in this rough-and-tumble foray into the glitzy world of London's gay porn film industry. Once again, the author reveals an acute insight into his subject - from every angle, it seems - and writes as wittily as ever, stretching the membranes of the mother tongue to encompass puns and pleasure zones few would dare explore. Based in Earls Court, Chelsea and Belgravia, with sorties to Henley-on-Thames and Cape Town, Versus shows that when two film crews go to war - one headed by glamorous fag hag Camilla Galsworthy, with enormous actor Abel Semen in tow - you have Glitzkrieg! On and offset, it's Backbite Macht Frei, as the sparks fly and fists are raised, this time in anger. . . and when several porn stars are put out of action by a nipple mutilator, it takes all of Detective Sergeant 'Pucker' Unsworth's versatility to collar the perpetrator. Here's a bedtime read with a difference. Get yourself a cup of cocoa or a glass of wine, a tissue or two and a copy of Versus - and enjoy!