Great fun to listen to

The School of Hard Knocks is a hilariously fun listen. Simon Williams narrates it brilliantly, and the characters of Rick and Anya certainly come to life. If you like sci-fi and comedy you will like this. And if you like swearing, you will love this! The story is great too, with Rick going on an intriguing journey through Oliver Strong's brilliantly imagined Earth Corps space. I highly recommend it. Definitely a lot of fun, wonderfully performed and very well written.

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Crazy.

This is a very funny book if you have my crazy kinda sense of humour, very strong characters and a mad storyline which is very entertaining. Simon Williams's narration is great for this kinda book and the ambient sound and effects all go to make this a very good listen.
I was kindly given a copy of the book by the narrator and leave this honest and voluntary review.

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HOverall an unforgettable rollercoaster ride fille

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Publication date 10th April 2018



This is the second book I have read by this author. I have also read Frank Midgette's Case Files: The Dead Pan which I would also highly recommend!! 



This novel consists of 17 chapters. The chapters are short in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!




This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Captain Rick Katusa. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. 


OMFG THIS BOOK IS ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS!! AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ!! IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED THEN LOOK NO FURTHER!! 



The first thing I want to point out is that although this is a science fiction book, if you are not a fan of science fiction PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS PUT YOU OFF!! I am not a fan of science fiction at all but OMG THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE EVER LISTENED TO!!! Honestly I genuinely cannot remember the last time I laughed so much and was so devastated to come to the end of a book!!! I was gutted when the book finished and I had to say Goodbye to Rick, Annyah and the rest of the team. If you are easily offended then this book really is not for you!!! It has got to be one of the most politically incorrect books I have ever read and I absolutely LOVE it!!! It is a breathe of fresh air to have a book that isn't limited in all the PC rubbish which has gone beyond now!! I have never read a book that had me spitting out my tea in laughter so quickly!!! I had the audiobook playing in my kitchen and my partner burst out laughing every time he heard it playing and was actually interested in a book which is a first so well done Oliver!! I absolutely loved the soundtracks and music that was played on the audiobook which made it all the more realistic and gripping. I have to say this is the best audiobook I have EVER listened to!!!! Well done Oliver on an absolutely addictive storyline and well done Simon for bringing this fantastic story to life!! Rick is one of the worst yet best characters I have ever "met" and God forbid you get on his wrong side!!! Rick takes absolutely no cr@p and during this fast paced read you will see his attitude towards his enemy Neg Aanyah. Rick is captain of his ship Sonnet and is a stripper along with his team that consists of mild mannered tactical officer Sam, Dyson, Peters, Allen by and Graham. I absolutely loved going on this adventure with them and watching Rick's lover Shaniqua getting her butt whopped by Aanyah, Sam joining Rick's other enemy Earth corps, Rick insulting custom officers, exploring Piraxis and so much more especially the extremely unexpected marriage!! This is one of those books filled with the type of characters that are completely unforgettable and I would absolutely love to see more of them all!! 


This is only the fourth book that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but for the second time I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Simon Williams who did a great job bringing this story to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Simon did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Oliver but also to listening to more books narrated by Simon!


A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Oliver who wasn't afraid to make a book that is the opposite of PC!! AN absolutely hilarious read and a breathe of fresh air! You have definitely made my favourite author list!! Here is to what is guaranteed to be your next explosive success 🥂!! 



Overall an unforgettable rollercoaster ride filled with the craziest adventures with the most insulting and hilarious cast of characters you will ever meet!! 



Genres covered in this book include Dystopian Science Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopia, First Contact, Fantasy, Humour and First Contact Science Fiction amongst others. 



I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as you, your friends, your dog, your great uncles cousins friend, your 29th cousin removed, your grandparents, your mother in law. I could go on but seriously everyone should read this book!! 



292 pages/ 11 hours 22 minutes 


This book is just £3.49 to purchase on kindle, free on kindle unlimited, £11.99 in paperback and £20.03 via Amazon at time of review which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!! 



Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it )

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Great sci fi fun with sound effects and music.

This is a grungy space adventure following the crew of the stripper spaceship Sonnet, a scrap ship in space and it's rough and ready Captain Rik Kortusa (or however it is spelled) This is the opposite extreme from the gleaming corridors of a federation vessel from Star Trek, More of a Doncaster council flat (where they won't get their deposit back). It's very British humour reminiscent of, but more explicit than Red Dwarf. Perhaps closer to The young ones in space, there is a lot of toilet humour and a regular peppering of explicit language.
The tale itself involves the various adventures of the crew and the unlikely romantic interest of Rik and his new alien crew member Anya. From intergalactic brothels and the futuristic sensory drug "Split" to alien worlds of slaves and alien weapons akin to a Klingon Kut'luch complete with a similar sounding guttural alien language.
The Narrator Simon Williams has created a wild and lively soundscape of interstellar comedy characters employing a wide variety of accents and voices. His use of appropriate music and sound effects bring the story to life so that you hear the action as if it were a radio drama but with all the prose describing the action as well.
This is a great fun and lively listen, where the narrator has gone above and beyond their usual call of duty.

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Fantastic throughout

An excellent story with some great characters and plots.
Rick is the captain of a ship that goes round collecting the remains of goodies left on abandoned ships, space stations and what ever else he can find.
His crew have mutual respect for each other and their captain but there are some fallings out between Rick and the very well spoken Graham (who sounds a bit like Barry Stuart-Hargreaves from Hi-De-Hi)
The love interest that grows between Rick and his new alien First Officer is well written with Rick being duped into marriage.
The narration was first class. Firstly, this audiobook was exceptionally well produced by the narrator, Simon Williams (not the actor, this is another Simon Williams who should be reading for the BBC). The sound effects and subtle music really brought this audiobook to life and, as this reviewer listened, I actually believed that the events were really happening where they were set. Secondly, the narrator had excellent characterizations for every one of the different characters. It was obvious which character was speaking with out the need for the “said Rick” at the end of a spoken line. When the Neggs (the aliens) spoke in their own language there was a great effect added to the voice.

This was a truly outstanding piece of work from both the writer but especially from the narrator. I have since down loaded more of narrator Simon Williams’ audiobooks.

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I really hoped to enjoy it more

I listened to the audiobook for this one but was really struggling to listen to the story with all the sound effects it had, it became a bit overbearing. I managed to get half way through before I unfortunately had to give up because I was really struggling with all the noise in the background to listen and really enjoy it. I think if there wasn't so much sound effects I would of enjoyed this one.

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