In Review

21 November 2008 20:17 BST

Long Way Down by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman

Published by Sphere, out now, 312 pp, £7.99.

In a nutshell...

A bestselling sequel on star power alone.

What's it all about?

Actors Ewan McGregor (Scottish Hollywood superstar of such films as Moulin Rouge and Trainspotting) and Charlie Boorman (apparently famous toff actor of such films as Deliverance and Excalibur) set off on another journey of epic proportions. After riding east from London to New York in Long Way Round, the actors and their team this time head south starting from John O'Groats and ending up in Cape Town, taking in such third world nations as Libya, Ethiopia and Uganda.

Who's it by?

Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman (with a little help from Jeff Gulvin). Both men are most famous for their acting, although Boorman is fast finding more fame with these adventures, as well as his solo mission through the Dakar rally, Race to Dakar.

As an example...

"He pulled up shaking his head and we took a look at the back of his BMW. The springs around the shock absorber were compressed, the adjustment knob cracked.
'F**k it Ewan I said, your suspension is shot... '
We only changed the shocks in the first place because Ohlins had such a good reputation."

Likelihood of becoming a Hollywood blockbuster

It already is in a way. Their travels have been shown on BBC2, made into a DVD and will begin airing in the States on August 2nd on the Fox channel. It's never going to be made into a movie, but it has big viewing figures worldwide.

So is it any good?

Err... I'm a bit split on this one, and leaning towards no. Written in a diary style, with the narrative passing from McGregor to Boorman and again (and again and again), you almost feel as though they're just two old biddies arguing. The reason I included that quote as an example is because the main thing I notice when reading is the amount of product placement. It's like a James Bond film, it's that obvious. They never refer to their vehicles as bikes, rather BMWs. And they even have to refer to shock absorbers by brand name rather than shock absorbers. It really spoils the fun of the book when it's constantly being shoved in your face that BMW bikes are the best, Yamaha leathers are the most resistant to all weathers, and Apple make the greatest and only personal music players in the world.

But what's not to be glossed over is how amazing this journey is. Both this and Long Way Round have had on average 4.5 million viewers on BBC and topped the bestsellers charts on both hardback and paperback. They have highlighted some incredible atrocities that most people don't even nearly think of, and McGregor and Boorman's work for Unicef is exemplary.

It's just a shame this book is so dull. Long Way Round was incredible, and you really felt as though you were going through every step with the duo and their team. This journey is probably harder, but you never get that full impression. Crashes, security problems, health problems and team fighting are just glossed over. At various stages both men claim they "just wished it was all over". Unfortunately for us, this is most evident in the writing.

4/10

Rob Wheatley