Rating: 
Summary: interesting, clever, but in need of focus
Review: "Liverpool Fantasy" is a unique character study of the Beatles, questioning what they would have been like if they had broken up in 1962. The writeing is alternately insightful and confusing, it could have used a good editor, but considering that this is the author's first novel, the good definitely outweighs the bad. The first issue I had with the book was getting past the thick scouse accents. I don't know if the accents were correctly done or not, but when it gets down to it, they got in the way of the story. Also, I thought that John's accent should have been a little lighter then the others to reflect his more middleclass background. The plot seemed well conceived and I enjoyed the Facist goverment sidestory, esspecially how Julian figured into it. The major problem seems to be in the Beatles interactions. Just as soon the reader thinks they've settled their arguements, one of them brings it up again. That should have been better plotted. The biggest part of this book is the characters, becase this entire novel in essentially a character study. John Lennon, to me, was right on the mark. The perfect characterization of frustrated genius and stunted creativity combined with a stubborn personality and a scathing sense of humor. His violence and addictive tendencies were also portrayed without making him an unsympathetic character. Paul....was perfect, and that was scary. Without Lennon's caustic personality to balance him he becomes a sugery lounge lizard. Frightening. George was definitely right on as a preist, although imagineing him in a sanitarium was difficult. Ringo was the most unlikeable, and that was supriseing. I'm not sure if the author was fair to Ringo by not showing his nice side. As far as the secondary characters went, it seemed that they were all fine except for Maureen, whom could not decide between being a nagging bitch and a angel sent from heaven. Overall- a short, fun read with good bits to make up for its aching need of an editor.
Rating: 
Summary: Unsatisfying
Review: 'Liverpool Fantasy' works primarily as a vision of an alternative England, rather than a world without the Beatles. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's unlikely that John would've faded into the woodwork. His work would not have been as substantial without McCartney (and vice-versa), but he would have been a presence *somewhere*. The author fails to integrate the known characteristics of John, Paul, George, and Ringo effectively and bring them to life. Ultimately I put down the book and felt cheated; this wasn't an alternative history. It was a rant.
Rating: 
Summary: Must read for Beatle fanatics
Review: A wonderfully well-told story of an alternate universe that was only another dumb corporate decision away from really happening. Larry has sure nailed the personalities of the four lads. At times laugh out loud funny, at times touchingly poignant, at times frightening at what could have been. This book is a great exercise in imagination by a terrific story-teller. I dug the political subtext - but you don't have to in order to enjoy this book. In the end it proves what a force in the world the Beatles truly were, by showing us what would have happended if they weren't.
Rating:
Summary: A Fantasy For All Beatlefans
Review: As an ardent fan of both the Beatles and the alternate history genre, I couldn't pass this up. I wasn't disappointed. This is an amazing exploration of what the Beatles meant to themselves, to each other, and to the world. I'm not surprised the Publishers Weekly reviewer found it depressing; on the surface, it's a tale of four lives gone wrong, and a world left poorer; but ultimately, I see it as a story about the reedeming power of friendship and of love.Kirwan is a musician himself, which means he gets a lot of the small but essential details right; and his knowledge of the Liverpool music scene of the early 60's adds depth to his portrait of the city and its people. (Are you ready for Ringo sitting on on drums for Gerry and the Pacemakers? It's not as jarring as Paul Montana (a.k.a. McCartney) married to....Cher?!) So read this book, think about the transformative power of Beatles music, and give thanks for all they gave us. And thank Larry Kirwan for a great reminder of how precious that gift is.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, Exciting Novel
Review: For most of us, to paraphrase John Lennon: "Imagine there's no Beatles, is not easy if we try." But in this beautifully conceived and written novel, Larry Kirwan gives us an Alternative World. It's a world that not only personalizes what happened to John, Paul, George and Ringo, but what happens to the world of politics, culture and music without them. The novel is very hard to put down, and hard not to hope for certain outcomes as one reads on; forgetting of course that The Beatles did not indeed break up in 1962. Thanks to Larry Kirwan for making my mind wander, explore and remember the days that thankfully did happen; the days of Revolver, Sgt Peppers, White Album, Abbey Road, Something New, Rubber Soul, etc etc etc
Rating:
Summary: A little background information is helpful
Review: For those who have a hard time understanding the backdrop for this alter universe, one should do a little research on British Parliament and, in particular, Enoch Powell. The book even has a bit of his infamous speech that led to his ousting from a higher position in the parliament to a much lower level of power. Just do a bit of research on this right wing racist and you will begin to understand the Liverpool that John lives in and despises circa 1987. It is a world, that because of The Beatles not having had the influence on the youth movement and because there never was a Swinging London, Enoch Powell and his facist views are in full bloom. Beatle fans might be familiar with the the catalog of songs or titled improvisational jams that were to make up alot of the Let It Be sessions. Paul was very in tune with the political backlash at the time regarding Enoch Powell's speech and titled one of his improvisations after the man. Paul and John continued on the same theme with "Commonwealth". The lyrics for "Get Back" were also a comment on the immigration situation into Great Britain.
Rating: 
Summary: beautiful
Review: God forbid anyone write anything about the beatles that doesnt display them as brilliant genious's. This book brings humanity to life and though Larry might have described popping open a beer one to many times, it is still quite captivating. I really didnt think this would top the original play version but he really did a good job. Not the best book, but surely above par.
Rating: 
Summary: If you are a Beatles fan, DO NOT buy this insipid potboiler!
Review: I agree with a previous reviewer who wrote that this book is "unsatisfying." The writing style is sophomoric (downright corny) and the story has little to do with music.
Rating:
Summary: If you are a Beatles fan, DO NOT buy this insipid potboiler!
Review: I agree with a previous reviewer who wrote that this book is "unsatisfying." The writing style is sophomoric (downright corny) and the story has little to do with music.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, but wish someone else had written it
Review: I found the premise of the book fascinating, to say the least. I found the author to have done a very uneven job of dealing with this premise. He gets details down well and if you know much of their persona from reading other biographies, you'll find the feel of their characters well done, particularly John's. Details of how they may have broken up, in a power struggle with EMI over the release of Please Please Me, and Paul compromising while John sticks to principals, were spot on. One could easily picture Paul doing whatever it took to make it, and John refusing to be the singing puppet he felt he became. Paul going Vegas? Without the edginess of his mate, it's plausible. John going nowhere? Without Paul's structure and cooperativeness, possible. The idea of them all having been damaged by not staying together is believable (and bittersweet). However, the book is also well flawed. The entire subplot of fascism taking over England is poorly related to the 'Beatles broke up in '62' premise. Is fascism taking over because they weren't there to promote peace, because they didn't captivate youth? No explicit connection given, so you're left with two stories, and the fascist story is of no interest since there's no fleshing of the reasons. Far too much time is given to this. Even worse is the weak narrative and poor character development. Paul feels disillusioned with his Vegas career, returns to his roots, then his actions at the end never tie back to his original need to meet the old mates- his reasoning is wrapped up in a paragraph. Is he still disillusioned? Unlike the Lennon character, one never gets a sense of hearing Paul's voice- he's just some famous lounge singer who lost his way. At least John's character feels like John- the bite, the danger. Ringo is nothing but a womanizing drunk, so he feels like a one dimensional walk on despite his always being around. George's doubts about his faith have a little more interest, but his character drops the padre act for a return to a rocker quickly, and he isn't really explained. Small characters take on too large a part, particularly when you have Lennon, McCartney and George as leads to work with. Maureen? Julian? Paul's 3rd wife? Why are they filling the book with internal dialog?? And, the point of view switches almost from paragraph to paragraph. Perhaps the most annoying aspect of the book is how Lennon takes such a back seat to Paul. This book puts Paulie in charge. Even an embittered and unrealized John wouldn't bounce from seething attacks to passivity, no matter how big his mate had become. John is even asleep for a long important passage! This book is really about Paul, or a Paul no one has ever met. Hence, the ending doesn't create enough resolution for the reader to care. I recommend reading it for diehard fans, and for those who just love the 'what if' premise. Too bad it wasn't done with a surer literary hand.
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