A Year of Orenda – The Rise and Fall of the Miraculous Vespas by David F. Ross

Back to Mandie who has a review of book two in David F. Ross’s fabulous Disco Days series, The Rise and Fall of the Miraculous Vespas. i love this series and this was another brilliant read. you can find my thoughts right here. Before we hear what Mandie thought of the book, here’s what the it is all about:

About the Book

The Rise and Fall of the Miraculous Vespas is the timeless story of the quest for pop immortality. When a young Ayrshire band miraculously hits the big time with the smash hit record of 1984, international stardom beckons. That’s despite having a delusional teenage manager propelled by a dark, malign voice in his head…

Can Max Mojo’s band of talented social misfits repeat the success and pay back the mounting debts accrued from an increasingly agitated cartel of local gangsters? Or will they have to kidnap Boy George and hope for the best?

Featuring much-loved characters from the international bestseller, The Last Days of Disco, this is an absurdly funny, riotously ambitious and deeply human story of small-town rivalries, music, confused adolescence and, above all, hope, from one of Scotland’s finest new voices.

Mandie’s Thoughts

The second book in the Disco Days trilogy is as much a stand alone as it is part of the series. Before you think I have totally lost the plot I say this as although it does have many of the characters from the first book it doesn’t necessarily follow their lives, but they do have a part to play in the action that takes place.

After spending time in hospital after getting caught up in a fight at a gig, Dale Wishart reinvents himself as Max Mojo and decides to reform the Vespas with new members and appoints himself as their manager. Now under normal circumstances this would seem very straightforward but with Max clearly suffering from mental health issues and having to remember to take medication to keep him calm he often finds himself in the middle of altercations that cause the newly formed band problems. The band themselves all seem to have their own issues that when added together do have you wondering if they will ever make the big time. With Max’s dad investing money into the band, the criminal element is never going to be far behind, but family is everything to them and they will protect their own when the time comes.

I am absolutely loving this series, after all what’s not to love about a book that takes you back in time to your youth with such clarity. Once again David Ross has given his readers colourful characters that will have you laughing and crying in equal measure. Max is certainly one of a kind and the main focus of this story in my eyes. Often the source of most of the chaos, he has a drive that cuts through any issues the band have with each other and somehow helps them succeed. At no point are you left in any doubt that things are tough and hard work doesn’t always pay off, but it was also great to see a different side to the hard men of Kilmarnock as they did everything they could to defend family and territory.

Another brilliant read and I can’t wait to get stuck into the final instalment in the series and see what is instore for these unforgettable characters or if I can finally understand some of the lingo without having to read it twice.

About the Author

David F. Ross was born in Glasgow in 1964 and has lived in Kilmarnock for over thirty years. He is a graduate of the Mackintosh School of Architecture at Glasgow School of Art, an architect by day, and a hilarious social media commentator, author and enabler by night. His most prized possession is a signed Joe Strummer LP. Since the publication of his debut novel The Last Days of Disco, he’s become something of a media celebrity in Scotland, with a signed copy of his book going for £500 at auction, and the German edition has not left the bestseller list since it was published.

Author Links: Twitter | Website

Books by David F. Ross