I've read almost all of Ben Elton's other novels and truly enjoyed them all and would give most of them a 4- or 5-star rating. But this one doesn't live up to my expectations, far from it.
At present I'm halfway through the book - and what I am missing so far is a plot! OK, the book is well-written in Elton's usual style and contains some interesting observations. But it is little more than a description of the protagonists' situation, it does not really tell a story. Pleasant reading, but far from being a page-turner. And on the humour and witty dialogues side, it is also far below the level of Elton's other novels.
My recommendation: read Stark, Gridlock, Popcorn, Chart Throb, High Society, Dead Famous, Blind Faith, This Other Eden and Past Mortem first!
(Should the second half of the book turn out to be different from the first, I shall revise my opinion and rewrite my review.)