Man In The Bath by Kit Derrick

Man in the Bath by Kit Derrick.

Published 5th April 2021 by Dr Hypno Publications.

From the cover of the book:

Dr David Dunn always did his best thinking while sitting in the bath, letting his mind wander as he luxuriated amidst the hot suds. 

His hobby was logging onto the internet and adding his voice to the numerous message boards that were happy to soak up his lengthy views on life, the universe, and the light semi-circle at the base of his fingernails.

David decided to put the two pastimes together, videoing the soapy observations and wisdom of a ‘Man in the Bath’ in real time, and he became an overnight internet sensation.

In the process, he inadvertently gathered a huge cult following from the numerous occupants of cyber-space who seem lost in life, searching for answers, and who were happy to accept his insights and guidance as gospel. But the internet can be an untameable beast, and before he realised the extent of his power, some followers were already using his words and influence out of context for their own nefarious ends. 

David naturally wanted to put the record straight, but society doesn’t want to hear the truth when it already has ‘the answer.’ ‘The Man in the Bath’ was a huge success. A worrying success. A very dangerous success.

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Dr David Dunn, bored and disaffected with almost all aspects of his life, decides to change things up by creating a secret persona to espouse a few controversial views in cyberspace. Since he does his best thinking in the bath, this becomes his stage, and he soon finds himself happily monologuing away among the soapy suds about whatever comes to mind - with the camera artfully arranged to preserve his modesty, and his face pixelated to hide his real identity. Videos uploaded to his new website, David waits with bated breath to see how his alter ego will be received by the cyber public, and is pleasantly surprised to find that he is a big hit - especially with women of a certain age.

At first, David's creation has a very positive effect among his growing number of followers, encouraging healthy debate about all sorts of sensitive subjects, and garnering him some saucy invitations, but then things take a dark and sinister turn as Man in the Bath becomes lauded as a kind of guru figure, tasked with leading his disciples (now dubbed the Community) to enlightenment - and things start to get seriously out of hand.

As David's own Frankenstein's monster takes on a life of its own, he finds himself unable to prevent the course of events he has set into motion, and he has disastrously brought himself to the attention of those who want to manipulate his little project for their own ends. With his life now in freefall, will he ever be able to regain control?

Man in the Bath is a quirky and entertaining little read about a man whose videotaped observations on life end up having very unexpected consequences. It is full of the darkest of humour, with a delicious underlying menace of the ilk of Philip K. Dick, and offers a pretty terrifying indictment of the social media age with its insight on the way events can have consequences that grow out of all proportion.

Although I wasn't particularly fond of either Dr Dunn, or his alter-ego, since both of them were pretty obnoxious and full of themselves, I did find myself chuckling along at many of the absurd scenes described - particularly the pithy commentary Dunn was prone to deliver at the expense of his less that astute students and colleagues - but it is actually at the point where this book twists into something of a dystopian horror/sci-fi story that it shows itself to have some meaty literary credentials. This goes to some very chilling places, and leaves you with a lot to think about how the future might be subverted by something that starts out life as a playful little ruse.

If you are a fan of the thrills and chills elicited by the likes of Black Mirror, you will find this an easily accessible, and entertaining read - and it might just make you a little more wary about the things you put out there on the internet.

Man in the Bath is available to buy now in ebook and paperback formats.

Thank you to Kit Derrick for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for and honest review.

About the author:

Kit Derrick is an author and Renaissance wannabe, creator of the novel Man in the Bath and of too many short stories and poems to count. His new book, The Raven Sound, will be available on Amazon soon.

Based in North-West England, he’s worked variously in bookshops, libraries, for the NHS and the police, at a speedway track and as an academic administrator, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He’s clearly very experienced at having jobs, and this has provided him with a lot of insight on the different perspectives in the World.

When he’s not writing, or doing another job, you can often find him by a river or the sea, dreaming of being a fish. His eclectic tastes include heavy metal, Pre-Raphaelite art, Football manager games, rhubarb, science fiction, and local history.