Yeah, Kitty Empire is a good writer but she seemed to aim that review towards general Guardian readers rather than intelligent music fans.
Maybe you should have asked Nick to get Victoria Segal (fine music journalist and I believe sister-in-law of Nick's) to review it!

It's an excellent book Mark, especially when you consider your age when you were putting it together. I think we worked out on here once that we're the same age and I could have only dreamed about writing as well as that back then. My wife says sometimes I should write a Pulp biography and I have to remind her the perfect one is already out there.

I count myself lucky enough to be have been one of the kind recipients of an invite to the book launch, of which I'll always be thankful of. Ten years has passed far too quickly for my liking! Not having been on the internet scene for a few years by that point, I'd lost track of how the book was progressing from the days of corresponding via the Razzmatazz forum (at least, that's what I think it was called). Then low and behold, quite some time later, I saw an article by Mark in Mojo and got in touch.

The evening contains lots of great memories for me. Up until that point, I hadn't met Mark face to face, any Pulp luminaries, or indeed never having had the chance to even see Pulp live. (Although thankfully I was able to tick off that last one in 2011!).

Having been delayed on the train to Sheffield that evening after work, I was already late for the party and spent most of the rest of the night at the bar, with Magnus, drinking lots of cider. Mark kindly introduced me to Nick Banks, who in turn introduced me to Richard Hawley, who was "guilty [of being in Pulp] by bloody 'ard work!". The evening flew by and I remember returning back to the hotel around 3am, ready for train back to work about 2 and a half hours later....Zzzz!

It was a blinding night. It was then the best book about Pulp, and it still is!