”There’s a boring, preachy novel to be written about current political events. This isn’t it. It seems to be much more fun to write a novel from the point of view of someone who thinks Brexit is hilarious and Trump is fantastic.”

So says John Niven, speaking to Hot Press from the Penguin Random House offices in London. In Niven’s new novel Kill ’Em All, former A&R man Steven Steflox has emerged from the ‘90s Britpop era and the noughties reality TV era with millions of dollars – all of it earned from 20 years of fucking people over in the entertainment business.

He’s in the 1% now, and laughs pityingly at the hysteria around Brexit and Trump. He tweets #MAGA and #TakingOurCountryBack from anonymous troll accounts, and his only thoughts on either of these world events is to gleefully marvel at how easily people can be misled. He loves fake news, and in particular the idea that telling complete lies over and over can be so effective.