Edinburgh, Ep. 17

August 30, 2015 — To close out our run of eight-shows-in-eight days at the Edinburgh Fringe, Literary Death Match finished ox-strong as our final late-afternoon performance ended with Christopher Brookmyre outdueling co-finalist Lynsey May in an all-out battle of One Star Wonder to win Brookmyre the LDM Edinburgh, Ep. 17 crown.

But before the finale was even a thought, the show opened with the amazing Christopher Brookmyre, author of Dead Girl Walking and 16 other novels, who read about a group of kids seeing Midsummer Nights Dream in Glasgow. Then it was Cathy Rentzenbrink, who read from The Last Act of Love, a breathtaking scene set in Yorkshire in 1990, the last time Cathy saw her brother Matty. 

The mic was then handed to the trio of all-star judges: Anthony Davis, writer, Smooth Radio drivetime host, aviation journalist; Ria Lina, comedian behind EdFringe's Taboo Raider; and comedian Paul Thorne. The brilliant trio heaped praise and oddball commentary on both readers before huddling up and making the late-afternoon's first impossible decision, declaring Brookmyre as the night's first finalist. 

Then came Round 2, kicked off by the ever-fantastic Doug Johnstone, author of many novels including the all-new The Jump, who read a piece called "Moby Dickheads" about climbing on a beached whale at 3am. Finally it was Lynsey May, a Robert Louis Stevenson fellow, who told the brilliant tale of two dancing dogs, and a girl canoodling with a boy.

The mic was again handed to the judges, who were endlessly impressed with both writers, applauding their general brilliance, before making the night's second impossible choice, deciding to send May on to the finals. 

Then up stepped LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga, who announced the night's finale: One Star Wonders — a game in which Zuniga read off 1-star Amazon book reviews written about classic books. The two finalists (Brookmyre and May), were teamed with the Johnstone and Rentzenbrink for a boys v. girls matchup, and the two teams traded points, but with everything to play for, it was Team Brookmyre who slapped the bell first, nailing the final answer, winning him the LDM Edinburgh, Ep. 17 crown, and literary immortality to go with it. 

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