Robert Rankin’s books are silly. ‘It’s a tradition, or an old charter, or something.’ They are funny though, reminiscent of Terry Pratchett’s work, but more random and weird.

This one is the 10th book in the Brentford Trilogy, a series which is set in the borough of Brentford in west London. They follow the same characters, including best friends and drinking buddies Jim Pooley and John Omally, the ancient sorcerer Professor Slocombe, Neville the part time barman, and Norman the inventor who runs the cornershop. What is fun about these books is that they are set in a real place with fake facts woven in. For example, the real monument which commemorates historical events has a magical function in the story and is even removed and dumped in the Thames.

Evil and weird things always happen in Brentford, and this time a very charismatic town clerk has decided that a ring road is needed. Omally and Pooley are unwittingly involved in these plans which threaten their beloved home town and they try to make it right. The story includes: fairies, Prince Charles (as he was at the time), an ale called Quasimodo, a hearing aid which broadcasts the wearer’s thoughts, fake poems by John Betjeman, monkeys grown from plants, the Cheeky Girls, a spectacular bar fight, and more. I haven’t read a few of the books which came before this one, but it doesn’t matter so much. You can pick any of them up and know the kind of madness you’re in for!

First published in 2017. Revised edition in 2025.

Related post: Review of The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin.