'They Came And Ate Us, Armageddon II: The B-Movie' – Robert Rankin (Corgi)

I've got loads of good books on the go but for one reason or another (and another couple on top of that) I just haven't been able to get into any of them. Before the 'Readers Block' got really bad then, I decided to 'reset', as it were, and go and find a book (or books, I'm not fussy) that I knew I'd finish. The results can be found over Here and I ended up going with 'They Came And Ate Us' as my first read. I mean, with a title like that, wouldn't you? I'd never read it before but it's a Robert Rankin book so I knew that I'd finish it and that was the whole point really. And it took me until early yesterday afternoon to finish it but finish it I did and I'm pretty proud of myself, all things considering... ;o)

What did I think of it though? Let me tell you...

QUIVER AT! Horrible demonic stuff oozing out of computer screens!

SHOCK HORROR! Elvis Presley pulling his face off!

GASP AT! a talking brussels sprout!

SEE! Cannibals on the rampage!

HEAR! Fido the Dog do Frankie Howerd impressions!

SEE! Rex Mundi, Rambo Bloodaxe, Deathblade Eric, Hugo Rune and a cast of millions caught up in Events Beyond Their Control!

THRILL TO! all the loose ends from Armageddon the Musical magically tied up!

WATCH! A comic genius doing the business!

First things first... See that bit about all the loose ends from 'Armageddon: The Musical' being tied up? 'They Came And Ate Us' is the second book in the 'Armageddon' series and while I'm guessing that it would help if you read the first book first, it's not a dealbreaker for your enjoyment of this book. Some handy exposition, at the beginning, gets you up to speed and then you're off, you don't need any more than that which is good because...

Well...

There is a plot in here somewhere but the more you go on, the more you realise that it's incidental to the book and can more or less be safely ignored. No, the more you read, the more you will realise that 'They Came And Ate Us' is really about Robert Rankin trying to clear a bit of room in his head but getting as many characters, outlandish concepts and running gags onto the page as he possibly can. And I can only imagine what is still going on in the man's head given what makes it onto the page.

It doesn't stop and fair play to Rankin for wrestling it into something coherent and hanging it off the bare bones of a plot. 'They Came And Ate Us' is a very busy book, throwing out concepts and jokes, assuming they've found a home and then moving on to the next salvo. You could argue that the overriding theme robs the book of a lot of tension but keep reading and you'll see that not only is that the point but there's also a little commentary tucked away about the inevitability of history.as well.

The jokes and running gags though... That's what I came for and there were loads on show. Rankin is an acquired taste as far as his humour goes; I'm a fan and even then, not all of it hits the spot but enough did (thanks to the sheer amount of it, law of averages and all that) that I was chuckling my way through this book. I don't know how best to describe it really... It's like you've been out for a few beers (maybe even a Chinese takeaway) with Robert Rankin and he's telling you the story. You laugh just as much at him telling it (and laughing at his own jokes) as you do the story itself. That's the best I've got :o) Your mileage will of course vary depending on how funny you find drunken tales. I find them pretty funny.

And that's it. 'They Came And Ate Us' was the book I needed to read, at this time, but I knew that it would be. Worth a punt if a drunken chuckle is your thing ;o)