Camels! Camels on the allotment!
Mar. 3rd, 2004 09:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quasigeostrophyJust finished reading Robert Rankin's The Brentford Triangle, second in his 5 (soon to be 6, I hear, with an upcoming release) volume Brentford Trilogy. I read the first volume (The Antipope) back in January. So far, it seems each part in the "trilogy" is not dependent on the others in terms of story, just set in the same west London borough. Character introductions were more complete in the first one, though.
This book is proof, I think, that if I keep reading Rankin's work in published order, it should keep getting better and better. My introduction to his work was in his latest paperback to be found in North America, The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse and that one was a laugh-out-loud riot. The Brentford Triangle is more silliness with the lads in Brentford, involving hollow earthers, allotment golf, floating camels, Captain Laser Attack video games, and plenty of imbibing of spirits at the local, the Flying Swan. I can never tell until well into one of Rankin's books just exactly what the story is, and I don't want to give this one away here, but his writing style and wry humour seem to draw me in. The characters, while perhaps a bit stereotypical, are well-fleshed out and relatable, and you can tell Rankin's tongue is firmly planted in cheek. His books are a fast read, too. I'd characterize his style somewhere between Terry Pratchett and Tom Robbins, with a little lean toward Douglas Adams.
This book is proof, I think, that if I keep reading Rankin's work in published order, it should keep getting better and better. My introduction to his work was in his latest paperback to be found in North America, The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse and that one was a laugh-out-loud riot. The Brentford Triangle is more silliness with the lads in Brentford, involving hollow earthers, allotment golf, floating camels, Captain Laser Attack video games, and plenty of imbibing of spirits at the local, the Flying Swan. I can never tell until well into one of Rankin's books just exactly what the story is, and I don't want to give this one away here, but his writing style and wry humour seem to draw me in. The characters, while perhaps a bit stereotypical, are well-fleshed out and relatable, and you can tell Rankin's tongue is firmly planted in cheek. His books are a fast read, too. I'd characterize his style somewhere between Terry Pratchett and Tom Robbins, with a little lean toward Douglas Adams.
