Weird, wacky, wild. Crazy,cracking, cold. Barmy, bonkers, batty. Strange, stupid, silly.

This is a rare foray into pure fantasy for Rankin, and this genre switch, along with it not being part of a series - something Rankin had hitherto pretty much stuck to - threw quite a few of his readers, and as such this book has become possibly the most underrated of his works. Having recently re-read it, i found "The Garden..." to be absolutely, fantastically insane, and I think Rankin should, once again, be applauded for having the guts to just let his imagination flow onto the page, and damn the conventions of "sanity." Max Carrion, Imagineer, is one of Rankin's best characters, and people should give this book more of a chance.

It was my first encounter with Rankin and I absolutely loved this book. Funny, enjoyable, genial. The "sniffing curry powder" line was hilarious!

I think this book is one of Rankin's best. Filled with the usual running gags throughout and characters which have surprising realistic personalities which are reminiscent of the next door neigbour who you intensely dislike! I especially liked the part about the silent Dynamite, can you guess what it's called? You'll have to read the book to find out! Who else but Robert Rankin could think up a storyline about God and his wife and three kids? It's fantastic and I would recommend it to experienced Rankin readers or to newcomers.

For anyone who has read any of the Brentford trilogy this bookis simply a must. The adventures of Jim Pooley and John Omally yetagain never fail to completely abosrb and entertain the reader. Although some may find that what goes on in these novels are slightly far fetched this is the point entirely and the simple fact remains that it is entertainment of the highest degree. Robert Rankin describes himself as a teller of tall tales and this book is no exception, with a mad scientist making clones of Jesus using DNA from the Turin Shroud and the town of Brentford hosting millenium celebrations two years early in order to get it out the way with less fuss (while also being the first to take advantage of millenium funding). I would reccomend reading the other four 'Brentford' novels, The Antipope, The Brentford Triangle, East of Ealing and The Sprouts of Wrath, before reading this as it will allow you to familiarise yourself with the characters and also grow to love them and be excited at the thought of another ecounter with all of the great characters. The book focuses on two lay-abouts who are admired by myself for their lifestyle and the aventures which they get into, and is a thrilling tale as they once again go into battle with the forces of evil. This book is not all serious good vs evil stuff though as it contains much humour of which I found myself unable to control my laughter in a quiet room full of people after a riot was caused in the most funny of circumstances. If humourous science fiction is what you're looking for then this is certainly your cup of tea and comes with my highest recommendations.

This book had me laughing from cover to cover thanks to the exploits of Pooley, Omally and Co. Never before has such a humourous alien conspiracy story been told and with the unlikeliest of heroes too!! A compeling read!

Robert Rankin's style of surreal humour makes this and his other books possibly the funniest around.

First of all, I don't understand why this guy isn't that popular (at least in the USA)! His sense of humour is unlike anything you would have ever read in your life. Laced with witty humour, brilliant use of words and insane ideas, his plots keep getting better and better with successive novels. However, this one remains a classic to the very end. Its about Hugo Rune and all his crazy theories about life (well, at least the life of a screw!). I sometimes wonder how this guy's mind works...I mean, first of all, his plot is incredibly complicated, on top of that, its situational comedy to the very best (forget those stupid sitcoms after reading this...at least I have)
Read this one and expand your mind! And the ending of this book is...well, MINDBLOWING!

I read this book once and laughed out loud. I read this book twice and had a giggly fit. I lent it to my Grandma and she didn't give it back.

Robert Rankin is a master wordsman and his books never fail to deliver. The Book of Ultimate Truths is mentioned in other books of his, and Hugo Rune is in every book. This is truly wonderful - the extracts from TBOUT are really clever and makes me wish that I'd realised that first. An extremely funny book (in case you hadn't gotten the message by now) that EVERYONE should read.

This is Robert Rankin's eighth novel, the first of a new series. It introduces some endearing characters: the wild-haired seventeen-year-old Cornelius Murphy, and his dwarf-like companion Tuppe.

A typical Rankin plot: Cornelius and Tuppe are on an epic quest to retrieve the suppressed chapters of The Book of Ultimate Truths, and to keep them out of evil hands. Hugo Rune, the author of the book in the book, appeared in earlier Rankin novels, but now his outlandish ideas get the full attention they deserve: about the secret life of Gandhi and H.G. Wells, about the strange behavior of biros and small scews, stories that make you laugh aloud.

This was the first book I read from Robert Rankin, and at times I wondered if this guy needed to see a doctor. I read it again recently, after having read all his other books, and I found out that I had missed a lot of jokes during the first reading. The more you read these books, the better they get.

Full of casual sex and violence, this is a salacious account of life on the road with the Rolling Stones. Greenfield excels at nailing personalities and describing the fishbowl the band lived in. The Stones begin the tour in a vulnerable state of mind, scared that their glory days are behind them. Their braggadocio picks up considerably as the tour progresses. Near the end we have 16 year old girls doing "favors", beatings are given to anyone who steps out of line, groupies being filmed "in action" (despite Bill Wyman's 10 yr old kid hanging around!) for that infamous tour movie who's title I can't even mention here. Plenty of cruel nihilism. Oh well, I didn't read this expecting a nursery rhyme! This book delivers, warts and all.

I read this book in one go. Once I started, I just could not put it down. Besides giving the reader a great inside look behind the scene of the 1972 tour madness of the Rolling Stones, the author also provieds us with an excellent snapshot of the political and social situation in the USA during the early seventies. Of course, you get all the juicy details of groupies, drugs and playboy bunnies - but you also get a feel for how depressing at times the isolation of a major tour can be. You should definitely buy this book, if you love Rock'n'Roll, no matter if you are a Rolling Stones fan or not !

I think I know this book by heart. I can still recite the tour cities and dates. And... ahem, ahem, I really believe the reason they got Keith out of jail in Warwick, RI was not because of "the show must go on" (please!), but because Keith would've started heroin withdrawl. Get it?

It's hard to believe that Robert Rankin's books are so difficult to obtain on these shores: for my money, Rankin is, hands down, one of the funniest, most visionary authors writing in any genre. His style is loose and playful and, on the onset, seemingly completely at odds with the purpose of constructing a coherent narrative. Laugh-out-loud moments abound however, drawing the slack-jwed reader deep into a web of outrageous characters and even more outrageous situations. An absolutely stunning achievement! I wish I could have amnesia so I could read this book again for the first time!

I fell in love with this book. Mr Rankins inventive and at times, ingenious writing had me enthralled. I just loved the cruelty and revenge factors of this book... and its anti- world supremacy outlook. Just wait for the celebrity summoning chapters, in Roberts own bar on the necronet. Fabulous

This is one of Rankin's best books and is best read after after most of his earlier works (as there are several references).

As usual, Rankin provides a straight forward mix of thought provoking hi-tech concepts, old fashioned suspense, yuk and hilarity.

Easy to read with a title that's brilliant to show off on the train (only kidding) this book is a great example of why Rankin far outstrips Pratchett for action and humour.

The book leaves you wanting more of the same and I think that's a compliment!

I've been reading Robert Rankin for three years, and I have to say, all the books in the Brentford triangle series are classics! The sheer silliness of his stories just have you in stiches for hours, The Antipoope is a favorite for one reason only. It's a first! It starts everything off, Neville the part-time bar man, the professor, the tramp... This book starts it all and I assure you, you'll never put the book down!

This is one of my favorite books. It's the first of the Brentford series. I find the whole series to be comfortable, likable and highly amusing. It helps to have a taste for the surreal. I found the characters to be very likable. They have the carefree attitudes of the characters from Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat or Cannery Row, but they are intelligent and educated. They are not the type one would expect to be called upon to save the world. Essentially Brentford is the world. Should any character temporarily wander out of Brentford, Brentford would still be the reference point. The pub is the core essence of this world. Nothing is really serious unless if effects the pub. To this little world comes every silly notion that ever landed on the front page of the most bizarre tabloids. The Antipope is the place to start. It's one of the best, and will introduce you to the Brentford perspective. I found after reading a few pages, I wanted to take a break and wait for the smile on my face to ease up a little before I dared to proceed.

If you are unacquainted with Rankin's bizarre books, this may well be a good start. It's not his best book, but it's his first. Part of the fun reading Rankin is in the repetitions: Rankin quotes himself constantly, so you won't miss any of that when you start off from here.

"The Antipope" is the first novel in the Brentford series, in which an ordinary London suburb is the scene of grotesque battles between Good and Evil. It's up to Jim Pooley and John Omally, two bums with an insatiable appetite for beer, to save the world, with the help of a mysterious professor and some other highly improbable characters. In this book, the adversary is an evil tramp posessed with formidable powers, who is about to take control of the world as the Pope of some dark new Church.

Two things distinguish Robert Rankin from other comic SF/Fantasy writers like Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett: his profound knowledge of the occult, and the sheer outlandishness and pomp of his stories. Rankin calls himself a tall-tale teller and his books far-fetched fiction. Some scenes in this particular book, like the disastrous cowboy night, and the vain attempts to open a mysterious parcel, just project themselves before your eyes, as if you were watching a movie. And make you laugh aloud.

Anyone who has read other books by Robert Rankin will not be surprised at the bizarre and convoluted plot that is his trade mark.

Whilst this book isn't as good as dome he has written, it's still hugely funny and well worth reading. A word of caution however, read the earlier books first and you will enjoy this one more, there are all sorts of references to previous books of Rankin's which, whilst not important to the story, will improve your enjoyment just that little bit more.

Very little sex though real or simulated but keep on reading and... you will laugh really hard twice on each page and chuckle to yourself in between. That said this book is best not to be read in public or in transit, for obvious reasons. This is my third Rankin read and I am continuing through his work but I think this will remain one of my favorite. It has: A Beatles reunion no less, although a Serbian SF/Horror writer had that on before Mr. Rankin. The reason why not to use the internet, demonic possession explained, the Terminator rip off (We all know James Cameron had to pay off Harlan Ellison for his rip off) Definition of Rock 'n Roll as it should be. And the extraordinary funny bit with stable boys, buckets and gene splicing!

Mr Rankin is without any doubt insane and I think he would agree if he could escape from the asylum to tell us. I started reading his books about 200 years ago and have not recovered since. A comic genius maybe, but without any doubt insane!