Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Robert Rankin rules , 10 Nov 2006
This is the first book I had read by Robert Rankin, someone recommended him and as I looked though his book titles I just loved the sound of this and bought it.
I am glad I did because it is an amazing book. Great plot line, great characters and a laugh a minute book.
It made me laugh non stop for the entire book and when I did manage to put the book down to do something I was always wanting to get back to the book as soon as I could so that I could find out what was going to happen next. It is entertaining to say the least, it had me in laughter rolling around on the floor.
YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!!
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Funny but ultimately unsatisfying, 8 Nov 2005
Sex and Drugs and Sausage Rolls is Robert Rankins 20th novel and, true to form, there is no mention of sex, drugs or sausage rolls to be found anywhere within. For those familiar with Rankins' oeuvre this novel slots firmly into his `Brentford' series, and stars all the old favourites - Pooley & Omally, Soap Distant, Neville the part-time barman, Norman Hartnell (not to be confused with the other Normal Hartnell) & co - so why it isn't blatantly labelled as one of the series is a mystery. Perhaps Rankin didn't want to put off potential new readers this time round, but while it is perfectly possible to read this as a stand-alone novel, to fully appreciate the characters and running gags it would be best if the readers were familiar with the previous `Brentford' novels (namely The Antipope, The Brentford Triangle, East of Ealing, The Sprouts of Wrath & The Brentford Chainstore Massacre), and with the additional appearance of Inspectre Hovis and oblique references to Rankins Armageddon trilogy this is a real `greatest hits collection'.
Sex and Drugs and Sausage Rolls starts off so strongly I initially thought this was going to turn out to be one of the authors best works - any novel that can make you collapse with laughter on only the second line is off to a flying start - but while the initial pages contain great hilarity the longer the novel goes on the more the complex plot starts to crowd out the laughs. What makes this novel ultimately a frustrating experience is that ultimately the plot doesn't go anywhere: thanks to time travel shenanigans this is complicated stuff, yet rather than build to a climax the book just suddenly stops with numerous gaping plot holes and unresolved threads (why didn't Wingarde recognise his father, and who exactly was the voice in his head?) almost as though Rankin reached his allotted page count or publication deadline and just stopped where he was. I know this is Robert Rankin, and it's not always to be expected that everything will tie up neatly, but unlike his more obviously fractured novels the fact that Sex and Drugs and Sausage Rolls appears so plot heavy makes the lack of resolution a real anti-climax.
There's still plenty here for long-time fans to enjoy, and the central concept of mankind's evolution being halted by their tool using status is a great one, but it's ultimately a rather bitty novel, and having already had Rankin's take on time-travel (Nostradamus Ate My Hamster) and rock festivals (Raiders of the Lost Carpark, to name but one) Sex and Drugs and Sausage Rolls ultimately doesn't have enough original ideas to stand out. Some great laughs, but not one of Rankin's better novels.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
They're back at last!, 15 Aug 2000
By A Customer
Here they are again - the dynamic duo (not to be confused with the other dynamic duo), the handsome heroes, the bold Brentonians - John O'Malley and Jim Pooley. Life hasn't been the same without them. Together with Soap Distant they take a wild ride on the strings of a Strat, meet the Beatles, Hendrix, Richard Branson and The Voice That Heals and show us what our future could be like if ... well, find your most comfortable armchair, have some beer close at hand, take the phone off the hook and see for yourself. Two pints of Large, Neville, please, and have one yourself.
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