Product Description

There's big trouble in little Brentford. Property developers are planning to destroy the borough's beloved football ground and build executive homes on the site. Shock! Outrage! Horror! The lads of The Flying Swan, Brentford's most celebrated drinking house, take up the challenge. Surely with these stalwarts working for the cause, Brentford's football ground can be saved? Would it were so, but this is Brentford and ancient forces of evil are forever stirring in the borough: Old Testament terrors, Lovecraftian loathsomes and beasties from the bottomless pit. And if the team make it through to the final, it's going to be a match that no one will forget. What with the fate of mankind hanging upon the result. And everything.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #64114 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Daily Mirror
"Crazy, classic Rankin"

Review
'..the man is currently on a roll, producing some of his best work and KNEES UP MOTHER EARTH may even be his very best book yet.' (STARBURST MJ SImpson )

"Crazy, classic Rankin" (Daily Mirror )

"Rankin's blend of humour and originality is stamped all over it... guaranteed to keep you hooked. Another thoroughly enjoyable tale from Robert Rankin (DREAMWATCH )

"A very English form of insanity". (Jon Courtenay Grimwood GUARDIAN )

"Knees Up Mother Earth finds itself standing tall in the company of the other titles of the now legendary Brentford collection. a fable so richly embroiled with hilarious word-play, literary tom-foolery and ingeniously crafted narrative, you might consider anyone else's offerings prosaic by comparison. Laughing uncontrollably will only be the half of it." (ALIEN ON LINE )

STARBURST, MJ SImpson
'..the man is currently on a roll, producing some of his best work and KNEES UP MOTHER EARTH may even be his very best book yet.'

Customer Reviews

A welcome return to Brentford
You could read this if you have not read any Robert Rankin books (especially the previous Brentford books) but you will miss out on a lot of the fun to be had spotting recurring jokes and phrases and re-encountering old favourite characters. There are still numerous references and nods to other books, films, TV shows, football and music (both popular and obscure) ranging from The Simpsons to Predator, via HP Lovecraft so even newcomers can play the game.

I think it is safe to say that anyone who did enjoy the previous Brentford books will lap this one up, because it is more of the same, but with some of the ideas from 'The Witches Of Chiswick'. Obviously Pooley and O'Malley are the heroes, along with Professor Slocombe, and Neville and Norman Hartnel (not to be confused with the other Norman Hartnel) feature strongly, but there are appearances by most of the old cast of characters including Small Dave and Archroy. Just about the only person missing is Soap Distant. There is even an extremely brief cameo appearance by Cornelius and Tuppe!

The climax of the story is a football match which is like the famous darts match in the original trilogy but with eleven players on each side, and the council meeting early in the book is a classic scene. (It is easy to think of Rankin books in cinematic terms of scenes and a cast. It must be - all together now - a tradition or an old charter or something.)

Fans of the Brentford Books or Rankin generally will be reading this new book anyway, no matter what any review says, but they are going to enjoy this one. A lot. What I like about Rankin is that he is not afraid to ditch a winning formula and experiment with new situations and a bit of variety, but somehow that just makes it all the more exciting when he does return to his original (and best) situation.

Knees Up Mother Earth is reliable, takes you to some new places, but in a way you are used to, and it would be churlish to dislike it - a veritable Morris Minor of books!

I'm over the moon, Brian
With the seventh book in The Brentford Trilogy, Robert Rankin shoots and scores. A coherent plot (which isn't always a given with Mr Rankin), Pooley and Omally to the fore (which is always a good sign), and a load of running gags (which must be a tradition or an old charter or something) - one of the best books he's written in years. Very highly recommended.

One of his best....
This is great a Robert Rankin book, returning to his classic characters Omally and Pooley (and all at the Flying Swan) and to his favorate location; Brentford.

The surreal plot (no offense to Brentford Football fans) and hummor are present, and as good as ever. In fact I feel this book is a more "polished" and definative effort from Mr Rankin for some time.

I also think this is the book he always wanted to write; taking Brentford to the FA final!

Or does he? Im not telling. Using the 10-0 formation rather than 4-4-2 is always risky business!!

Rankin fans will really, really like this!
If your new to Rankin, probably best to start at the begining of the trilogy (six books back!)

Enjoy.