Scan barcode
woolfardis's review
4.0
[Quick review from memory until I re-read and re-review at a later date:
Well, the blurb made me chortle but in general I have no memory.]
Well, the blurb made me chortle but in general I have no memory.]
chramies's review
3.0
A generous three stars or an ungenerous four ... probably should have been the third volume in the "Brentford Trilogy" and then he called it a day. Having painted himself into a corner in "East of Ealing" he then hit the big red button a la Doctor Who and went back up the timeline to start again.
Despite squirrely gibberings about his later work I'm not really that fond of them, with the possible exception of "Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse."
Alternatively, having read the first four or so while still in my twenties, maybe the reader moves beyond them after a point.
Despite squirrely gibberings about his later work I'm not really that fond of them, with the possible exception of "Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse."
Alternatively, having read the first four or so while still in my twenties, maybe the reader moves beyond them after a point.
smcleish's review
3.0
Originally published on my blog here in February 2001.
The fourth of Rankin's Brentford series is written along much the same lines as the first three. Following accidents and sabotage, Birmingham has to cancel its Olympics bid at the last minute, and a mysterious sponsor allows Brentford borough council to step in and take over. A stadium appears overnight, in the form of a pentagram made from a revolutionary new anti-gravitational substance, tethered in the air over the buildings of the London suburb.
The Sprouts of Wrath is not as funny as its predecessors, and this means that the chaotic nature of the plot is more exposed to view. There are some good ideas - perpetual layabouts Jim Pooley and John O'Malley having to find paid work; the attempt by the brewery to turn traditional pub The Flying Swan into an Olympic theme bar; the town councillors who believe themselves to be reincarnations of American Indian chiefs - but Rankin's heart doesn't really seem to be in it this time around.
The fourth of Rankin's Brentford series is written along much the same lines as the first three. Following accidents and sabotage, Birmingham has to cancel its Olympics bid at the last minute, and a mysterious sponsor allows Brentford borough council to step in and take over. A stadium appears overnight, in the form of a pentagram made from a revolutionary new anti-gravitational substance, tethered in the air over the buildings of the London suburb.
The Sprouts of Wrath is not as funny as its predecessors, and this means that the chaotic nature of the plot is more exposed to view. There are some good ideas - perpetual layabouts Jim Pooley and John O'Malley having to find paid work; the attempt by the brewery to turn traditional pub The Flying Swan into an Olympic theme bar; the town councillors who believe themselves to be reincarnations of American Indian chiefs - but Rankin's heart doesn't really seem to be in it this time around.
shane's review
4.0
This is the fourth in the trilogy(that isn't really a trilogy) and this time Pooley, Omalley & co. are once more fighting the forces of darkness, this time against the backdrop of the Olympics. To be honest, I think you could run these characters through any situation or adventure with success. The story itself really is more of the same and could do with an injection of a little more originality at this point, but still, I look forward to these ones.
All in all, I think if you're looking for a quick, easy read that doesn't require much engagement of grey-matter then this is it. I always have to find something a little more involved to read afterwards just to wake my brain up again.
A good, easy read. Read it for the characters, not the story.
All in all, I think if you're looking for a quick, easy read that doesn't require much engagement of grey-matter then this is it. I always have to find something a little more involved to read afterwards just to wake my brain up again.
A good, easy read. Read it for the characters, not the story.
More...