They Came and Ate Us - Armageddon II: The B-Movie

Armageddon #2

by Robert Rankin

THE SEQUEL TO THE BOOK THAT PROMPTED SIR TERRY PRATCHETT TO SAY:
“Robert Rankin is a deep-down humourist, one of those rare guys who can always make me laugh”

IT IS THE YEAR 2060 AND OH NO! THE WORLD IS GOING TO END AGAIN!!!
In 1977 Elvis Presley faked his own death and set off on a journey into the future with his best friend Barry the Time Travelling Brussels Sprout. Mr Presley’s mission, seek out and destroy The Antichrist and save civilisation as we would one day know it. Good old Elvis!
Things, however, do not go quite to plan. There is a boy genius whose intention is to rule the world. The demon hoard known as LEGION that has taken up residence in the internet. And the matter of the Big Flywheel, the clockwork mechanism at the Earth’s core that keeps the planet running on course. The Big Flywheel is grinding to a halt.
Meanwhile in 2060 Rex Mundi seems happy enough. He is married to Jesus Christ’s twin sister Christeen, has a talking hippy dog named Fido and a very nice house in the country. If it wasn’t for that great big spaceship that someone has parked on his lawn, Rex would have very little to complain about.
And so begins They Came and Ate Us, Armageddon Two: The B Movie , probably one of the most ground-breaking books Robert Rankin has ever written. A heady mix of extreme sex, violence, madness and mayhem, and like the first book in the sequence - Armageddon: The Musical - it is years ahead of the zeitgeist, this time in its use of Steampunk motifs. Strictly for the over-eighteens and not something to give your granny for Christmas. This is the novel that introduced one of Rankin’s most loved characters, Hugo Rune and his Book of Ultimate Truths to the world and is a work of literature where the “fourth Wall” is not just removed but thoroughly demolished. It comes as no surprise that elements of this book have found their way into the works of at least one contemporary author. Which is known as an “homage”, something not to be confused with a blatant rip-off!
The Armageddon Quartet:

Armageddon: The Musical

They Came and Ate Us
Armageddon II: The B-Movie

The Suburban Book of the Dead
Armageddon III: The Remake

Genres: Fantasy, Humor, Fiction, Science Fiction, Comedy, Comic Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

"When Robert Rankin embarked upon his writing career in the late 1970s, his ambition was to create an entirely new literary genre, which he named Far-Fetched Fiction. He reasoned that by doing this he could avoid competing with any other living author in any known genre and would be given his own special section in WH Smith."
(from Web Site Story)

Robert Rankin describes himself as a teller of tall tales, a fitting description, assuming that he isn't lying about it. From his early beginnings as a baby in 1949, Robert Rankin has grown into a tall man of some stature. Somewhere along the way he experimented in the writing of books, and found that he could do it rather well. Not being one to light his hide under a bushel, Mister Rankin continues to write fine novels of a humorous science-fictional nature.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those of us who liked Armageddon: The Musical, this is more of the same. Sort of.

This second book in the trilogy is a sequel in the sense that it makes sense to read it second and a prequel in the sense that 95% of the book occurs before the events of the first book. Time travel is involved, as is fourth wall breaking. SO much fourth wall breaking!

There's also a nice cameo of a couple of characters from some of Rankin's other books tucked in at the end. One of the ends, anyway. If you thought The Return of the King had too many endings, you ain't seen nothin' yet... Hilarious.

My next book: Les Misérables

[James Barnard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another winner from Robert Rankin. The sequel to Armageddon: The Musical, this series is more outlandish and fantastical than the more grounded Brentford novels. Well, for outlandish, read “downright bonkers” at times, although there’s a method in the madness, and a strong moral code. After all, having characters from the future passing judgement on our own lives and times is a solid way of exposing the shortfalls of the age.

The world may shatter in the stories here, but the books themselves won’t ever have that effect. But why should they? A good, solid, well-crafted read is always a pleasure, and Rankin hasn’t disappointed me yet.

[[ J o ] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classically Rankin - running gags, puns all 'round, and at the end, well, brilliant.

[Joakim Bairamoglou · Rating 5 out of 5]

now how can this be better than the First cannot really say!!!but i love this one!!!i literally died laughing!!!i have to thank my wife eho bought me this as a gift!!!excellent!!!!

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confusing and surreal, but good.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because the title and the subtitle kill. The book meanders all over the place and I got the hint pretty quickly that this was part two (and I had not read part one). There were so many characters and some were time traveling. It was hard to keep track of anything so I decided to give over and just enjoy the ride. The forces of good against evil were unclear all the way through and even at the end! But toss in some robotics and dystopian atmospheres--you do have the makings for a terrific movie which is mentioned several times in the book. The dialogue is fast, furious, and funny. Wormwood could be Trump any day sadly. The reason I stuck with it is I would believe you if you told me that Robert Rankin was the screenwriter of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ AND THE WORLD'S END. The hilarity of the writing (including puns and word play) and the crazy violence are very similar.

[Mark Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wordplay aplenty, film parody-packed, bible despoiling, myth-twisting often indecipherable fun. Rankin’s writing style is laugh-out-funny. His description paints the pictures in your mind as if you were at the big screen, even when the action scenes are cut disappointingly short by a time rewind.

This doesn’t quite hit the heights of Armageddon 1. At times it feels like a bit of a filler in the middle of a trilogy sandwich, especially as the episodic time rewinds build up and up. This is the reason it isn’t a 5 star from me.

But Rex and Elvis hold the thing together with aplomb (and, occasionally, a bomb) and the whole cast of characters from Armageddon 1 play their cameos well. Even though some cameos are shorter than others. Don’t worry, Gloria, you get more in book three.

Lots of fun and silliness tied up in a bastardised religious mythology - as always!

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Much Fun as Book One, if Less Coherent

Time travel mayhem with Elvis, demons, and seriously shattered fourth walls. Lots of laughs :) The ending felt a little weak but I am still going to immediately dive into the next one. Note: make sure to read the books in this trilogy in order or it will probably make no sense at all.

[Robert J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Rankin, it's clever and funny and I liked it.
Could have done without so much of the self referential humor, but he wrote it before it was that dated.

[Lucas Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dare I say: too silly, even for Rankin. By about chapter 12 I was completely lost and just sort of coasted along.

[Andrew Lawston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic apocalyptic fun, full of extremely good bits, extremely silly bits, and extremely funny bits - sometimes all three at once!

[Dinah D · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing, to say the least.

[John-Paul R · Rating 4 out of 5]

They Came and Ate Us: Armageddon II, The B Movie.

It's been a while since I've read it, but this gem turned me on to the prolific talent that is Robert Rankin, one of the few people in the world who share my unique (read: seldom funny to anyone else) sense of humour. Running gags into the ground, outrageous re-writing of history, demonic conspiracies, sprout lore, plenty of toot talking and fat chewing all brought to a thrilling climactic rooftop confrontation.

It follows the adventures of Rex Mundi, husband to Christine, the twin sister of Jesus Christ as he teams up with Elvis presley and Barry, the talking time sprout who lives in Elvis' head, to prevent the nuclear holocaust from the first book of the trilogy.

You will either love it or loathe it, but it's worth a shot.

[Tim Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this may be one of the rare instances where the sequel outshines the original. At least it did for me. I liked Armageddon: The Musical quite a bit. I liked this one better. From start to finish.

This is Rankin at his maddest. And most importantly, and hilariously, he doesn't just break the fourth wall, he smashes it to dust, bakes it in to a cake and then dices it in to little pieces.

I couldn't get enough of Rex and Elvis battling the Anti-Christ while Deus Ex Machina-man constantly set things...well not right.

Really just a hilarious read.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

childish silliness but diverting fun

[Gillian Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

More Hugo Rune madness, Rex confusion & sprouts...love it.

[Nancy Laney]

Armageddon II: The B-Movie