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Larry 2: The Squeequel
Larry 'Pigface' Travers is back in the sequel at least three people asked for. After being dismembered and torched at the end of the first book, Larry returns (don't they always?), and sets out to butcher Amanda Bateman, the final girl responsible for his grisly death a year earlier. The only problem is, she's now living in the city of Haddon, and has developed a strange telekinetic link with the geriatric slasher. Not only that but she has acquired the assistance of Sister Geoff, a butch and drug-addled nun, who might be the only person capable of destroying Pigface once and for all.
268 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 2015
4 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
About the author
Adam Millard
131 books177 followersAdam Millard is the author of twenty novels, twelve novellas, and more than two hundred short stories, which can be found in various collections and anthologies. Probably best known for his post-apocalyptic fiction, Adam also writes fantasy/horror for children and Bizarro fiction for several publishers. His work has recently been translated for the German market.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 6, 2021
This wasn’t as good as the first but it was crazy on a stick and you just have to run with it!!
It’s vulgar, gory, funny, ridiculous and whatever else you can think of. Eric Roberts puts in an appearance. There talk of Julie. We have some paramedics named Hudson and Hicks (alien movie) We have a drugged out nun, random stupid people, movie references again, voodoo, and a whole lot of crazy. I skim paste too much gore as I don’t read those books much anymore but the ridiculously funny humor is why I read it. And Pigface - he’s so utterly clueless you almost feel sorry for him 🙄. It’s one of those, if you grew up better would you be this nut job 😂🤣
So if you want a funny, gory, satire of sorts, this is the book!! It’s on kindle unlimited US
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
It’s vulgar, gory, funny, ridiculous and whatever else you can think of. Eric Roberts puts in an appearance. There talk of Julie. We have some paramedics named Hudson and Hicks (alien movie) We have a drugged out nun, random stupid people, movie references again, voodoo, and a whole lot of crazy. I skim paste too much gore as I don’t read those books much anymore but the ridiculously funny humor is why I read it. And Pigface - he’s so utterly clueless you almost feel sorry for him 🙄. It’s one of those, if you grew up better would you be this nut job 😂🤣
So if you want a funny, gory, satire of sorts, this is the book!! It’s on kindle unlimited US
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
October 20, 2019
Slapstick...
Okay, the way to approach this one is to just let yourself go and go with it, or you will never be able to enjoy yourself. It is utterly ridiculous - yet, funny, if you are into that kind of thing - and totally inappropriate in places.
Put it this way - imagine SOUTH PARK mixed with AMERICAN DAD! and FAMILY GUY - if you find it funny, you'll love this story.
Larry is back and he's going after Final Girl Amanda, with a whole cast of new, crazy characters:
The bored mayor, the rough-around-the-edges nun, the celebrity, the porn star and her billionaire husband, even a Roberts...
And the rules are simple - it is a sequel, so the body count has to be higher.
It took me about 20% to get into the right mindset, but from there I laughed quite a bit.
Something strange happened to me a few months back. I've mentioned on many occasions that my son is a huge PAW PATROL fan - which means I've seen nearly as many episodes (repeatedly) as him. I saw a book in a shop that included a PAW PATROL DVD - which makes a great gift for many reasons...for those about to become parents, a bit of free advice: Get something your child loves and use it as leverage when said child needs to be punished, i.e. "If you don't stop acting up right now, you are not allowed to watch PAW PATROL for two days!".
Anyway, I'm getting off track a bit.
My son loved the present and when he popped in the DVD, something sounded a bit off. I would love it if anybody who reads this can explain it to me. It was an episode we've seen multiple times, but suddenly the voices and accents were different. Now, I can understand re-dubbing something from English to, say, Mandarin. But why in the world would you want to go to all that trouble and expense to change it from American English to British English?
The point is:
LARRY 2 takes place in America, but Millard is an English writer, so the fact that these Americans started using terms like bollocks and knickers actually made this story a little funnier for me. I don't think everybody will feel the same, though.
Hey, here's a joke for you:
A naked guy shows up at a fancy dress party. The bouncer asks:
"What are you supposed to be?"
"I's a snail."
"Yeah? And what about that naked girl on your back?"
"That's Michelle!"
A naked guy shows up at a fancy dress party, his dick covered in a yellow substance. The bouncer asks:
"What are you supposed to be?"
"I'm fucking-dis-custard"
If you found above jokes funny, maybe you'll be into this book. Won't work for everybody, so you have been warned.
Okay, the way to approach this one is to just let yourself go and go with it, or you will never be able to enjoy yourself. It is utterly ridiculous - yet, funny, if you are into that kind of thing - and totally inappropriate in places.
Put it this way - imagine SOUTH PARK mixed with AMERICAN DAD! and FAMILY GUY - if you find it funny, you'll love this story.
Larry is back and he's going after Final Girl Amanda, with a whole cast of new, crazy characters:
The bored mayor, the rough-around-the-edges nun, the celebrity, the porn star and her billionaire husband, even a Roberts...
And the rules are simple - it is a sequel, so the body count has to be higher.
It took me about 20% to get into the right mindset, but from there I laughed quite a bit.
Something strange happened to me a few months back. I've mentioned on many occasions that my son is a huge PAW PATROL fan - which means I've seen nearly as many episodes (repeatedly) as him. I saw a book in a shop that included a PAW PATROL DVD - which makes a great gift for many reasons...for those about to become parents, a bit of free advice: Get something your child loves and use it as leverage when said child needs to be punished, i.e. "If you don't stop acting up right now, you are not allowed to watch PAW PATROL for two days!".
Anyway, I'm getting off track a bit.
My son loved the present and when he popped in the DVD, something sounded a bit off. I would love it if anybody who reads this can explain it to me. It was an episode we've seen multiple times, but suddenly the voices and accents were different. Now, I can understand re-dubbing something from English to, say, Mandarin. But why in the world would you want to go to all that trouble and expense to change it from American English to British English?
The point is:
LARRY 2 takes place in America, but Millard is an English writer, so the fact that these Americans started using terms like bollocks and knickers actually made this story a little funnier for me. I don't think everybody will feel the same, though.
Hey, here's a joke for you:
A naked guy shows up at a fancy dress party. The bouncer asks:
"What are you supposed to be?"
"I's a snail."
"Yeah? And what about that naked girl on your back?"
"That's Michelle!"
A naked guy shows up at a fancy dress party, his dick covered in a yellow substance. The bouncer asks:
"What are you supposed to be?"
"I'm fucking-dis-custard"
If you found above jokes funny, maybe you'll be into this book. Won't work for everybody, so you have been warned.
January 1, 2017
Copied from my Amazon review.
Okay, so if anyone's following my reviews (hey, there might be one!), you'll know that I only recently read the first Larry book and was going to read the second soon after, all in anticipation of the third being released. Well, Larry 3D is out, I've got my personalised signed copy, and I've now read Larry II (though I haven't gotten around to the concluding (or is it?) volume). Though I very much enjoyed the first book, I did have some very minor issues; but have these been resolved in the sequel...?
Let's find out.
Set about a year after the events of the previous book, Larry II wastes no time in setting out both its intent, and its adherence to the tone of the first book. By that, I mean it's as funny, violent, random, and daft - and borderline offensive; no, scratch that, it jumps over the line of offence and moons it - as Larry the first, if not more so. It's also longer, which addresses one of my issues with the first volume. With a quick initial chapter showing the decapitation of a local sheriff who's hunting for Pigface's cabin (aping a typical opening to slasher films), we are led through a somewhat lengthy scene wherein an inept voodoo fella is made to bring back the remains of Larry by Larry's mother; deliberately, and knowingly (acknowledged by the characters), lifting the words used in the Chucky movies to transfer souls into other hosts. It's very funny, but also serves to logically - in the confines of the book - address the dismemberment and burning of Larry's body at the end of book one. This then leads onto our Final Girl Amanda, who was present when Pigface died, receiving a vision about his return. You see, it appears that poor Amanda somehow has a psychic connection to Larry, which manifests at completely random - with expert comic timing - intervals. Thus begins a desperate race as Amanda and Freddy (also a survivor of the first book) rush around the city of Haddon, trying to find a way of stopping Pigface before he gets to the city and kills...well, just about everyone.
Whoosh. And that's only the first couple of chapters or so. Like I said, this book is bigger than the first, though bigger doesn't always mean better. Luckily, in this case, it's both. Though character development is never really a going concern in this type of story, we still get quite a bit of time with both protagonists and antagonists. Of course the overriding concern is both humour and a kind of knowing horror which is both homage and mickey take at the same time of those schlocky, gory, basic films of the 70s and 80s (and the 90s in some cases). It's a book that - like its predecessor - absolutely knows and revels in its chosen field. And with addition of new characters and a wider location, there's plenty of scope to take the narrative out beyond the confines of the slasher genre (though it still has plenty of nods there, from the wry names of people to the gentle aping of a film such as Jason Takes Manhattan). There's a nun who is both extremely butch *and* seems to speak with a cockney accent (at least in my mind), there's the Mayor, Johnnie Ketchum, who is more concerned with partying than civic duty; there's even a cameo from Eric Roberts (yes, THE Eric Roberts, not a look-a-like), who kicks a lot of butt before...well, that would be spoiling it.
In short, there's a hell of a lot going on in this book; some of it seemingly random until the final, climactic scene, some of it genuinely a bit random, and most of it firmly in the toilet humour, vulgar end of the spectrum, coupled with various running gags, shaggy dog stories, and that particular kind of laugh-out-loud-groan-at-the-same-time kind of humour. As before, the closest comparison is with Robert Rankin (there's even a joke that's very similar to one Rankin did in The Book of Ultimate Truths...), but with added smut. And it all works. While we still don’t really get any answer as to why Larry/Pigface’s mask was talking to him in the first book, it doesn’t really seem to matter. The interplay between the two feels more substantial in this, partly because the mask is now welded to the remains of Larry’s face. Perhaps it can be seen as just an aspect of his psyche, a kind of Multiple Personality Disorder. It makes no odds; what does matter is the endless avenues for hilarious conversations it provides as they wrestle with just exactly how to approach the city where Amanda is living (the mask wants to do it quiet and subtle, Larry...Larry just wants to kill everyone).
This time around, I wasn’t aware of much in the way of typos; it’s not that they definitely weren’t there, it’s just that I was too bloody entertained to notice them, I think. Again, it's not going to win the Booker prize, but then, that's not what it's all about. Instead, what we have is an extremely successful example of comedy, and a very successful example of that difficult to pull off genre, horror-comedy. Yet Adam proves again that he is adept at this particular style; he has a sharp eye for the absurd, and a good ear for the pacing and timing necessary for this sort of thing to work. Onwards to Larry 3D; personally, I can’t wait.
Okay, so if anyone's following my reviews (hey, there might be one!), you'll know that I only recently read the first Larry book and was going to read the second soon after, all in anticipation of the third being released. Well, Larry 3D is out, I've got my personalised signed copy, and I've now read Larry II (though I haven't gotten around to the concluding (or is it?) volume). Though I very much enjoyed the first book, I did have some very minor issues; but have these been resolved in the sequel...?
Let's find out.
Set about a year after the events of the previous book, Larry II wastes no time in setting out both its intent, and its adherence to the tone of the first book. By that, I mean it's as funny, violent, random, and daft - and borderline offensive; no, scratch that, it jumps over the line of offence and moons it - as Larry the first, if not more so. It's also longer, which addresses one of my issues with the first volume. With a quick initial chapter showing the decapitation of a local sheriff who's hunting for Pigface's cabin (aping a typical opening to slasher films), we are led through a somewhat lengthy scene wherein an inept voodoo fella is made to bring back the remains of Larry by Larry's mother; deliberately, and knowingly (acknowledged by the characters), lifting the words used in the Chucky movies to transfer souls into other hosts. It's very funny, but also serves to logically - in the confines of the book - address the dismemberment and burning of Larry's body at the end of book one. This then leads onto our Final Girl Amanda, who was present when Pigface died, receiving a vision about his return. You see, it appears that poor Amanda somehow has a psychic connection to Larry, which manifests at completely random - with expert comic timing - intervals. Thus begins a desperate race as Amanda and Freddy (also a survivor of the first book) rush around the city of Haddon, trying to find a way of stopping Pigface before he gets to the city and kills...well, just about everyone.
Whoosh. And that's only the first couple of chapters or so. Like I said, this book is bigger than the first, though bigger doesn't always mean better. Luckily, in this case, it's both. Though character development is never really a going concern in this type of story, we still get quite a bit of time with both protagonists and antagonists. Of course the overriding concern is both humour and a kind of knowing horror which is both homage and mickey take at the same time of those schlocky, gory, basic films of the 70s and 80s (and the 90s in some cases). It's a book that - like its predecessor - absolutely knows and revels in its chosen field. And with addition of new characters and a wider location, there's plenty of scope to take the narrative out beyond the confines of the slasher genre (though it still has plenty of nods there, from the wry names of people to the gentle aping of a film such as Jason Takes Manhattan). There's a nun who is both extremely butch *and* seems to speak with a cockney accent (at least in my mind), there's the Mayor, Johnnie Ketchum, who is more concerned with partying than civic duty; there's even a cameo from Eric Roberts (yes, THE Eric Roberts, not a look-a-like), who kicks a lot of butt before...well, that would be spoiling it.
In short, there's a hell of a lot going on in this book; some of it seemingly random until the final, climactic scene, some of it genuinely a bit random, and most of it firmly in the toilet humour, vulgar end of the spectrum, coupled with various running gags, shaggy dog stories, and that particular kind of laugh-out-loud-groan-at-the-same-time kind of humour. As before, the closest comparison is with Robert Rankin (there's even a joke that's very similar to one Rankin did in The Book of Ultimate Truths...), but with added smut. And it all works. While we still don’t really get any answer as to why Larry/Pigface’s mask was talking to him in the first book, it doesn’t really seem to matter. The interplay between the two feels more substantial in this, partly because the mask is now welded to the remains of Larry’s face. Perhaps it can be seen as just an aspect of his psyche, a kind of Multiple Personality Disorder. It makes no odds; what does matter is the endless avenues for hilarious conversations it provides as they wrestle with just exactly how to approach the city where Amanda is living (the mask wants to do it quiet and subtle, Larry...Larry just wants to kill everyone).
This time around, I wasn’t aware of much in the way of typos; it’s not that they definitely weren’t there, it’s just that I was too bloody entertained to notice them, I think. Again, it's not going to win the Booker prize, but then, that's not what it's all about. Instead, what we have is an extremely successful example of comedy, and a very successful example of that difficult to pull off genre, horror-comedy. Yet Adam proves again that he is adept at this particular style; he has a sharp eye for the absurd, and a good ear for the pacing and timing necessary for this sort of thing to work. Onwards to Larry 3D; personally, I can’t wait.
July 24, 2017
"You can’t help but root for the good guys but also root for Larry. He is despicable. He is the most prolific serial killer of all time. But you want him to succeed. You want him to keep on butchering as much as possible because in many ways, he is so innocent and naïve.
He has got to be one of my favourite characters that I have ever read in a book. Ever."
See here for the full review:
Larry 2
He has got to be one of my favourite characters that I have ever read in a book. Ever."
See here for the full review:
Larry 2
June 9, 2025
Larry is back, and this time he's determined to bring home the bacon! Or at least slice it up and wrap it up…
Hilarious from the outset and with at least a giggle on every page, these books are so much slashery (rasher-y?) fun!! They're like those famous crisps in a tube, once you pop, you can't, nor do you want to, stop!!
Like any good sequel, the killer is resurrected (hilariously) and the final girl is out for revenge. It's bonkers, insane, blood soaked, hammy awesomeness that will leave you gasping for air and your stomach aching from laughing so much!
Think the Scary Movie's franchise, but with pigs, and funnier!
Larry is a psychotic, pitiless, porcine, predator. One you cannot help but love!
Contains voodoo, gore, squeeeeing, nuns, and the funniest exorcism.
The slick narrative makes for one hell of a fun, addictive page turner, and a refreshing little palate cleanser.
And of course, there are the usual comical quotes that make me fucking howl! 😂….
"Would it be cannibalism if I noshed a cocktail sausage?"
"But that's the thing with massacres. You don't see them coming until it's too late, by which time you've got an arm off and you've shit your knickers…”
Hilarious from the outset and with at least a giggle on every page, these books are so much slashery (rasher-y?) fun!! They're like those famous crisps in a tube, once you pop, you can't, nor do you want to, stop!!
Like any good sequel, the killer is resurrected (hilariously) and the final girl is out for revenge. It's bonkers, insane, blood soaked, hammy awesomeness that will leave you gasping for air and your stomach aching from laughing so much!
Think the Scary Movie's franchise, but with pigs, and funnier!
Larry is a psychotic, pitiless, porcine, predator. One you cannot help but love!
Contains voodoo, gore, squeeeeing, nuns, and the funniest exorcism.
The slick narrative makes for one hell of a fun, addictive page turner, and a refreshing little palate cleanser.
And of course, there are the usual comical quotes that make me fucking howl! 😂….
"Would it be cannibalism if I noshed a cocktail sausage?"
"But that's the thing with massacres. You don't see them coming until it's too late, by which time you've got an arm off and you've shit your knickers…”
February 16, 2020
Not as good as the first, but still loads of fun!
February 6, 2019
In any good slasher movie, the killer never dies. At the end of Larry, Pigface is killed and dismembered leaving the reader to believe the story has reached it's conclusion. THIS reader was delighted by Millard's humor in Larry. I honestly didn't see how a sequel could be pulled off and maintain the same sense of humor. I am still surprised that I actually marginally enjoyed 2 a little more than the original. In Larry 2, Pigface (true to sequels) must kill the final girl from the first book. We are introduced to more characters and a bigger setting in 2 which gives the reader even more cheesy lines to leave you chuckling. I love how the author takes shots at his own jokes and pokes fun at the slasher films I love so much. I enjoyed how the humor aimed mostly at the horror genre also took some shots at others like the Highlander series and oompa-loompas. Over all this was just an entertaining read and if you enjoyed the first novel, you are bound to enjoy the second. And if you are worried about there being less violence, take Larry "Pigface" Travers words to heart. Because it's a sequel the body count must be higher.
I don't see how Larry 3D can be more entertaining than the first two but I said it before and was wrong. Now, I am off to purchase the third book.
I don't see how Larry 3D can be more entertaining than the first two but I said it before and was wrong. Now, I am off to purchase the third book.
November 9, 2025
Two teens and a rogue nun, off in search of a pig-faced slasher. Seriously, you couldn’t make this stuff up.
3 ½ pig snouts. OK, this one is on me. I should know better than to necessarily jump into sequels without a break in between, particularly with the subject matter embraced by Adam Millard's "Larry" and now "Larry 2: The Squeequel". What I was looking for - truth be told - was more of "Larry", you know, spooky campground, horny and more often than not really drunk and/or stupid coeds, no sense of law and/or protection to be found anywhere, etc. But not to rush off and have a new adventure in the big city��� or whatever Haddon qualifies for in that regard (meaning big or not versus whether there are coeds there). No, I'm perhaps not being fair to the fine city/village/train stop that is this glorious place, but hey, I'm sure it's no Ramsbottom … and I should know (every fucking Guy Fawkes Night I'd wind up in bloody Ramsbottom for the yearly review because my boss refused to pay Manchester hotel prices)! And yes, if you're curious, I'm also the only human alive that was disappointed in "The Empire Strikes Back" because I wanted more beating up of said Empire than what that film delivered versus Episode IV. Go figure.
The best we can hope for is that this whole thing doesn’t develop into a franchise.
But look, it's important to remember that I found that Millard's first book was more than a decent and definitely subtly funny hommage to the gazillion camp slasher movies and novels in existence (it's in writing so you know it's true!). So like I've hinted at, dumb ol' me said, "OK bartender, just give me the same and keep 'em comin'!" But the second book, well, it was definitely a reflection of how a lot of these franchises do in their sophomore efforts. Let's just say I thought this one kind of went off the rails, fell off the side of a mountain, crashed into a dam which then collapsed flooding the valley below and killing the townsfolk, not to mention a whole flerd (sic) of sheep along the way. But still not managing to touch Larry nor his rather disturbed and definitely disturbing mother (if she offers to read "50 Shades of Grey" to you, decline… politely!). No, those two will live through the end of time… or a really bad sequel involving, I don't know, being cryogenically frozen, taken to space and then killing the crew of the spaceship that's transporting them.
Find a way to kill him once and for all, so that there’s no chance of the franchise becoming stagnant.
Another way of putting it - noting Millard also quoted Monty Python during this entire … um, book (sorry, lost my train of thought on that previous analogy, hee hee) is an equally valid and oft repeated MP joke, which again, is valid here:
. Now I don't even know if this has worked as I've never inserted a picture into a review, so we'll let you know later. {UPDATE: IT DID!!!} Feel free to stand up and stretch your legs while I check… assuming they're still attached to your body or haven't been revoodoo'ed (that sounds disgusting, n'est-ce pas?) back onto same. Watch your comments though. I may not produce Holy Water whenever it's needed (which to be fair, was perhaps the funniest part of not only this book but my entire year) but I'll damn well see if it's available via Amazon Prime!
The blade jutting from his back … was as elusive as Lord Lucan, Amelia Earhart, and the clitoris combined.
Yeah, so instead of doing a(nother) really great hommage to all things that should be filed under both silly and horror - though there are moments mind you and enough running gags to gag a runner - this book is pretty much non-stop, no-holds-barred wackiness. Like insane amounts of same. And let's be a little less positive but still very honest: if you're putting Eric "Don't Call Me Julia" Roberts in your cast, well, I think you've given up on not only the success of your story but maybe life in general. Or some other "straight to DVD" analogy. I mean, granted, yeah, the whole bit with Dr. Death's older brother, Roger Death, qualified carpet cleaner and dabbler in voodoo was kind of cool, particularly when he managed to convert Mom's stinking bag of offal and body parts into "a writhing, twitching, stinking, transmuting, heavy-breathing, squeeeing, willy-fiddling mess of a man." One thing you can't deny is that the author definitely gave his thesaurus a run for its money this time!
Is there any chance this might be a trilogy? Only I’ve always fancied being in 3D.
The killer (no, not Larry, this is a critical statement) though for me was really the repetitiveness - just one of the subjects that breaks through the 4th wall - like the linking minds between "last girl" and Larry, as well as everyone (literally) always checking their non-existent watches. It got to the point where I was politely laughing along and wondering when the rugby was coming on the telly. And then Les Bleues went out and played like merde against the Springboks AGAIN. Anyway, as I was saying, we all know - or at least by now we've definitely learned - that being an altar boy must have some sort of automatic trauma associated with it. And the constant hints that anything, yes, AN-EE-THING! would be done to insure that there was at least enough of Larry left to finish up the trilogy, well, ok, we got it. Like an infectious cold sore that just. will. not. HEAL! Not that I would know (wipes away tears… and a good deal of acyclovir in the process). I probably got mine during the heydays of "Synchronicity"… a word which I've also managed to slip in here for no apparent reason at all…
This is a crazy plot device to get to the end of the…I want to say film, but it feels more like a book.
But look, there are a lot of funny bits in here, I just think it's a little bit too "in your face" this time (are you laughing? ARE YOU? TELL ME NOW DAMMIT!!!!). And yes, Larry does his best to adhere to "the Statute of Sequels Act 1981" where of course in the sequel you're supposed to kill more people than in the film and/or book that came before ("Got a body-count to think of," he said. "This is a sequel, after all." … See? I told you so!). Now whereas we don't actually witness the hundred or so killings from the mid-70s here (I don't think an orgy can hold that many to be fair, not without re-flooding the valley with bodily fluids), there's definitely a higher body count than what transpired the last time we were at Camp Diamond Creek. Heck, this time we even get a bit of a surprise police "investigation" into the aforementioned Camp massacre though it doesn't work out all that well for the off-duty and unarmed sheriff who should have known better. Ye gods, that was really a key theme, namely, all the folks that should have known better throughout this book. Hint: run AWAY from the pig-faced freak covered in blood and carrying an axe covered in same. Sheesh. Even the voice in Larry's head would have told you that, noting he's probably the smartest sentient thingie around in this universe!
There’s a good chance that, as a finale, this’ll be a bit of a let-down.
So yeah, this one wasn't as much fun TO ME as the first but there is a third (rhymes with turd… oh gods, I've caught the same sense of humo[u]r now!). For all that are involved's sake(s), I'm not going to read that one immediately and I may see if there are any additional statutes (or statues as I kept writing) that allow me so many months to recover my wits about me first. I will conclude this by saying that you shouldn't mistake my rantings for any kind of, well, unkind words, as Millard's book was indeed hilarious. But it just had the same trouble getting over the finish line as the second "Airplane" movie did (quick: what was the plot of that one without googling it? Anyone? See what I mean?). All the good bits were already played out and there was no way it could match the original. Or something like that. Anyway, I'm off to have some spam for breakfast (isn't that pork-free?) so keep choppin'!
3 ½ pig snouts. OK, this one is on me. I should know better than to necessarily jump into sequels without a break in between, particularly with the subject matter embraced by Adam Millard's "Larry" and now "Larry 2: The Squeequel". What I was looking for - truth be told - was more of "Larry", you know, spooky campground, horny and more often than not really drunk and/or stupid coeds, no sense of law and/or protection to be found anywhere, etc. But not to rush off and have a new adventure in the big city��� or whatever Haddon qualifies for in that regard (meaning big or not versus whether there are coeds there). No, I'm perhaps not being fair to the fine city/village/train stop that is this glorious place, but hey, I'm sure it's no Ramsbottom … and I should know (every fucking Guy Fawkes Night I'd wind up in bloody Ramsbottom for the yearly review because my boss refused to pay Manchester hotel prices)! And yes, if you're curious, I'm also the only human alive that was disappointed in "The Empire Strikes Back" because I wanted more beating up of said Empire than what that film delivered versus Episode IV. Go figure.
The best we can hope for is that this whole thing doesn’t develop into a franchise.
But look, it's important to remember that I found that Millard's first book was more than a decent and definitely subtly funny hommage to the gazillion camp slasher movies and novels in existence (it's in writing so you know it's true!). So like I've hinted at, dumb ol' me said, "OK bartender, just give me the same and keep 'em comin'!" But the second book, well, it was definitely a reflection of how a lot of these franchises do in their sophomore efforts. Let's just say I thought this one kind of went off the rails, fell off the side of a mountain, crashed into a dam which then collapsed flooding the valley below and killing the townsfolk, not to mention a whole flerd (sic) of sheep along the way. But still not managing to touch Larry nor his rather disturbed and definitely disturbing mother (if she offers to read "50 Shades of Grey" to you, decline… politely!). No, those two will live through the end of time… or a really bad sequel involving, I don't know, being cryogenically frozen, taken to space and then killing the crew of the spaceship that's transporting them.
Find a way to kill him once and for all, so that there’s no chance of the franchise becoming stagnant.
Another way of putting it - noting Millard also quoted Monty Python during this entire … um, book (sorry, lost my train of thought on that previous analogy, hee hee) is an equally valid and oft repeated MP joke, which again, is valid here:
. Now I don't even know if this has worked as I've never inserted a picture into a review, so we'll let you know later. {UPDATE: IT DID!!!} Feel free to stand up and stretch your legs while I check… assuming they're still attached to your body or haven't been revoodoo'ed (that sounds disgusting, n'est-ce pas?) back onto same. Watch your comments though. I may not produce Holy Water whenever it's needed (which to be fair, was perhaps the funniest part of not only this book but my entire year) but I'll damn well see if it's available via Amazon Prime!The blade jutting from his back … was as elusive as Lord Lucan, Amelia Earhart, and the clitoris combined.
Yeah, so instead of doing a(nother) really great hommage to all things that should be filed under both silly and horror - though there are moments mind you and enough running gags to gag a runner - this book is pretty much non-stop, no-holds-barred wackiness. Like insane amounts of same. And let's be a little less positive but still very honest: if you're putting Eric "Don't Call Me Julia" Roberts in your cast, well, I think you've given up on not only the success of your story but maybe life in general. Or some other "straight to DVD" analogy. I mean, granted, yeah, the whole bit with Dr. Death's older brother, Roger Death, qualified carpet cleaner and dabbler in voodoo was kind of cool, particularly when he managed to convert Mom's stinking bag of offal and body parts into "a writhing, twitching, stinking, transmuting, heavy-breathing, squeeeing, willy-fiddling mess of a man." One thing you can't deny is that the author definitely gave his thesaurus a run for its money this time!
Is there any chance this might be a trilogy? Only I’ve always fancied being in 3D.
The killer (no, not Larry, this is a critical statement) though for me was really the repetitiveness - just one of the subjects that breaks through the 4th wall - like the linking minds between "last girl" and Larry, as well as everyone (literally) always checking their non-existent watches. It got to the point where I was politely laughing along and wondering when the rugby was coming on the telly. And then Les Bleues went out and played like merde against the Springboks AGAIN. Anyway, as I was saying, we all know - or at least by now we've definitely learned - that being an altar boy must have some sort of automatic trauma associated with it. And the constant hints that anything, yes, AN-EE-THING! would be done to insure that there was at least enough of Larry left to finish up the trilogy, well, ok, we got it. Like an infectious cold sore that just. will. not. HEAL! Not that I would know (wipes away tears… and a good deal of acyclovir in the process). I probably got mine during the heydays of "Synchronicity"… a word which I've also managed to slip in here for no apparent reason at all…
This is a crazy plot device to get to the end of the…I want to say film, but it feels more like a book.
But look, there are a lot of funny bits in here, I just think it's a little bit too "in your face" this time (are you laughing? ARE YOU? TELL ME NOW DAMMIT!!!!). And yes, Larry does his best to adhere to "the Statute of Sequels Act 1981" where of course in the sequel you're supposed to kill more people than in the film and/or book that came before ("Got a body-count to think of," he said. "This is a sequel, after all." … See? I told you so!). Now whereas we don't actually witness the hundred or so killings from the mid-70s here (I don't think an orgy can hold that many to be fair, not without re-flooding the valley with bodily fluids), there's definitely a higher body count than what transpired the last time we were at Camp Diamond Creek. Heck, this time we even get a bit of a surprise police "investigation" into the aforementioned Camp massacre though it doesn't work out all that well for the off-duty and unarmed sheriff who should have known better. Ye gods, that was really a key theme, namely, all the folks that should have known better throughout this book. Hint: run AWAY from the pig-faced freak covered in blood and carrying an axe covered in same. Sheesh. Even the voice in Larry's head would have told you that, noting he's probably the smartest sentient thingie around in this universe!
There’s a good chance that, as a finale, this’ll be a bit of a let-down.
So yeah, this one wasn't as much fun TO ME as the first but there is a third (rhymes with turd… oh gods, I've caught the same sense of humo[u]r now!). For all that are involved's sake(s), I'm not going to read that one immediately and I may see if there are any additional statutes (or statues as I kept writing) that allow me so many months to recover my wits about me first. I will conclude this by saying that you shouldn't mistake my rantings for any kind of, well, unkind words, as Millard's book was indeed hilarious. But it just had the same trouble getting over the finish line as the second "Airplane" movie did (quick: what was the plot of that one without googling it? Anyone? See what I mean?). All the good bits were already played out and there was no way it could match the original. Or something like that. Anyway, I'm off to have some spam for breakfast (isn't that pork-free?) so keep choppin'!
May 22, 2016
Hilarious Horror Romp
This book was a blood soaked comedy and I enjoyed every page. Sometimes books and movies in this genre don't take themselves to seriously and this book doesn't even try to be serious except for the blood and body count!
This book was a blood soaked comedy and I enjoyed every page. Sometimes books and movies in this genre don't take themselves to seriously and this book doesn't even try to be serious except for the blood and body count!
October 2, 2018
fantastic
Hilarious i cannot recommend this book enough . Just make sure to read the first one as the jokes come thick and fast. An absolutely class mix of slasher and comedy this is a diamond in the rough book for horror fans 5 stars all the way
Hilarious i cannot recommend this book enough . Just make sure to read the first one as the jokes come thick and fast. An absolutely class mix of slasher and comedy this is a diamond in the rough book for horror fans 5 stars all the way
March 16, 2017
so funny i almost pissed myself
March 16, 2025
Just as funny as the first one, full of 80’s horror and cultural nods and references. Great gory parody fun.
June 29, 2022
More Pet Semetary 2 than Aliens. (This means it's a poor sequel to the original)
Larry comes back with some Voodoo bullshit which doesn't really matter as it's a sequel to a horror book so as long as he comes back then we are happy. He goes on another rampage but with the final girl from the last book hot on his trail with a tough nun, a lame boy(friend), and a silly mayor.
I really enjoyed the first book with its over-the-top horror, killings, comedy, and Larry as the main attraction. This however was too silly, with everyone breaking the 4th wall at every opportunity and ongoing jokes being drawn out too much.
This had the core of the first book but was written as just a throwaway with stupid situations that took me out of the story again and again.
Read the first book and just ignore the second like many great horror originals.
Larry comes back with some Voodoo bullshit which doesn't really matter as it's a sequel to a horror book so as long as he comes back then we are happy. He goes on another rampage but with the final girl from the last book hot on his trail with a tough nun, a lame boy(friend), and a silly mayor.
I really enjoyed the first book with its over-the-top horror, killings, comedy, and Larry as the main attraction. This however was too silly, with everyone breaking the 4th wall at every opportunity and ongoing jokes being drawn out too much.
This had the core of the first book but was written as just a throwaway with stupid situations that took me out of the story again and again.
Read the first book and just ignore the second like many great horror originals.
June 18, 2021
This...is not as good as the first one...but is was a great ride. So funny. Its definitely over the top. Like...the first book was funny and intelligently poked fun at slasher movies. This sequel goes for full on over the top camp as it pokes fun at sequels, talking directly to the reader. Not every joke "landed" for me but they all added to the ridiculousness and absurdity of this book as whole...and I quite enjoyed it. If you loved the first one then I bet you will like this one.
February 24, 2020
2.5... way too ridiculous lol!! The comedy was great in the first book, but this one was too over the top. Should've left it at Larry, no squeeequel. Anyway, it had its moments lol
July 7, 2024
Adam Millard once again made a hysterical gruesome fantastic book worth every bit of my time onto part 3
December 22, 2020
This is the second instalment of the Larry Trilogy and continues the tale of this maniac killer. I can't praise Adam Millard enough and if you haven't read his work yet and love horror you must. Read Larry first though if you want the origins etc.
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