you have certain expectations when you pick up a book written by a favourite actor or author. For me I have watched and enjoyed Terry's writing from Monty Python, Ripping Yarns, the Python films, Crusades and his Douglas Adams based idea S.S Titanic.

From the first page of this beautifully binded book you are whisked away into a world of everyday objects, everyday objects given a sometimes wicked twist.

From a phone that tells the truth, did that dear old lady murder her husband Terry? to a bomb that does house work, from the castle of imagination to the love machine you are treated to short stories that seem to be benign on the surface and then suddenly you're left smiling, chuckling even, as the whole episode escalates out of control. One minute a lady is telling a police officer about a phone the next she is a murder suspect, then a mass murderer, from one police officer to a 50 man armed police division and so on.

Terry never fails to disappointing, this book is a must for all his fans and fans of great traditionally strong writing and story telling. The myriad characters, the bizarre situations all echo back to Terry's Python days,the humour still lives on, and that lovely child like quality that makes adults not to ever want to mature lingers amongst the pages of evil machines and boy, they are really some evil machines.

Thank you Terry for yet more entertainment and long may it continue. Perhaps you could come over for lunch one day and examine my malicious sandwich toaster.

Reviewed by Nicalas Boardman
November 14, 2012 10:46