So, book seven in the Brentford trilogy eh? What Rankin does with Knees Up is very clever. He uses the same characters, the same plot (Brentonians to stop Armageddon) and a lot of the same gags that are present in many of the previous books. There's certainly a whole load of deja vu... and it's all good. The scenario of football is cleverly woven in to the Brentford mythology and creates a raft of new options for Rankin's masterful use of humour, running gags, insightful use of language and even some suspense. Rankin clearly enjoyed writing this book. Knees up is a slow starter but builds up well to an enjoyable conclusion. It's a tad too long as well, but certainly recommended. ( )

A sequel for two of Rankin’s ongoing series (The Brentford Trilogy, of which this is Book Seven, and the Witches Of Chiswick Trilogy, of which this is Book Two), and one that would have been better to read before the World Cup, since it’s about football. Like all of Rankin’s books, it’s good silly fun, though for once the title seems quite forced. But is that really any good reason to criticize a book? It is not. And did I mention they make fun of David Beckham and Manchester United a little? ( )

In which Jim Pooley must coach Brentford's football team to win the FA cup to prevent armageddon.

Slightly confusing, in that Norman the shopkeeping inventor is still married to Peg, but in all "previous" novels in the Brentford "trilogy", she'd left him long since. ( )