Anansi Boys

Synopsis: Fat Charlie Nancy is not actually fat. He was fat once but he is definitely not fat now. No, right now Fat Charlie Nancy is angry, confused and more than a little scared -- right now his life is spinning out of control, and it is all his dad's fault. If his rotter of an estranged father hadn't dropped dead at a karaoke night, Charlie would still be blissfully unaware that his dad was Anansi the spider god. He would have no idea that he has a brother called Spider, who is also a god. And there would be no chance that said brother would be trying to take over his life, flat and fiancee, or, to make matters worse, be doing a much better job of it than him. Desperate to reclaim his life, Charlie enlists the help of four more-than-slightly eccentric old ladies and their unique brand of voodoo -- and between them they unleash a bitter and twisted force to get rid of Spider. But as darkness descends and badness begins is Fat Charlie Nancy going to get his life back in one piece or is he about to enter a whole netherworld of pain?

Review: Another one that I liked a lot, though perhaps not as much as 'Neverwhere' or 'Stardust'. This book is a little bit different from Neils other work, it's a lot more funny and less dark but it still has all of the magical, mystical elements that you expect from his work. Fat Charlie Nancy is a great character, a bit hapless and 'ordinary', but someone that you immediately warm to. The story starts with him attending his fathers funeral. He didn't know much about his father except for the fact that he used to embarrass him to death when he was a kid so he's surprised to learn, not to say incredulous, that his father was actually a God .. the trickster spider God Anansi in fact.

Charlie also discovers for the first time that he has a twin brother .. Spider ... who is also a God. Spider comes to stay at Fat Charlie's flat and basically sets about unintentionally ruining his life. Charlie loses his job and finds that his fiancée Rosie has taken more than a shine to Spider who she actually thinks is Charlie, only a new improved and much more interesting Charlie. The trouble is that Spider is everything that Charlie is not, handsome and gregarious with all the inherited smooth tongued charm of his father.

Fed up with this intrusion, and more than a little envious of his brother, Charlie seeks to banish Spider, only he finds that a few subtle hints not to say downright commands to get lost aren't having any effect. Exasperated he turns to his father's old acquaintance Callyanne Higler and her three equally eccentric friends for help. During a seance at Mrs Higlers house Charlie encounters the malevolent Bird Woman who says she can banish Spider but in return she wants Anansi's bloodline. Without knowing what this means Charlie agrees, and although he's at first inclined to think that he's imagined it all, he soon realises that something more sinister is afoot.

There are plenty of delicious secondary characters, Rosie's mum is a gem and I also loved Charlie's boss - the despicably corrupt, murderous, irritating twerp, Grahame Coats. There's a lot to enjoy here, some great plot twists and revelations and really enjoyable Carribean dialogue and humour. I was slightly disappointed that it wasn't quite up to the standard of 'Neverwhere' but that's just nit picking .. it was still a fantastic read.