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A review by foxtrotmadly
The Creeps by John Connolly
4.0
“The Creeps” by John Connelly is the third part of the “Samuel Johnson Trilogy” which began with “The Gates” and continued with “The Infernals.” Like the previous entries in this trilogy this book is very funny, very charming, and very, very British. In the past Samuel has taken on the demon Ba’al/Mrs. Abernathy in his hometown of Biddlecombe as well as in Hell itself, with only his dachshund Boswell and his friends by his side. Friends that include two police officers, four drunken dwarves, an ice cream man named Dan, a couple of different school chums, and a few friendly demons named Nurd and Wormwood.
There’s a lot to love about this trilogy. I mentioned before that it’s very British, and I mean that as a compliment. Reading this book is like reading a story crafted by John Cleese and Douglas Adams with notes given by Neil Gaiman. It’s inventive and witty, and it doesn’t have a problem with being silly when the mood strikes. In fact, it revels in the silliness. Throughout the books Connolly often goes on tangents in the margins, topics ranging from philosophy to astrophysics, all written with his dry British charm. It’s probably the funniest entry in the series, and it wraps everything up with an ending so sweet and lovely you’ll have to check your insulin levels.
I wish they had existed when I was a kid, because experiencing the world Connolly crafted at a young age would have been mind blowing for me. Instead, I’m near middle-age (which is when you have kids and responsibilities, and a lot of the magic and whimsy are gone from life), but I still found these books enchanting. The power of friendship is a strong theme in these books, especially in the “The Creeps” when everything is on the line, and you need your friends more than ever. I can’t wait until my daughters are old enough to appreciate them, so I can revisit Samuel, Nurd, Wormwood, Jolly, Angry, Dozy, Mumbles, Mrs. Abernathy, and Boswell again. If those names seem odd to you, trust me, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
There’s a lot to love about this trilogy. I mentioned before that it’s very British, and I mean that as a compliment. Reading this book is like reading a story crafted by John Cleese and Douglas Adams with notes given by Neil Gaiman. It’s inventive and witty, and it doesn’t have a problem with being silly when the mood strikes. In fact, it revels in the silliness. Throughout the books Connolly often goes on tangents in the margins, topics ranging from philosophy to astrophysics, all written with his dry British charm. It’s probably the funniest entry in the series, and it wraps everything up with an ending so sweet and lovely you’ll have to check your insulin levels.
I wish they had existed when I was a kid, because experiencing the world Connolly crafted at a young age would have been mind blowing for me. Instead, I’m near middle-age (which is when you have kids and responsibilities, and a lot of the magic and whimsy are gone from life), but I still found these books enchanting. The power of friendship is a strong theme in these books, especially in the “The Creeps” when everything is on the line, and you need your friends more than ever. I can’t wait until my daughters are old enough to appreciate them, so I can revisit Samuel, Nurd, Wormwood, Jolly, Angry, Dozy, Mumbles, Mrs. Abernathy, and Boswell again. If those names seem odd to you, trust me, you ain’t seen nothing yet.