A review by nigellicus
The Cockatrice Boys by Joan Aiken

5.0

With the UK invaded and the population depleted by swarms of horrible monsters, the surviving populations has been forced to live in hiding. A Cockatrice Corp is formed to battle the menace, travelling the country on an armoured train powered by wind, solar and stellar energy and compressed diesel bricks. Drummer boy Dakin Prestwich is on board, and soon so is his cousin Sauna, along with her mysterious precognitive powers. Travelling first to Manchester and then to Scotland and the heart of the outbreak, fighting monsters every step of the way, can the Corp defeat the monsters once and for all?

A brilliantly demented book that manages to be hilariously funny even as characters get devoured and vanished and turned to stone by the score. The premise is amazing, though, and the whole thing is fantastically entertaining.