Shane Langan is a writer and performer (with Graham Linehan and the comedy troupe Diet of the Worms) of the BBC/RTÉ sitcom The Walshes. John Garrison is variously a spy, a police officer, investigative journalist, and "a pioneer time traveller or simply a maverick lover": "He turned to Sandra – half Replicon, half the most beautiful woman he had ever seen – and kissed her softly on her human side." The book's scenarios are presented in skipped chapters with an hilarious awkward turn of phrase that acts as a subtle wink – ironic inverted commas. "You then press this button . . . At this point the target's calf muscles will each inflate to the size of an ordinary household microwave oven . . . The target will find it . . . impossible to run or even walk briskly. This should give you ample time to shoot him in the face." Stories slide through different genres, their boundaries pleasingly permeable to the point where parody gives way to the creation of a form unique in its own right. It's a very, very funny book. If it was a BBC TV show it would be Cunk on Skunk.