There was once a race of highly intelligent beings who had everything a person could ever want to have and who were everything a person could ever want to be. Of course, it was a bloody long time ago, and no-one can even say for sure if that’s actually true or not. This book is not about them, anyway. (After all, who wants to read about super-intelligent beings? One probably couldn’t even follow the dialogues, and one’d also get bloody jealous of their intelligence and wit.) Nah, this book here is about suicidal hippos, monsters under your bed, ghosts, ninjas, prime ministers, shrinks, blondes, pirates, ex-girlfriends, books, flying, tea, chess, dachshunds, and there are a few yuppies in it, as well. Lots of love in the book, too. Also, some magic. And fish.