The Chess Machine: A Novel

by Robert Löhr

book data

113 ratings, 3.25 average rating, 34 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		12%
4		28%
3		36%
2		17%
1		5%

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published

July 5th 2007 by Penguin Press HC, The

binding

Hardcover, 352 pages

isbn

1594201269 (isbn13: 9781594201264)

description

Based on a true story, The Chess Machine is the breathtaking historical adventure of a legendary invention that astounded all who crossed its path

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 207)

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10/14/07

Jason Pettus rated it:

Read in October, 2007

(The much longer full review can be found at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)

As regular readers know, one of the topics that often comes up here at the CCLaP website is of the slippery line between what we commonly refer to as "mainstream" literature versus "genre;" of not only where that line should be drawn, but of how we look at books differently based on what side it falls, not to mention the different smaller lines that ca...more (The much longer full review can be found at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)

As regular readers know, one of the topics that often comes up here at the CCLaP website is of the slippery line between what we commonly refer to as "mainstream" literature versus "genre;" of not only where that line should be drawn, but of how we look at books differently based on what side it falls, not to mention the different smaller lines that can be drawn once you're on one side or another. For example, I'm a general fan of the science-fiction genre, as are many of CCLaP's readers; but then within sci-fi, I myself am a particular fan of a subgenre known as "steampunk." A play on the '80s sci-fi term "cyberpunk," it is basically a mix of speculative fiction and Victorian-era (or older) historical fiction, running with science-fictiony concepts based on real events from the time period; for example, what the world would've been like if computers had actually been invented back then instead of the 1950s, which actually did almost happen in real life except for the prototypes' prohibitive costs and enormous space requirements back then. At its aesthetic heart, steampunk is basically the attempt to take various high-tech concepts from our real present day, and "retrofit" them into beautifully-designed wood and metal forms, to imagine a world where robots work off of burning coal and double as exquisite objets de art, all for the good of our Glorious Queen and Her Empire.

That's why I was so excited, after all, to pick up German writer Robert Lohr's first novel, the very smart and fun action adventure The Chess Machine; because it too can be technically counted as a steampunk novel, although in this case is set around a hundred years before most of the genre's other examples, or in other words the late 1700s. And that's because, interestingly enough, the core of the novel's storyline is based around an actual object with shady origins: an actual "Mechanical Turk" chess-playing automaton, in reality an elaborate hoax, well-known as a touring historical item in the 1800s but with society having collectively forgotten its beginnings. Lohr uses this lost origin to his advantage, taking the object itself and moving backwards in time creatively to imagine a colorful and danger-filled Vienna, when a cloudy haze existed between magic and science and where lots of hucksters were ready to step in and take advantage of it. The result is a delightfully exciting story, one that has more potential mainstream appeal than other steampunk novels because of it being rooted in reality; it is a book sure to thrill not only nerdy hard-edged sci-fi fans such as myself, but also those who love the mystery genre and straight-ahead historical fiction as well. There's a reason, after all, that the book rights have already been sold in twenty countries, and it wouldn't surprise me to hear of a major Hollywood deal at any moment too.

So as mentioned, probably the best place to start a discussion of The Chess Machine is...(less)

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08/23/07

Mary added it

Read in August, 2007

I picked this book up on whim from the public library's New Books section because the backstory is about an elaborate hoax during the 17th century Hapsburg Empire to build an automaton that could play chess as intelligently as a human being. I thought it was going to be like the type of creepy but enthralling stories that I had to read for a class on German Romantism, like Hofmannsthal's The Sandman (basis for the ballet Coppelia) or Mary Shelley's original Frankenstein.

Except that ...more

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12/29/07

James rated it:

Read in February, 2008

Overall an enjoyable work of historical fiction, based on the true story of a late 18th century chess-playing machine that was, in reality, just an elaborate hoax. The story is told with lots of eccentric characters, and the narrative is well-paced and helped along by occasional flash-forwards that slowly reveal how things worked out for these characters over time. By the end I think the author may have tried a little *too* hard to be unpredictable and defy the readers' expectations by making ...more

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11/24/07

Paul rated it:

Read in December, 2007

Frankly...I couldn't get through this book. I petered out around page two hundred, when the characters just all seemed to be doing what I expected of them, in the ways I predicted. It's a beautiful cover, and a beautiful idea, but too often the story aspects are jammed into the historical aspects, and the characters seem to be pastiches rather than individual. I wouldn't rule out other books by this author, but this book didn't succeed for me.

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01/07/08

Lauren rated it:

Engaging, fast-paced romp of a tale of court intrigue and clockwork, illusion and murder, fear, greed, ego and discrimination all informed by the true history of the mechanical Turk, a chess-playing machine that was the wonder of its age, a clockwork automaton capable of human thought! Marvellously rich, impeccably researched and it includes a cunning shout-out to Bladerunner. What more could you want?

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09/26/07

Mike rated it:

Read in October, 2007

A bit more dwarf sex than I am used to in a book about chess and 18th century European nobility but............

I think that this novel falls into the trap that many books in the "historical fiction" fall into regardless of the subject. The fictional characters, or the events/dialogue created around the historical characters, are just not nearly as interesting as the actual events.

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05/07/08

El rated it:

bookshelves: 21st-centurylit

Read in May, 2008

Based on mostly-true events of the late 18th-century in Europe, Robert Lohr's first novel recreates the life and times of the Mechanical Turk, an automaton created by Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen which could "think" and play chess in an attempt to win the attention of the Empress. What von Kempelen managed to do was to create a sensational stir across Europe with what actually was all a fancy hoax. Lohr takes some creative liberty and draws a murder mystery into the mix, of which caus...more Based on mostly-true events of the late 18th-century in Europe, Robert Lohr's first novel recreates the life and times of the Mechanical Turk, an automaton created by Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen which could "think" and play chess in an attempt to win the attention of the Empress. What von Kempelen managed to do was to create a sensational stir across Europe with what actually was all a fancy hoax. Lohr takes some creative liberty and draws a murder mystery into the mix, of which causes enough suspicion of the Mechanical Turk to risk the downfall of the brilliant engineer, von Kempelen.

There was a lot of promise at the beginning of the story - the 18th-century in Europe was a fascinating period, the idea of an automaton was a strong one, murder mysteries and hoaxes are great fun - but at some point the characters managed to lose some of their realism. The problem with writing historical fiction is that in order to be realistic, the characters based on true characters need to be realistic. Hard enough to know exactly how a baron of the 18th-century may act or talk, but it's harder even to not slip into basic and unoriginal personas. The protagonist is an Italian dwarf, a chess master; at first he seemed to be the most promising character. But then at some point he seemed to turn into a vehicle for the author to use in a series of sexual encounters, many of which became gratuitous after the first encounter which established the fact that he was Catholic and proud of it and he felt himself turning into a sinner.

I wanted to like the whole thing, and while the author created a charming friendship between the dwarf and one of the engineers of the Turk, a Jew, I had hoped the rest of the story and plot would have been less predictable. I loved the European setting and the cameo appearances of real royalty, etc. throughout the story; but ultimately I found myself wondering why Lohr decided to make it a piece of fiction. I probably would have found my interest satisfied more had he written a nonfiction book about the Turk and von Kemepelen. According to the author's notes at the end of the book there are at least two pieces of nonfiction about this same thing written in 2000 and 2002 which I would like to someday get around to reading. For the time being, however, Lohr's book left me high and dry and sort of grumpy. Maybe it's just my general sour mood of the moment, or maybe I just had such high expectations of The Chess Machine that I actually wound up disappointed. It actually was just okay. Nothing more, nothing less.

There seems to be a large population that genuinely enjoyed this book, so obviously it found its place in many hearts. Obviously not mine. I, sadly, was underwhelmed.(less)

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04/16/08

Katie rated it:

Read in April, 2008

I tried very hard to get into this, because, frankly, I had judged this book by its cover. It's an excellent cover, to be fair - all revolving cogs and wheels and jubilant aristocrats striking curious poses. Too bad the book itself is such a disappointment. It takes a wonderful story from history - the making of a chess-playing automaton, which was in reality an elaborate hoax - and turns it into a textbook thriller, with characters who aren't particularly interesting or memorable, and without a...more

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04/21/09

Ryan Winston rated it:

bookshelves: fiction, historical

Read in December, 2008

The book started out with a bang. There was purpose, a sound story and even an exciting masquerade ball. About half-way through, the story fizzled and I had to quit reading. I think it was obvious that this book was Robert Löhr's first novel. Based on this book, I probably wouldn't read any more of his work.

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03/23/09

Molly rated it:

Read in March, 2009

This is really a three-and-a-half star book. I liked it a lot, though some of the exposition is a bit overstated. But all in all totally fascinating, not least because it's based on a true story, and totally made me want to go see all the crazy ma-chines that he talks about in the author's note.

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03/27/09

Rebekah rated it:

Very suspenseful and enjoyable. I'm a sucker for historical fiction, and this revolved around what I found to be a very interesting peice of historical deception.

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08/22/07

cindy rated it:

Read in August, 2007

recommends it for: Catholic Dwarf-Lovers

So, there's a magical chess-playing machine called the Mechanical Turk that was built by a dude to impress the Empress so he could quit his boring job as an administrator and focus on building a talking automaton. The Turk is secretly operated by a misanthropic chess-genius Catholic dwarf and apparently everyone in the 1770s is a complete fucking idiot as no one figures it out, but some people are, like, totally suspicious. Anyway, a hoochy-type lady dies under mysterious circumstances when she ...more

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01/18/09

Peter rated it:

bookshelves: chess, history

Read in May, 2007

A novelistic account of a true historical anecdote and the invention of the first chess playing machine, which of course was a fake.

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01/06/09

Susan rated it:

Read in October, 2008

A very interesting book about the 18th century "chess playing machine" It'll send you straight to wikipedia to learn more about The Turk!

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07/02/08

Sandy rated it:

Read in July, 2008

This is an interesting and sometimes humorous story. It is based on a historical truth that someone did create a false automaton to play chess in the guise of a Turk. All other parts of the story are complete fiction. There is a bit of court intrigue and the characters are interesting, I liked this story but was not blown away by it, I got the feeling it may have lost some of its humor in translation as it was originally written in German. I may not have given this read much of a chance rea...more

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12/20/08

Ofmatt marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read

This has a nice cover though I'm wary of anything chess-related. O.o

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01/28/09

Tom rated it:

AWSOME! I loved this book.

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03/07/09

Stacey P rated it:

Read in January, 2007

I loved this book!

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04/24/08

Kelly Hoffman rated it:

bookshelves: 2008, bookclub, history

Read in April, 2008

recommended to Kelly by: Kim Delaquil
recommends it for: people who like classy historical fiction

This is an entertaining little book about a German in the mid-1700's who creates a thinking, chess-playing machine. At least that's what he says. "Based on a true story" more or less, it's a fun, darkly comic look at life under the Hapsburgs and more broadly, the human experience struggling against the other side (whatever that is) and trying not to be just a cog in the machine.

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07/29/07

Duchess rated it:

Ooooh this book was so bland. If I wouldn't have had it on vacation with me I never would have made myself trudge through it! Its based on a true story, which greatly interested me, but the book itself just could not hold my interest. I don't know if it was the actual author's fault or the translator's? I didn't find the characters to be very well-written either.

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