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Retromancer (Brentford #9)
There is big and evil magic upon the face of the Earth, and history has consequently been changed. The Germans have won World War II; America is a nuclear wasteland; and worst of all the breakfast menu at The Wife's Legs Café in Brentford is serving bratwurst rather than the proper British sausage. When the world is all wrong and it needs setting right, the only hope left...more
Hardcover, 348 pages
Published
January 1st 2010
by Gollancz
(first published December 17th 2009)
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Jun 23, 2011
Lisa
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Lisa by:
Brian Stanton
After his previous adventures with Hugo Rune (detailed in other books, which I haven't read, though that isn't necessary to get into this one), his acolytle Rizla wakes one morning to find that history has taken a wrong turn - the Germans won World War II and all Rizla can now get for brekkie is bratwurst. Therefore, he and his mentor set out for the past to try and put things right.
What follows is an absurd and punny comic tale, which amuses and irritates in equal measure; to put right the past...more
What follows is an absurd and punny comic tale, which amuses and irritates in equal measure; to put right the past...more
Rankin is trying to create his own niche in fiction, and I suppose he has succeeded. But this book makes me think of the generic British character who laughs uproariously at his own jokes and punches you on the shoulder while shouting, "Geddit? Geddit? HAHAHARHAR!"
I never cared for Adams's Infinite Improbability Drive, and Rankin takes it a step beyond, not only pulling things out of thin air but also repeatedly pointing out that a continuity gap has just occurred. Even Doctor Who does better th...more
I never cared for Adams's Infinite Improbability Drive, and Rankin takes it a step beyond, not only pulling things out of thin air but also repeatedly pointing out that a continuity gap has just occurred. Even Doctor Who does better th...more
Robert Rankin is an acquired taste - but one I acquired many years ago. In fact I remember being really irritated once because I accidentally picked up a book by a new author, close on the shelves, with very similar covers, some upstart called Terry Pratchett.
Rankin write totally bonkers humorous fantasy, and has broadly gone through three phases. He started off with a cracking three books - the Brentford trilogy which were superb. After that he wandered around a bit with books that often had wo...more
Rankin write totally bonkers humorous fantasy, and has broadly gone through three phases. He started off with a cracking three books - the Brentford trilogy which were superb. After that he wandered around a bit with books that often had wo...more
Oh, I should've liked this book so much more than I did. Alternative history! The Second World War! Unexpected Alan Turing! (And really, I should do a tally at the end of the year to see just how many books I've read featuring him.) It was fun, I'll give it that, and I honestly did like Rizla, the narrator, but I honestly never understood why anyone was doing anything. I have this feeling Rankin was trying to lampshade the way fantasy heroes do things for no apparent reason - or because of Fate-...more
At times it felt like walking into a movie in the last ten minutes and not having a clue as to what had taken place in the first three-quarters. Robert Rankin must have suffered some debilitating nerve and muscle damage after the amount of winks and nods he inserted in "Retromancer". On the plus side, Rankin can sure spin a yarn. Gaping holes in the plot and narrative notwithstanding it was humourous, fast-paced, and intelligent. It has piqued my curiousity about the other books in the series. I...more
'You have a plan, do you not?' I said.
'Naturally. Twelve cases and we win the war.'
'Twelve cases, I see.' And I did. Well, sort of.
It is always twelve cases, as I have told you before. It is always to do with time and it always involves the solving of twelve Cosmic Conundra. It is what I do and what I am.'
'And I will be proud to aid you' I said.
The teenage Jim Pooley is surprised when his aunt serves him bratwurst for breakfast one morning rather than bangers. When he ventures out into the stree...more
'Naturally. Twelve cases and we win the war.'
'Twelve cases, I see.' And I did. Well, sort of.
It is always twelve cases, as I have told you before. It is always to do with time and it always involves the solving of twelve Cosmic Conundra. It is what I do and what I am.'
'And I will be proud to aid you' I said.
The teenage Jim Pooley is surprised when his aunt serves him bratwurst for breakfast one morning rather than bangers. When he ventures out into the stree...more
I liked this novel in the very beginning - but it quickly spiraled down. The quick descent started with the introduction of the pompous hero who is pompous because its suppose to be funny. Other self-absorbed hero characters can pull this off, not so here. I quickly became bored with it and found him annoying, his self-assurance always panned out for him - which makes for an infallible character whom I can't empathize with. The main(?) character - a young English lad, I liked, a pragmatic fella....more
All is not right in young Jim Pooley's home of Brentford, what with all those jackbooted Nazis marching around the village, German appliances everywhere, and the cafe serving bratwurst--bratwurst!--for breakfast instead of the proper English. Clearly history has changed--for the worst--since Jim's last adventure (helpfully chronicled, for the curious reader, in The Brightonomicon), and somehow the Nazis won World War II. It's up to Jim, with the aid of his teacher Hugo Rune (adventurer, genius,...more
I love movie comedies but it is rare that I like a funny book and I have read several in the past including Robert Rankin and each time they just miss my funny bone. I think the only recent one that comes to mind is Mystery Man by Colin Bateman which I enjoyed. So you ask why did I read this then well yet again it was the book club choice. I just found it silly and I love screwball comedies but I just can't read them. This is a fail for me and I'm sorry because I wanted to like it.
I'm a Rankin noob, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this. Unfortunately I chose the second book in a series to start with, although ultimately, I don't think it mattered.
From start to finish, Rankin writes with humour and pace. His characters are at once bizarre, funny, and likeable. I found the main body of the book formulaic: there are twelve cases for the main characters to solve, and each seems to start with a piss-up and some nosh in the local pub. I say formulaic, but in no way is that...more
From start to finish, Rankin writes with humour and pace. His characters are at once bizarre, funny, and likeable. I found the main body of the book formulaic: there are twelve cases for the main characters to solve, and each seems to start with a piss-up and some nosh in the local pub. I say formulaic, but in no way is that...more
I didn't like it. don't get me wrong, it had potential, but I just didn't feel any connection or sympathy for the characters.
this is the first one of Robert Rankin's books I've tried though, maybe a different one will be better for me.
this is the first one of Robert Rankin's books I've tried though, maybe a different one will be better for me.
The book's young narrator wakes up to a world where the Germans have won World War II. With the help of the great Mr Rune, he must solve a series of mysteries in order to change history back to its correct course. Funny and clever.
Average Rankin based upon the adventures of Hugo Rune and Rizla. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of these shorts stories (much like Brightonomicon), but nevertheless it does have it's charms (and running gags)!
While I didn't find it as uproariously funny as some other Rankin novels, this is still a good laugh. I'm starting to recognise some of his regular characters and locations; this familiarity adds to the enjoyment.
I randomly stumbled across this book in the library and am so glad I did! What a funny, out there and random story that made me laugh out loud. I will absolutely see out Hugo Rune and Rizla again.
Rankin is very clever but I tend to like more plot and character development in my stories -- most of the chapters seemed to exist only to allow Rankin to make a particular pun.
While it was difficult at first to catch on to Rankin's writing style, after the first few chapters I couldn't put it down!
broke my funny bone.
I could not get into this book. Maybe some other time, some other life....
This romp through time travel, magic, and science fiction tropes is a good laugh. It also seems to be at least part two in an ongoing storyline. This I didn't realize. But it's not so hard to pick up what was happening. Think Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett but a little more eccentric and you're on the right track. If you enjoy those authors you might like this one. I may yet read something else by Robert Rankin. It was decidedly silly and fun and occasionally very very strange.
Another author who appears to be not as good as he used to be. Not bad, but irritating in places.
I was a little taken aback at the style of this book. Is this "stream of consciousness" writing? The story was sound enough, and I liked the bit about King Arthur returning as a robot, and I'd like to smoke a Wild Woodbine, but I think I ought to have read the series from the beginning to fully appreciate the style and characters. I'll hang on to it to read again in a few years, definitely.
Feb 03, 2011
Daphne (Winged Reviews)
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
book-club,
science-fiction
I wanted to enjoy this book more. It was an easy read with short chapters, but sometimes it gets lost in its own craziness. I'm not too fond of any of the characters, although I have to admit I laughed considerably through some sections of the book and the plot, while convuluted, was enough to keep me interested. My favourite pun? The fact that ales were named after typefaces.
Meh. It was only meh, and there was random unnecessary transphobia in the middle of it, otherwise I might have rated it slightly higher.
Although it was mostly what I expected, I guess the 'far-fetched fiction' genre isn't for me. I did like the mentions to the TARDIS, Lord of the Rings, and others, and the book made me smile on some occasions. If you like stuff like Terry Pratchet's work, you'll probably like it.
Lots of self-referential humour, but not much beyond Rankin's usual formula. Definitely not one for the uninitiated.
May 24, 2013
Al SpaceAlien Clove
marked it as to-read
May 23, 2013
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May 22, 2013
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"When Robert Rankin embarked upon his writing career in the late 1970s, his ambition was to create an entirely new literary genre, which he named Far-Fetched Fiction. He reasoned that by doing this he could avoid competing with any other living author in any known genre and would be given his own special section in WH Smith."
(from Web Site Story)
Robert Rankin describes himself as a teller of tall...more
More about Robert Rankin...
(from Web Site Story)
Robert Rankin describes himself as a teller of tall...more
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Oct 29, 2010 06:26am