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Apocalypso
by
The Ministry of Serendipity at Mornington Crescent runs everything. And that is everything. When the Ministry learns of' a spacecraft that crashed four thousand years ago into the Pacific Ocean, it sends Sir John Rimmer and his elite team of' paranormal investigators to recover it. Amongst Sir John's team is Danbury Collins, and Danbury isn't keen. He's seen the movies. He
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Paperback, 398 pages
Published
2002
by Bastei Lübbe
(first published 1998)
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Robert Rankin on fine form.
I was a little underwhelmed by the 'Armageddon' series, so I decided to read a stand-alone book of his instead. I'm glad I did - here we have Rankin's staples of a socially awkward and unwilling hero, allies who are more of a hindrance than a help, a committee of villains whose attempts to control things are complete rubbish, and the threat of an apocalypse. All achieved with aplomb!
With some laugh-out-loud passages, rude jokes and a breathtaking scope and pace, this i ...more
I was a little underwhelmed by the 'Armageddon' series, so I decided to read a stand-alone book of his instead. I'm glad I did - here we have Rankin's staples of a socially awkward and unwilling hero, allies who are more of a hindrance than a help, a committee of villains whose attempts to control things are complete rubbish, and the threat of an apocalypse. All achieved with aplomb!
With some laugh-out-loud passages, rude jokes and a breathtaking scope and pace, this i ...more
It's been a long time since I last read a Robert Rankin book. I haven't laughed out loud during a book as much as I did in this one for a long time. Rankin's way of mocking his own writing style and unashamed acknowledgments of the plot inconsistencies built into the story all add to the enjoyment. The frequent lapses into poetry for room setting descriptions was a highlight of the book for me, although the penis gags were wearing a bit thin by the end (probably because of all the rub-tugging).
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2.5. Usually, when faced with a half-star, I grant an extra half. However, I would prefer to describe this book as 'okay' rather than 'good'. I had a very good time reading the first few chapters, indeed they made me chuckle heartily. Then it was lost in the crowd of rub-tugging jokes, sprouts and emotional dialogue.
Definitely will read more of his books hoping to find more of what the initial chapters contained. ...more
Definitely will read more of his books hoping to find more of what the initial chapters contained. ...more
There really isn't much to say. The book is OK; not up to Rankings usual high standards and little underwhelming. Much like this review.
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This reviews the audiobook narrated by the author, which just reminds me of the John Finnemore sketch about the author who rejects Sir Ian McKellan and tries to narrate his own sexy espionage novel with disastrous results. This is not like that. Just reminded me of the sketch. I used to aver that poets should never read their own work, but Chuck Sullivan put that to rest and now I enjoy poets reading their stuff. While not Nigel Planer or Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Rankin does a good job of not ruin
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Another predictable but endearing Rankin novel, this time of Porrig, a misanthropic youth, who helps save the World from a rather aggressive alien vegetable. This has many corny jokes, including quite a few familiar ones reworked, and enough funny moments and scenarios to make it an entertaining read, if fifty-or-so pages too long. 3.5 stars.
I believe this is the second appearance of Rankin's team of psychic investigators, Sir John Rimmer, Dr Harney, and Danbury Collins. Working for the Ministry of Serendipity located under Mornington Crescent, which secretly runs the world, the three of them go to a Pacific island where an alien sprout monster is making a comeback. The alien, whose name is Dilbert Norris, landed on Earth centuries earlier and got humans to worship him as a god, but was trapped under the sea after the sinking of Mu.
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While this rather strange and quirky book made me chuckle at times, I felt that it could have used some trimming here and there. In particular, some types of jokes, while funny, were overused from time to time. Still, I liked the story of the put-upon Porrig learning about other worlds and creatures and finding the courage to save this world.
Robert Rankin fills red exercise books with bizarre scribblings in his local pub until they reach the length of a novel. And it shows. This is my favourite of his weird ramblings, it had me choking with laughter. The novel is also notable for finally revealing what's hidden underneath Mornington Crescent tube station.
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Can't exactly remember when I read this from the library a few years ago, however having just read Retromancer reminded me of this one - the Ministry of Serendipity, regular plots turned inside out etc etc
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A great read, very funny.
Apocalypso by Robert Rankin (1999)
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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
(from Web Site Story)
Robert Rankin describes himself as a teller of tall ...more
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