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Barking Mad Trilogy
Waiting for Godalming
God is dead. He died in mysterious circumstances while on a fishing trip to Norfolk, leaving a wife, three children and a great deal of valuable property.
According to God's last will and testament, he left his beloved planet Earth to his youngest son, Colin. Which seems mightily suspicious as the meek were expecting to inherit it. Colin is all for flogging it off to the highest bidder, a chum of his called Lou Cipher. God's wife is all for calling in a private eye, to expose the truth about her husband's sudden death. And if you're going to call in a private eye, then there's only one man you can call. And that's Lazlo Woodbine.
This could well be the great detective's biggest challenge ever. And with Laz on the case you know you can expect a lot of gratuitous sex and violence, a trail of corpses leading down an alleyway, a good deal of toot being talked in bars and a really spectacular rooftop ending.
According to God's last will and testament, he left his beloved planet Earth to his youngest son, Colin. Which seems mightily suspicious as the meek were expecting to inherit it. Colin is all for flogging it off to the highest bidder, a chum of his called Lou Cipher. God's wife is all for calling in a private eye, to expose the truth about her husband's sudden death. And if you're going to call in a private eye, then there's only one man you can call. And that's Lazlo Woodbine.
This could well be the great detective's biggest challenge ever. And with Laz on the case you know you can expect a lot of gratuitous sex and violence, a trail of corpses leading down an alleyway, a good deal of toot being talked in bars and a really spectacular rooftop ending.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2000
14 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
About the author
Robert Rankin
61 books861 followers"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 tales, a fitting description, assuming that he isn't lying about it. From his early beginnings as a baby in 1949, Robert Rankin has grown into a tall man of some stature. Somewhere along the way he experimented in the writing of books, and found that he could do it rather well. Not being one to light his hide under a bushel, Mister Rankin continues to write fine novels of a humorous science-fictional nature.
(from Web Site Story)
Robert Rankin describes himself as a teller of tall tales, a fitting description, assuming that he isn't lying about it. From his early beginnings as a baby in 1949, Robert Rankin has grown into a tall man of some stature. Somewhere along the way he experimented in the writing of books, and found that he could do it rather well. Not being one to light his hide under a bushel, Mister Rankin continues to write fine novels of a humorous science-fictional nature.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 20, 2015
My wife hates it when I read these books. As I start talking "toot" afterwards.
e.g Wife "She's a parody of herself"
Me "I could have a parody it could sit on my right shoulder and ask for crackers."
Oh how I laughed!
e.g Wife "She's a parody of herself"
Me "I could have a parody it could sit on my right shoulder and ask for crackers."
Oh how I laughed!
June 5, 2010
Robert Rankin is what would happen if a freak accident combined Christopher Moore and Neil Gaiman. Brilliant.
March 9, 2012
Waiting For Godalming by Robert Rankin tells the story of Lazlo Woodbine’s (the greatest detective on earth) greatest case ever – solving the mystery surrounding the murder of God. Yes, that’s right God. The Prime suspect? God’s other son – Colin. Who hired him to investigate this matter? God’s wife. And before I forget there’s the Holy Guardian Sprout called Barry living inside his head.
As well as this, there is a second storyline with main character Icarus Smith, who has chosen the profession of “re-locator” (read: thief), which aside of the run ins with the law – now get’s him into bigger trouble. He steals a suitcase of great importance and finds some new pills called “red head” – these are not a street drug, oh no. Once one is taken, that person can see the truth. They can see when a person is lying, if a person is good or bad. But most of all – they can now see the demon’s that live among us.
Does these two storylines ever marry up? Of course, but telling you how would spoil the fun.
Robert Rankin is one of my favourite authors, I just love his far-fetched-fiction – this one is on the more tamer side of that – but there’s still all the running gags, author notes and toot talking that comes with any Rankin novel and indeed Mr. Woodbine.
Sadly, I don’t think this is one of Rankin’s best – I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I have some of the others but I can’t pin point why.
The storyline is great – steeped in religion and slightly poking fun at it is right up my street, with a dash of conspiracy and some car chases – it’s pretty much all action.
As is expected the characters all have strange relationships with each other – a love/hate with some inside jokes thrown in.
Rankin always keeps you guessing until the very end about what’s really going on, this is no exception so you’ll definitely want to keep reading even though it’s not always a cliff hanger.
If you’ve never read a Rankin book before, don’t choose this one first. It’s really not his best. I’m glad a read it, and the ending was a surprise/shocker but I’m not singing it’s praises from the rooftops.
As well as this, there is a second storyline with main character Icarus Smith, who has chosen the profession of “re-locator” (read: thief), which aside of the run ins with the law – now get’s him into bigger trouble. He steals a suitcase of great importance and finds some new pills called “red head” – these are not a street drug, oh no. Once one is taken, that person can see the truth. They can see when a person is lying, if a person is good or bad. But most of all – they can now see the demon’s that live among us.
Does these two storylines ever marry up? Of course, but telling you how would spoil the fun.
Robert Rankin is one of my favourite authors, I just love his far-fetched-fiction – this one is on the more tamer side of that – but there’s still all the running gags, author notes and toot talking that comes with any Rankin novel and indeed Mr. Woodbine.
Sadly, I don’t think this is one of Rankin’s best – I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I have some of the others but I can’t pin point why.
The storyline is great – steeped in religion and slightly poking fun at it is right up my street, with a dash of conspiracy and some car chases – it’s pretty much all action.
As is expected the characters all have strange relationships with each other – a love/hate with some inside jokes thrown in.
Rankin always keeps you guessing until the very end about what’s really going on, this is no exception so you’ll definitely want to keep reading even though it’s not always a cliff hanger.
If you’ve never read a Rankin book before, don’t choose this one first. It’s really not his best. I’m glad a read it, and the ending was a surprise/shocker but I’m not singing it’s praises from the rooftops.
July 3, 2012
The blurb about Jesus and his brother Colin on the Goodreads page for this book has to be the most misleading blurb I've ever read. It's all mostly true, but it has a much, much smaller role to play in the novel than you would expect. Colin has about five lines and Jesus only comes in at the end.
What this book is actually about it the mystery of who killed God and why, and it all plays out on earth. The famous genre detective Lazlo Woodbine (who some call Laz) is on the case. It's a briefcase this time, at least until he's forced to drop it when Eartha, God's wife, hires Lazlo to find her husband. The briefcase has been picked up by Icarus Smith, a young 'relocator' whose dream it is to relocate things until the world has been put right. Inside the case are some devastating secrets and the means to change the way people see the world.
It's all thoroughly ridiculous, which of course is what you're looking for (or should expect) when you pick up a Robert Rankin novel. It didn't work for me in this case though. It was funny at first, then degenerated into "Ok enough now" and finally "Jesus Christ, just get on with it". The gags are repeated way too often and it's all a bit boring. It's not dreadful, but if you're thinking of reading it, keep browsing.
What this book is actually about it the mystery of who killed God and why, and it all plays out on earth. The famous genre detective Lazlo Woodbine (who some call Laz) is on the case. It's a briefcase this time, at least until he's forced to drop it when Eartha, God's wife, hires Lazlo to find her husband. The briefcase has been picked up by Icarus Smith, a young 'relocator' whose dream it is to relocate things until the world has been put right. Inside the case are some devastating secrets and the means to change the way people see the world.
It's all thoroughly ridiculous, which of course is what you're looking for (or should expect) when you pick up a Robert Rankin novel. It didn't work for me in this case though. It was funny at first, then degenerated into "Ok enough now" and finally "Jesus Christ, just get on with it". The gags are repeated way too often and it's all a bit boring. It's not dreadful, but if you're thinking of reading it, keep browsing.
July 5, 2018
Good Rankin. Lazlo Woodbine, Jesus, and many brothers. And get a woman to say the word “Plinth”. It’s wonderful.
August 25, 2023
Zwei Sterne, weil das Buch unterhaltsam genug war, um mich davon abzuhalten, die Lektüre abzubrechen. Schon nach 3 Kapiteln fand ich diesen ständigen Wechsel auf die Meta-Ebene der Erzählung als humoristisches Stilmittel gähnend langweilig. Hinzu kamen die teilweise seitenlangen (wirklich!) Dialoge mit unzähligen Running Gags und Anspielungen, aber dafür praktisch null Informationsgehalt für die eigentlich zu erzählende Geschichte. Nur die skurrilen, frechen Seitenhiebe in Richtung der absurden christlichen Glaubensmythen hatten für mich einen gewissen Unterhaltungswert (Gott hat eine Schwäche für jüdische Jungfrauen, was dazu geführt hat, dass er mehrere Kinder hat, die sich kaum leiden können, was wiederum seine Ehefrau Eartha nicht besonders prickelnd findet - und nun ist er ermordet worden, und alle sind verdächtig, derweil auf der Welt natürlich großes Unheil droht…)
Mein erstes Robert Rankin Buch. Und leider höchstwahrscheinlich auch das Letzte.
Mein erstes Robert Rankin Buch. Und leider höchstwahrscheinlich auch das Letzte.
January 26, 2023
Having already read one of Robert Rankin's book (Snuff Fiction) I found that this one was very similar. The 'nudge nudge, wink wink' style of jokeyness in which the reader is expected to go along with weird concepts because they constitute a running gag. I found this style refreshing the first time, but by the second book it was wearing a bit thin.
I have awarded this book four stars on the grounds that it is probably a good book if this is your first Robert Rankin book.
I have awarded this book four stars on the grounds that it is probably a good book if this is your first Robert Rankin book.
December 9, 2025
Barry the Time Sprout, Brentford, and far-fetched adventure abound. I read this hard on the heels of Sprout Mask Replica and a reread of Dance of the Voodoo Handbag (the details of which I had largely forgotten since 2012...), and I think this was my favourite of the three.
A shorter review than usual, but then Goodreads ate my first effort.
A shorter review than usual, but then Goodreads ate my first effort.
November 9, 2022
I’m a sucker for any Laszlo Woodbine focused Rankin book, and this one was a hell of a lot more coherent than the other two.
June 11, 2023
Probably Mr Rankin's finest book - a Lazlo Woodbine classic, packed with corny puns and surreal twists.
October 2, 2024
Not my style of writing, too much unnecessary adjectives and scene shifting, and the conversations appeared overdone. Finished it but found it hard going.
September 3, 2020
Lazlo Woodbine, the greatest detective on Earth, has his most important case ever. God has been murdered and his other son, Colin, is set to inherit the Earth instead of The Meek (they should get something because they have a Hell of a time). So Woodbine needs to find out who killed God, though he doesn't know for sure who hired him. We also have Icarus Smith, a "Re-locator" (thief) who has stolen a briefcase that holds the key to the secrets of what is happening on Earth. The two storylines of course meet in ways you may or may not be able to believe.
The Woodbine novels have been among Rankin's weakest and this one is no exception. Woodbine has never been a particularly interesting protagonist and Smith really doesn't add much to the stew. There are many of Rankin's running gags and tropes, but they just don't quite stick here.
If you're a Rankin fan it's probably worth a read. But it likely won't make you a fan and it's definitely not the place to start.
The Woodbine novels have been among Rankin's weakest and this one is no exception. Woodbine has never been a particularly interesting protagonist and Smith really doesn't add much to the stew. There are many of Rankin's running gags and tropes, but they just don't quite stick here.
If you're a Rankin fan it's probably worth a read. But it likely won't make you a fan and it's definitely not the place to start.
February 25, 2009
Humour and comedy is hard. So's intertextuality. I've got an odd sense of humour to say the least, and while I love intertextuality, I only love it if it is done unintrusively, so you can read and appreciate the story even if you don't get all the little nudgenudgewinkwinkknowwhatImeanknowwhatImeans, I also really hate when an author does this: "You could wait for Mr Godalming. Get it? Waiting for Godalming, as in Waiting for Godot. That's a good 'un, eh?". I also hated 'Waiting for Godot' with a passion, which I guess doesn't help matters much. The story of 'Waiting for Godalming' is a little bit Philip K Dickian, even if PKD had more plot twists and was harder to dechipher and the basic premise is sort of amusing, even if it's quite clear what happened quite early in the book (I don't think it's supposed to be, but it is). I also never liked pot boilers, American 1950ies hard boiled private eyes, cheap fat jokes or Evil Wife jokes, so 2 out of 5 it is.
January 30, 2016
To be honest, I think this book deserves closer to 3.5 stars. I couldn't quite bring myself to give it 4 stars, though, so I rounded down.
It's good, not great. The story is unique and interesting. The characters are well-drawn out. Overall, I enjoyed it and I will give Robert Rankin another go.
What made it impossible for me to give it that 4th star was the over-the-top 1950s-esque American detective story style that roughly half the book is written in. I found it very difficult to stomach.
As I said the Icharus Smith chapters were good, so I'll give Rankin another chance. But hold the Lazlo Woodbine, please.
It's good, not great. The story is unique and interesting. The characters are well-drawn out. Overall, I enjoyed it and I will give Robert Rankin another go.
What made it impossible for me to give it that 4th star was the over-the-top 1950s-esque American detective story style that roughly half the book is written in. I found it very difficult to stomach.
As I said the Icharus Smith chapters were good, so I'll give Rankin another chance. But hold the Lazlo Woodbine, please.
July 26, 2011
Der größte Fall aller Zeiten! Gott ist tot und seine Frau möchte wissen warum... sowas von lustig geschrieben, spannend und extrem unterhaltsam! Sehr Empfehlenswert wenn man skurile Charaktere und Storys mag!
August 27, 2012
I gave up on this book after the first few chapters when I found myself not in the least bit interested about going back to it. It's supposed to be humourous, but I'm afraid it didn't raise so much as a wry smile from me. It just feels like the author is trying too hard and failing.
October 26, 2012
Copy of my Launchpad review from 2001:
God is dead. The Meek have not inherited the Earth.
But, nobody panic, Lazlo Woodbine is on the case.
Robert Rankin revives his homage to film noir in another hilarious trip to Brentford.
God is dead. The Meek have not inherited the Earth.
But, nobody panic, Lazlo Woodbine is on the case.
Robert Rankin revives his homage to film noir in another hilarious trip to Brentford.
May 6, 2021
THE definitive Laslo Woodbine case.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews