Robert Fleming Rankin

Cornelius Murphy and his friend Tuppe set off on an epic adventure to find the missing papers of self-proclaimed Grand Master of Everything, Hugo Artemis Solon Saturnicus Reginald Arthur Rune's book; The Book of Ultimate Truths. Starting out in Scotland, ready to buy the remaining items of an estate belonging to an old friend of Rune's, they make one too many enemies along the way, up to and including angry Scots.

Of all the authors I read, likeable and dislikeable, Robert Rankin is the only show more one that has taught me something in every single book. It may only be trivial matters, though can often be cultural gems, but every single book I read of his I have to hop on to Google and find out what he's talking about. His wonderful references to obscure little facts, or passing mentions of wonderful people who were alive long ago and have been forgotten by most, have been instrumental in my education of non-academic fancies.

I have yet to read every Rankin book, but thus far I have gleamed knowledge of the cornerstones of past cultures, from the academic to the (more often than not) occult. Crowley, Babbage, Tesla, Dadd: all were introduced to me via Rankin. Popular Culture also gets its foot in, from musicians to TV personalities: the kind of people that, as a young'un, have by-passed me because if it's not current, it's not popular, right?

Robert Rankin's writing is not sublime. It is often long-winded and he is very over-fond of the running gag. But he is the only writer who has ever made me laugh out loud in public (at a Cricket match, no less) and also sitting alone in my room. I cannot pick the book up again due to being unable to breath. No other writer has done that: not even Sir Terry Pratchett. He writes in the style of that secret voice we have in our mind, the one that is laughing at the person who has just tripped over, and won't stop giggling even as we help them up. It is the childlike voice that holds nothing sacred. show less

Nuts, mad, completely off his trolley, strange, and damned funny, Robert Rankin belongs to that kind of crazy writers enjoying creating twisted worlds... just so as to completely thrash them then through total chaos! If you can appreciate puerile and stupid humour (not vulgar), then, go for it!

A surprising cast, hilarious dialogues, the American Dream materializing itself right under our eyes and, beers, beers, beers flowing and flowing: forget about drugs. Read this stuff instead!

Quirky? Check.
Anthropomorphic toys? You betcha! And drunk to boot.
Murder most foul? Most definitely.
Chocolate? Rabbit shaped.

I really didn't know what to expect with this book, and as soon as I read the first chapter with the cannibalistic farmer with animals named after deadly diseases, I was hooked.

There are many young boys heading to the big city to find their fortune in literature. Very few of them discover that the city is inhabited entirely by toys, however, and stumble across a serial show more killer's plot to take out Toy City's old rich, the nursery rhyme characters.

Loved it.

Though the book never answered a question I had which was: "Was Humpty Dumpty really an egg?" show less

Fun fun fun! Rankin's very British humor and absurd situations are at their best. As far as the story.... you think Inception made it hard to know what level you were on? Nothing compared to Go Mango. You don't even know if you are living or are simply a simulation in a computer game. But the One who rules them all has made a mistake when it decided to mess with Brentford. You can rule neither Brentford, nor Ellie, the super-smart silver-haired Fantasy Female with three degrees, 12th Dan show more Master of the deadly art of Dimac, an expert in most fields of computer technology, and a top-notch video game player. Add in Big Bob and thou hast thyself a Jolly Buggaroo! show less