What Ho, Automaton!

One of the more fun stories from The Shadow Conspiracy II was Chris Dolley's Wodehousian pastiche, What Ho! Automaton - which detailed the rescue of steam-powered valet Reeves by the hapless buffoon Reginald Worcester and their bonding while foiling the plans of evil aunts. Collected here, along with a new novel length story (Something Rummy this way Comes), the parody is accurate and entertaining. And while the story is never going to change worlds, it's still a jolly good romp.

Reeves and Worcester share the same universe as the rest of the Shadow Conspiracy collections, but abandon any of the more ominous aspects in favour of a lighter style that is more like Wodehouse fan fiction than scifi. The original short (for which the book is show more named) deals with our heroes' meeting and adventures while trying to figure out what's amiss with his cousin's new fiancée.

The meat of the book, Something Rummy this way Comes, is a romp through the balls, debutantes, and vaguries of late-Victorian British Society. Reggie's aunts (who are more viscious than veloceraptors) have had enough of his caddish ways and demand he tours the ball circuit to find a wife. Unfortunately all the available debutantes are disappearing and it's up to Reggie (aided by the super steam brain of Reeves) to find out where to. On the way he meets spirited Emeline who, like her namesake, will chain herself to a railing in a heartbeat and tries to find the ape or eunuch he is sure is to blame.

This is such a fun book that it's impossible to find anything wrong with it. Yes, it is a little rough around the edges, but the voicing is pitched perfectly - to the point where I can only imagine Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry as the main characters (take note movie adaptors - start saving now). Some nice comic touches reflect the differences between this and the world of Jeeves and Wooster (Queen Victoria's been saved by replacing her legs with steam-driven ones) and the whole tale hangs together nicely.

Even better, it costs less than £2. Perfect for reading on the beach.

http://bit.ly/lM23UL show less

A rollicking good read! Not having read the original Wodehouse (although feeling a sudden desire to) but being a huge fan of the TV series I adored these stories - I could hear Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry in my head. True to character and quick of wit, I couldn't stop laughing. Bally good show wot!

What Ho, Automation! By Chris Dolley

The mind boggles perceiving Reeves (Jeeves of Steven Fry fame) as an automation being charged via his belly button--unlike those German automations!
Automation or not, Reeves has lost none of his ‘grey matter’ (as Bertie calls it) due to incarceration in a cupboard in an attic for many years.
Bertie Worcester is still the inane upper British class feather brain he’s always been—only more so if that’s at all possible!

This is an amusing romp that doesn’t tax the reader’s brain cells, although it may at times strain their credulity. The action is scattered throughout with hapless British sayings and amusing anecdotes and strange automations. For instance, at the Drone’s club, when it is show more declared that this was an emergency because Reggie has aunt trouble and needed to consult “like the Red Sea, when confronted by Moses holding a note from his mother’s sister, the throng parted,”. Such is the understanding of the gentlemen.

I kept visualizing Steven Fry and Hugh Laurie in full flight complete with their voices throughout this misadventure. Events unfold in vivid color with high definition overtones.
If he’s not confronting his ex fiancé and her Pomeranians, giant pigs and other Prometheans, Bertie is cavorting all over the countryside searching for missing debutantes! What Ho indeed! A fine salute to Wodehouse masquerading as steampunk! show less

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Title: What Ho, Automaton!
Series: Reeves & Worcester Steampunk Mysteries #1
Author: Chris Dolley
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Steampunk Mystery
Pages: 143
Words: 52K

Synopsis:

From the Publisher

What Ho, Automaton! chronicles the adventures of Reggie Worcester, gentleman consulting detective, and his gentleman’s personal gentle-automaton, Reeves.

Reggie, an avid reader of detective fiction, knows two things about solving crime: One, the guilty party is show more always the person you least suspect. And, two, The Murders in the Rue Morgue would have been solved a lot sooner had the detective the foresight to ask the witnesses if they’d seen any orang-utans recently. Reeves needs all his steam-powered cunning and intellect to curb the young master’s excessive flights of fancy. And prevent him from getting engaged.

The book contains two stories set in an alternative 1903 where an augmented Queen Victoria is still on the throne and automata are a common sight below stairs.

What Ho, Automaton! - an 8,000 word novelette of how the two met.

Something Rummy This Way Comes – a 41,000 word novella chronicling their first case. When Reggie discovers that four debutantes have gone missing in the first month of The London Season and, for fear of scandal, none of the families have called the police, he feels compelled to investigate. With the help of Reeves’s giant brain and extra helpings of fish, he conducts an investigation that only a detective of rare talent could possibly envisage.

Mystery, Zeppelins, Aunts and Humour. A steam-powered Wodehouse pastiche.

My Thoughts:

Oh my! This hit my Wodehouse funny bone perfectly. This is a parody of PG Wodehouse's Jeeves & Wooster series and I'm not sure it would really work if you're not familiar with the original. However, I AM familiar with the original and this send up had me in stitches. If you're not familiar with English English (as opposed to Real American English) Worcester is pronounced almost the same as Wooster, so even the names are a great parody.

This is not a timeless classic. But it is a boatload of fun and had me laughing out loud. It reminded me of my reaction to the first couple of Jeeves books. And since there are only four books in this Reeves and Worcester series, I don't have to worry about going overboard and burning out on the humor (which is pretty much what happened to me with Jeeves, too much in a row).

The steampunk side of things was handled very lightly so it didn't overwhelm the story but it had some big intrusions (the Queen is a cyborg and the Germans are trying to replace British royalty with robots) so if steampunk is your thing, this should fill that itch.

The only reason I'm not giving this 5stars is because there is one rather “swishy” character that really toed the line but didn't cross it and a rather crude sentence near the end about body parts.

★★★★☆ show less

I enjoyed every page of this book. A steampunk novel that combines classic British Humor, tongue-in-cheek references to Sherlock Holmes and a cast of great characters. I don't think I've actually laughed out loud this much while reading a book in a very long time. I just wish people talked like Reggie Worcester in real life all the time!

You know, I really liked this book. I'm a huge fan of P. G. Wodehouse and have read a great deal of what he wrote, and I find this book to be so similar that the comparisons are startling. The biggest difference is the introduction of the automaton in a universe where the technology didn't exist. While that could have been off-putting, it seemed so natural and it fit so well that after the first few references/contacts in the book I didn't really notice the 'out-of-place'-ness of it - and this is coming from a confirmed Wodehouse fan - high praise indeed!

This is Wodehouse in a steampunk universe, to use the phrase currently describing the alternate Victorian universe. The humour is engaging, the characters are as fleshed out (pun show more intended) as any I've read, the writing is engaging, and the story(ies) fun. A great read, and a writer to watch for! show less

While many reviewers equate this book to those of P.G. Wodehouse, I have not read any of those books. (After reading "What Ho, Automaton!", I find myself inspired to do so!). Instead, I find it reminiscent of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest", which I adore. One shouldn't expect this pair of steampunk-flavored short stories to be anything but fun, as the length of the tales somewhat prevents much character exploration. I think, however, that upon further investigation, one might find that poor Reginald Worchester is a man of very little character, indeed. Accompanied by his faithful automaton-manservant, Reeves, Wochester dodges the wrath of aunts, avoids troths that might inadvertently be plighted without one's notice, show more and casts aspersions upon eunuchs and orangutans alike. I can't wait to see more from this author. show less