Reggiecide

Reggiecide is a funny short story that resembles in some aspect Mel Brooks' films. Like these, is an affectionate parody of a genre (the early crime novel) that twist the usual themes in a wacky, tongue in check, and humorous way.
“A person, or persons, with at least one leg between them. Now, who else knew that your relative was here?”
I think Mr S-F was pretty impressed by my demonstration of the deductive arts, for he took a moment to reply, his mouth agape in obvious reverence.”
This aspect would be enough to make me appreciate Reggiecide, but there are also other elements that made me love this short story: a dash of Steampunk, a quote from Asimov, and the surprise appearance of Karl Marx (“The music hall entertainer, sir. show more One of the three Marx Brothers — Karlo, Engelo and Lenino — a song, a dance, and dialectical materialism.”).
I liked a lot Reggiecide, and now I'm a happy reader, because I discovered a new and enjoyable author. show less

Funny, extremely well-written, short&sweet.

All those words come to mind after reading this little masterpiece that re-creates (not a mere imitation, but a well-crafted re-creation) the style of the Conan Doyle books, with a none too subtle vein of fun that compounds to the enjoyment of the reading.

If I had to find a fault in it, I wish the book were longer, to have more time to delve into the life and facts of the gentlemanly detective, his sufragette fiancée, or his mechanical batman.

Highly commendable.

In this steam punk homage to PG Wodehouse (with a nod to Sherlock Holmes and a slight royal wave to Christie), it is 1903 and reanimating dead relatives has become something of a trend in England. Reginald Worcester, gentleman detective, and his steam operated automaton valet, Reeves have been hired to find Guy Fawkes who was reanimated by a relative to prove his innocence. Unfortunately, Guy has gone walk-about and may be planning on finishing what he started in the 17th c., blow up Parliament while the Queen is visiting.

As you might guess from the title, Reggiecide is a humourous take on the steam punk genre which has been known to take itself way too seriously. This short novella is full of puns and corny jokes some of them so old, show more they were probably already past their tell-by date in 1903 and yet, somehow, at least for me, it worked. No, this isn't great literature but it is damnably funny. It is also short enough to absorb in an hour or two when the holiday spirit is starting to get you down and you need an antidote to annoying relatives who just decided to drop in unannounced for Thanksgiving or Christmas or even that most British of holidays, Guy Fawkes Day. show less

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Reggiecide
Series: Reeves & Worcester Steampunk Mysteries #2
Author: Chris Dolley
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Steampunk Mystery
Pages: 68
Words: 21.5K

Synopsis:

From the Publisher

Guy Fawkes is back and this time it's a toss up who's going to be blown up first - Parliament or Reginald Worcester, gentleman consulting detective.

But Guy might not be the only regicide to have been dug up and reanimated. He might be a mere pawn in a plan of diabolical show more twistiness.

Only a detective with a rare brain - and Reggie's is amongst the rarest - could possibly solve this 'five-cocktail problem.' With the aid of Reeves, his automaton valet, Emmeline, his suffragette fiancée, and Farquharson, a reconstituted dog with an issue with Anglicans, Reggie sets out to save both Queen Victoria and the Empire.

My Thoughts:

I laughed almost the entire way through this book. Dolley has captured the spirit of PG Wodehouse and while I won't say he's improved it, he's distilled it to its essence and captured it in under 100 pages. I hadn't even realized how short it was until I went looking for the data. It didn't feel like a long book but it still felt like a complete story. That takes some talent as far as I'm concerned.

I do like that Reggie is affianced and not a single guy bumbling around. So far there have been no marriage proposal shenanigans and I'm guessing Dolley is staying away from that particular aspect of the original Jeeves & Wooster. Emmeline makes for a great catalyst to “make things happen” as she's a spitfire, dynamite and ball of wax all rolled into one.

A small part of me wants to complain that these novellas about Reeves & Worcester aren't long enough, but if I am being honest, they are just the right length. Long enough to be funny but not so long that they wear out the humor and send the reader off in a bad mood.

★★★★☆ show less

I received this book as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer and for no good reason I postponed reading it for way too long. This is actually a real fun book to read - a short detective story set in a fictional Victorian England where there's robots run by steam and dead people are brought back to life (don't take it too seriously!) There's a clever plot -- a revived Guy Fawkes is trying to blow up Parliament. Consulting Detective Worcester and his trusty side kick Reeves are called in the stop the plan. Worcester is a great send up of the stuffy pompous Victorian/Edwardian who really has no talent, but manages to get good results due to Reeves. I think the british call it muddling through., It's a laugh out loud story - easy to read in an show more hour or so and entertaining.

I recommend it to read for real pleasure. show less

Chris Dolley’s ‘Reggiecide’ is the second book in Dolley’s steampunk Worcester series, the first being ‘What Ho, Automaton’. I read it on a Kindle Touch.

Reginald Worcester is a gentleman’s consulting detective, with a passing acquaintance of detective work. Fortunately, he has the support of his automaton, Reeves, and his spunky fiancée, Emmeline.

In this episode, Reggie stumbles upon prometheans and necrometheans, reanimated dead people (and pets). Worse is to come – one of the necromeatheans has been misplaced. Guy Fawkes, reanimated to clear his name, cannot be found, and Worcester and Reeves are brought onto the case.

The story becomes a bizarre mix of Wodehouse, Frankenstein, Inspector Clouseau and Sherlock Holmes. show more Dolley pretty much manages to make this assortment work. Once I accepted some of the unlikely names and dialog, I enjoyed this brief story, journeying through an alternative Victorian London, above and below street level.

‘Reggiecide’ is light, funny, intriguing and easy to read. I will be looking for more of Dolley’s work when I need to fill a couple of hours and do not want to have to think too hard – ideal for travelling. show less

Can you imagine Jeeves and Wooster in a steampunk world with a little Frankenstein thrown in? If you think that's a good idea then you are going to LOVE Reggiecide. I find that a good book is enjoyable by the end of the first chapter. This book was good by the end of the first SENTENCE.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a chap in possession of a suffragette fiancee is in need of a pair of bolt cutters."

As you can guess this story is a treasure trove of homages as well as just a jolly good romp. Treat yourself to this joyride.