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Japanese Devil Fish Girl #2
The Mechanical Messiah and Other Marvels of the Modern Age
The newest opus from the Master of Far Fetched Fiction features magic, mayhem, mechanical marvels, messianic madness, and the music hall
Colonel Katterfelto has returned to London, having departed America under something of a cloud—of smoke, issuing from his Spiritual Laboratory, which the townsfolk of Wormcast, Arizona, marched upon with their flaming torches. This catastrophic conflagration caused considerable concern to the pious colonel, who had been engaged in the creation of "Heaven's last and best gift to Mankind," The Mechanical Messiah—he was, after all, being guided in this Great Work by holy angels, communicating to him through his monkey butler, Darwin. It is 1897, the British Empire encompasses Mars, and an uneasy peace exists between the peoples of Venus, Jupiter, and Earth. In London the marvels of the modern age to be experienced include The Electric Alhambra Music Hall, where crowds thrill to The Earl Grey Whistle Test—a musical extravaganza featuring such top turns as Hayward's Acrobatic Kiwis, The Travelling Formbys, and the newly-arrived Colonel Katterfelto's Clockwork Minstrels. But all is far from well in old Whitechapel, where a monster is once more abroad in the night-time streets, committing hideous acts of murder. Can this be the return of Jack the Ripper, or has something altogether unearthly and Hellishly evil materialized? Famed consulting detective Cameron Bell is already on the case, but it may take nothing less than the New Messiah Himself to save London, The Empire, and all of the solar system from the impending apocalypse!
Colonel Katterfelto has returned to London, having departed America under something of a cloud—of smoke, issuing from his Spiritual Laboratory, which the townsfolk of Wormcast, Arizona, marched upon with their flaming torches. This catastrophic conflagration caused considerable concern to the pious colonel, who had been engaged in the creation of "Heaven's last and best gift to Mankind," The Mechanical Messiah—he was, after all, being guided in this Great Work by holy angels, communicating to him through his monkey butler, Darwin. It is 1897, the British Empire encompasses Mars, and an uneasy peace exists between the peoples of Venus, Jupiter, and Earth. In London the marvels of the modern age to be experienced include The Electric Alhambra Music Hall, where crowds thrill to The Earl Grey Whistle Test—a musical extravaganza featuring such top turns as Hayward's Acrobatic Kiwis, The Travelling Formbys, and the newly-arrived Colonel Katterfelto's Clockwork Minstrels. But all is far from well in old Whitechapel, where a monster is once more abroad in the night-time streets, committing hideous acts of murder. Can this be the return of Jack the Ripper, or has something altogether unearthly and Hellishly evil materialized? Famed consulting detective Cameron Bell is already on the case, but it may take nothing less than the New Messiah Himself to save London, The Empire, and all of the solar system from the impending apocalypse!
485 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2011
12 people are currently reading
382 people want to read
About the author
Robert Rankin
60 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 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 3, 2022
This is Rankin’s second instalment in his revisionist steampunk series, in which the Martian invasion in The War Of The Worlds actually happened, after which Charles Babbage and Nikola Tesla reverse-engineered Martian technology, the British Empire expanded to Mars, and Victorian London has become a technologically advanced steampunk city with ray guns, spaceships, wireless electricity and things of that nature generally. There’s also a talking monkey named Darwin, who is the only character from the first book (The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions) to appear here.
In this one, Colonel Katterfelto – a veteran of the Martian war – is down on his luck due to a failed attempt to build a Mechanical Messiah, which he believes will bring about a Utopian society on Earth. He is keen to make a second attempt, but success hinges on taking a party of Jovian tourists on a game-hunting safari on Venus, where people are prohibited from landing. Meanwhile, private detective Cameron Bell – the inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, despite bearing an uncanny resemblance to Mr Pickwick – is attempting to find out who is disintegrating top-billed acts at the Electric Alhambra Music Hall onstage – and why his acquaintance Aleister Crowley desperately wants to acquire the Ring of Moses. Bell must also protect Alice Lovell, a music hall artist who conducts a team of acrobatic kiwi birds – and has been through the looking glass, if you see what I’m saying.
If that sounds like a lot, well, it is. It’s a very busy novel even by Rankin standards, and it takes awhile for everything to more or less cohere. But then Rankin specializes in keeping the reader (hopefully) entertained with running gags, lyrical description and general weirdness while the story percolates in the background somewhere. So it’s entertaining, if you like that sort of thing – which I generally do. That said, I did feel Rankin overdoes it a little here, jamming in as many ideas and Victorian pop culture references as he can, so it feels a bit bloated and unfocused at times. On the other hand, he does seem to enjoy himself.
(FUN FACT: Someone actually did try to build a Mechanical Messiah in the 1850s in hopes of creating a Utopian paradise – you can read about it here. Be advised that Rankin’s version bears little resemblance beyond the name.)
In this one, Colonel Katterfelto – a veteran of the Martian war – is down on his luck due to a failed attempt to build a Mechanical Messiah, which he believes will bring about a Utopian society on Earth. He is keen to make a second attempt, but success hinges on taking a party of Jovian tourists on a game-hunting safari on Venus, where people are prohibited from landing. Meanwhile, private detective Cameron Bell – the inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, despite bearing an uncanny resemblance to Mr Pickwick – is attempting to find out who is disintegrating top-billed acts at the Electric Alhambra Music Hall onstage – and why his acquaintance Aleister Crowley desperately wants to acquire the Ring of Moses. Bell must also protect Alice Lovell, a music hall artist who conducts a team of acrobatic kiwi birds – and has been through the looking glass, if you see what I’m saying.
If that sounds like a lot, well, it is. It’s a very busy novel even by Rankin standards, and it takes awhile for everything to more or less cohere. But then Rankin specializes in keeping the reader (hopefully) entertained with running gags, lyrical description and general weirdness while the story percolates in the background somewhere. So it’s entertaining, if you like that sort of thing – which I generally do. That said, I did feel Rankin overdoes it a little here, jamming in as many ideas and Victorian pop culture references as he can, so it feels a bit bloated and unfocused at times. On the other hand, he does seem to enjoy himself.
(FUN FACT: Someone actually did try to build a Mechanical Messiah in the 1850s in hopes of creating a Utopian paradise – you can read about it here. Be advised that Rankin’s version bears little resemblance beyond the name.)
May 26, 2023
An easy if somewhat crazy read!! 😜 There's about 6 different stories that eventually converge but until they do the story seems a bit everywhere! Would say Robert Rankin either had some dogey mushrooms himself or has a very weird mind, either way an interesting if not fantastic read.
July 15, 2019
more romping through the late 1800s. Cameron bell, Darwin the monkey butler. Colonel katterfelto, alive and her kiwis
July 28, 2020
Rankin really is the 'Master of Silliness'. If you want something light, fun and downright bonkers, then this is it. Very entertaining.
December 29, 2021
The story has very little to do with the mechanical messiah until the very end, so this book is slightly misnamed. Not Rankin's best, but still entertaining.
November 20, 2013
This is actually the sequel to The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions, but I haven't read that one yet. It stands on its own pretty well, though. Rankin often incorporates some steampunk themes into his books, and brought them to the forefront with the technologically advanced Victorian era in The Witches of Chiswick. The setting of this book is quite similar, with nineteenth century England having spaceships, ray guns, robots, and computers. Part of the premise of this series is that H.G. Wells's The War of the Worlds chronicled an actual historical event, and the British subsequently wiped out the Martian civilization. On the other hand, they were able to establish diplomatic relations with the inhabitants of Venus and Jupiter. Colonel Katterfelto, who had served in the war against the Martians, has taken up with a talking monkey named Darwin and become obsessed with building a robotic messiah to usher in a new age. Meanwhile, the headliners of London's foremost music hall have been dying under mysterious circumstances, and private detective Cameron Bell is on the case. Described as sort of a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Pickwick, Bell is a pretty typical Rankin hero, largely self-centered and not entirely honest, but at the same time quite intelligent and ultimately on the side of good. Several historical figures feature in the story, including Nikola Tesla, Charles Babbage, Joseph Merrick (the Elephant Man), and Aleister Crowley (whom Rankin's dad apparently knew). Rankin acknowledges that the timeline involving these people doesn't always work out, but I think we can chalk this up to artistic license. Another major character is Alice Lovell, who is the Alice of the Wonderland books due to a bath in hallucinogenic soap made by her Uncle Charles. As can be expected, the plot is rather convoluted, and culminates in a battle with a demonic entity. It actually kind of makes more sense than a lot of Rankin's recent work, however, which is saying something when it sets some of the events of the Bible on Venus. I didn't notice that many of Rankin's typical running gags either; I don't recall anyone ever saying that something was "a tradition or an old charter or something," and there's no sign of Hugo Rune, Count Otto Black, Lazlo Woodbine, or Fangio.
February 13, 2015
In the ice ages since I last read a Robert Rankin book his style hasn't progressed much, if at all. Colourful and ever-so-incredibly-quirky - they're always FUN to read but never very memorable
Plunged straight into the deep end of modern Rankin (Before I'd been reading sequentially from Antipope to The Greatest Show Off Earth before giving up) he's going for the steampunk demographic and this vague Victoriana world is all cogs and brass contraptions and about ten exhausting "very MUCH like the modern laptop if you will" nods and winks a chapter.
Having said that - it is a relatively engaging rollick with some fun characters but you can see most of the major twists coming about twenty miles off - largely due to the fact that sometimes he just straight-up TELLS you ages beforehand and then STILL tries to do a big reveal later.
After all this time he's still a fairly endearing author but there was one note of irritation that the younger Rankin-reader in me wouldn't have noticed before: the alarmingly limp lead female that is Alice Lovell. She pouts, she sulks, she's naive, she's vain, she's heavily sexualized and she's almost entirely just a cardboard cut-out of a woman. Her swarm of kiwis tend to get more characterization than she does. It's all a bit depressing and I found myself quite pissed off about it - and then to find that she's Rankin's wife's great grandmother... yeesh.
So... yes. My return to Rankin wasn't the most convincing experience - there's something reassuring about how resolutely 'him' that he's stayed over all these years - but that always means that if you're irritated by something he does then tough luck... that isn't going to change. In the time I took to read it and write this he's probably written five more and I won't be rushing to read them but not one part of me would rather he wasn't still out there doing it.
Plunged straight into the deep end of modern Rankin (Before I'd been reading sequentially from Antipope to The Greatest Show Off Earth before giving up) he's going for the steampunk demographic and this vague Victoriana world is all cogs and brass contraptions and about ten exhausting "very MUCH like the modern laptop if you will" nods and winks a chapter.
Having said that - it is a relatively engaging rollick with some fun characters but you can see most of the major twists coming about twenty miles off - largely due to the fact that sometimes he just straight-up TELLS you ages beforehand and then STILL tries to do a big reveal later.
After all this time he's still a fairly endearing author but there was one note of irritation that the younger Rankin-reader in me wouldn't have noticed before: the alarmingly limp lead female that is Alice Lovell. She pouts, she sulks, she's naive, she's vain, she's heavily sexualized and she's almost entirely just a cardboard cut-out of a woman. Her swarm of kiwis tend to get more characterization than she does. It's all a bit depressing and I found myself quite pissed off about it - and then to find that she's Rankin's wife's great grandmother... yeesh.
So... yes. My return to Rankin wasn't the most convincing experience - there's something reassuring about how resolutely 'him' that he's stayed over all these years - but that always means that if you're irritated by something he does then tough luck... that isn't going to change. In the time I took to read it and write this he's probably written five more and I won't be rushing to read them but not one part of me would rather he wasn't still out there doing it.
December 30, 2012
So, once again the legend of linguistic legardemain takes centre stage in one of my reviews....
Robert Rankin is a genius. I have yet to read a book of his that didn't leave me grinning like a loon by the end of it , & this is no exception. It is both incredibly funny - & a fantastic story as well.
Strange things are happening at the Electric Alhambra music-hall : can private detective Cameron Bell solve the mystery ? How is Darwin, the monkey butler, involved? & who or what is "The Mechanical Messiah"....?
Even though this is a long work, there is not a word out of place anywhere. Rankin has a gift more making the most fantastical situation realistic , & his characters are 3-dimensional & work perfectly in the context of the story. He also displays excellent knowledge of Aleistair Crowley, Wells' "The War of the Worlds" , & the book of Revelations - and brings them elegantly into this tale.
Well-written & genuinely laugh-out-loud funny . The man is probably our greatest comic writer.
Buy this book.
Robert Rankin is a genius. I have yet to read a book of his that didn't leave me grinning like a loon by the end of it , & this is no exception. It is both incredibly funny - & a fantastic story as well.
Strange things are happening at the Electric Alhambra music-hall : can private detective Cameron Bell solve the mystery ? How is Darwin, the monkey butler, involved? & who or what is "The Mechanical Messiah"....?
Even though this is a long work, there is not a word out of place anywhere. Rankin has a gift more making the most fantastical situation realistic , & his characters are 3-dimensional & work perfectly in the context of the story. He also displays excellent knowledge of Aleistair Crowley, Wells' "The War of the Worlds" , & the book of Revelations - and brings them elegantly into this tale.
Well-written & genuinely laugh-out-loud funny . The man is probably our greatest comic writer.
Buy this book.
October 22, 2014
The second in the Japanese Devil Fish Girl series, although no devil fishes and only one primary character carried over (Darwin, the monkey butler).
Still based in a world where Jupiterians and Venusians intermingle with the glorious British Empire. This time the focus is on Musical Halls, rather than curios and the protagonist is the person on whom Conan-Doyle based Sherlock Holmes (only a fatter and balder version), who is trying to solve the case of the mysteriously spontaneously combusting music hall performers.
This book is more engaging than Devil Fish - it seems Rankin is not trying to force it as much. I once again love the whole steampunk optimism, and the fact that the English, of course, rule the worlds, and have the confidence to believe they can do anything.
Still based in a world where Jupiterians and Venusians intermingle with the glorious British Empire. This time the focus is on Musical Halls, rather than curios and the protagonist is the person on whom Conan-Doyle based Sherlock Holmes (only a fatter and balder version), who is trying to solve the case of the mysteriously spontaneously combusting music hall performers.
This book is more engaging than Devil Fish - it seems Rankin is not trying to force it as much. I once again love the whole steampunk optimism, and the fact that the English, of course, rule the worlds, and have the confidence to believe they can do anything.
April 3, 2013
This book represents the first time I'd read anything by Rankin (in fact it was a gift from the great man and he kindly inscribed it too), but I digress. After what I personally felt was a bit of a slow start, I really started to enjoy the characters (who wouldn't love a monkey butler?), some parts had me genuinely laughing out loud. It really was a joy to read and, like with all good books, I was rather sad when I came to the last page. He certainly has me hooked! Bravo Mr Rankin FVSS, keep them coming!
May 21, 2013
I have read over ten of Robert Rankin's books over the years. Some I have enjoyed, some I found boring and some I found disconcerting as some of the fears he explores in his fantasies were a bit too close to my own fears!
I did enjoy this fantasy set in Victorian England following two wars with the Martians. The plot is fantastic and some of the characters have ridiculous names but I got involved with it and actually felt sad at what happened to some of the characters at the end. This is an exciting story and well worth a read.
I did enjoy this fantasy set in Victorian England following two wars with the Martians. The plot is fantastic and some of the characters have ridiculous names but I got involved with it and actually felt sad at what happened to some of the characters at the end. This is an exciting story and well worth a read.
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April 15, 2019
[Short review from memory before I re-read and review at a later date:
Heaven knows how I came across Robert Rankin. Perhaps via Terry Pratchett somehow. I don't think any other author has taught me so many wonderfully useless facts as Robert. Definitely need to finish reading his entire works, though.
This one specifically: No special memories. One of the more modern ones, with better inside jokes and humour from what I recall.]
Heaven knows how I came across Robert Rankin. Perhaps via Terry Pratchett somehow. I don't think any other author has taught me so many wonderfully useless facts as Robert. Definitely need to finish reading his entire works, though.
This one specifically: No special memories. One of the more modern ones, with better inside jokes and humour from what I recall.]
September 6, 2014
An utterly ridiculous cast of characters (a kiwi bird trainer, an erudite monkey, Lucifer himself - though he's really from Venus) in an absurd plot (building a mechanical messiah with ingredients from Venus) in a ludicrous setting (Victorian Britain after the Second Worlds War - after the Martians were wiped out). This is the sort of book enjoyed by those who read Pratchett, Fforde, and Douglas Adams, and hated by anyone who believes reality is real.
January 20, 2013
I loved the first in this series but found the story-line and humour in its follow-up rather flat. Certainly it had its moments, hence the 3.5 stars, but overall it left me feeling that Rankin wasn't all that into the steampunk sub-genre.
I probably will read the next as I do quite like detective Cameron Bell and Darwin the monkey though like this will be a library borrow.
I probably will read the next as I do quite like detective Cameron Bell and Darwin the monkey though like this will be a library borrow.
September 23, 2013
Another wonderfully haphazard creation from Robert Rankin. I loved this one, especially with all the allusions to a Lord Burberry and a Lord Chanel and other hilarious going ons. I have to admit, though. Alice is freaking annoying. I couldn't stand her. Bleh, selfish inconsiderate woman. Bleh.
May 1, 2013
tries to be lots of things. there's a really good plot, but it feels hidden under the achingly clever links to history, CS Lewis references and steam punk silliness. I'm afraid that apart from its quirkiness the book failed to excite or demand my attention, despite my love of scifi.
May 27, 2013
After the two books that started to turn me away from the Brentford Way, Necrophenia and Brightonomicon, things are back on track with this series of books.
Interweaving other story book characters like Alice was a bit different.
Interweaving other story book characters like Alice was a bit different.
December 22, 2014
I've read a lot of Robert Rankin books and have found some of the more recent ones a little challenging, a little too dark perhaps. This for me is a Rankin Tour De Force, much more in the vein of the Brentford Trilogy. Fantastic in the truest sense of the word and ridiculous in the best way.
February 2, 2013
Too much of everything
April 8, 2012
For all it's silliness, this is a fun read. Much of the humor fells forced, though, and tacked on rather than an integral part of the story.
December 5, 2012
My first experience of this Rankin - some proper laugh out loud moments and a joyful use of language reminiscent of Wodehouse and Adams. Loved it!
March 10, 2013
Another brilliantly written, inventive story from Mr Rankin... Darwin has become a new favourite character for me...
January 7, 2015
Writing good stories while taking the piss: what it leads to in countless installments.
Want to read
June 10, 2015tubel
July 15, 2019
more romping through the late 1800s. cameron bell, darwin the monkey butler, colonel katerfelto and alice and her kiwis
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews