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The Cornelius Murphy Trilogy #3
The Most Amazing Man Who Ever Lived
The epic conclusion to the epic trilogy. And trilogies do not go out with a bigger bang than this one.
Young school boy Norman is dead. His father fell out of the sky and flattened him. And as Norman did not engage in full time employment before he died he is rather miffed to have it thrust upon him in the afterlife. At The Universal Reincarnation Company. There are too many filing cabinets and much too much paperwork.
The fault lies with God (a flawed genius, in the opinion of Hugo Rune). If He hadn’t decided to close down Hell, then heaven would not have got so overcrowded and there would have been no need to build the extension. And until that extension is built the URC will just have to keep on recycling souls and the paperwork is going to grow and grow.
And there is something very wrong going on at the URC, someone is pre-incarnating, being reborn again and again on their original birthdate with all the knowledge they had gained in their former lifetimes. Just imagine if you could do that. You’d probably end up as The Most Amazing Man Who Ever Lived.
Or something very very wicked indeed.
Cornelius and Tuppe are on the run from the law, some questions were asked regarding all that golden booty the epic pair liberated from the Forbidden Zones. Questions that the tall boy was quite unable to answer. But at least they do have another epic automobile to drive around in and a couple of feisty young women with whom to drive about. And they might have simply had a holiday, had they not met up with the ghost of a dead schoolboy and the occupant of a flying saucer and learned of Hugo Rune’s final plan, the great big plan to end all great big plans. In this concluding part all the stops are pulled out and flung through the window.
There has never been anything quite like this before and there probably won’t be anything like it again. These three books are amongst Robert Rankin’s all-time favourites and he makes absolutely no apologies for the bit at the end that always makes him cry when he reads it.
Young school boy Norman is dead. His father fell out of the sky and flattened him. And as Norman did not engage in full time employment before he died he is rather miffed to have it thrust upon him in the afterlife. At The Universal Reincarnation Company. There are too many filing cabinets and much too much paperwork.
The fault lies with God (a flawed genius, in the opinion of Hugo Rune). If He hadn’t decided to close down Hell, then heaven would not have got so overcrowded and there would have been no need to build the extension. And until that extension is built the URC will just have to keep on recycling souls and the paperwork is going to grow and grow.
And there is something very wrong going on at the URC, someone is pre-incarnating, being reborn again and again on their original birthdate with all the knowledge they had gained in their former lifetimes. Just imagine if you could do that. You’d probably end up as The Most Amazing Man Who Ever Lived.
Or something very very wicked indeed.
Cornelius and Tuppe are on the run from the law, some questions were asked regarding all that golden booty the epic pair liberated from the Forbidden Zones. Questions that the tall boy was quite unable to answer. But at least they do have another epic automobile to drive around in and a couple of feisty young women with whom to drive about. And they might have simply had a holiday, had they not met up with the ghost of a dead schoolboy and the occupant of a flying saucer and learned of Hugo Rune’s final plan, the great big plan to end all great big plans. In this concluding part all the stops are pulled out and flung through the window.
There has never been anything quite like this before and there probably won’t be anything like it again. These three books are amongst Robert Rankin’s all-time favourites and he makes absolutely no apologies for the bit at the end that always makes him cry when he reads it.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1995
10 people are currently reading
307 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 9, 2020
Weird and wacky, which is just my kind of writing style.
May 19, 2025
Cornelius Murphy, Tuppe, and Hugo Rune all return to round off the Cornelius Murphy Trilogy. The regulars of the Flying Swan get another extended cameo before the action moves away from the hallowed borough of Brentford, and everything gets terribly metaphysical in a cosmic adventure that transcends time, space, and death. No, really.
But being a Robert Rankin book, The Most Amazing Man Who Ever Lived is also, of course, wonderfully silly. And features a huge number of running gags, and pop culture references. Most notably to Thelma & Louise, which luckily is one of the better-remembered films of 1991.
The novel opens with several chapters on the curious fate of Norman - not to be confused with Norman Hartnell or the other Norman Hartnell - to the extent that I was starting to worry about Murphy, but he and Tuppe turn up once the scene is set and some of the important exposition has been done.
Despite being both very silly and integral to so many of Rankin's books, Hugo Rune remains incredibly difficult to pin down, but this was certainly the most extreme version of the character that I've seen to date.
And despite all the silliness and old jokes, the book comes together in a blistering action-packed climax that would put many blockbusters to shame.
Cracking stuff!
But being a Robert Rankin book, The Most Amazing Man Who Ever Lived is also, of course, wonderfully silly. And features a huge number of running gags, and pop culture references. Most notably to Thelma & Louise, which luckily is one of the better-remembered films of 1991.
The novel opens with several chapters on the curious fate of Norman - not to be confused with Norman Hartnell or the other Norman Hartnell - to the extent that I was starting to worry about Murphy, but he and Tuppe turn up once the scene is set and some of the important exposition has been done.
Despite being both very silly and integral to so many of Rankin's books, Hugo Rune remains incredibly difficult to pin down, but this was certainly the most extreme version of the character that I've seen to date.
And despite all the silliness and old jokes, the book comes together in a blistering action-packed climax that would put many blockbusters to shame.
Cracking stuff!
August 26, 2025
The final episode of the Cornelius Murphy trilogy is a fine enough yarn, perhaps not as good as the second book, but still chock-full of the usual Robert Rankin weirdness.
Cornelius and Tuppe need to save the world from Hugo Rune once more, this time with the aid of Thelma and Louise (not those ones) and a dead kid. Also an alien dressed up as a sheep. None of this will be too surprising to regular Rankin readers.
It's been fun getting back into Rankin again with this Trilogy, and my earlier theory that I might have stopped reading him simply out of boredom is one I'll happily throw out of the window. I must have a think which one I'll go for next.
Cornelius and Tuppe need to save the world from Hugo Rune once more, this time with the aid of Thelma and Louise (not those ones) and a dead kid. Also an alien dressed up as a sheep. None of this will be too surprising to regular Rankin readers.
It's been fun getting back into Rankin again with this Trilogy, and my earlier theory that I might have stopped reading him simply out of boredom is one I'll happily throw out of the window. I must have a think which one I'll go for next.
March 31, 2019
Enjoyed this one, at times it throws you as one character ends a sentence with a word and that word becomes the beginning of a sentence from a completely different character. Still, several heroes for the price of one, some truly cringe making running gags and one liners and a preposterous storyline, what's not to like?
January 14, 2025
Really quite solid for this genre of absurdist comic British science fantasy. Great pacing, and plot progression. The humor is funny.
Noteabley, the action is also interesting, which is usually a weak point in the climax of books like these.
Would recommend both to fans of the genre, or to those looking to dip their toes into something new.
Noteabley, the action is also interesting, which is usually a weak point in the climax of books like these.
Would recommend both to fans of the genre, or to those looking to dip their toes into something new.
January 30, 2020
Much better than the first two in the trilogy, but not quite enough for three stars. Some bits were good, others just OK. Need two and a half stars to be an accurate rating.
March 4, 2018
Cornelius Murphy is back. Along with his friend Tuppe, Boris the alien-sheep, Norman the dead boy and Thelma and Louise they face off against a horde of evil Hugo Runes. All in a day's work for an epic adventurer.
I actually felt this was the weakest of the Murphy novels, though it's still a very good read. It's funny, moves along at a good clip and has the classic Rankin continuing jokes and self-awareness.
I suspect that this one might be a bit obtuse if you're not already familiar with Murphy, Rune, et. al. But if you are, it's a fine ride.
I actually felt this was the weakest of the Murphy novels, though it's still a very good read. It's funny, moves along at a good clip and has the classic Rankin continuing jokes and self-awareness.
I suspect that this one might be a bit obtuse if you're not already familiar with Murphy, Rune, et. al. But if you are, it's a fine ride.
November 12, 2012
This was my first Rankin book I have read, and I have to say I did enjoy the read, it was a nice piece of lighthearted reading, I do believe there are other of his in our bookcase so perhaps after I have read the next few books I have got to read I'll look them out.....
February 9, 2016
Full of wonderful ideas which didn't quite come to fruition. It had the potential to be as good as a Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman but lacked the brilliance of language that sets their writing apart. Probably deserved four stars, but the teenage-boy humour was a little much at times.
November 28, 2016
Possibly not the finest of Robert Rankin's novels, but still a light-hearted comic romp in much the fashion you would expect if you have dabbled in his writings before. Comes across not so much as having been plotted, but more as a stream-of-consciousness exercise in 'lets see where this goes'.
February 18, 2017
I think I've read this. I'm not sure. All Rankin's non-Brentford-trilogy books kind of blur together in my head, for the very good reason that they are in fact all the same book, with some of the words re-arranged. Probably best read bombed out of your gourd, because that's how they were written.
April 19, 2009
As surreal as always from Robert Rankin. Good fun and a list of characters that I could just about keep track of. An entertaining read but nothing special to be honest.
July 22, 2013
A fun read, and worth it just to close out the trilogy, but not his best work.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews