The Greatest Show Off Earth

by Robert Rankin

ROLL UP! ROLL UP! YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT IN YOUR LIFE.The last thing Raymond expected when he went down to his allotment was to be abducted by a flying starfish from Uranus. But these things happen and when he learns that he is being sold as a delicacy in a Venusian auction, he is grateful to be rescued by the travelling circus.But this is not your everyday circus, this is Professor Merlin’s Greatest Show off Earth, with ancient exotic performers who travel between the inhabited worlds in a Victorian steamship. The professor has a job for release the two hundred people held prisoner on Saturn and save the population of planet Earth from extinction.Simon, Raymond’s best friend, is in trouble too. The Men in Grey are after him and a cult of Satanic chicken worshippers are keen to use him as a human sacrifice. Simon does have a book from the future that might help him out, and there are all those villagers with the flaming torches.The Greatest Show off Earth is partly set in Bramfield, based upon the actual Sussex village of Henfield, where author Robert Rankin lived for a number of years. Rankin inhabited Raymond’s cottage, which can easily be found by following the directions in the first chapter. The characters are mostly real people the author met and drank with in The Jolly Gardeners, and some, like Simon, Andy, Paul and Military Dave appear in the book under their own names. With touching naivety, Rankin thought that the locals would appreciate being in his novel. Not all did, and a certain someone, who will remain nameless, shot the windscreen out of Rankin’s car one night, and regularly left dead rats upon the doorstep to signal his disapproval.Country life never really agreed with Robert Rankin and he now lives happily in Brighton, where he no longer puts his neighbours in his books.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Science Fiction, Comedy, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy

325 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

"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.

Reviews

[Anita Radeva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ако някога се нуждаете от супер смешна книга, фрашкана със саркастични лафчета и нелепи ситуации, това е правилния избор! Досега не съм попадала на книга, с която да се смея на толкова много места! Явно Робърт Ранкин си разбира от работата. Двамата главни героя са еднакво интересни, лудницата покрай тях не е за описване! Книгата ми беше препоръчана с много високи отзиви, затова я препоръчвам по същия начин на всички, дори на хората, които не четат фантастика.

[Buzz Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice hat.

Nuns in bondage.

These memes will be with me the rest of my days! I very much enjoyed this work!

[Sarah Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've got mixed feelings about this book but I think much of it comes from being tired and a terrible last three months. It's funny, extremely campy and joyfully British, but also feels like it was geared towards a combination 7 year old frat boy. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as I am often of the mentality of a 7 year old boy, but just not recently and never of a frat boy. So I enjoyed the writing but something was off for me and I can't tell if it was just bad timing on my part or it was the fault of the story. Two friends are troubled by an alien visit. One is abducted and goes for an off world adventure and is almost eaten while the other is charged with his disappearance at home and has his own adventure involving some very shady individuals. Mahem ensues.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the early stages of this book I wasn't keen on it. The story opens when Raymond is abducted by an alien starfish and his friend Simon is left on Earth feeling a bit guilty about it. I wasn't too sure on the ridiculous concept, nor how the two storylines were not really connected at all. I particularly didn't like the way the author linked the end of one side of the narrative with the beginning of the other side of the narrative, every single time he switched.

But then I got about halfway through and I changed my mind. It was actually pretty funny, especially as it got more self-referential as it went along. And though there are a lot of ridiculous concepts in it they worked well together to create a silly universe. It didn't really matter that the two stories don't have much to do with each other- they are both lots of fun.

I was a little disappointed by the ending- clearly the author could have happily continued to add more ridiculous events to both stories indefinitely but it has to end so it just sort of does.

Despite a slow start, an enjoyable and very silly book. Almost worth reading just for the ridiculous idea of the "Sate-Hen".

[Sadie-Jane Huff · Rating 3 out of 5]

typical rankin fashion.. he mixes sci-fi/fantasy and a lil potty humour..
i enjoyed this but not one of his best in my humble opinion..
still fun though

[Sandra]

Oh, but this was lovely! A book that doesn't take itself very seriously and is kind of funny to boot. The premise is pretty ridiculous, but the characters are lovely flawed people... mostly people. There's a bit of action, a bit of "oh, how will they get out of this predicament", but it's all lighthearted fun. I have one gripe with the book and it's that the transition gag of using the same sentence (or similar) when switching between scenes got a bit old at the end, but even that isn't that bad.
With this book I broke my streak of books that are full of what I already know. This book was a lovely surprise for sure.

[Leila Anani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raymond gets sucked up into space by a giant starfish from Uranus called Abdullah. His best friend simon watches and runs off and hides - Raymond has intergalactic adventures - involving escaping human eating aliens and joining the circus... meanwhile Simon discovers a sinister plot back home involving the local chicken farmer and an Antichrist called Sate-Hen.

While I don't find this Rankin's best novels it is highly amusing although some of the jokes are a bit lame - We have some dumb toilet humour - like an organisation called F.A.R.T and a character called Bum-poo which tended to make me groan, but there's enough other madcap stuff going on to make me not mind too much.

I particularly liked the Ancient Egyptian inspired Saturniuns - While they only have a very small role I thought they were genius and I do so hope we get to see them in other books.

Also adored the Apocalypse plot with the evil chicken Sate-Hen and the weird end of times cult.

[Andrew Lawston · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Greatest Show Off Earth is a great jumping-on point for Robert Rankin's style - a number of Rankin's usual running jokes and characters are notably absent, with only one nod to Lazlo Woodbine, one lady in a straw hat, and merely a couple of old traditions, or charters or something. Which is odd, because the rural setting of Bramfield, the substantial number of scenes set in local pubs, and the dynamic of friends Raymond and Simon are such that in some respects it might as well have been set in Brentford and featured Pooley and Omally. I couldn't help but wonder if that was the case in some hypothetical first draft.

Featuring an interplanetary circus, time travel, demonic powers, and an awful lot of silliness, I enjoyed this one a lot.

[Wendy White · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy the idea of not one, but two nefarious organisations whose cries, are, respectively, 'Hail Sate-hen!' and "Hail Saturn!" then you might find yourself enjoying this book. If you're new to Rankin, I recommend starting with A Dog Called Demolition as a good intro to his style, rather than this one.

If you're already familiar with Rankin and just want more goofy romps, their breakneck speed only trailing just behind the running gags and the traditions, or old charters, or something, then you'll enjoy this novel much as you'd enjoy his others!

[Colin Forbes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of Rankin's finest.

While I normally enjoy his absurd tales, this one just seemed a bit too random and disconnected. The schizophrenic scene switching without so much as a blank line between paragraphs got tiring well before the half way point.

There are still plenty stupid gags that raise a laugh, but as a whole it was more a case of wanting it to be finished, rather than wanting to finish it, if you see what I mean.

Can do better!

[John Defrog: global citizen, local gadfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing my attempt to read the entire Rankin back catalogue, this is a one-off story involving Hollow Earth Theory, a traveling space circus and a demonic half-man-half-chicken. Among other things. Notable for Rankin’s ability to completely disregard science (there’s air in space, you know). Fun, if not essential.

[Jen Curtis · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like the Hitchhikers Guide, you’l probably like this book. Sadly, I did not. On either front.

I found it hard to focus on, was continually distracted & confused without laughing at the very British humor . . . And I really like some British entertainment, but . . . Not so much this one. It was free on audible.

[Sarah Scherer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. It's like if David Wong wrote a book but was restricted to dad jokes. Trouble is, I love David Wong and I love dad jokes. I feel like with a strict editor this could have been five stars. I think I'll read another Robert Rankin now that I know his style, and I'll be able to ease into it and enjoy it some more.

[P.G. Challis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, the level of humour was just my cup of tea :) There were many laugh out loud moments, admittedly they were childish moments, which was EXACTLY how it was written. Definitely recommend this book.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was entertained by the quirkiness and imagination of this story and the characters, but it tended to be a little too silly and rambling at times. I listened to the audiobook version, which helped to keep me engaged.

[Lozza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book by Rankin under my belt, but not one of my favourites. I found this too busy and didn't find it as funny as the others i have read.
Good story line and i liked how it went between the 2 main characters, but felt rushed.

[Mick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, daft, far fetched

Another truly daft and bonkers story by the master of FFF.
If you're a fan, you'll love it. If you're not, try it.

[Jill Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Bit confusing.

[Angelika Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts were funny; some parts were clever. Overall ok.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quintessential British humor. It just wasn’t my cup of tea

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up on audible for free and had no expectations going into it. It tries to be hitchhikers but it's not. Very amusing in its own right. Very much theatre of the absurd material.

[Michael Pickering · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was amazing couldn't put it down good mix of humour and story line. Will look for more of his work

[Nathan Dehoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raymond, a plumber from Bramfield, is abducted by aliens and sold for food on Venus. He escapes, however, and teams up with Professor Merlin’s circus. Raymond’s best friend Simon remains on Earth, but his adventures are no less bizarre. Throughout the course of the story, we learn that the hollow Earth theory is actually true, and that the solar system is ruled by triplets who hate each other. Also, there’s a cult worshipping a human-chicken hybrid called Sate-Hen, a steamship that travels through space, and a talking elephant following in the footsteps of Moses. As usual, the book contains many pop culture references, as well as being quite meta-referential. In fact, Simon actually comes across a copy of The Greatest Show Off Earth itself, which has somehow come from the future. Its author (well, at least its original author) is a man named Kilgore Sprout, a clever play on Kurt Vonnegut mixed with Rankin’s own passion for vegetables. As with much of Rankin’s work, it’s very weird and very fun.

[Daníel Freyr Jónsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read quite a few of Rankin's books and for me this in not one of his better works, although it is littered with running gags, incredible characters, astounding silliness and toilet humor.
The two narratives are to loosely bound and Rankin's method of changing between them soon becomes tiresome. There are a lot of plot holes that the author is apparently well aware of because he usually dismisses them out of hand as narrative necessities and/or makes up Deus Ex Machina solutions for them, one of which being references to the author himself and the book he is writing as it occurs. Somehow the characters' being aware that they are in a book kind of ruins the credulity that I want to feel even if the events are incredible.
If this is your first introduction to Rankin I urge you not to give up on him as most of his other work is much better, especially the Brentford Trilogy (all nine of them) and his later, ca. post 2000, books.

[Rebecca Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a recommendation from my uncle (who insisted on my reading Robert Rankin) which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. A kind of ridiculous humour, Terry Pratchett-meets-Douglas Adams, it tells the story of two friends: one of whom is kidnapped to be produce at an alien meat market, and another who reads of his adventure in a future-telling book he stumbles across and is shot at for.

Overall it was pretty funny, but in a ‘that’s just so pathetic I can’t not laugh’ kind of way. What I loved best was that the narrator seemed to be completely aware of the fact that he was in a book and would kind often try to mislead the reader just to be annoying (and would comment on it) and would end each section part-way through a sentence, with the next section completely subverting the pathway in a funny (and usually crude) way. A good laugh.

[Tim Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I just wasn't in the mood. I love Rankin's work. Occasionally it's the stuff of epics. But this one really didn't work all that well for me. I didn't feel that the two different narratives were sufficiently connected to really work together well, though I appreciated the way that Rankin segued between the two. The running jokes fell incredibly flat...and I suspect that Rankin felt so also as he pretty much abandoned them in the final third of the book. The part where Raymond goes in to the dungeons of Eutopia was absolutely brilliant though.

This is probably closer to a 3 1/2 than an 3, but given I felt no overwhelming need to push on and keep reading until almost the end of the book it felt like I should default to the lower integer. Readable, but ultimately unsatisfying Rankin.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was O.K. not the best I have read by this author and it is really a book which links two separate absurd tales..the absurdity is fine as at times it works really well and it is Robert Rankin's stock trade..however I just felt the book lost some momentum and as such I lost interest as it was reaching closure..which is a shame as in a perfect world that would have been when I was most gripped.
However a satanic sect worshiping a chicken/human hybrid, a book dictating future events in the then present...intergalactic tomfoolery and ..well lots I won't go in to for fear of taking away the plot(which is all over the place anyhow)..make for a unique book.

[Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Rankin is an acquired taste. His completely wacky style isn't for all, and I think he's probably more into British humour and copious amounts of toilet jokes than is good for him. The man defined my sense of humour when I was a teenager and this book had me in stitches at the end, I actually burst out laughing with tears streaming from my eyes at one point and I was giggling like a girl for a good 20 minutes before I could read again... good times...

[Jane]

I really want to read this book- it looks great!!!!!!

[Stoneme Mayo · Rating 5 out of 5]

My all time favourite Rober Rankin book. Having met him a number of times he will no-doubt slip me a fiver for saying that he is a top bloke.