Schrodinger's Cottage

by David Luddington

Tinker's Cottage nestles in a forgotten corner of deepest Somerset. It also happens to sit on a weak point in the space time continuum. Which is somewhat unfortunate for Ian Faulkener, a graphic novelist from London, who was hoping for some peace and quiet in which to recuperate following a very messy breakdown.

It was the cats that first alerted Ian to the fact that something was not quite right with Tinker's Cottage. Not only was he never sure just how many of them there actually were, but the mysterious way they seemed to disappear and reappear defied logic. The cats, and of course the Pope, disappearing literary agents, mislaid handymen and the insanity of Cherie Blair World.

As Ian tries to untangle the mystery of the doors of Tinker's cottage he risks becoming lost forever in the myriad alternate universes predicted by Schrodinger. Not to mention his cats.

Schrodinger's Cottage is a playful romp through a variety of alternate worlds peopled by an array of wonderful comic characters that are the trademark of David Luddington's novels.

For fans of the sadly missed Douglas Adams, Schrodinger's Cottage will be a welcome addition to their library. A heart-warming comedy with touches of inspired lunacy that pays homage to The Hitchhiker's Guide whilst firmly treading its own path.

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

251 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 24, 2013

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I certainly didn't think I'd be giving this 4 stars early on. In fact I almost abandoned it a few pages in.

If you give it a go, give it time. Not only does it improve rapidly, but you will find yourself falling into the story.

It is an exceptionally light read, but that's it's beauty. It doesn't try too hard, it doesn't try to be something it's not. It's just a gentle, relaxing read.

Give it a go, you'll enjoy it. I'm going to try another of Mr Luddington's now... I like gentle!

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite silly, nerdy and fun. I stumbled upon this audiobook on Hoopla while searching for Schrödinger, for obviously different reasons. I added it to my list, and yesterday, looking for a light read, found it again, and I was well entertained. Do not believe the blurb though, Luddington is no Douglas Adams. While the book is smile inducing and nerdy, it lacks the comic genius and outragous creativity of Adams. It would, however, probably appeal to the same kind of audience.

Ian inherits a cottage from his beloved aunt who disappeared some years before and was finally declared dead. Once he moves in, weird things start to happen, starting with a perpetually hungry cat and birds who eat their food very fast. The cats start multiplying in number and color, still always hungry. When Ian opens up a bricked up door, people start appearing at different doors, asking to go through other doors... and a silly door-switcheroo ensues, with Ian finally figuring out that the cottage is a doorway between multiple alternative universes - each door and window leading to another world, slightly, but disturbingly, different from each other. By the time he discovers this, he has already lost a repairman, a pope, and his ex-lover to another world, and has to track them down.

There are other adventures. One man is throwing his books to the floor (he finds him with The Color of Magic in hand 😍), and tearing his wall down in search of his lost wife. Ian finds his aunt, who has decided to retire from gate-keeping and is now happily married to Roger Moore. Doppelgangers of famous people abound - didn’t quite get the explanation, but who really cares?

The alternative universes vary from a European Union gone too safety concious to outright totalitarian. Clearly, this was written before Brexit. There is not much character development, we mostly have action and a little bit of romance.

The premise was great, and I enjoyed it, but it could have been so much more, which leaves a vaguely unsatisfied feeling. It is a solid 3.5 star, but I decided to round up due to the mention of Discworld, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Stargate Atlantis. Also, I think this little known work can probably use a bit of a boost.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot meandered along and it was mildly amusing at times. Unfortunately the anti-European and political-corrrectness-gone mad style of humour might appeal more to Daily Mail readers.

[Vedran Mavrović · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into it, but it just got better and better. Funny, smartly written, great narration.

[Pamela · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would have been a good short story. As a novel, it goes on and on and on and on. And then—when you think you’ve FINALLY made it to the end, it heavy-handily sets up the next book in the series. No thank you. I’ll pass.

[Mistress of the Bleeding Sorrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came for the cats, stayed for the plot. 😆 It was surprisingly good and funny. I’d probably love it even more if they were talking cats. Just saying… Maybe in an alternate universe? 😆
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It ends a bit abruptly, though. I hope we’ll get the chance to see where all the other passages lead and what lies within the other universes. Surely at least one of those realities is ruled entirely by cats?

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author used the word ‚females‘ to describe women but not ‚males’ to describe men. I hate that.
Also the main character’s main trait is that he is an alcoholic, followed shortly by his lack of empathy or critical thinking. He literally would have left a man in a parallel universe even though he knew how that man‘s father was grieving and he literally just had to take him back to the house.
Add to that the extremely heavy anti EU second part of the book and you get a novel that is just sadly not holding up to the intriguing premise.

[Mrs N Husband · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really not Douglas Adams

Not sure how this got so many rave reviews. It's poorly written and comes complete with stock characters and a fair few stereotypes. Possibly one for Daily Mail readers. There are definitely better writers of this genre out there.

[Alistair · Rating 1 out of 5]

not recommended, was hoping for better.
it started okay and the basic idea could be good but was a bit stereotype-after-stereotype before ending in a ReesMogg wet dream.
will be looking for an audible credit return.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny story - however it does end quite abruptly...

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very difficult to rate. Was a little slow to get into as nothing much was explained. But then once it opened up there was so much humor and creativity. Which is why I was so stunned when the book just ended. Probably the most abrupt ending of a book I've ever read. So probably a 3 1/2⭐

[Priyanshi Mathur · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightfully hilarious situational comedy! Can see it being made into a movie!

[Blondie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Schrodinger's Cottage is a wonderful story that follows Ian Faulkener as his break to the country is interrupted by his discovery of alternate universes.

Choosing to define himself as mildly bewildered rather than his therapist's label of 'alcohol induced borderline schizophrenia', he goes to stay in a cottage left to him by his Aunt. However, his recuperation is soon disturbed by a number of brilliant characters, including the Pope, who's a market trader from Clapham in another world.

This book is very funny and cleverly written. Luddington had me laughing only a few pages in and as it's in first person I felt immediately drawn to Faulkner.

This is a clever and fun fantasy read, similar to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett's books. Fans of either would really enjoy this.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I have studied science in high school and the name Schrodinger's Cottage intrigued me because I thought wasn't he the guy who wrote about atoms and electrons and their paths, energy levels etc. I took on this book and as I read through this I discovered that it was funnily on those lines. Ian was on a vacation which turned to a sci fi fantasy as he discovers that the cottage left to him by his aunt is some sort of link to alternate universes. It is mind boggling and entertaining as we see David weaving science into a story and is also successful at making it funny. Really enjoyed it.

[Tony Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very funny book. Ian is a comic fantasy writer struggling to regain his equilibrium following an alcoholic breakdown. He goes to stay in a cottage in a remote area that he's inherited. He soon discovers something very strange about the cottage each door or window leads to a slightly different universe.

There are many very funny incidents, and the running gags, especially the pub's menu, are hilarious.

[S-J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry to say I couldn’t finish this, there was mystery that SHOULD have been gripping, it SHOULD have made me want to find out what was going on but I just got utterly fed up with it. the main protagonist isn’t unlikeable but he’s not that interesting either and all the rest seems strangely unengaging. Part of me wants to know how it ended but most of me just can’t find the time and energy to find out.

[John Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wacky and wonderful

If you are a New Age type, with Eurosceptic political views, and like a bit of madness thrown in for fun, then this is the book for you. Cherie Blair's mad world was satire at its very best. I really enjoyed this tale.

[Katherine Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me giggle a number of times and I was quite sad when it was finished. Definitely an entertaining read :o)

[Fred · Rating 1 out of 5]

Regret. I don't like to rain on someone's parade, and I understand it takes a lot of effort to write a book and get it published. This is, in many ways, quite a nice story. .....but... the politics is a real turn-off. Someone else posted that the "political correctness gone mad" would appeal to Daily Mail readers. I agree, but that's only part of it. There's a real hard anti-EU sentiment here. "But it's only a joke!" I hear the cry. Yes, that's the cry of bullies everywhere who misrepresent the case (yes, I KNOW it's science fiction) and create a climate and attitude to suit themselves. Not only that, but the depiction of the Scilly Isles in the story as a sort of utopia JUST BECAUSE it's a tax-haven is an unpleasant spectre. There are those of us who have good reason to believe that the whole Brexit debacle was engineered because a bunch of very rich people were not prepared to accept the new EU law requiring offshore accounts to be declared publicly. So this book, despite being quite a good trope and adequately written, comes across as a not so subtle political diatribe. The sub-editing could have been more thorough. I spotted "pallet" which should have been "palate", and "knave" that should have been "nave". I suspect there were others that I missed. Sorry, Mr Luddington, but all things considered it is a thumbs down. I will try another of yours just to see if the politics continues to obtrude. If it does, I shall leave you alone.

[Simon Bowler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ian Faulkner writer of graphic novels about The Falconer receives his aunts house in a will and moves there from London to retreat / recover from a messy breakup that included alcoholism and a stint in a psychiatric institution.

The Cottage is apparently on ley lines where the space-time continuum is fractured. Each door in the cottage (he discovers painfully) leads to a different parallel universe.
He "loses" his ex lover / literary agent when she unwittingly enters another parallel world and nearly goes mad in the experience. Luckily Ian works it all out with the assistance of his new lover Sapphy and rescues her whilst encountering "dopples" such as the Pope, Stephen Fry and David Beckham.

The protagonist had a Nigel Farage view of the world and the villain in much of the book is the totalitarian EU which imposes both silly and constricting rules. DL clearly had some axes to grind in writing this which published in 2013 was pre Brexit (and look how that turned out). And alcohol remains very much front and centre of IF's life.

The West Country and Scilly Isles are a feature in the story and made me want to visit.

And the tone aside, it was innovative and amusing account and I enjoyed Nigel Planer's narration (though he doesn't do women well - they all sound like ancient harridans)

[Cary B · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know that time when you're searching for a perfect book to read, but you're not quite sure what you're looking for? This turned out to be that perfect book.
It has an interesting array of characters, cats, a deft and enjoyable writing style and that lightness of touch which the best comic novels possess. It was the ideal book to read in the week after Christmas. Light and entertaining.

Ian the hero of this tale has just the right touch of puzzled bewilderment to make him sympathetic and appealing. You follow him as he uncovers the mysteries of the cottage he inherited from his aunt.

He might well feel a bit lost, as after he moves into his aunt's cottage, increasingly bizarre events unfold around him. I won't go into any details as it would spoil the delights of discovering what's next in this inventive tale. There are some pleasingly sharp side swipes at some of our institutions along the way, and hints at some laws of physics being in operation as the title implies, but nothing gets too heavy or serious. I was totally engrossed and entertained throughout. The characters are well-drawn and likeable and I have to admit I felt sorry to leave them at the end of the book. I wonder if David Luddington intends to revisit their fascinating world? Now I'm off to see what other books he's written.

[Réal Laplaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Schrodinger's Cottage, by David Luddington is, as always the case with this author, humorous, witty and satirical. Luddington has a way of presenting the mundane, the usual, the rituals of life, in such a way as to elicit chuckles at every turn. In this story, Ian, a Graphic Novelist from the big city, inherits his aunt's cottage in a small English town. Everyone seems to know that the cottage is special, but no one really knows how, and Ian, who settles in for a respite as an agent works on selling it, soon comes to realize that something very peculiar is going on. The cottage turns out to be a portal to another dimension, a parallel universe, and the adventures, humorously bizarre, stretch our imagination as he attempts to reconcile why that location has become the junction of strange people coming and going, and much, much more. This is simply fun, comedy and satire all rolled up into a quantum package. Enjoy the read - it's simply impossible not to.

[Robin Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea at the heart of this story is great fun, and spending time with these characters is no hardship at all, not least down to Planer’s exemplary narration of the audiobook version. It’s all delightfully cozy. Scientific slapstick is the order of the day as we spend our time in between pub lunches chasing after cats, locksmiths, and dystopian refugees. The wheels began to shoogle a bit for me, however, when it seemed that an executive decision was taken at a high level that we’d better have some sort of plot; suddenly we were chasing off to the Scilly Isles after a (not) missing literary agent. That all felt a bit tenuous to me. Neither was I gripped by the vague suggestion of some sort of religious apocalypse, and several other strands felt rather underused. Maybe that’s just the nature of 'Cozy [INSERT GENRE HERE]', and I should look elsewhere for my grizzly quota of corpses. Still, I did like this; good, clean, quantum fun.

[Jacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook narrated by Nigel Planer
When Ian, a graphic novel author, inherits a country cottage from his aunt, who’s presumed dead after disappearing ten years ago. He’s slightly disconcerted to find that the overgrown garden looks different depending on which window he looks out of, or whether he walks around the house and visits it in person. And the kitchen door has been unaccountably blocked up. It turns out that the cottage is situated on a number of intersecting ley lines and that there are a number of alternate realities. Saffy, an attractive local esoteric shop keeper, confirms that he’s not actually going bonkers, and he sets out to explore the alternatives. Opening up new doors increases the possibilities and the puzzlement. Unfortunately he’s already lost his literary agent into the wrong reality, and then he’s tasked with finding a doppleganger pope. The reading is good and the story quirky.

[Paul Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud

If you don't mind disturbing others with snickers, giggles and laughing to yourself, this is the book for you. Absolutely hilarious, typically English humour that will keep you in a great mood throughout. Goes down well with a nice fun of tea or a warm pint of beer. Set in the beautiful location of Somerset, which is local to me, made this a more identifiable experience as known places and landmarks were encountered during this romp across a multidimensional South West England.
Thoroughly recommended and I will be reading more from the humorously inventive mind of David Luddington shortly.

[Cora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun read!

Ian inherited a cottage from a woman who was like his aunt (I don't think she was his actual aunt, but that part is irrelevant anyway). For several years, he has just used it as an Airbnb type place, but has now decided to stay there himself. He starts noticing strange things like cats popping in and out, no door where there should be accessing the back yard, missing items, missing people, etc. He eventually discovers that each door in his house is in fact a door to an alternative time line. So technically, this is a sci-fi book. But it's about the funnest sci-fi book I've ever read. I loved it!

[Mike McGowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent multiverse adventure

Taking on the biggest possible canvas for a book (anything and everything that could ever be) is brave but David Luddington handles it spectacularly well, even though his main character (a graphic novel writer who seems to have no concept of the 'many worlds' theory???) will initially come across as completely unrealistic to some.

But his characters are likeable, his plots make sense and he has an excellent sense of how to stage a scene so all in all the book works.

I'm hoping this is merely the first in a series.

[PIETER · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is absolutely crazy. And fun to read. This quantum cottage with parallel universes lurking outside doors and windows is inherited by a young graphic novelist who expects nothing untoward when he moves in. Only slowly does he realise that doors and windows have been bricked over. Why? Was it the work of his elderly aunt who disappeared ten years ago? When he opens the door and window the craziness begins. He meets all sorts of unusual characters who increase as the story goes on. This fast-moving, confusing and zany novel is well worth the read.

[Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

The comparisons to Douglas Adams are perfectly justified. However, in a somewhat interesting twist, it's much less akin to Hitchhiker's Guide or Dirk Gently than it is to something like Last Chance To See or other non-fiction works of Adams', such as the various essays collected in Salmon of Doubt.

I did really enjoy the story when it was about discovering and dealing with the multidimensional properties of the cottage. I was much less interested in most of the second half of the book which appeared to be some sort of (very) surface-level satire on EU bureaucracy?

[Camio.Dontchaknow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow burner to start with but a lighthearted little jaunt through a quiet English village with understated British silliness and a gentle scifi/fantasy buildup. Complete with an Arthur Dentish protagonist and alternate realities in the south west of the UK. I wish the whole adventure side of the book had been a bit bigger, and the characters were more than standard 2D-cookie-cutter shapes but still, a fun little read.