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The Rival Monster
Loch Ness, as everyone knows, has a monster. As a result, Loch Ness has fame,tourists and fortune. No wonder that there are long faces in the glens when a Flying Saucer seems to have killed, or at least injured, their prize possession. Donald MacDonald, twentythird Chief of Ben Nevis, who has seen the monster no less than twelve times, feels the blow personally.
Then comes the dramatic news from the Outer Isles; a monster has been seen off Little Todday. Despite the scepticism of Paul Waggett, no longer a leading light in Todday's Home Guard, the schemes of the inhabitants of Great Todday, who see no reason why Little Todday should have all the publicity, the attentions of newspapermen and scientist, and Ben Nevis's crafty attempts to dispose of the rival attraction, the Todday Monster flourishes, to the personal and financial benefit of practically everyone on the twin islands.
Then comes the dramatic news from the Outer Isles; a monster has been seen off Little Todday. Despite the scepticism of Paul Waggett, no longer a leading light in Todday's Home Guard, the schemes of the inhabitants of Great Todday, who see no reason why Little Todday should have all the publicity, the attentions of newspapermen and scientist, and Ben Nevis's crafty attempts to dispose of the rival attraction, the Todday Monster flourishes, to the personal and financial benefit of practically everyone on the twin islands.
252 pages
First published January 1, 1952
1 person is currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Compton Mackenzie
211 books84 followersCompton Mackenzie was born into a theatrical family. His father, Edward Compton, was an actor and theatre company manager; his sister, Fay Compton, starred in many of James M. Barrie's plays, including Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. He was educated at St Paul's School and Magdalen College, Oxford where he obtained a degree in Modern History.
Mackenzie was married three times and aside from his writing also worked as an actor, political activist, and broadcaster. He served with British Intelligence in the Eastern Mediterranean during World War I, later publishing four books on his experiences. Compton Mackenzie was from 1920–1923 Tenant of Herm and Jethou and he shares many similarities to the central character in D.H. Lawrence's short story The Man Who Loved Islands, despite Lawrence saying "the man is no more he than I am." Mackenzie at first asked Secker, who published both authors, not to print the story and it was left out of one collection.
Mackenzie was married three times and aside from his writing also worked as an actor, political activist, and broadcaster. He served with British Intelligence in the Eastern Mediterranean during World War I, later publishing four books on his experiences. Compton Mackenzie was from 1920–1923 Tenant of Herm and Jethou and he shares many similarities to the central character in D.H. Lawrence's short story The Man Who Loved Islands, despite Lawrence saying "the man is no more he than I am." Mackenzie at first asked Secker, who published both authors, not to print the story and it was left out of one collection.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 15, 2017
A bit of a slog. Not nearly as funny as The Monarch of the Glen, but I stuck with it because it looked like he was setting up an interesting ending. Unfortunately, no.
February 20, 2023
I loved this book.
Already the start is a hilarious invite to read it: the Loch Ness monster is attacked by a flying saucer. Of course, this gives an easy starting point for lots of absurdity. Now, some may say that the book too easily feeds on this comical first idea, and doesn't have more interesting developments as the story goes on. However, I think there is more to it than that.
This is because the book can be seen as not just comedy fiction, but as satire, i.e. telling us something about the real world. Look what happens in the book: some people believe in the monster, some in the alien spaceship, some in both, some in neither. A media hype surges, and people start blaming and accusing each other. And when a monster is spotted near Little Todday, things get worse: investigations, rivalry, accusations, conspiracy theories, and more media hype. This is totally what would happen in the world we live in!
Just look at what happens in the real world of today, whenever something strange, surprising or otherwise interesting pops up in the news. Immediately parties from everywhere take it on, amplify it, politicise it, and invent theories. Wild ideas from one person are picked up by others, taken as real news, and amplified further. Media hypes immediately grow. Different parties use it to blame and shame other parties. Conspiracy theories are made up, and used to gather people for protest groups. Even violence occurs as a result every now and then. And all this while the original news was either nothing at all, or something completely different from what it is made to become.
Of course, you may argue that these things happen so much particularly nowadays, due to the modern media, and Mackenzie, who published this book in 1952, couldn't have known about the internet, Facebook or Twitter. You might thus think the similarity of his described comic situation with modern hypes is a coincidence. However, I don't think these phenomena are completely new. After all, gossip and prejudices, caused by misunderstandings and poor information, have always existed, and have always led to hate, baseless accusations, and occasionally unnecessary violence. The difference with today is that in the old days, the beliefs remained localized, and thrived by inbreeding in local communities, while today they spread in no time across the globe.
It seems to me MacKenzie saw very well what happened in the world around him in the situation of surprising news, and wrote this brilliant satire about it, which remains accurate to this day. I thoroughly enjoyed this revealing picture about a crazy aspect of human society.
Already the start is a hilarious invite to read it: the Loch Ness monster is attacked by a flying saucer. Of course, this gives an easy starting point for lots of absurdity. Now, some may say that the book too easily feeds on this comical first idea, and doesn't have more interesting developments as the story goes on. However, I think there is more to it than that.
This is because the book can be seen as not just comedy fiction, but as satire, i.e. telling us something about the real world. Look what happens in the book: some people believe in the monster, some in the alien spaceship, some in both, some in neither. A media hype surges, and people start blaming and accusing each other. And when a monster is spotted near Little Todday, things get worse: investigations, rivalry, accusations, conspiracy theories, and more media hype. This is totally what would happen in the world we live in!
Just look at what happens in the real world of today, whenever something strange, surprising or otherwise interesting pops up in the news. Immediately parties from everywhere take it on, amplify it, politicise it, and invent theories. Wild ideas from one person are picked up by others, taken as real news, and amplified further. Media hypes immediately grow. Different parties use it to blame and shame other parties. Conspiracy theories are made up, and used to gather people for protest groups. Even violence occurs as a result every now and then. And all this while the original news was either nothing at all, or something completely different from what it is made to become.
Of course, you may argue that these things happen so much particularly nowadays, due to the modern media, and Mackenzie, who published this book in 1952, couldn't have known about the internet, Facebook or Twitter. You might thus think the similarity of his described comic situation with modern hypes is a coincidence. However, I don't think these phenomena are completely new. After all, gossip and prejudices, caused by misunderstandings and poor information, have always existed, and have always led to hate, baseless accusations, and occasionally unnecessary violence. The difference with today is that in the old days, the beliefs remained localized, and thrived by inbreeding in local communities, while today they spread in no time across the globe.
It seems to me MacKenzie saw very well what happened in the world around him in the situation of surprising news, and wrote this brilliant satire about it, which remains accurate to this day. I thoroughly enjoyed this revealing picture about a crazy aspect of human society.
August 23, 2023
Another hilarious novel by Mackenzie. I will admit the ending was a bit "underwhelming" but in a way that seems appropriate to the subject.
There was one brief scene in particular where the author wrote about a traditional island celebration, complete with the women singing their wauking songs, and it made me pause. I felt the deep affection he had for these fictional Highlanders, despite his willingness to skewer the social hysteria over the mysterious Loch Ness Monster and its fate. It made me appreciate his stories even more.
Oh, and there is a UFO too. Pure gold.
There was one brief scene in particular where the author wrote about a traditional island celebration, complete with the women singing their wauking songs, and it made me pause. I felt the deep affection he had for these fictional Highlanders, despite his willingness to skewer the social hysteria over the mysterious Loch Ness Monster and its fate. It made me appreciate his stories even more.
Oh, and there is a UFO too. Pure gold.
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January 1, 2022A theatrical comic classic! Wonderful characterization and sense of place. Compton MacKenzie's snappy dialogue and the absurd premise of the fictional monster itself had me laughing out loud throughout this high-spirited adventure. A timeless story and must read for anyone who loves Scotland's unique character.
September 21, 2014
Monsters, flying saucers shaped like teapots, brilliant Hebridean summer nights, cranky lairds and a timid young palaeontologist - what more could you wish for?
January 16, 2015
Not as funny as the first two books but I can see where the show "Monarch of the Glen" got a lot of it's structure from and character humor.
January 10, 2015
Not quite as side-splittingly funny as Waugh or Wodehouse, but great fun. Now to read Monarch of the Glen and Whisky Galore!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews