The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions

Japanese Devil Fish Girl #1

by Robert Rankin

Rankin's far-fetched steampunk sequel to The War of the Worlds !  It's 1895; nearly a decade since Mars invaded Earth, chronicled by H.G. Wells in The War of the Worlds . Wrecked Martian spaceships, back-engineered by Charles Babbage and Nikola Tesla, have carried the Queen's Own Electric Fusiliers to the red planet, and Mars is now part of the ever-expanding British Empire. Professor Coffin has a the pickled Martian's tentacles are fraying at the ends, and his Most Meritorious Unnatural Attraction (the remains of the original alien autopsy, performed by Sir Frederick Treves at the London Hospital) is no longer drawing the crowds. The less-than-scrupulous sideshow proprietor likes Off-worlders' cash, so he needs a sensational new attraction. Word has reached him of the Japanese Devil Fish Girl; nothing quite like her has ever existed before. But Professor Coffin's quest to possess the ultimate showman's exhibit is about to cause considerable friction among the folk of other planets. Sufficient, in fact, to spark off Worlds War Two.

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

373 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

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

[Geoffery Crescent · Rating 1 out of 5]

When you consider that Robert Rankin is a self-described proponent of "Far-Fetched Fiction" (he wants his own section in WHSmiths) it seems bizarre that he would choose to limit his usually expansive style by writing a book that is a) a pseudo-sequel and b) steampunk. Both of these come with their own disadvantages, for one thing the fact that the novel is supposedly a sequel to H G Well's "War of the Worlds" makes it come across as fan-fiction. Fairly well written fan-fiction, but fan-fiction all the same. Picking up where Wells left off in the aftermath of a Martian invasion, Rankin introduces Venusians, Jovians and a whole host of new characters in the mix, but it never feels anything more than a second-rate follow up.

Steampunk is not a favourite genre of mine at the best of times, and as Rankin closely adheres to its rules, so too does the novel begin to feel strained within these confines. There are only so many brass accouterments and zeppelins I can take. The novel is peppered with historical figures, Churchill, Babbage, Tesla and Barnum to name but a few, but as many of these were dead at the time of the novel's setting, Rankin is constantly at great pains to remind us that history itself is wrong in the assumption of their deaths. I feel he would have been better off creating new characters entirely, rather than having to convince me of their fictional longevity every other minute. His recasting of Joseph Merrick as a mass-murderer was especially unconvincing. And a little insulting.

Strangely, given the novel's "alternate universe" status, several Rankin favourites pop-up throughout; fans will be able to spot Hugo Rune, the Flying Swan and the woman in the straw hat (now the protagonist's mother, or possibly father) among others. But if this novel is set an alternate steampunk past, what are they all doing there? It's a small grievance, but the sort of thing which draws you out of the novel, rather than engaging with the characters' familiarity.

Both lead characters are flat and sketchily drawn with none of the engaging humour of Rankin's previous inventions. Ada Fox in particular is subject to bizarre sexism on the part of the author, did he really need to mention how beautiful she was every time she appears? Darwin the Monkey Butler is about the only one with whom I engaged, and his singular characteristic is throwing poo everywhere.

The bland characterisation and a plot that can barely get off the ground finally comes to a head in that grandest of all tropes, love saves the day. I mean really, Rankin can do a whole lot better. I'll be down the Flying Swan with Pooley and O'Malley, if anyone needs me.

[Guy Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far Fetched Fiction, with a side of steampunk.

Rankin’s been flirting with steampunk for a while, fiendish inventions of Victorian vintage crop up in his work every now and then, and he can increasingly be spied sporting ‘the look’, but this is a full-on steampunk adventure, Rankin style.

The events of H.G. Wells’ War of The Worlds is a decade past, and Britain, with a command of the Martians’ technology, effectively rules two planets. Our hero is George Fox, fairground worker, shuffling round the country with his employer, the showman Professor Coffin, exhibiting a pickled Martian that is slowly disintegrating in its formaldehyde. But fate has great things in store for George, and soon he, Coffin and the ravishing Ada Lovelace find themselves on a quest for the legendary Japanese Devil Fish Girl, who is not Japanese, nor a fish, nor a devil (although she is female).

Freakshows, airships, chortling Jovians, pygmy cannibals, lost Lemuria, ancient gods and a monkey butler jump in and out of the story as Rankin delivers one of his trademark yarns. He might lack the satirical insight of Pratchett, but no one tells a tall tale as well as Rankin does, and this one belts along with as much good cheer as a Christmas pub crawl. As always, you feel he’s telling the story to you. It’s personal. The story reflects Rankin’s own eclectic interests in Forteana and Victoriana, while at its heart is the author’s favoured pairing of aged impresario and young yet resourceful naïf. As usual, much of the book’s humour comes from the pair bantering, bickering and talking toot.

The book is nominally set in the same looniverse as the majority of Rankin’s other books: Hugo Rune puts in an appearance, as does the Elephant Man, but generally the story is the shorn of the intertextual references that can make some of his stories baffling to the neophyte. Basically, there are no time-travelling sprouts popping up to deliver punchlines to jokes that have been running for five volumes. It also lacks the intense, sometimes disorienting jig-like beat that characterises others among his novels. This may disappoint the man’s vocal fanbase, but it is highly accessible if you’ve not read a Rankin before, and is sure to earn him new readers.

Reverential steampunks make no mistake, this does not take the subgenre at all seriously – the world, no matter the era, is a joke for Mr Rankin, but as The Japanese Devil Fish Girl reaffirms, it’s a joke he’s exceedingly good at telling.

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

I’m a big fan of Rankin’s work, though I took a break for a quite awhile, mainly because the series that starts with this novel was released in trade paperback, and I was waiting for the cheaper mass market versions, which it turns out were not forthcoming. Fiddle de, fiddle dum. Anyway, this kicks off Rankin’s take on the steampunk genre, and doubles as a sequel to HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds. Around ten years after the Martian invasion was defeated (for which the British Empire took full credit), British engineers have reverse-engineered Martian spaceships, and now there is steampunk tech and space travel, and it turns out there are also Venusians and Jupiterians, who are much more friendly. Or are they?

This is the backdrop for the story of George Fox, an innocent lad with big dreams who works for Professor Coffin, who runs a sideshow circus with freakish attractions. Together they end up on an epic quest to find the ultimate sideshow attraction – the fabled Japanese Devil Fish Girl, who may or may not be a goddess. This being Rankin, there’s also lots of conspiracy theories, a monkey butler, and cameos from famous historical figures, including PT Barnum, Charles Babbage, Nikola Tesla, Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill, regardless of whether or not they were technically alive in 1895, because who says you can’t do that?

I’m not big on steampunk, but I do like Rankin’s humor and his lyrical, whimsical writing style, and he does tell a good tall tale. He also has a lot of fun with the premise, and while he does sometimes go a bit overboard with the British Empire love, and the bit with the jungle cannibals is in questionable taste, they do serve as a satire of Victorian adventure literature that tended to put a premium on both British Empire and stereotypical jungle savages as convenient dangers for the hero to wallop, which I think is what Rankin intended. Anyway, I liked it.

[S.P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was highly entertained by this. It is amusing, it has that Late Victorian optimism and adventure about it, a great title, and a great idea for a storyline - the continuation of the War of the Worlds...

I've not read any Robert Rankin before, but I guess I found him very Terry Pratchett if that is fair to either author. An eye for the ridiculous for sure, with good pacing and plenty of cameo 'appearances' of historical figures, who probably shouldn't be there, being dead 'n'all. History just got it so wrong it seems :).

Towards the end, it got a little too ridiculous maybe, and a little too 'serious' for a Victorian romp adventure (which is how it starts out).

Am enjoyable, if not quite perfect, afternoon read.

[Shedlon Wortlebucket · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great Victorian romp, full of wonderful Rankin references (Brentford, Dimac et al.) Some great farcical passages (All I will say is "Casino"...) that makes Ranking a joy to read.

If there was to be one teensy-weensy niggle is that I struggled sometimes with the Victorian voice. I have to make it clear that this is probably because it was a late night (e.g. "tired") read. It's in keeping with the tone of the book and absolutely works so it's not a criticism of Ranking in any way but is indicative of me as a reader instead.

This book made me laugh and smile occasionally which, for me, is important.

Hope this helps

[Andrea (mrsaubergine) · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me 11 years to crack the spine of this one (as part of my year of reducing the pile sitting beside my bed), and I can't say I was too gripped. Rankin's writing is certainly not what it once was, and not what it can be when he writes about his regular characters like O'Malley and Pooley. I have the next book, though, and will be continuing - if nothing else, it will reduce the aforementioned pile.

[Adam Whitehead · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is 1895. Ten years have passed since the Martian assault on Earth. The British Empire, 'back-engineering' recovered Martian technology, has conquered Mars with germ warfare and now treats with the denizens of Venus and Jupiter on an equal footing. A great spaceport has been built in London, a vast airship known as the Empress of Mars is touring the world and showing the British flag, and Venusian missionaries are now visiting Earth. With such wonders unfolding, showman Professor Coffin is finding interest in his pickled Martian specimen evaporating. When his zany (sorry, assistant) George Fox is informed that it his destiny to find the mythical Japanese Devil Fish Girl, Coffin sells his worldly possessions to fund an exciting and dangerous round-the-world trip to find his, sorry, their fame and fortune.

The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions: A Novel by Robert Rankin is a humorous semi-sequel to The War of the Worlds and is, very blatantly, an attempt at a 'steampunk epic' (much is made of Rankin's status as the very first Fellow of the Victorian Steampunk Society). Rankin delights in tearing up the timeline, which doesn't mesh very well with either War of the Worlds (which takes place very late in the 19th Century, with references made to a book published in 1893, but here is retconned to 1885) or established history: Charles Babbage and Charles Darwin are both still around, despite having died decades earlier, whilst Adolf Hitler cameos as a young man despite only being six years old in real life at the time. Of course, one doesn't read Rankin for historical accuracy or serious attention to detail. His books are comical romps, sometimes with hints of more interesting things going on.

The Japanese Devil Fish Girl is certainly a fun romp, and a slightly stronger novel than his previous book that I'd read, The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse (though it isn't quite as funny). The structure is better, with George Fox's misadventures (to some degree episodic) on the Empress of Mars giving a spine to the story as misfortune befalls him, whilst with the redoubtable Professor Coffin Rankin gives us a more complex character than normal, although Fox is cut from the same cloth as just about every one of his other heroes, from Cornelius Murphy through Toy City's Jack. The pace is furious and it's unlikely you'll be bored, but there's also a lack of depth. In particularly, the shift from adventures in remote corners of the world back to London at the end of the novel is somewhat jarring.

On the humour front, Rankin trots out quite a few of the same running gags for inspection, and you'll either laugh or give a long-suffering sigh at them depending on your degree of familiarity with the author (luckily a minigun 'like the one Blaine had in Predator' fails to appear). There's a few funny other gags elsewhere and a couple of sharp jabs at British imperialism which seems to threaten (but never achieves) satire, but towards the end of the book Rankin falls back on a comical monkey and his exploits to get laughs, which hints a little at desperation (as does the blatantly sequel-baiting finale). Oddly for a Rankin novel, this is one where the actual story is better than the humour.

The Japanese Devil Fish Girli (***½) is pretty much Another Robert Rankin novel, although shorn of connections to his other books it's a little bit more accessible to newcomers. But there is definitely the feeling that here he had a chance to break free of his comfort zone and write a more interesting story using steampunk trappings, but didn't do it. Instead he does his normal thing and does it well. The book is available now in the UK and on import in the USA.

[Dan Hallington · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a while, a few years ago, I devoured everything Rankin had written. I couldn’t get enough of his unique brand of silly sesquipedalianism. Then I got a bit bored of him. Then I decided to give him another go, so coincidentally (kind of) ordered this and Stephen Baxter’s The Massacre of Mankind, both sequels of HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds, from my local library.

The Japanese Devil Fish Girl is everything I hoped it would be! Now for the more serious Baxterian sequel...

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4*)
An amusing book most of the time, and thankfully, not too over the top with the parodies.
The characters are okay, though a little annoying at times, except for Ada Lovelace, who is the stand out best of the bunch.
It flags a little in a couple of places, but mostly keeps the pace zinging along quite nicely.
Overall an entertaining read.

[Matthew Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of his best books, but still not bad. Enjoyable and funny, but the characters lack depth...didn't feel for them that much

[Dutch Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

George the showman's assistant. Ada Lovelace the love interest. mars vs earth with Venus and Jupiter too. excellent romp

[Tim Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The later books in this series are considerably better.

[Dylan Oke · Rating 1 out of 5]

Masturbatory summary of the author's favourite Wikipedia articles and a racist, sexist story that doesn't even adhere to its own internal logic.

[Russ Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely far fetch fiction at its' finest. A real romp around the inside of Mr Rankin's head. One of my favourites of his. (so much so that I bought the next three)

[Annette Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cast of unlikely historical characters, an alternate history, a jolly good romp. Would happily read again.

[Sean Keefe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rankin does War Of The Worlds. Suitably daft, but not as much as the sun of its parts. Fun read, though. Would have liked a tripod or two. Who wouldn’t?

[Marta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historycy epoki wiktoriańskiej mylili się wielokrotnie. Przecież ani Charles Babbage, ani Charles Darwin, ani nawet Ada Lovelace nie byli martwi w roku 1895. William Gladstone wciąż piastował urząd brytyjskiego premiera, a Królewski Londyński Port Kosmiczny kontrolował przyloty statków z Wenus i z Jowisza. Dekadę wcześniej zaś Winston Churchill zaplanował atak na Marsjan. Tych samych Marsjan, których najazd na Ziemię opisał Herbert George Wells w „Wojnie światów”, mylnie uznanej przez dziejowych kronikarzy za dzieło fikcyjne. Całe szczęście, że pojawił się Robert Rankin i opowiedział, jak było naprawdę…

„Dziewczyna płaszczka i inne nienaturalne atrakcje” to w swej konstrukcji klasyczna fantastyczna powieść przygodowa, przywodząca na myśl choćby utwory Juliusza Verne’a. Jeden wątek fabularny, mniej lub bardziej (z reguły: bardziej) nieprawdopodobne tarapaty, w które popadają bohaterowie, porwania, pościgi, spieszenie na pomoc damie w opałach, dziwne istoty, nienaniesione na mapy wyspy, katastrofy powietrzne, nieprzyjaźni tubylcy, wreszcie – poszukiwanie legendarnego skarbu. Wszystko to odnajdziemy w książce Rankina. Wnioski szybko nasuwają się same – autor operuje sprawdzonymi schematami i wykorzystuje motywy, które w literaturze sprawdzają się od dziesięcioleci.

Wtórność „Dziewczyny płaszczki…” nie przekłada się na szczęście na nudę. Choć łatwo przewidywać, jak zakończy się opowieść, odgadywać kolejne zawirowania i przeszkody, które staną na drodze bohaterów, można dać się porwać lekkiej i żywej narracji Rankina, barwnym dialogom oraz pełnemu pary i zębatek XIX-wiecznemu Londynowi, odwiedzanemu przez mieszkańców Wenus i Jowisza. Steampunkowe motywy obecne na kartach książki to, ponownie, wzorce wielokrotnie sprawdzone, co oznacza spotkanie z latającą konstrukcją przypominającą powiększonego zeppelina, maszyną różnicową Babbage’a i strojami z epoki wiktoriańskiej uzupełnianymi szykownymi goglami.

Zdecydowanie najsłabiej wypada konstrukcja głównego bohatera, George’a Foksa. Jest to postać nijaka, do przesady naiwna i idealistyczna, wiecznie popadająca w tarapaty, z których muszą ratować go jego towarzysze, w tym małpa w liberii. Postępowanie i tok myślenia George’a potrafią niezmiernie irytować, na całe szczęście – pozostałym bohaterom nie można tego samego zarzucić. Z postaci pierwszoplanowych najciekawiej prezentuje się Ada Lovelace, a Robert Rankin zręcznie komponuje nawiązania do biografii prawdziwej panny Lovelace z pomysłami autorskimi. Książkowa Ada nie jest ani typową damą w potrzebie, ani niezależną femme fatale; zaskakuje bystrością umysłu i pomysłowością.

Elementem wyróżniającym powieść Rankina spośród innych pozycji na półkach księgarni miał być wszechobecny humor. Trzeba zaznaczyć, że jest to humor specyficzny – w przeważającej mierze nie składają się nań bawiące do rozpuku gagi, a mniej lub bardziej oczywiste nawiązania, puszczanie oka do czytelnika. Rankin wie, co robi, kiedy bawi się historią, manipuluje datami i znanymi nazwiskami, wyśmiewa brytyjski rząd i generalicję. „Dziewczynę płaszczkę…” odbierać można także jako satyrę na XIX-wieczne obyczaje, konflikty zbrojne czy spory religijne. Co więcej, autor czyni to w sposób niewymuszony i nieoczywisty, zgrabnie potrafi wkomponować elementy prześmiewcze w akcję utworu.

Trudno jednoznacznie ocenić „Dziewczynę płaszczkę…”. Można dobrze się przy niej bawić, szczególnie gdy skoncentrować się na wyłapywaniu nawiązań i warstwie humorystycznej, choć by je docenić, trzeba dysponować przynajmniej przyzwoitą wiedzą o XIX-wiecznym Imperium Brytyjskim. Jako powieść przygodowa jest w sporej mierze wtórna, ale trudno odmówić jej gracji w operowaniu schematami. Wreszcie – klimat wiktoriańskiej Anglii i steampunkowych wynalazków sprawia, że żaden miłośnik tych motywów nie powinien przechodzić obok powieści obojętnie. Jeśli chodzi o pozostałych czytelników – niech zdecydują sami.

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Zarówno tę recenzję, jak i wiele innych tekstów znajdziecie na moim blogu: http://oceansoul.waw.pl/ Serdecznie zapraszam!

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tend to put a hyphen in "steam-punk" for the same reason I don't put one in "email"—that is, because the Victorians would've done so. The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions is so self-consciously and comprehensively steam-punk, hyphenation and all, that it almost hurts to read it, and it's not nearly as funny a book as it thinks it is... but its very level of florid intensity makes the book a more deadpan recreation of the sort of Victorian prose it's parodying.

And it hangs together better than you might think. The defeat of H.G. Wells' Martian invaders at the flagellae of the lowly microbe is the starting point for a cascade of tremendous differences between this world's history and our own. Britain has successfully reverse-engineered captured Martian technology to become the Earth's first—and so far only—spacefaring empire; the Imperial counter-invasion of the Red Planet was a smashing success—so much so that the Martian race is essentially extinct—and there is a thriving British colony on Mars. The Royal London Spaceport is nearing completion, the great air-ship Empress of Mars prepares to circumnavigate the globe, and already emissaries from the hitherto-hidden Venusian and Jovian civilizations have made themselves known to humanity.

This is the panoramic backdrop against which George Fox enters as Our Hero—and it's no spoiler to say so, though we meet him as a lowly assistant in a traveling carnival act, exhibiting a pickled Martian to the rubes and acting as general dogsbody to the brilliant but amoral Professor Cagliostro Coffin. Then George runs into a young beauty who calls herself Ada Lovelace... whereupon complications, opportunities and adventures ensue.

To some extent, this novel suffers from the problem of "playing without a net"—when anything can happen, dramatic tension is reduced, and it takes a delicate touch at humor to manage as many zany elements as Rankin adds to the mix. This book is blatantly and cheerfully anachronistic as well; in our universe, the real Ada Lovelace passed away nearly 50 years prior to this novel's fin de siècle setting, and other historical figures who were by no means contemporaries are herein made to meet. But the strong central character arc of George's development and budding relationship with Ada helps keep things on track. In the end, I did come away from The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions with no small measure of satisfaction.

[Elizabeth Judd Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the end no. I could not do readings of this book. With its sentence fragments and "cutesy" language.* (see further below for my initial update, which this is a reply to)
I read about half of this book, felt annoyed every time I looked at it, and decided not to bother with the rest of it (I did jump ahead a bit to make sure it didn't suddenly all become amazing, but it appeared that it would not). First of all, the "clever" language: I'm sorry, but I am not amused by "doing wee-wees" and "doing thinkings" and the like (not to mention names like Wilde Frontier, and similar puns); that right there put me off every time I tried to read the book. Secondly, the sentence fragments! These drove me insane; I kept reading the same paragraphs over again, because I thought I had missed a line somewhere. Then, the characters: I have no problem with including real people in steampunk and alt historical fiction, but the way in which they were thrown in willy-nilly was extremely annoying. Some got little footnotes explaining that history had "mis-recorded" their death dates while others, like the main female character, Ada Lovelace, were taken completely out of their proper timelines (she is also inexplicably turned into a redheaded flirtatious runaway for some reason, and made into the love interest of the main character). Others are minor throwaway characters but are treated rather shabbily--Joseph Merrick (the Elephant Man) as the favored Jack the Ripper, anyone? I mean, why? This is one of those books that had been on my Amazon list for years, but I put off buying it for a long time because it seemed to get either very poor reviews or rave ones. In the end I got it cheaply and decided the cover, blurb and good reviews made it worth a chance. I regret that!
*I'm starting The Japanese Devil Fish: I have only read a few chapters. But I hope with a wishing face. That the cutesy "clever" language. And sentence fragments. Do not make the crazies in the space in my noggin called a thinker. (I will let you know if I ever got into the writing style when I finish!)

[Isabel (kittiwake) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Empress of Mars drifted slowly over the great metropolis, a sleek silver air-form, one-third of a mile in length. The first of its kind, an aerial pleasure ship.
Sadly, upon this night of nights, the capital was wreathed in fog. Another industrial pea-souper. the dome of St. Paul's peeked above the murk, as did the tessallated tower of the Babbage Institute for the Advancement of Science. And towards the south, a golden glow, as of some rich and royal treasure could be discerned atop the hills at Sydenham. From the destination of this wondrous aircraft. the Crystal Palace.

Ten years after the Martian Invasion described by H. G . Wells, Great Britain has colonised Mars and .trades throughout the solar system in spaceships back-engineered by Babbage and Tesla from the crashed vessels of the Martian Invaders, while Venusians and Jovians are regularly seen on the streets of London.
Professor Coffin and his assistant George make their living by displaying the preserved body of a dead Martian in side shows, but the Martian is getting smeliler and more unpleasant every day, and the Professor is in dire need of a replacement attraction. So they joint the maiden round the world voyage of The Empress of Mars and head for Japan in search of the ultimate sideshow attraction, the Japanese Devil Fish Girl.
This is a humorous alternate history, a romping story of travel, adventure, deception, betrayal, religious cults, lost civilisations and mysterious books, set in a late-Victorian steampunk world. I romped through it at speed, but I didn't get round to writing this review until about three weeks later, and I couldn't remember the ending at all, so I guess I would have to describe it as a fun read but ultimately unmemorable.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Rankin’s fiction has given a great many readers, including the reviewer, a great deal of pleasure over the years [decades really] and here he manages to squeeze out a few more laughs…but not guffaws. Not as he had in The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse, Brightonomicon, Knees Up Mother Earth, Sex, Drugs, and Sausage Rolls, The Dance of the Voodoo Handbag, The Antipope, etc., but there are enough giggles the make this book worth the time.

What became annoy in this book, besides the convoluted plot and predictable reversals, was the sentence structure:

George did blinkings of the eyes.

George made affirmative gruntings

Professor Coffin mimed rifle-shootings at Darwin

and so on. These lines/structures, if used sparingly, could and were a lot of fun but by the time this reviewer finished this overly-long book they were getting profoundly annoyed with the structural gags.

Beyond this the book was populated by the usual Rankin characters. For new readers this would not be a problem–it would be enjoyable I am certain. For those that have been fans since the ’80s this is getting a bit tiresome.

Is this a bad book? No. It actually is a wonderful story/plot that has been beaten into the ground by its sheer length and repetition of jokes and plot devices.

This reviewer is giving the book 3 stars, but this should not be confused with a negative rating. In truth it is probably worth 3.5 stars but half stars cannot be awarded.

Recommended for Rankin fanboys or new Rankin readers only.

Having said all of this, the reviewer is still going to read the rest of the books in the series because Rankin’s sense of humour remains infectious and endearing.

[Nathan Dehoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first in a series of four books set in a version of the late nineteenth century with steampunk technology; I'd actually read the next two before getting this one. It's pretty familiar Rankin in many ways, with a lot of running gags and references to other fiction, conspiracy theories, and legends. H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds is presented as having portrayed an actual historical event, and in its aftermath the British government has established diplomatic relations with Venus and Jupiter. A lot of historical figures show up, although Rankin freely admits to fudging a lot of the dates so that the ones he wants to use are still alive in 1895. One of the most absurd is a young Adolf Hitler appearing as a wine steward and casino dealer. The character of Darwin the monkey is introduced, and he's not yet able to talk. The main protagonist is a young man named George Fox who works for a shady circus owner called Professor Coffin, and joins him in the search for something known as the Japanese Devil Fish Girl. They're joined by Ada Byron Lovelace, who in real life died in 1852 at the age of thirty-six, but here is still alive and well, able to serve as a love interest for George. Their strange adventures have them journeying on an airship and visiting the lost continent of Lemuria, where it turns out that the Devil Fish Girl is a sacred relic to all worlds. And as with many Rankin novels, it ends with the world nearly being destroyed. There isn't much new here if you've read Rankin's earlier stuff, but it's fun.

[Chris Branch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah, like I said in my review of Year Zero, sense of humor is a tricky thing, so it might not be fair to criticize this book just because I didn't find it nearly as hilarious as I should have. Sure, it was mildly amusing, but never laugh-out-loud funny to me.

My three stars, then, are really for the story, a wild adventure of an alternate British Empire and aliens that reminded me of Lavie Tidhar's The Bookman, and for the characters, who are interesting and eccentric. I especially liked the portrayal of Ada Lovelace as a steampunk "girl adventurer" and also the way Professor Coffin's true nature is only subtly obvious at first.

But clearly Rankin's popularity and following are based largely on his humor, and as I said, this kind of fell flat for me. It's not so much that he writes humorous situations, but rather that the writing itself is supposed to amuse us, mostly with repeated stylistic quirks - but I'm afraid these were more irritating to me than funny.

This was the first I've read by him, so I might be open to trying one of his others at some point, but I won't be actively seeking them out.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this is a strange one. I don’t know what to think of Mr. Rankin, He is described as the Frank Zappa of fantasy, this is the second book of his I’ve read. The first one is Armageddon: The Musical, which is about Elvis saving the world with the help of Barry the time travelling brussel sprout. Don’t ask.

Devilfish Girl is one of his Steampunk novels. The year is 1895 and nearly a decade has past since the Martian invasion as recounted in H G Wells, non fiction novel, The War Of The Worlds. The Martian craft were back engineered by Charles Babbage and Nikolai Tesla and Mars was invaded by Britain and is now part of Queen Victoria’s Great British Empire. This story follows George Fox and his adventures as he tries to get a better life other than working on a travelling side show exhibiting a pickled Martian left over from the war.
I’ll say one thing for Robert Rankin he writes some crazy shit. I don’t always find him funny but he is always… interesting. This book defiantly has some inspired ideas and a fair sprinkling of wit.

If you want to read something a bit out there and the plot of one of his books catches your eye, go for it.

[Mousehammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Airships, Mars Attacks, Monkey Butlers, whimsical nonsense, it has it all.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not his best. Rankin goes full on Steampunk. I suppose it was only a matter of time, much of his stuff has been suggestive of the form, since long before it became the massive genre it is today. The story was usual Rankin; nice kid saves the day despite great evil in the land; double crossing, etc. Running gags that run out of steam, running gags that are only funny if you have read copious amounts of Rankin. Side swipes at the reader. All good stuff. A far lower amount of sexual innuendo than usual, and of course a prime chance to pull the 'Taking Tea With The Vicar' was totally avoided precisely because that is what regular readers would expect. The writing has slipped over the years, but I still enjoy his work, and he has made me laugh out loud more than any other writer I have read, but you do need to be very familiar with Britain to get all the jokes.

[Ade Couper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah , Mr Rankin . The Grand Poobah of far-fetched fiction , laird of linguistic legerdemain & all-round good bloke returns to regale with more tales of whimsy & imagination. This time, he's gone all steampunk on us.....

The year is 1895 (probably). After the Martians attacked Surrey (see wells' "War of the Worlds"), the British Empie launched a retaliation , & Mars is now part of the British Empire.....meanwhile , George Fox , Professor Coffin , & Ada Lovelace (aided by Darwin the Monkey Butler....!) are searching for Lemuria & the Japanese Devil Fish Girl.....

Mr Rankin's love of language is again to the fore , & he tells a good tale with linguistic brio & aplomb . I did laugh out loud reading this .

Buy it . Sell your Granny if you have to.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

once upon a time rankin books were quirky, amusing takes on more traditional tropes or stories taking an everyday setting and throwing a spanner or three in the works. The running gags made sense on their first use and added a chuckle with repetition

but now, the stories are weird for the sake of being weird. Rather than the story driving the oddness the oddness is forcing the story down unnatural paths. Running gags never started as amusing are thrown in just for the sake of a running gag because it's what Rankin thinks his readers want, and the writing style has devolved into needlessly complex descriptions of how different everything is to normal.

I used to enjoy Rankin's books, but I can't see me buying the rest of this series unless it's on special offer sonewhere

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Robert Rankin and his latest Steampunk tale does not dissapoint. It is imaginative and funny, as are all of Rankin's works. This is his sequel to H.G.. Wells War of the Worlds and is just madcap humour from start to finish. I don't think I have read many other books with such a wide range of characters, including, Pickled Martians, Aliens from Jupiter and Venus,Ada Lovelace, Sherlock Holmes,Charles Babbage, Nikola Tesla, Gladstone, Churchill and even Hitler. Oh and not forget a brief appearance of The Elephant man. I would thoroughly recommend this book for lovers of crazy humour and adventure.

[Johara Almogbel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read a lot of steampunk. And any steampunk I have read, it was probably by accident. But I think I can safely say Robert Rankin does it really really well.

For one, the language is delightful. I'm starting to think of my actions in an -ing form. Like now. Now, I'm doing typings of the phone. Also shakings of the head because this review is going all over the place. Anyway. Great characters, great plot, humor is in abundance if you know where to find it. (More in The Educated Ape than in this book, to be honest, but it's still a good book).

Definitely recommended, if you want anything enjoyable.