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Download Retromancer ePub

by Robert Rankin

ISBN 0575085002
ISBN13 978-0575085008
Language English
Author Robert Rankin
Publisher Gollancz (September 15, 2010)
Pages 368
Formats doc rtf lrf lit
Category Fiction
Subcategory Genre Fiction
Size ePub 1164 kb
Size Fb2 1809 kb
Rating: 4.4
Votes: 566

There is big and evil magic abroad upon the face of the Earth. History has been changed. The Germans have won WWII. America is a nuclear wasteland. And worst of all, the breakfast menu at The Wife's Legs Café in Brentford is serving Bratwurst rather than the proper big boys' British banger. Something is Not Right. And when the world's all wrong and it needs setting right, who're you gonna call?

Hugo Rune, that's who. A man who offers the world his genius, and asks only, in return, that the world cover his expenses.

And so, with the aid of his faithful acolyte and companion Rizla, the guru's guru, also known as the hokus bloke, the Lad Himself and the Retromancer*, sets out to rewrite history the way it should be. Together they return to war-torn London, to solve the twelve cosmic conundra based on Hugo Rune's personal tarot deck, each one leading them closer to a final terrifying confrontation.

They must match their wits against beautiful spies, advanced alien technology, killer robots and death rays, do battle with an ancient god, and come face to face once more with Hugo Rune's arch-enemy, the sinister Count Otto Black, all the while finding time to drink ale, talk the toot and dine out in some of London's swankiest eateries. Without ever paying the bill.

First published in Great Britain in 2009 by Gollancz. The Orion Publishing Group Ltd Orion House.

FREE shipping on qualifying offers. There is big and evil magic abroad upon the face of the Earth. History has been changed. The Germans have won WWII. America is a nuclear wasteland.

What I did not know, however, was that Retromancer is apparently the ninth book of Robert Rankin's "Brentford Trilogy," a comic i/what-have-you series (called "far-fetch fiction" by the author, to allow him his own shelf in bookstores) that has obviously surpassed Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as "Longest Comic Trilogy By A. British Author. But my library didn't have many other books by Rankin, so I decided to stick with this one.

I’m sure I just missed something. I looked up at Hugo Rune. The Magus seemed to stare, but not to see. ‘Are you all right, Mr Rune?’. I asked him. ‘Was that really you that we met?’. me in a possible future. Hugo Rune shook his head. But a real future, surely?’. Because that was the you who appeared to me during our first case and warned me to beware of the number twenty-seven. And that is what concerns me,’ said Himself. Without that future me warning you, we would surely be dead

Robert Rankin is an unrepentant Luddite who writes his bestselling novels by hand in exercise books.

Robert Rankin is an unrepentant Luddite who writes his bestselling novels by hand in exercise books. He is the author of The Brentford Trilogy (5 books), The Armageddon Quartet (3 books) and many more.

Robert Fleming Rankin (born 27 July 1949) is a prolific British author of comedic fantasy novels

Robert Fleming Rankin (born 27 July 1949) is a prolific British author of comedic fantasy novels. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with Snuff Fiction in 1999, by which time his previous eighteen books had sold around one million copies. His books are a mix of science fiction, fantasy, the occult, urban legends, running gags, metafiction, steampunk and outrageous characters.

Author: Robert Rankin. When the world’s all wrong and it needs setting right, who’re you gonna call?

Author: Robert Rankin. When the world’s all wrong and it needs setting right, who’re you gonna call? Hugo Rune, of course: a man who offers the world his genius, and asks only, in return, that the world cover his expenses! Contents.

Robert Rankin describes himself as a teller of tall tales. The Morning Star describes him as 'The Master of Silliness', and his publisher describes him as The Master of Far Fetched Fiction. He is the author of more than thirty novels, of which he has sold millions of copies, and he is published - and making people laugh - around the world. Despite his remarkable publishing success, Robert has never taken himself too seriously.

Самая большая электронная читалка рунета. Поиск книг и журналов. Retromancer (Rankin Robert). Robert Rankin Retromancer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60. 61 62 63 64 65 66 Robert Rankin. 7. I did not faint this time.

Talk about Retromancer

lolike

Sci-fi, fantasy, just lunacy, whatever you call it, Rankin is always an entertaining read. Have been through many of his other works, always find them a worthy side trip through a vivid imagination!

Shazel

This is a toughie. I picked it up locally because (a) it was filed after Pratchett, and I'd been mentally moaning how there were no new Discworld books for me to read, and (b), the artwork and title seemed vaguely steampunk. I didn't have my glasses on, but could read enough of the back jacket to see something about Nazis and WWII, which is always interesting in fiction, so I bought it. I'd never read anything of Rankin's before.

Now, the story is quite interesting, as stories go. It does seem a little bit boy-oriented in the manner of George Macdonald Fraser or William Dietrich. As a middle-aged woman there were times when I found it simply too cloak-and-dagger for me. The characters of Rizla and Rune are interesting; the evil Count Black is a bit too stereotyped, but it was OK for this boy-tone story.

The problem I have writing the review is Rizla's dialogue. He's supposed to have been a teenager in the UK in 1967, but his jargon sounds excessively forced and twee, a bit like Stephen Fry's characters in "Making History" and "The Liar." Perhaps that's how teenagers spoke in those days, but to me here in the US it's just as jarring as reading 1920s slang like "the bee's knees" or "the berries." He says he doesn't want to "go on the Work" (i.e., get a job), for example. This is why I take off a star, because I spent a lot of time grimacing at the dialogue.

Naturally there are lots of mystical things happening to save the heroes' bacon at various times.

On the whole I prefer Discworld books; Pratchett's characters seem more grounded and real, even if they are trolls and other species. But I might pick up some more Rankin books next time I need something to read.

...
Coming back to edit several years (and several rereads) later, after reading a lot more of Rankin's work. There is a very subtle joke that reoccurs in this book, but it only became clear to me after reading all the rest of the Brentford Trilogy books: teenaged Pooley several times tells the reader he is not a betting man!

Gann

I've seen Robert Rankin's books around for awhile, beginning with "The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse," but this is the first one I've read. I guess I liked the title, the alternate history plot and the whiff of steampunk. It turns out it is a sequel to another book I've never seen, "The Brightonomicon," and continues a Holmes-Moriarty good-versus-evil battle between Hugo Rune and Count Otto Black, as chronicled by Rune's junior Watson "Rizla." The plot involves magic as much as technology, and is also somewhat self-referential and more than a little funny in the manner of "The Hitchhiker's Guide of the Galaxy" or Tom Holt's "Expecting Someone Taller" and other works. The mix and tone works for me. I also like the illustrations depicting the book's events in the guise of tarot cards. I may not read the previous book in the series, but I'll probably try more Rankin.

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