The Brightonomicon
by Robert Rankin
fantasy, humour
copyright 2005
partly read in December 2017
rated 5/10: readable but only if there's nothing else
This book is rubbish.
The chief protagonist is a bit of an idiot. The main driver of the plot is an unlikable egocentric criminal. The "plot" is a series of loosely related skits.
The only really clever part of this book is the way that the author has drawn pictures using the streets of Brighton. Very clever indeed ! It's these pictures which drag the rating up from four, bad but could be read.
The story is a loose spoof of a dozen Sherlock Holmes short stories. Where Holmes will eventually explain his reasoning, Rankin says, I'll explain this later. Except that he fails to explain it, then or later. So the logic is missing and the supposed link to Holmes is a farce.
There is a mishmash of period references, from the 1960s where the story is supposed to be set, to many decades either side. How do all these fit into the one story? I'll explain later, says the author. Except that he does not explain.
There is a mishmash of action and dialogue, a lot of which has nothing at all to do with the plot. Here's some sarcastic commentary that is stuck in my mind, thinks the author, here's a random page at which I will dump it into the story.
There are some references to reality. But no, it does not make it funny -- nor particularly interesting -- when the author adds a footnote: Yes, this is true, go on and look it up...
Ho. Hum.
I read perhaps a third of the book before I gave up.
It's just not worth the effort.
==== Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper / Flaneur
Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
===
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"Give a man an inch and he'll think he's a ruler" … Agent 86
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Now much more than a clever name for a holiday journal:
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