Robert Rankin

Robert Rankin is one of the greatest humorous writers ever. His novels tend to have a science-fictional nature which makes them even more enjoyable for sci-fi freaks like me. The books are very rewarding for the faithful reader as loads of in-jokes from earlier books surface every now and then making every book a hilarious experience. If you like Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett you should try Rankin's books too.

A list of his writings follows:
(updated Dec 3, 2002)

The Brentford Series:

• The Antipope (1981)
• The Brentford Triangle (1982)
• East Of Ealing (1984)
• The Sprouts of Wrath (1984)
• The Brentford Chainstore Massacre (1993)
• Sex and Drugs and Sausage Rolls (1999)
• Web Site Story (2001)

The Armageddon Trilogy

• Armageddon: The Musical (1988)
• They Came And Ate Us / Armageddon II: The B Movie (1991)
• The Suburban Book Of The Dead / Armageddon III: The Remake (1992)

The Cornelius Trilogy

• The Book Of Ultimate Truths (1993)
• Raiders Of The Lost Car Park (1994)
• The Most Amazing Man Who Ever Lived (1995)

The Bramfield Series

• The Greatest Show Off Earth (1994)

The Autobiographies

• Sprout Mask Replica (1997)
• The Dance of the Voodoo Handbag (1998)
• Snuff Fiction (1999)

Lazlo Woodbine Series

• Waiting for Godalming (2000)
• The Fandom of the Operator (2001)

Other Adventures

• The Garden Of Unearthly Delights (1995)
• A Dog Called Demolition (1996)
• Nostradamus Ate My Hamster (1996)
• Apocalypso (1998)
• Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse (2001)
• The Witches of Chiswick (to be published in August 2003?)

My thanks go to:
Sproutlore - The Official Robert Rankin Fan Club - http://www.sproutlore.com/
Locus Online - http://www.locusmag.com/

Robert Rankin is undoubtably very funny, but I find that he's almost always unable to construct an ending to his books. With the exception of The Antipope (which asides from being hilarious, got me attacked by a group of zealous Catholics in Germany), and arguably Armageddon: The Musical, his books tend to feature "Christ, better stop here before it spirals out of control" endings, in which he breaks the fourth wall to joke about all the plot holes left unfilled. This was fair enough the first time he used it, but using it for the latter two parts of The Armageddon Trilogy was just plain cheap.

But you really should read the Brentford Octology and The Armageddon Trilogy. I'm skeptical about his other works. You can't beat Elvis travelling through time with a quantum sprout called Barry.

"Bang!" said the explosion.

Robert Rankin has proposed in his books that Sprouts are a demonic race. Anyone who has seen the obligatory sprout lurking on the edge of their plate at christmas time will not doubt the menace of these green spheroids. If you read his books you will be presented with overwhelming evidence of their evil intent. I shall merely supply you with the the following information:

With the rise of vegetarianism humans pose a threat to sprouts

There is a vast sprout attack fleet hiding behind the moon, waiting for the moment to strike.

Traffic Cones are their advance scout vessels. They spy on our next generation . How else do you explain the mysterious appearance of cones in strategic positions and often high vantage points around universities?

There was a talkative time sprout named Barry in Elvis' head.

And who would doubt the word of the Rankin?