Customer Reviews

The Book of Ultimate Truths

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is Robert Rankin's eighth novel, the first of a new series. It introduces some endearing characters: the wild-haired seventeen-year-old Cornelius Murphy, and his dwarf-like companion Tuppe.

A typical Rankin plot: Cornelius and Tuppe are on an epic quest to retrieve the suppressed chapters of The Book of Ultimate Truths, and to keep them out of evil hands. Hugo Rune, the author of the book in the book, appeared in earlier Rankin novels, but now his outlandish ideas get the full attention they deserve: about the secret life of Gandhi and H.G. Wells, about the strange behavior of biros and small scews, stories that make you laugh aloud.

This was the first book I read from Robert Rankin, and at times I wondered if this guy needed to see a doctor. I read it again recently, after having read all his other books, and I found out that I had missed a lot of jokes during the first reading. The more you read these books, the better they get.

First of all, I don't understand why this guy isn't that popular (at least in the USA)! His sense of humour is unlike anything you would have ever read in your life. Laced with witty humour, brilliant use of words and insane ideas, his plots keep getting better and better with successive novels. However, this one remains a classic to the very end. Its about Hugo Rune and all his crazy theories about life (well, at least the life of a screw!). I sometimes wonder how this guy's mind works...I mean, first of all, his plot is incredibly complicated, on top of that, its situational comedy to the very best (forget those stupid sitcoms after reading this...at least I have)
Read this one and expand your mind! And the ending of this book is...well, MINDBLOWING!

References to Douglas Adams aside (no, it's nothing like the Hitchhiker's Guide), this book is absolutely hilarious. It's one of the few books I've ever read that's been able to make me laugh out loud so often. Rankin's bizarre and somewhat halucinatory style is guaranteed to catch you off guard. The endorsements on the back include Terry Pratchett saying that Rankin is one of the few authors that can consistently make him laugh. What better reason do you need?

There is a fine line between genius and madness and I'm still not sure which side of it Rankin walks. His main characters Cornelius Murphy and the diminutive Tuppe are simply surreal. After reading this I went out and bought all his other books and I have not been dissapointed yet.

I read this book once and laughed out loud. I read this book twice and had a giggly fit. I lent it to my Grandma and she didn't give it back.

Robert Rankin is a master wordsman and his books never fail to deliver. The Book of Ultimate Truths is mentioned in other books of his, and Hugo Rune is in every book. This is truly wonderful - the extracts from TBOUT are really clever and makes me wish that I'd realised that first. An extremely funny book (in case you hadn't gotten the message by now) that EVERYONE should read.

If you like Douglas Adams you'll probably like Robert Rankin because his anarchic, surreal humour matches the Hitch-Hikers style very well.

Follow the hero (Cornelius Murphy) and his sidekick (Tuppe) as they search for the missing chapters of the Book Of Ultimate Truths. You'll meet an Uncanny Scot, a strange lady in a straw hat, some dubious monks and numerous other delightfully bizarre characters.

The plot moves swiftly and the jokes come thick and fast with every turn of the page. I highly recommend this book, but I've only scored it 8 out of 10 due to the slightly narrow nature of the humour.

This book is simply outstanding. Rankin is posssibly THE funniest author alive. Nuff said.

Unfair judgement of this item!! After a month of waiting Amazon can't ship it or the Antipope. US Rankin fans beware, this is not necessarily a proper outlet for order.