The Greatest Show Off Earth [Hardcover]

Robert Rankin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 1994

Raymond's had a rough couple of days - snatched from his allotment by a flying starfish from Uranus, and sold as a delicacy in a Venusian food-market. His luck seems to have changed when he's rescued by a travelling circus, but then this isn't an ordinary circus.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

'EVERYBODY SHOULD READ AT LEAST ONE ROBERT RANKIN IN THEIR LIFE' - Daily Express

What they say about Robert Rankin:

'One of the rare guys who can always make me laugh' - Terry Pratchett

'To the top-selling ranks of humourists such as Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, let us welcome Mr Rankin' - Tom Hutchinson, The Times

'A born writer with a taste for the occult. Robert Rankin is to Brentford what William Faulkner was to Yoknaptawpha County' - Time Out

'One of the finest living comic writers ... a sort of drinking man's H.G. Wells' - Midweek --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Magus to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Sprout, 12th Dan Master of Dimac, poet, adventurer, swordsman and concert pianist; big game hunter, Best Dressed Man of 1933; mountaineer, lone yachtsman, Shakespearian actor and topless go-go dancer, Robert Rankin's hobbies include passive smoking, communicating with the dead and lying about his achievements. He lives in Sussex with his wife and family.

Robert Rankin is the author of The Garden of Unearthly Delights, The Most Amazing Man Who Ever Lived, The Greatest Show Off Earth, Raiders of the Lost Car Park, The Book of Ultimate Truths, Armageddon The Musical, They Came and Ate Us, Armageddon II: The B Movie, The Suburban Book of the Dead, Armageddon III: The Remake, and the 'Brentford' quartet; The Antipope, The Brentford Triangle, East of Ealing and The Sprouts of Wrath, which are all published by Corgi books. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (October 6, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385404190
• ISBN-13: 978-0385404198
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,382,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars 666 the number of the chicken!, September 17, 2004

By 

alistair w "AliWiseman" (Leiden Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greatest Show Off Earth (Paperback)

Robert Rankin has without doubt the most bizarre sense of humour that I've run across. This isn't a bad thing, but it is a character trait I enjoy in a writer. I enjoy almost all I read by him, and this book is just as good as his others. People in danger on worlds far away, the cult of the daemon chicken Sate-Hen, an abomination of nature and of err... nature too, if you take my meaning and I'm sure that you do, and an abduction by astro starfish! What more could you wish for, cept a pint n a nice seat to sit on while you read. Make mine a large!

5.0 out of 5 stars I like your new hat !, October 16, 2000

By 

"r0ttie" (Ostend, Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greatest Show Off Earth (Paperback)

I stumbled upon this second hand book in a little store in Egypt (of all places) and read the whole thing through in less then two days. Not that it's this short, it's this good ! It completely obliterated all interest I had in pharao's and pyramids, i just couldn't put it down.

If you like Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchet, you're gonna love this.

It's the first book of Robert Rankin i read and here I am, coming back for more.. ;-)

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, November 21, 1999

By 

Mike (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greatest Show Off Earth (Paperback)

I will never tire of this book. In the three years since I first discovered it, I have read it well over ten times. Excellent value for money. A lot of Rankin's fans treat this as his worst bok, I say it is his best. It is superbly off-the-wall, with likeable, funny characters, and moments that continue to make me laugh out loud every time. Should be retitled The Greatest Book on Earth.