A review by georgemorrrison
Armageddon: The Musical by Robert Rankin
4.0
Rankin's fantasy is chaotic, irreverent, and occasionally witty. I enjoyed it and recommend it for a light summer read.
Set fifty years in the future, Armageddon provides a wry take on the dystopian futures that have become de rigueur in modern sci-fi, positing a world where we all sit around drinking Buddha-beer and watching TV (mandatory). How the world gets in that state is revealed in a layered approach throughout the novel and was well done.
The characterizations are deliberately flat (and self-consciously so, which is part of the fun). It takes some time to develop empathy for the protagonist (Rex Mundi), and at first I was put off by the introduction of Elvis as a character, but Rankin manages to pull it off.
And the aliens? They remind me of the old saying, "when you point your finger at somebody, there are four others pointing back at you."
Set fifty years in the future, Armageddon provides a wry take on the dystopian futures that have become de rigueur in modern sci-fi, positing a world where we all sit around drinking Buddha-beer and watching TV (mandatory). How the world gets in that state is revealed in a layered approach throughout the novel and was well done.
The characterizations are deliberately flat (and self-consciously so, which is part of the fun). It takes some time to develop empathy for the protagonist (Rex Mundi), and at first I was put off by the introduction of Elvis as a character, but Rankin manages to pull it off.
And the aliens? They remind me of the old saying, "when you point your finger at somebody, there are four others pointing back at you."