Nostradamus Ate My Hamster (1997) - Plot & Excerpts
Even being an avid fan of Robert Rankin, I think this is probably my favourite that I have read so far.Rankin is the self-proclaimed grandfather of far fetched fiction, and has been likened to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett - but in my opinion, I would say Rankin writes far more far fetched, although if you enjoy the two authors mentioned you will probably enjoy Robert Rankin's work too.The Plot is simple but surreal - Centred around Fudgepacker's Emporium, which is a movie prop warehouse and one of it's workers - it's only worker besides the boss Mr Fudgepacker himself and Morgan - Russell.During lunchtime Morgan tells Russell of the disappears of The Flying Swan; a pub famous for it's customers John O'Mally and Jim Pooley in Rankin's other books. O'Mally and Pooley have disappeared along with the pub and all of it's occupants at the time. All of which appear to have me atomised on Christmas Eve thanks to the Ark of Covenent.Russell now involved and seeking the truth about all this disappearing business, stumbles across a movie plot - Nostradamus Ate My Hamster. Which results in time travel and effects the world massively - particularly the events of the Second World War.This book is very complex in that there are a lot of short stories woven into one another, which only start to come together about half way through the book.Nostradamus Ate My Hamster has some very controversial and possibly offensive parts to it, there is a lot of hidden meaning and opinion in it about politics, religion and such - but unless you're really interested in that stuff, it shouldn't really bother you - just take it as a (very far fetched) story.Many dead celebrities show up in this book, as well as Hitler himself (the above statement about being offensive doesn't apply to Hitler himself much so don't let that put you off). This makes for some very comical scenes and personalities.As always Rankin's characters are well developed and strong. He lets their personalities come through in whatever the situation is and keeps good continuity.A strange but awesome mix of history, conspiracy theories and life which perhaps some dabs into the back to the future theme. Just another day in Brentford really.I highly recommend this book to anyone. It's a bit complex so it will keep you on your toes. If you're new to Rankin and want to be eased into his style - perhaps choose another of his books that are less complex.Nevertheless this book is a real page turner, you won't want to put it down and be eager to pick it up again when you do. A great escape from reality, into a world that could have been... well perhaps not, but it's certainly a scary thought!
As entertaining as the title is, I can’t say I can really see its relevance to the story. Yes, it’s the title of the movie that’s made in the book, but it doesn’t even relate to what we know of the film’s plot. Oh, well. The hero of this tale is Russell Nice, a decent, hardworking employee of Fudgepacker’s Emporium, which rents out props for movies but hasn’t been doing so well as of late. That is, until one of the other employees takes a joyride in a Nazi flying saucer and steals a bit of future technology that produces very realistic holograms of dead celebrities. As you might expect if you’ve read anything by Rankin, that isn’t the extent of the wackiness. Hitler has also returned, and he’s not even the greatest evil Russell has to contend with. In addition, the plot is meta-referential, in that the stars of Rankin’s Brentford Trilogy, Jim Pooley and John Omally, have achieved legendary status for the main characters in this book. I actually haven’t read any of the Brentford Trilogy books (despite the title, there are many more than three), but I do plan to, and Pooley and Omally have appeared in a few of Rankin’s other books as well. Despite these references, I actually think this book would be a good introduction to Rankin’s style for the uninitiated. By the way, I looked up Viktor Schauberger (a character in the book, but I’m not going to say exactly who for fear of spoiling a plot twist) on a whim, and this was actually the name of an Austrian inventor who worked for the Third Reich, although it’s not known whether he personally supported the Nazis, and the Schauberger in the novel is a personal friend of Hitler’s. I have to suspect Rankin’s use of the name is due to his interest in conspiracy theories, as there’s apparently a weird rumor that the real Viktor Schauberger invented a perpetual motion machine.
What do You think about Nostradamus Ate My Hamster (1997)?
If you're looking for a story about time-travelling Nazis in flying saucers, in league with horrific aliens, and flitting around the quiet London Borough of Brentford, and which also features several chilling horror subplots about people made entirely of prostheses, a large number of irritatingly self-indulgent asides and one genuinely funny joke about things dug up on an allotment (the joke occurring near the beginning, after which it goes a little downhill) -- then this is the book for you. Otherwise, it isn't.
—Henry
*Nostradamus Ate My Hamster* is the story of a bloke working in a prop house who becomes fascinated by a story based on the original *Brentford Triangle* books, and tries to track down that parallel world that Pooley, Omally and chums seem to have inhabited. Some vestige must remain of the Flying Swan, mustn't it? Unfortunately things get a little out of hand due to Russell's fondness for the blonde barmaid in the first pub he walks into, and the things that he discovers behind that pub.While the main story is unfolding there are side stories that are intended to illuminate the main story somehow, unless Rankin just put them there for jolly. They have one of Rankin's usual recurring phrases: in this case the 'Help me... help me...' line from the end of *The Fly*. Not only that, he several times pulls the old 'it was all a dream' line, which deflates tension even if the author admits he's done it. It's like those horror films where a horrific event turns out to have been a dream or a hallucination, so the audience begins to think it's all a dream and starts relating to the film in a different way entirely. The director/author has come out from behind the curtain and made it quite clear that this is all a game that he is playing with the readers, and that he can shift reality about like props.The search for the legendary Flying Swan leads to a Nazi-UFO story that at least is better than Projekt Saucer (not difficult). Why do I get a sudden feeling of déjà vu about this? A bit soon to be the Heinlein of ‘The Number of the Beast’, I’d say. Also he should be careful of the ‘none of these characters are real’ disclaimer if he’s going to put Johnny G in. Johnny G used to play several instruments all at once at the Lyric [Hammersmith] on Saturdays when we still had free music there. There is even a CD somewhere: G Sharp / G Natural.
—Chris Amies
I picked this out on a whim, looking for an audio book at the library, and this one had a funny title. The book starts out pretty weird - actually the whole thing is weird but you eventually get drawn into it. I wasn't expecting it to turn sci-fi a few chapters in, and it was probably the author's entertaining reading that kept me interested rather than the story itself. Nonetheless, it contains some well-written, comical characters and plenty of plot twists you won't expect. Rankin's writing is sometimes really funny, but my guess is it's better with audio.
—Rachel
