Review of 'Nostradamus Ate My Hamster'
Nostradamus Ate My Hamster by Robert Rankin
Another bit of fluff from Rankin. Set in Brentford (again) sees Russell, the not-so-appreciated (and ever-taken-advantage-of) employee of a local supplier of unusual props to film-makers, stumbling across a device from the future (delivered by Nazi technology, of course) that generates holograms of long-dead actors. Hoping to revive the fortunes of the prop-house (or those that run it) a plot to create a movie utilizing this device quickly is hatched. Along the way Russell finds true love, meets Adolf Hitler (and other Nazi nasties), visits the future and finally manages to find a decent ham sandwich at the local pub.
Amusing, as always, Rankin is on good form here if you can keep up with the somewhat twisted plot (well, more complicated than some). Not exactly laugh out loud, but still a good giggle on occasion. Here the biggest mystery is how the events in the first few chapters actually came to happen and, in the weird world of Rankin-esque logic, this does indeed get explained.
I seem to be getting the hang of Rankin. Evidently there are a lot of “in jokes” that I am quite sure I am missing but this is understandable considering the amount of time that elapses between me reading his books. I just sit back and enjoy the ride in front of me.
Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”
Review Date: 2013-08-09
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Corgi
Publication Date: 1996