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mgmason_author 's review for:
The Dance of the Voodoo Handbag
by Robert Rankin
Dance of the Voodoo Handbag follows very much in the nature of Robert Rankin's earlier work. Often that means it is lampooning an element of social culture at the time and integrating it into a bizarre and often amusing fantasy. In this case, having been written in 1998, I'm not entirely certain whether it is a parody of The Matrix or lampooning the Microsoft trial (knowing Rankin, probably both).
Necrosoft has finally achieved the possibility of human immortality by creating a virtual world in which it is possible to upload our entirely personality prior to physical death. Themes of what make us human are not tackled here thankfully because that is not what we expect of Rankin. What it does is give us an amusing adventure through territory that is ironic and familiar, and a number of gags the style of which he is famous.
On the plus side, it is very relevant to the time it was written and the themes are identifiable. There are some genuine laugh out loud moments, particularly a conversation about Astrology and the silliness and reinventing old gags that makes Rankin a great comedy writer. On the negative side, the story rarely seems to have a direction. The Voodoo Handbag of the title is not central to plot plot; it barely qualifies as a mcguffin.
There is nothing here to recommend new readers but to those already familiar with Rankin, there is no reason to avoid it.
See more book reviews at my blog
Necrosoft has finally achieved the possibility of human immortality by creating a virtual world in which it is possible to upload our entirely personality prior to physical death. Themes of what make us human are not tackled here thankfully because that is not what we expect of Rankin. What it does is give us an amusing adventure through territory that is ironic and familiar, and a number of gags the style of which he is famous.
On the plus side, it is very relevant to the time it was written and the themes are identifiable. There are some genuine laugh out loud moments, particularly a conversation about Astrology and the silliness and reinventing old gags that makes Rankin a great comedy writer. On the negative side, the story rarely seems to have a direction. The Voodoo Handbag of the title is not central to plot plot; it barely qualifies as a mcguffin.
There is nothing here to recommend new readers but to those already familiar with Rankin, there is no reason to avoid it.
See more book reviews at my blog