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2001 | Humor & Comedy | Science Fiction/Fantasy
Gary Cheese is twenty-two years of age and works for British Telecom as an operator. Gary's hobbies include watching TV, walking his dog Princey, going down the pub with his mates, and attempting to re-animate the dead. He hasn't been having too much success with the latter so far. But Gary's heard a rumour. According to this bloke he met down the pub, there exists certain telecommunications technology that can actually let you speak to the dead. Apparently it's been in operation for years. FLATLINE, it's called, a chatline to the dead
Robert Rankin
(Author)
| Published by | Transworld |
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Images And Data Courtesy Of: Transworld.
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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated
Nov 13, 2019
Unfortunately this really isn't quite up to his normal standards, although the plot has all his usual hallmarks - essentially someone discovers it is possible to phone the dead, which ends up with potentially terrible consequences for the living.
This sounds like quite a slight premise to hang a whole book of of, and I think that is the heart of the problem here. Some of the writing and twists are amongst the very best. We follow the main character through his life and although we know he's pretty unpleasant, the shock when he is asked how many people he has murdered, and is response, is pure Rankin cleverness.
Unfortunately such moments are too few and the plot too slow moving for this to be counted as a good Rankin novel. One for the completists but certainly not one that demonstrates his true ability.