Robert Rankin goes steampunk in this wacky novel set in late Victorian London and on Venus, when the British Empire extends into the solar system after the war with the Martians. As with every book of his that I’ve read, it’s rambling and bizarre. ‘It’s a tradition, or an old charter, or something.’ I felt that the book was slightly misnamed, as the mechanical messiah of the title (a robot whose purpose wasn’t very clear, other than to do with the end of the world) comes in towards the conclusion.

The premise of the book is that top headliners at the music hall (which is run by HAL the computer) are being exploded on stage. Private detective Cameron Bell, whom everyone likens to Mr Pickwick but is more like Sherlock Holmes, sets about solving the crimes. Other characters include Colonel Katterfelto, a veteran down on his luck who aims to build the robot, and Darwin, his educated monkey-butler; and the lovely Alice who has a troupe of acrobatic kiwi birds. She is apparently the original Alice, whose trips to Wonderland were a result of magic mushroom-infused soap. The book includes historical characters and deliberate anachronisms, plus ray gun fights, magic, terrible music hall songs and a thrilling carriage chase through central London. It’s a very odd story indeed and makes little sense – ‘a load of old toot’ to quote a phrase frequently used in Rankin’s books – but there were some fun moments. If you like steampunk or alternative histories and wacky humour, give it a go.

Published by Gollancz, 2011.