Humor Mystery Science Fiction Steampunk

What Ho, Automata

Name: What Ho, Automata
Rating: 4.01 (92 reviews)
Author: Chris Dolley

Chris Dolley

4.01 92 Ratings

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Synopsis

It’s 1903. An augmented Queen Victoria sits on the throne. Automata are a common sight below stairs. And all that stands between the Empire and a touch of unpleasantness is Reginald Worcester, gentleman’s consulting detective, and his automaton valet Reeves.

The book contains four adventures – a short novel, two novellas and the novelette that started it all – the WSFA Award finalist, What Ho, Automaton!

What Ho, Automaton!
Something Rummy This way Comes
Reggiecide
The Aunt Paradox

Immerse yourself in mysteries that only a detective with a rare brain – and Reggie’s is amongst the rarest – could possibly solve. Missing debs, stolen time machines, re-animated regicides, and Promethean pigs. But can Reggie save the day and remain single? And can the giant steam-powered brain of Reeves, his valet, continue to curb the young master’s excessive flights of fancy?

Books similar to What Ho, Automata

What Ho, Automaton!

★ 3.83

Chris Dolley

** Finalist for the 2012 WSFA Award for best short fiction **

The adventures of Reggie Worcester, gentleman consulting detective, and his automaton valet, Reeves.

"Dolley got me to laugh out loud near the end. Which, frankly, is VERY hard to do. Dolley's tone is spot on Wodehouse and the steampunk elements tie into both plot and silliness admirably." - Gail Carriger, author of Soulless

Reggie, an avid reader of detective fiction, knows two things about solving One, the guilty party is always the person you least suspect. And, two, The Murders in the Rue Morgue would have been solved a lot sooner had the detective the foresight to ask the witnesses if they'd seen any orang-utans recently. Reeves needs all his steam-powered cunning and intellect to curb the young master's excessive flights of fancy. And prevent him from getting engaged.

The book contains two stories set in an alternative 1903 where an augmented Queen Victoria is still on the throne and automata are a common sight below stairs.

What Ho, Automaton! - an 8,000 word novelette about how the two met.

Something Rummy This Way Comes - a 41,000 word novella chronicling their first case. When Reggie discovers that four debutantes have gone missing in the first month of The London Season and, for fear of scandal, none of the families have called the police, he feels compelled to investigate. With the help of Reeves's giant brain and extra helpings of fish, he conducts an investigation that only a detective of rare talent could possibly envisage.

Mystery, Zeppelins, Aunts and Humour. A steam-powered Wodehouse pastiche.

REVIEWS

"A fun blend of P.G. Wodehouse, steampunk and a touch of Sherlock Holmes. Dolley is a master at capturing and blending all these elements. More than fascinating, this work is also rip-roaring fun! But where Dolley really excels is in capturing the atmosphere and humor of the Bertie and Jeeves stories. Any Wodehouse fan will want to grab a copy of this work, but even if you have never explored that world, What Ho, Automaton! is a fun and fascinating read. Highly recommended, take a spin in this steampunk hybrid and enjoy the ride!" - SF Revu

"Dolley's collection of Wodehousian steampunk is entertaining and often spot-on parody... Fans of Wodehouse will certainly appreciate Dolley's witty pastiche," - Publishers Weekly

"I found myself snickering and snorting as I read, thinking the entire time 'this is pure awesome'" - Tiffany A. Harkleroad

"I enjoyed every page of this book. A steampunk novel that combines classic British Humor, tongue-in-cheek references to Sherlock Holmes and a cast of great characters. I don't think I've actually laughed out loud this much while reading a book in a very long time." - ErisAerie

"I found myself laughing out loud at Reggie and the fabulous Reeves as they romped their way through various adventures. A homage to Wodehouse without being sycophantic, this is fantastic. One thing to say to Chris More please!" - Sueo23

Reggiecide

★ 3.93

Chris Dolley

Guy Fawkes is back and this time it's a toss up who's going to be blown up first - Parliament or Reginald Worcester, gentleman consulting detective.

But Guy might not be the only regicide to have been dug up and reanimated. He might be a mere pawn in a plan of diabolical twistiness.

Only a detective with a rare brain - and Reggie's is amongst the rarest - could possibly solve this 'five-cocktail problem.' With the aid of Reeves, his automaton valet, Emmeline, his suffragette fiancée, and Farquharson, a reconstituted dog with an issue with Anglicans, Reggie sets out to save both Queen Victoria and the Empire.

The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall

★ 3.85

Chris Dolley

Wodehouse steampunk version of The Hound of the Baskervilles!

An escaped cannibal, a family curse ... and Reginald Worcester turning up on the doorstep. Could things get any worse for the Baskerville-Smythe family?

As the bodies pile up, only a detective with a rare brain - and Reggie's is so rare it's positively endangered - can even hope to solve the case.

But... there is the small matter that most of the guests aren't who they say they are, the main suspect has cloven feet, and a strange mist hangs over great Grimdark Mire.

Luckily the young master has Reeves, his automaton valet, and Emmeline, his suffragette fiancEe, on hand to assist.

This novel is the fifth Reeves & Worcester Steampunk mystery. The first four stories were published in the collection What Ho, Automata.

"Jeeves and Wooster meet (or run face-first into) Holmes and Watson with a touch of steampunk in the hilarious first full-length Reeves and Worcester tale ... This laugh-out-loud parody works on several levels ... With razor-sharp wit and fast pacing that plays fair with the reader, this is an excellent genre mash-up that fires on all cylinders." - Publishers Weekly

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Book One in the Touch of Truth series.

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★ 4.15

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From the bestselling author of Thursday Next—a brilliant new novel about a world where social order and destiny are dictated by the colors you can see. Part social satire, part romance, part revolutionary thriller, Shades of Grey tells of a battle against overwhelming odds.

In a society where the ability to see the higher end of the color spectrum denotes a better social standing, Eddie Russet belongs to the low-level House of Red and can see his own color—but no other. The sky, the grass, and everything in between are all just shades of grey, and must be colorized by artificial means.

Eddie’s world wasn’t always like this. There’s evidence of a never-discussed disaster and now, many years later, technology is poor, news sporadic, the notion of change abhorrent, and nighttime is terrifying: no one can see in the dark. Everyone abides by a bizarre regime of rules and regulations, a system of merits and demerits, where punishment can result in permanent expulsion.

Eddie, who works for the Color Control Agency, might well have lived out his rose-tinted life without a hitch. But that changes when he becomes smitten with Jane, a Grey Nightseer from the dark, unlit side of the village. She shows Eddie that all is not well with the world he thinks is just and good. Together, they engage in dangerous revolutionary talk.

Stunningly imaginative, very funny, tightly plotted, and with sly satirical digs at our own society, this novel is for those who loved Thursday Next but want to be transported somewhere equally wild, only darker; a world where the black and white of moral standpoints have been reduced to shades of grey.

Agatha Heterodyne and the Beetleburg Clank

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In the 25th century the future of the galaxy rests on a knife-edge. The actions of one man could save the British Space Empire or leave Earth at the mercy of deadly legions of ant-people. That one man is Captain Isambard Smith, and Earth is in a lot of trouble. After blowing up a top-secret enemy base, Space Captain Smith and his crew deserve a rest. But their holiday ends when forces unknown destroy the robot convoy they were meant to be guarding. Smith finds himself in hot pursuit of a mysterious vessel that can pass through dimensions, incurring the wrath of the dreaded Grand Witchfinder of New Eden—which would be much easier to deal with if his pilot wasn't cowering under the dashboard and his spaceship wasn't infested with man-eating toads. Meanwhile, the Empire is gathering its allies to form a united front against alien tyranny. Unfortunately, the delicate negotiations have been entrusted to Major Wainscott, a man who knows no fear and very little about diplomacy or trousers. Once again, Captain Smith must summon all his courage to unite humanity behind the Empire. His quest will take him on a journey to face his greatest fears: from the depths of space, through hell itself—and even to France.

What Ho, Automata

Books similar to What Ho, Automata

What Ho, Automaton!

Reggiecide

The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall

The Well of Lost Plots

Raven, Fire and Ice

Shades of Grey

Agatha Heterodyne and the Beetleburg Clank

A Game of Battleships

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