Reeves 01: What Ho, Automata (Reeves and Worcester Steampunk Mysteries) (Kindle)

by Wodehouse / Dolley

Paperback, 2014

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Publication

Book View Cafe (2014), Edition: 1, 292 pages

Description

"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!" - SF Revu Four Reeves & Worcester Steampunk Mysteries in a single book! 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?… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member PuddinTame

This is a collection of the four novelettes, novellas, and short novels that precede the full length novel The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall. I find the entire series to be hilarious. Reginald Worcester and his much more intelligent automaton valet Reeves are obviously based on P. G.

Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster. Chris Dolley really has Wodehouse's style down, and I laugh out loud. Obviously there is a bit of steam punk in the series as well. Another source for the stories is Sherlock Holmes. Worcester fancies himself a gentleman detective, chock full of the knowledge and wisdom he has gained from reading mystery stories. Having read "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," he is alert for felonious orang-utans. Readers may be shocked to find that Reginald Worcester, while having the same tendency to get accidentally engaged as Bertie Wooster, actually finds someone he wants to marry: the fiery suffragist Emmeline Dreadnought. Not surprisingly, her family isn't pleased.

Dolley throws in other references, sometimes very subtle, from Frankenstein, Cold Comfort Farm, The Time Machine, bits of British history, and various mysteries. Hint: one of his favorite writers is named Agatha. Of the four pieces in this collection, I think my favorite is the "Aunt Paradox," in which H. G. Wells' aunt Charlotte gets hold of his time machine. I recommend reading these before reading Baskerville Hall, and I strongly recommend the entire series, especially to Wodehouse fans.

Just to be clear, the omnibus What Ho, Automata is not to be confused with What Ho, Automaton!, even if they sometimes have the same cover. Maybe Dolley just wanted us to be know what it's like to be as confused as Reginald Worcester.

The four pieces can also be purchased separately as Kindle eBooks.

Contents:
What Ho, Automaton! which includes the novelette "What Ho, Automaton! and the short novel Something Rummy This Way Comes.
Reggiecide, a novella
The Aunt Paradox, an even shorter novel.

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