''The Antipope'' is a
comic fantasy
Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on and parodies of other works of fantasy.
Literature
The subgenre rose ...
novel by the British author
Robert Rankin
Robert Fleming Rankin (born 27 July 1949) is a prolific British author of comedic fantasy novels. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with ''Snuff Fiction'' in 1999, by ...
. It is Rankin's first novel, and the first book in the
Brentford Trilogy which, , consists of 10 novels. The book was first published in 1981 by
Pan Books
Pan Books is a publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany.
Pan Books began as an independent publisher, es ...
, and from 1991 by Corgi books, an imprint of Transworld Publishers. Although typically found in the
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
section of bookshops, it is a difficult novel to categorise;
[BBC's H2G2 article on Robert Rankin](_blank)
/ref> Rankin himself joked that he wanted to create a new genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of fiction, called "Far Fetched Fiction", so that he would have his own bookshelf in Smiths.[A quote from an interview at the Octocon conference in 1999, a transcript of which is availabl]
here
/ref>
Plot
''The Antipope'' charts Brentford's anti-hero
An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform action ...
es' (Jim Pooley
Jim or JIM may refer to:
* Jim (given name), a given name
* Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James (given name), James
* Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy (given name), Jimmy
* OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism
* Jim (comics), ...
and John Omally) drinking, work avoidance, womanising, and further drinking as they try to foil the eponymous antipope in his demonic attempt to establish a new Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
.[One fan's review of ''The Antipope''](_blank)
/ref>
Characters in "''The Antipope''"
*John Omally
*Jim Pooley
Jim or JIM may refer to:
* Jim (given name), a given name
* Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James (given name), James
* Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy (given name), Jimmy
* OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism
* Jim (comics), ...
* Pope Alexander VI The Anti-Pope, also appearing as a tramp of dreadful aspect
*Professor Slocombe
*Neville, the part-time barman
*Archroy
*Norman Hartnell
*Soap Distant
*Old Pete
Literary significance & criticism
During the 1970s, Rankin wrote a number of short stories. Having been introduced to graphic designer Alan Aldridge, then at Aurelia Entertainment, he submitted some of those stories in the hope of getting a publishing deal. Despite liking the work, Aldridge was of the opinion that the short stories were unpublishable, and asked Rankin to write a novel. Rankin spent the next six months merging several of his short stories, resulting in ''The Antipope'', which Aldridge took to Pan Books
Pan Books is a publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany.
Pan Books began as an independent publisher, es ...
who bought and subsequently published the novel.[British Fantasy Society interview with Robert Rankin](_blank)
/ref>
/ref>
In spite of Aldridge's and Pan's initial enthusiasm, Pan declined to publish any novels beyond the first three books of The Brentford Trilogy. Rankin's editor moved to another publisher, and his writing career came to a halt until 1988 when Sphere Books
Sphere Books is the name of two British paperback publishers.
History
The original Sphere Books was launched in 1966 by Thomson Corporation. Sphere was sold to Pearson PLC in 1985 and became part of Penguin. The name was retired in 1990.
In 19 ...
(under the Abacus imprint) reprinted the original trilogy in one volume ().[Another BFS interview with Robert Rankin](_blank)
Despite this inauspicious start, Rankin and ''The Antipope'' have since attained something of a cult status, with the following two review extracts printed on the back cover of the Corgi edition:
'Wonderful...A heady mix of Flann O'Brien, Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...
, Tom Sharpe
Thomas Ridley Sharpe (30 March 1928 – 6 June 2013) was an English satirical novelist, best known for his '' Wilt'' series, as well as ''Porterhouse Blue'' and ''Blott on the Landscape,'' all three of which were adapted for television.
Life ...
and Ken Campbell
Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English actor, writer and director known for his work in experimental theatre. He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre".
Campbell achieved notoriety in the 1 ...
, but with an inbuilt irreverence and indelicacy that is unique – and makes it the long-awaited, heavy smoker's answer to The Lord of the Rings'
– Time Out[Book details from Transworld Publishing](_blank)
/ref>
'Wonderfully entertaining...reads like a Flann O'Brien rewrite of Close Encounters'
– City Limits
Cover art
The original Pan Books
Pan Books is a publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany.
Pan Books began as an independent publisher, es ...
release of the novel features a different front cover by artist Alistair Graham. It depicts five of the main characters of the book, with The Flying Swan in the background and the figure of the resurrected Pope Alexander VI looming ominously over everything.
The stylised drawing of a bull on the more recent Corgi cover represents the red bull of the Borgia coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
, with Archroy's five magic beans scattered across it, and was designed by the author for the later edition.
Other media
In addition to the paperback novels, ''The Antipope'' has been released as an audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
, first published by Smartpass Ltd in October 1993 () and narrated by Rankin himself. The audio book stars David Gooderson
David Gooderson (born 24 February 1941) is an English actor who has appeared in several television roles.
Career
As well as portraying Davros, creator of the Daleks in the '' Doctor Who'' serial ''Destiny of the Daleks'', he appeared in ep ...
, Lucy Robinson, and Nick Murchie.
Oneword Radio broadcast the Smartpass production of the novel, read by Robert Rankin, in 21 instalments, during November 2006.
In 2004, the Dreaming Theatre Company produced a stage adaptation of ''The Antipope''; the production toured across the UK playing in venues and festivals.Archived e-mail providing details of the stage play, and its touring schedule
/ref> It was adapted by Scott Harrison and Lee Harris, and starred the following cast:
# John Omally – Aidan McCarthy
# Jim Pooley – Andrew Welch
# The Antipope – John Buckeridge
# Professor Slocombe – Roger Andrew
# Neville, the part-time barman – Scott Harrison
# Archroy – Matthew Freeman
# Norman Hartnell – Jamie McKeller
It toured as a double bill with ''Eric
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
'', the first ever stage adaptation of this Terry Pratchett Discworld novel, also by writers Scott Harrison and Lee Harris. Both plays featured the same actors.
References
External links
Sproutlore
the "now official" Robert Rankin fan club.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antipope, The
Novels by Robert Rankin
1981 British novels
Novels set in London
London Borough of Hounslow
Cultural depictions of Pope Alexander VI
Fictional popes
British novels adapted into plays
Pan Books books