It is the 23rd Century and Will Starling is a clerk at the Tate Gallery. The son of a lay preacher in the Church of IKEA and a Sister of Sainsbury's it is maybe no surprise that he was considered a bit of a risk taker. And then there is his physical deformity. In this ever-expanding world, Will is considered a freak - a slim freak! OK, this doesn't change his parents' feelings towards him but outsiders would look on him with disdain.

As Art is now considered a thing of the past it has been decided that the entire contents of the Tate Gallery is to be catalogued and photographed allowing the reproduction images to be displayed to the public while keeping the original works safe in the vaults.

As part of his involvement in this project Will is assigned Richard Dadd's painting, The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke. Whilst examining the photographic reproduction for clarity and accuracy he notices that one of the characters happens to be wearing a digital watch - in a Victorian painting!

In the days that follow Will discovers that much of the fabric of the classic Victorian fiction was, in fact, based in truth. The War of the Worlds was a true event. The Nautilus lies at the bottom of the North Sea and the Elephant Man was the result of an alien/human hybridisation experiment. To make matters worse he also discovers that a cabal of Chiswick witches have established a plan to re-write time, eliminating all high-tech influences in Victorian Britain and sending Britain back to the world of the gas lamp and horse-drawn carriages.

Over the years I have frequently been tempted to try the work of Robert Rankin but, with the exception of Armageddon: The Musical I somehow have never found the time. Now I have read The Witches of Chiswixk I am so sorry I didn't take the opportunity to sample his writing previously.

Rankin writes a surreal, imaginative story where everything you previously believed to be true is turned upside down. He manages to intertwine a truly creative storyline with established fact (well, you may believe it to be established) creating an astounding tale of adventure, science and magic.

It is testament to his skill as an author that despite all of the bizarre occurrences, this take on Victorian Britain is strangely believable (OK, maybe Barry the Time Sprout is the exception). Even when you discover the "truth" about the relationship between Queen Victoria (God Bless Her) and Dr. Watson you still find yourself thinking "Hmm, that makes sense" - hey, Watson was a fictional character wasn't he?

It is not often that you have the opportunity to read a work that is totally original. With The Witches of Chiswick this is just what you get. If you have previously enjoyed Douglas Adams work and have possibly grown a little tired with the predictable nature of Terry Pratchett then I cannot recommend Robert Rankin highly enough.

Intelligent, believable and unique - a must of any fan of the genre.