The Chess Machine: Summary and book reviews of The Chess Machine by Robert Lohr, plus links to an excerpt from The Chess Machine and a biography of Robert Lohr.
The Chess Machine A Novel
by Robert Lohr
Hardcover: Jul 2007,
352 pages.
Paperback: Sep 2008,
352 pages.
Vienna 1770: Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen unveils a strange and amazing invention, the Mechanical Turk, a sensational and unbeatable chess-playing automaton. But what the Habsburg court hails as the greatest innovation of the century is really nothing more than a brilliant illusion. The chess machine is secretly operated from inside by the Italian dwarf Tibor, a God-fearing social outcast whose chess-playing abilities and diminutive size make him the perfect accomplice in this grand hoax.
Von Kempelen and his helpers tour his remarkable invention all around Europe to amaze and entertain the public, but despite many valiant attempts and close calls, no one is able to beat the extraordinary chess machine. The crowds all across Europe adore the Turk, and the success of Baron von Kempelen seems assured. But when a beautiful and seductive countess dies under mysterious circumstances in the presence of the automaton, the Mechanical Turk falls under a cloud of suspicion, and the machine and his inventor become the targets of espionage, persecution, and aristocratic intrigue. What is the dark secret behind this automaton and what strange powers does it hold? The Chess Machine is a daring and remarkable tale, based on a true story, full of envy, lust, scandal and deception.
Although the pacing is slow at times and some parts could have been trimmed without loss to the main flow, there is much to enjoy in The Chess Machine. We experience moments of high drama and humor, sometimes on the same page; swordfights and court intrigues; plus a growing tension as we come to know and care for the big hearted man inside the little body who has only his faith to hang on to as he is drawn further and further into Kempelen's deception and delusions of grandeur. (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Washington Post - Ron Charles
Despite the excitement and the humor, a surprising poignancy runs beneath this story. Löhr never weighs down The Chess Machine with any ponderous meditation, but he keeps hinting at the harrowing implications of modernity, the metaphysical effect of our technological illusions.
Publishers Weekly
Though the narrative could use a light pruning, Löhr's eye for period detail and cast of eccentrics create an immersive and mirthful experience.
Kirkus Reviews
Rich in detail and psychological depth, this historical novel of 18th-century Europe has plenty of contemporary resonance for American readers.
Neue Westfalische (Germany)
Lohr's historical novel is an exciting story, splendidly entertaining and with a great deal to say - about men and women who rise above their limitations and surpass themselves, and about the entire spectrum of human passions.
Das Leipziger Stadtmagazin (German)
In loving detail, Lohr presents the decadent scene of the ancien regime with everything that is a part of it: court intrigues, freemasons, courtesans, seances. It is all reminiscent of Patrick Suskind's mega-successful Perfume.
Figaro (France)
A master stroke ... [A] breathtaking narrative .... With a talent worthy of the best authors of this genre, Robert Lohr creates a tight-knit story where intrigue, treason, and traps of all kinds keep readers at the edge of their seats .... The formidable intrigue is built like a chess game. But the protagonists are far from being simple pawns; they are finely crafted characters who make The Chess Machine a powerful thriller about a madman's path.
Chess is thought to have originated in northern
India or Afghanistan. The
earliest written references are
from around 600 AD but there is
some evidence that the game
could have existed as early as
100 AD. Interest in chess spread
along the trade routes from
India, with different
variations found in
different countries, such as
Shogi in Japan and Xiangqi in
China.
The variation known to
Europeans and Americans today
(Western Chess or International
Chess) traveled through Iran to
Italy and Spain with the Moors
in the early 11th century, and
from there to Scandinavia and
Iceland with sea-faring
"Vikings". By the
early 15th century, chess was
well established across Europe.
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