Loosely based on actual events in 18th century Europe, The Secrets of the Chess Machine tells the story of the Baron von Kempelen, whom having seen a demonstration of magnetism and claiming that he could invent something even more remarkable is challenged by Maria Theresia, the Empress of Hapsburg, to do so within six months. The result is the Mechanical Turk, a chess-playing automaton. However, the Mechanical Turk is nothing but a cunning hoax for hidden inside the machine behind clockwork gear wheels that do nothing and are purely for show is Tibor, an Italian dwarf with astonishing chess-playing abilities. Tibor is deeply religious whilst Baron von Kempelen is in reality a conman. After gaining Tibor's release from a Venetian dungeon the Baron persuades him to utilise his God-given talents in order to fool audiences throughout the Empire.

There have been much written about the Mechanical Turk in later decades but little is known about it's early days so this is a purely fictional account. Initially the Turk was only meant to have one performance in front of the Empress but she is so astonished by it she orders the Baron continue showing it. However, when a woman mysteriously dies after one of its performances suspicion falls on von Kempelen and the Turk, they become targets for intrigue and religious persecution.

On the whole I found the characters are engaging and it is obvious that the author has done his research of the period giving the reader a feel for the machinations of Hapsburg court life and in many respects the murder mystery is secondary but always remains plausible. Far more important is the motivation that drives von Kempelen, who is already relatively successful, to carry out his charade.

That is not to say that I felt that it wasn't without its issues. The author was a journalist before turning author and at times it reads more like a news editorial instead of a true novel. There are also a couple of time shifts which felt rather clunky. Despite these minor faults I still felt that overall it was an enjoyable, worthwhile read. ( )

So boring, I couldn't finish it.

Very interesting story based on history, with characters I felt invested in. I only have a few minor issues with the story; one of which is the decision to use deception from the get-go. I believe they would have earnestly tried to make a chess playing machine and when that did not succeed, then go with deception as Plan B. Otherwise, superb from beginning to end! ( )

I listened to the recorded version of this book and ended up not finishing the novel. I think it was because I simply didn't like the narrator. The main drawback to listening to a book is that the narrator DOES make a difference in the perception of the book. In this case I found the narrator to have a smug toneless tone, and that made none of the characters sympathetic to the listener. At some point in time I might read this book, but for now I have let go of the recorded version and sent it to the used book store. ( )

Different and fascinating! ( )