The Chess Machine » (Bargain)

Robert Löhr was educated as a journalist, and worked for several Berlin daily papers before becoming a screenwriter. The Chess Machine is his first novel.

Vienna 1770: Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen unveils the Mechanical Turk, a sensational and unbeatable chess-playing automaton. But what is hailed as the greatest innovation of the century is really nothing more than a brilliant illusion. 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.

The 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.