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margeryk101's review against another edition
5.0
The last quarter of the book I've been swithering about whether to give it four or five stars. Tonight I'm generous and going to give it five as I like the ending and feel like I might want to re-read it (which is very rare for me).
markyon's review against another edition
4.0
This one’s a bit of a surprise: a non-genre author better known for his tales of homosexuals, contemporary gangsters and seventies pop culture, a Brit who gave rise to the term ‘geezer chic’, turns in an ambitious piece of genre fiction that cleverly blends facts with fiction. Result: an occasionally brilliant novel.
From the outset it’s a combination of disparate ideas that really shouldn’t work together: Golden Age pulp SF writers, James Bond author Ian Fleming, German deputy Nazi Rudolf Hess, the British government of 1941, UFO’s, the Space Race, Tarot Cards and Satanism is not a combination you would normally think of. Indeed, it rather seems like some sort of manic miscellany.
Despite this, the tale is literate, engaging and, most importantly, just the right side of plausibility. The book’s tale is begun with a narrative from Larry Zagorsky, an fictional SF writer of the 1940’s and 50’s. This was my initial surprise – Arnott creates such an evocative picture of the SF fan-scene of that time that I was immediately reminded of the early days of the Futurians on the US East Coast and, more importantly, the West Coast compatriots of Heinlein, Sprague de Camp, Cartmill and their associates. Zagorsky soon spends time amongst the West Coast fraternity and comments on their meetings. In the wrong hands this tale could be told just for laughs, with a sneer at the fledgling fan-group. In reality it’s handled with humour, yet there is a love and respect given here suggesting the sense of wonder created by such well-intentioned chinwag sessions is maintained without making the lead figures ones of ridicule.
As the story progresses we get a variety of different characters and we are told of events shown from different viewpoints. In the present, Zagorsky is given details of a mysterious file that suggests that Hess’s defection to Scotland in the Second World War was possibly connected to the consequences of an occult temple service in the US in 1941. The story then goes back to the 1940’s and 50’s and tells of members of that meeting, which includes many SF filmmakers and writers whom Zagorsky knows. Jack Parsons, one of the founders of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was not only a scientist and avid SF reader, with many connections in the genre, but also an active member of a Satanist cult who, in this story, is encouraged to perform strange deviant acts in order to encourage the world’s race into space. As flying saucers are first reported and Sputnik launches into space, UFO cults and space-based religions occur in the late 1940’s and 50’s as part of this global hysteria. Many of these people known by Zagorsky become involved in the move to the SF genre being more mainstream and B-movie film making.
Mixing non-genre people such as Zagorsky with others, such as Intelligence Officer and James Bond author Ian Fleming, Nazi deputy Rudolf Hess, not to mention a minor visit from Aleister Crowley (also in Arnott’s previous novel, The Devil’s Paintbrush) with Arnott’s fictional characters is an inspired decision. Though many of these ‘real’ people are cameos, they help create a factional world that allows the reader to imagine: ‘what if’.
I understand it wouldn’t be an Arnott novel unless there were some ‘unusual’ events and characters, and this is quite true here: we have sado-masochism, sex-orgies, transvestitism, gender realignment (written in a time when such things were uncommon), and a smattering of homosexual relationships..... it’s a secret world that existed beneath the veneer of straight-laced Britain, Germany and the USA in the 1950’s (and probably miles away from the real one!)
However, this culturally fertile environment, despite being filled with lots of brilliant moments, crucially fails to gel into a cohesive plot. Whilst illuminating bizarre cults and conspiracies, as well as the secretive world of espionage and the environment of the fledgling genre writer, in the end it all becomes a tale of style over substance. There are a number of separately interesting plot strands that on their own keep the reader entertained. However, despite a great setup, at the end I was left feeling unsure what the actual point was. The great reveal seems to be less important than the way the disparate threads converge and diverge. Perhaps this is ‘the Great Secret’, that only acolytes of occultists like Crowley can understand.
Paranoid conspiracy theorists will love this book. Rather like the progeny of Neal Stephenson and Charles Stross, with a touch of Philip K. Dick, this is a crazy, chaotic and brilliant, if uneven, read.
There was enough here to keep me interested, and I was pleased I read it, even if it is a victim of its own ambition that doesn’t quite hold together in the end. Reminiscent of Paul Malmont’s books, there is enough here to enjoy that makes it overall a great read. It most definitely is not for everyone, yet there is enough to show an active mind at work.
Surprisingly, yet pleasingly, recommended.
From the outset it’s a combination of disparate ideas that really shouldn’t work together: Golden Age pulp SF writers, James Bond author Ian Fleming, German deputy Nazi Rudolf Hess, the British government of 1941, UFO’s, the Space Race, Tarot Cards and Satanism is not a combination you would normally think of. Indeed, it rather seems like some sort of manic miscellany.
Despite this, the tale is literate, engaging and, most importantly, just the right side of plausibility. The book’s tale is begun with a narrative from Larry Zagorsky, an fictional SF writer of the 1940’s and 50’s. This was my initial surprise – Arnott creates such an evocative picture of the SF fan-scene of that time that I was immediately reminded of the early days of the Futurians on the US East Coast and, more importantly, the West Coast compatriots of Heinlein, Sprague de Camp, Cartmill and their associates. Zagorsky soon spends time amongst the West Coast fraternity and comments on their meetings. In the wrong hands this tale could be told just for laughs, with a sneer at the fledgling fan-group. In reality it’s handled with humour, yet there is a love and respect given here suggesting the sense of wonder created by such well-intentioned chinwag sessions is maintained without making the lead figures ones of ridicule.
As the story progresses we get a variety of different characters and we are told of events shown from different viewpoints. In the present, Zagorsky is given details of a mysterious file that suggests that Hess’s defection to Scotland in the Second World War was possibly connected to the consequences of an occult temple service in the US in 1941. The story then goes back to the 1940’s and 50’s and tells of members of that meeting, which includes many SF filmmakers and writers whom Zagorsky knows. Jack Parsons, one of the founders of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was not only a scientist and avid SF reader, with many connections in the genre, but also an active member of a Satanist cult who, in this story, is encouraged to perform strange deviant acts in order to encourage the world’s race into space. As flying saucers are first reported and Sputnik launches into space, UFO cults and space-based religions occur in the late 1940’s and 50’s as part of this global hysteria. Many of these people known by Zagorsky become involved in the move to the SF genre being more mainstream and B-movie film making.
Mixing non-genre people such as Zagorsky with others, such as Intelligence Officer and James Bond author Ian Fleming, Nazi deputy Rudolf Hess, not to mention a minor visit from Aleister Crowley (also in Arnott’s previous novel, The Devil’s Paintbrush) with Arnott’s fictional characters is an inspired decision. Though many of these ‘real’ people are cameos, they help create a factional world that allows the reader to imagine: ‘what if’.
I understand it wouldn’t be an Arnott novel unless there were some ‘unusual’ events and characters, and this is quite true here: we have sado-masochism, sex-orgies, transvestitism, gender realignment (written in a time when such things were uncommon), and a smattering of homosexual relationships..... it’s a secret world that existed beneath the veneer of straight-laced Britain, Germany and the USA in the 1950’s (and probably miles away from the real one!)
However, this culturally fertile environment, despite being filled with lots of brilliant moments, crucially fails to gel into a cohesive plot. Whilst illuminating bizarre cults and conspiracies, as well as the secretive world of espionage and the environment of the fledgling genre writer, in the end it all becomes a tale of style over substance. There are a number of separately interesting plot strands that on their own keep the reader entertained. However, despite a great setup, at the end I was left feeling unsure what the actual point was. The great reveal seems to be less important than the way the disparate threads converge and diverge. Perhaps this is ‘the Great Secret’, that only acolytes of occultists like Crowley can understand.
Paranoid conspiracy theorists will love this book. Rather like the progeny of Neal Stephenson and Charles Stross, with a touch of Philip K. Dick, this is a crazy, chaotic and brilliant, if uneven, read.
There was enough here to keep me interested, and I was pleased I read it, even if it is a victim of its own ambition that doesn’t quite hold together in the end. Reminiscent of Paul Malmont’s books, there is enough here to enjoy that makes it overall a great read. It most definitely is not for everyone, yet there is enough to show an active mind at work.
Surprisingly, yet pleasingly, recommended.
libraryvee's review against another edition
3.0
This is a hard one to rate; Arnott's writing is stellar. He can turn a phrase beautifully, he creates different settings and times with ease, and his characters are woven with care and detail.
The House of Rumour is a good opportunity for this talent to be put on display: each chapter is so different in tone that it feels more like a collection of short stories than a novel. Yet slowly, after spending time with pulp science fiction writers, World War II spies, outer space theorists and drag queen New Romantics, a connecting thread begins to show itself.
Arnott's phrasing and characterization is beautiful and sharp, but by the time everything in this book finally ties together, I had lost a bit of patience. It's something that comes down to personal preference and mood; either you want a more coherent line or you like spending time in the space between things.
The space between. Possibility. Each chapter in The House of Rumour takes place during one of these moments - called "jonbar points" in the world of sci-fi writing - where history and consequence hang in the balance.
There is a lot to digest and explore, here. Fictional characters cross paths with real figures (Ian Fleming, Aleister Crowley, Jim Jones, to name a few) and their lives are set around moments of historical importance.
There are tons of clever, stylistic nods to Science Fiction, and a hundred more winks to people, places, and events. It's fun, it's well-done, and it's also a bit exhausting. To be honest, when I reached the last page, I was relieved.
Arnott has created something worth reading with The House of Rumour. The trouble is, after all that effort and cleverness and deliberate weaving through and around history, I still don't know exactly what that something is.
The House of Rumour is a good opportunity for this talent to be put on display: each chapter is so different in tone that it feels more like a collection of short stories than a novel. Yet slowly, after spending time with pulp science fiction writers, World War II spies, outer space theorists and drag queen New Romantics, a connecting thread begins to show itself.
Arnott's phrasing and characterization is beautiful and sharp, but by the time everything in this book finally ties together, I had lost a bit of patience. It's something that comes down to personal preference and mood; either you want a more coherent line or you like spending time in the space between things.
The space between. Possibility. Each chapter in The House of Rumour takes place during one of these moments - called "jonbar points" in the world of sci-fi writing - where history and consequence hang in the balance.
There is a lot to digest and explore, here. Fictional characters cross paths with real figures (Ian Fleming, Aleister Crowley, Jim Jones, to name a few) and their lives are set around moments of historical importance.
There are tons of clever, stylistic nods to Science Fiction, and a hundred more winks to people, places, and events. It's fun, it's well-done, and it's also a bit exhausting. To be honest, when I reached the last page, I was relieved.
Arnott has created something worth reading with The House of Rumour. The trouble is, after all that effort and cleverness and deliberate weaving through and around history, I still don't know exactly what that something is.
itsmejennigee's review against another edition
2.0
This was a troublesome read. I made it through 50% in the same period of time that I would normally have read two other similar style timepiece books. I gave it two stars because there are some great quotes and solid moments but not enough to keep my interest and when I did come across them, they seemed almost out of place or infrequent enough- as if giving you another tinge of hope that it would improve only to drag along further and just when you’re ready to stop, you get another unexpectedly. While I may try to finish it at a later point, I have no interest in even attempting it at the moment. The way you are thrown along (yes, the force behind thrown is meant to be there rather than saying something like jumped) is strange to say the least. Having read plenty of unconventionally written or formatted books, I feel like this one was unnecessarily difficult.
ruthiella's review against another edition
4.0
I had to think about this one a little while. It’s a lot to take in. The author mixes fact and fiction (which is sort of a definition of what a rumor is) to connect seemingly disparate historical events and people over the course of the 20th century. Some of the real characters are still well known today, like Ian Fleming. Others are obscure, but nonetheless real, like Jack Parsons (who I googled). If there is any overreaching idea in the book, it is that of use of and belief in disinformation, which is possibly why some of the story lines in the novel simply peter out. I had a feeling that the author was playing with the reader, insinuating that there will be some great revelation that will bring the entire novel into focus, but that is another piece of disinformation, really.
I think the book suggests that Nazi Germany’s decision to fight the war on two fronts was due in part to the jonbar hinge (a real Sci-Fi term I learned in this book, which is kind of like the Butterfly Effect) of Rudolph Hess’ flight to Scotland in 1941. The invasion of Russia marked the beginning of the end for the Axis powers and allowed for a narrow avoidance of such alternate histories displayed in dystopian science fiction such as Swastika Night and The Man in the High Castle (both books are name checked in the novel and the author of Swastika Night is even a character, briefly) or even alternative histories such as Fatherland. So the Allies win and what we got instead was our own historical reality of the cold war, the space race and the counter culture revolution. The speculation is not that there is a power beyond us, which controls (aliens, gods, the occult) but rather that the power is within us and we make our own reality.
I think the book suggests that Nazi Germany’s decision to fight the war on two fronts was due in part to the jonbar hinge (a real Sci-Fi term I learned in this book, which is kind of like the Butterfly Effect) of Rudolph Hess’ flight to Scotland in 1941. The invasion of Russia marked the beginning of the end for the Axis powers and allowed for a narrow avoidance of such alternate histories displayed in dystopian science fiction such as Swastika Night and The Man in the High Castle (both books are name checked in the novel and the author of Swastika Night is even a character, briefly) or even alternative histories such as Fatherland. So the Allies win and what we got instead was our own historical reality of the cold war, the space race and the counter culture revolution. The speculation is not that there is a power beyond us, which controls (aliens, gods, the occult) but rather that the power is within us and we make our own reality.
davidallkins's review against another edition
4.0
This novel begins with a science fiction writer Larry Zagorski looking back over his life and his first love in the 1940s before America entered the Second World War. From this point, the narrative moves back and forward in time. The character viewpoint moves from Ian Fleming to Rudolph Hess, to others caught up in movements or trying to adjust to life post-war or post revolution. Arnott is able to successfully capture the voices of a diverse cast as they move through history. While Zagorski is the figure whose life is covered in the most detail, through him we gain the connections to the other characters in the novel through letters, friends, passed documents and stories.
This is not a narrative about fantastical events happening to the characters. This is a novel about what fantasies and beliefs mean to people. British intelligence plans campaigns to influence Rudolph Hess. The idea of the flying saucers enters the public imagination, inspiring conspiracies to fascinate paranoid rock stars. Arnett does include references to other works of fiction and authors, such as Jorge Luis Borges. It is easy thing to miss but Zagorski’s fictional work is plausible with the development of science-fiction and the changes in the movements through the decades. You feel as if he and his work could have existed.
In the frontispiece of the book, Arnott has a quote from Ovid describing what the House of Rumour is. A tower where Rumour lives, seeing and hearing all, peopled by crowds passing on and embellishing and adding to what they hear. This is why the narrative moves back and forth, with the changing character viewpoints. These are told in flashbacks, diary entries, second person, and articles. The stories within in stories style, fits in with the premise of the title. Because stories and ideas and beliefs are passed on or reinterpreted, if not they will just fade into silence. Yet, these are what inspire us.
Ultimately the House of Rumour is one of those novels that does make you think about what science-fiction and belief means, and how it affects the way we see the world. This is an impressive novel and one which I am happy to recommend.
Originally published
at SF2 Concatenation http://www.concatenation.org/frev/arnott_rumour.html
This is not a narrative about fantastical events happening to the characters. This is a novel about what fantasies and beliefs mean to people. British intelligence plans campaigns to influence Rudolph Hess. The idea of the flying saucers enters the public imagination, inspiring conspiracies to fascinate paranoid rock stars. Arnett does include references to other works of fiction and authors, such as Jorge Luis Borges. It is easy thing to miss but Zagorski’s fictional work is plausible with the development of science-fiction and the changes in the movements through the decades. You feel as if he and his work could have existed.
In the frontispiece of the book, Arnott has a quote from Ovid describing what the House of Rumour is. A tower where Rumour lives, seeing and hearing all, peopled by crowds passing on and embellishing and adding to what they hear. This is why the narrative moves back and forth, with the changing character viewpoints. These are told in flashbacks, diary entries, second person, and articles. The stories within in stories style, fits in with the premise of the title. Because stories and ideas and beliefs are passed on or reinterpreted, if not they will just fade into silence. Yet, these are what inspire us.
Ultimately the House of Rumour is one of those novels that does make you think about what science-fiction and belief means, and how it affects the way we see the world. This is an impressive novel and one which I am happy to recommend.
Originally published
at SF2 Concatenation http://www.concatenation.org/frev/arnott_rumour.html
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