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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
there's a distinction between a book i don't like and a book that's poorly written; the mark of a true one-star novel is that it satisfies both conditions.
anyway this sucked. the goofy irreverence really wore thin after 30 pages, but it was fucking relentless (had a similar problem with catch-22). the narrative takes so many illogical, poorly established turns into utter nonsense - first half is a snatch-and-grab caper that veers wildly into an end-times fantasy about stopping a malevolent supervillain from wreaking havoc on the dream world (not kidding). the bad guy, by the way, is introduced halfway through the novel and doesn't actually make an appearance in the story until the penultimate page, following multiple chapters of pure expository drivel that completely derails any momentum generated up to that point.
i wrote a short story in grade 2 that opened with my main character, speaking directly to the reader, giving his name and home address. this writing reminded of that.
anyway this sucked. the goofy irreverence really wore thin after 30 pages, but it was fucking relentless (had a similar problem with catch-22). the narrative takes so many illogical, poorly established turns into utter nonsense - first half is a snatch-and-grab caper that veers wildly into an end-times fantasy about stopping a malevolent supervillain from wreaking havoc on the dream world (not kidding). the bad guy, by the way, is introduced halfway through the novel and doesn't actually make an appearance in the story until the penultimate page, following multiple chapters of pure expository drivel that completely derails any momentum generated up to that point.
i wrote a short story in grade 2 that opened with my main character, speaking directly to the reader, giving his name and home address. this writing reminded of that.
Well. That was an intense ride.
The surreality, the silliness of the first half of the novel had me questioning whether it was entirely unreal. That state of ambiguous suspension was much more interesting than the trip into Jeamland, when things became straight-up dreamlike and delusional.
The ending was not surprising. The novel doesn't really make sense upon close inspection, from an SF-nal perspective. Why should traveling into Jeamland take Stark and Rafe 100s of years into the future? And if it took them once into the future, why are there no jumps into farther futures despite repeated trips in and out of Jeamland? Why should Rafe hate Stark so much, the given reason didn't explain anything. Unless I'm to infer that he hated Stark having more-intelligent girlfriends, more-loving parents, compared to his own family history that produced a bad boy? The ending is really a version of--and then I woke up, and realized it was all a dream. Except this one would be--and then I woke up, and realized it was all caused by my dream bleeding into real life.
I really liked Alkland. This poor man who essentially got caught up in Stark's trauma wreaking havoc in the real world, suffered a ton, and then died without ever waking up from his hideous dream suffering. Stark ended up finding contentment, having worked through HIS trauma and now free to explore a future, saying that even he deserved it. I gueeeeess. Except he built this new and lighthearted future on an innocent man's death.
For all the flaws, it's a very unusual novel, and works in parts as SF, adventurous travelogue, meta-fiction about psychology. I would recommend it.
Spoiler
The City and all its quirky talking computers and robots gave off the vibe of Toon Town from the future, or like those old Disney cartoons where everything on screen--from the hill to the trees to the sun itself--keep bouncing in place, expanding and shrinking, a world alive.The surreality, the silliness of the first half of the novel had me questioning whether it was entirely unreal. That state of ambiguous suspension was much more interesting than the trip into Jeamland, when things became straight-up dreamlike and delusional.
The ending was not surprising. The novel doesn't really make sense upon close inspection, from an SF-nal perspective. Why should traveling into Jeamland take Stark and Rafe 100s of years into the future? And if it took them once into the future, why are there no jumps into farther futures despite repeated trips in and out of Jeamland? Why should Rafe hate Stark so much, the given reason didn't explain anything. Unless I'm to infer that he hated Stark having more-intelligent girlfriends, more-loving parents, compared to his own family history that produced a bad boy? The ending is really a version of--and then I woke up, and realized it was all a dream. Except this one would be--and then I woke up, and realized it was all caused by my dream bleeding into real life.
I really liked Alkland. This poor man who essentially got caught up in Stark's trauma wreaking havoc in the real world, suffered a ton, and then died without ever waking up from his hideous dream suffering. Stark ended up finding contentment, having worked through HIS trauma and now free to explore a future, saying that even he deserved it. I gueeeeess. Except he built this new and lighthearted future on an innocent man's death.
For all the flaws, it's a very unusual novel, and works in parts as SF, adventurous travelogue, meta-fiction about psychology. I would recommend it.
Ce livre était intéressant dès le début... mais à mi-chemin, il a pris une tournure bizarre et c’est devenu trop irréel pour moi... dommage.
Un détective privé de science fiction. Ce n'est ni le premier ni le dernier que j'aurais lu. Mais celui-ci n'est pas vraiment détective. Et si la première partie du livre est exactement là où je l'attendais (non que l'intrigue soit prévisible, juste que ce genre a des codes qu'on retrouve), cela dérive sacrément par la suite. Et alors là, ça devient vraiment excellent.
La première partie raconte une mission qui ne semble pas inhabituelle pour Stark : retrouver un personnage important du Centre Action (un des "quartiers" de la mégapole) enlevé, probablement par des gens de Rouge (le quartier violent) et serait sequestré dans le stable (nul n'y entre ou n'en sort). Voilà voilà. La ville est futuriste, mais on y retrouve les penchants humains que l'on connaît et pour faire bonne dose, il y a bien sur des gadgets complètement futuristes, par exemple un tramway (il y a de meilleurs exemples...).
La suite est inracontable, mais le voyage vaut vraiment le détour.
La première partie raconte une mission qui ne semble pas inhabituelle pour Stark : retrouver un personnage important du Centre Action (un des "quartiers" de la mégapole) enlevé, probablement par des gens de Rouge (le quartier violent) et serait sequestré dans le stable (nul n'y entre ou n'en sort). Voilà voilà. La ville est futuriste, mais on y retrouve les penchants humains que l'on connaît et pour faire bonne dose, il y a bien sur des gadgets complètement futuristes, par exemple un tramway (il y a de meilleurs exemples...).
La suite est inracontable, mais le voyage vaut vraiment le détour.
Loved it!
At first I wasn't going to read the book, because the description of the protagonist said something about him being a detective, and I didn't care. Then I read the first chapter and knew I would finish the book. Then I came across the cat neighborhood and knew I would not only finish the book but also love it to the very end. That is exactly what happened! I was really sad to see it end, I got a little teary eyed, but it was a really good ending.
The beginning was really crazy and funny, like a Dali painting that you had to work to make heads or tails of. I mean, gravity changing machines and quiet neighborhoods and surgically removed need to sleep, crazy stuff!! I love the need to climb onto the desk to hold a meeting! Half the descriptions and the events made no sense and honestly they still don't make sense after I have finished the book.
By the time you reach the middle of the book you come to the conclusion that all the crazy things from the beginning are not really important. Just like Stark you realize there is more going on and the tone becomes more serious, more action packed. You also discover a new world, Jeamland, so all the rules and ideas you have learned in the beginning are kinda useless because there are new rules and ideas to learn.
Finally, the third section of the book all the crazy lightheartedness that you read about in the first section is forgotten. Things get dark and dramatic and heavy. Does the third section explain the confusion of the first? No. Does it explain the omissions of the second? It does but not in the way you think it would.
The conclusion on the third section is like a dark spiral that just get worse as you keep going. The break up with the love of his life, Rachel, because of a one night stand was sad, but her call to inform him of the abortion was a knife twist in the gut. It is not that she said/did something to hurt him it was that she wanted to hurt him. I am not saying she is entirely to blame for the situation but it is a sign of reality being much darker than Stark thought it was. We are told numerous times that his view of reality has colored Jeamland, if he had gone in with his innocence intact maybe Somethings wouldn't exist. Then again maybe they would not have been able to enter Jeamland. The door finally closes on the innocent time of Stark's young years when Rafe does the same thing Rachel did, hurt him for the sake of hurting him.
The conclusion of the third section casts a shadow on the rest of the book. If you accept that the moment Rafe twisted his knife Stark had entered a deep depression, then his inability to plan ahead and lack of hope for luck is easily explained. Stark cannot be bothered to do anything. Stark does not plan even while he is actively trying to achieve something. Stark is afloat in the sea of events handling them as they come to him and fighting off the big waves the best he can.
Even though I have said that the conclusion is a dark spiral that just gets worse and worse, the final scene is Stark's catharsis. In the end he is able to accept all the wrongs of the world, those deeply personal wrongs, and move on. I think the 'the emptiness is now a space that can be filled' is a very important line. Stark is no longer a shell. Things are not as bad as he thought they were. Stark can now move on and make a new home, not just a place to live, in the future.
PS: I would like to say that in this book Michael Marshall sounds a whole lot like Douglas Adams.
At first I wasn't going to read the book, because the description of the protagonist said something about him being a detective, and I didn't care. Then I read the first chapter and knew I would finish the book. Then I came across the cat neighborhood and knew I would not only finish the book but also love it to the very end. That is exactly what happened! I was really sad to see it end, I got a little teary eyed, but it was a really good ending.
Spoiler
The beginning was really crazy and funny, like a Dali painting that you had to work to make heads or tails of. I mean, gravity changing machines and quiet neighborhoods and surgically removed need to sleep, crazy stuff!! I love the need to climb onto the desk to hold a meeting! Half the descriptions and the events made no sense and honestly they still don't make sense after I have finished the book.
By the time you reach the middle of the book you come to the conclusion that all the crazy things from the beginning are not really important. Just like Stark you realize there is more going on and the tone becomes more serious, more action packed. You also discover a new world, Jeamland, so all the rules and ideas you have learned in the beginning are kinda useless because there are new rules and ideas to learn.
Finally, the third section of the book all the crazy lightheartedness that you read about in the first section is forgotten. Things get dark and dramatic and heavy. Does the third section explain the confusion of the first? No. Does it explain the omissions of the second? It does but not in the way you think it would.
The conclusion on the third section is like a dark spiral that just get worse as you keep going. The break up with the love of his life, Rachel, because of a one night stand was sad, but her call to inform him of the abortion was a knife twist in the gut. It is not that she said/did something to hurt him it was that she wanted to hurt him. I am not saying she is entirely to blame for the situation but it is a sign of reality being much darker than Stark thought it was. We are told numerous times that his view of reality has colored Jeamland, if he had gone in with his innocence intact maybe Somethings wouldn't exist. Then again maybe they would not have been able to enter Jeamland. The door finally closes on the innocent time of Stark's young years when Rafe does the same thing Rachel did, hurt him for the sake of hurting him.
The conclusion of the third section casts a shadow on the rest of the book. If you accept that the moment Rafe twisted his knife Stark had entered a deep depression, then his inability to plan ahead and lack of hope for luck is easily explained. Stark cannot be bothered to do anything. Stark does not plan even while he is actively trying to achieve something. Stark is afloat in the sea of events handling them as they come to him and fighting off the big waves the best he can.
Even though I have said that the conclusion is a dark spiral that just gets worse and worse, the final scene is Stark's catharsis. In the end he is able to accept all the wrongs of the world, those deeply personal wrongs, and move on. I think the 'the emptiness is now a space that can be filled' is a very important line. Stark is no longer a shell. Things are not as bad as he thought they were. Stark can now move on and make a new home, not just a place to live, in the future.
PS: I would like to say that in this book Michael Marshall sounds a whole lot like Douglas Adams.
A really good book with some interesting world stuff going on and a bit of a twist at the end.
Another of my lockdown re-reads.
My battered paperback copy of this novel, which I bought from a discount bookshop years ago give this introduction on the back cover.
"May we introduce you to
STARK
Oh and by the way good luck..."
And that's all you need to know.
Yes it has holes in the story and doesn't always hang together but its one of my favourite novels and to think this was his first!
My battered paperback copy of this novel, which I bought from a discount bookshop years ago give this introduction on the back cover.
"May we introduce you to
STARK
Oh and by the way good luck..."
And that's all you need to know.
Yes it has holes in the story and doesn't always hang together but its one of my favourite novels and to think this was his first!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It’s a near noir kidnapping mystery set in a dystopian world, and It almost works. On the positive side some of the world building is both unusual and creative, and the laid back humor is endearing. On the negative side, the author gets so involved in describing the fascinating different zones of the city that the world building tends to smother the rather weak kidnapping story that takes place within it. I enjoyed reading the parts while not being overly impressed by the whole. I think I want to say that while it didn't wholly knock me out, there was enough in it to make me try another of his books in the future.