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A review by ocurtsinger
The Vorrh by Brian Catling
1.0
I'm not really sure what I just read or why I should have read it. Some characters and scenes were compelling, others were heavy-handed, atrocious, or insignificant. Many were unnecessary. I'm still struggling to see the connecting thread between all of the disparate figures and symbols in this novel, but I won't struggle for too much longer. It's not worth it.
One thing I do know, however, is that it is not what Alan Moore calls "this century's first landmark work of fantasy." Instead, it reads as an echo of the nineteenth century European literature's lurid and perverted fascination with and exploitation of African culture and geography. And who better to write such a work than an old white man, complimented by another old white man about how he's this new century's great fantasy writer. Sorry. The twenty-first century has had plenty of African and African-American, not to mention other writers of color writing great fantasy. I wish I hadn't wasted my time here.
One thing I do know, however, is that it is not what Alan Moore calls "this century's first landmark work of fantasy." Instead, it reads as an echo of the nineteenth century European literature's lurid and perverted fascination with and exploitation of African culture and geography. And who better to write such a work than an old white man, complimented by another old white man about how he's this new century's great fantasy writer. Sorry. The twenty-first century has had plenty of African and African-American, not to mention other writers of color writing great fantasy. I wish I hadn't wasted my time here.