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Just read: Light, M John Harrison
[amazon.co.uk]
Present day: Michael Kearney, together with his partner, is investigating exotic mathematics which will change the world. He's also a deeply disturbed serial killer, constantly running from something he calls "The Shrander".
Hundreds of years in the future, Ed Chianese just got out of the VR tank he's lived in for some time. He can't remember much beyond his name, but he's broke and the local crime bosses want an unfriendly word, so things can't be good. Seria Mau Genlicher, implanted pilot of a K-Ship, is also being pursued - she's gone AWOL, and the military want their ship back, not to mention the attentions of the shady figures she's been dealing with. Meanwhile, she's haunted by dreams, which may or may not be of her childhood before she was surgically melded with her ship.
Despite its title, this book is almost unremittingly dark. Few of the characters are remotely likeable; most are selfish and petty, lashing out at those around them for little or no reason - a couple are almost certainly insane. As a result, I had serious difficulty identifying with any of them - just as I was starting to get a grip, they would do something irrational, stupid and/or evil.
While I can see some merits to Light, and I can understand how it won the awards it has [edit] I can see that it's a good example of the sort of stuff that many award juries like[end edit], I have to say that I didn't really enjoy it. It's certainly engaging, and kept my interest to the end, but not exactly what I'd call "fun".
Present day: Michael Kearney, together with his partner, is investigating exotic mathematics which will change the world. He's also a deeply disturbed serial killer, constantly running from something he calls "The Shrander".
Hundreds of years in the future, Ed Chianese just got out of the VR tank he's lived in for some time. He can't remember much beyond his name, but he's broke and the local crime bosses want an unfriendly word, so things can't be good. Seria Mau Genlicher, implanted pilot of a K-Ship, is also being pursued - she's gone AWOL, and the military want their ship back, not to mention the attentions of the shady figures she's been dealing with. Meanwhile, she's haunted by dreams, which may or may not be of her childhood before she was surgically melded with her ship.
Despite its title, this book is almost unremittingly dark. Few of the characters are remotely likeable; most are selfish and petty, lashing out at those around them for little or no reason - a couple are almost certainly insane. As a result, I had serious difficulty identifying with any of them - just as I was starting to get a grip, they would do something irrational, stupid and/or evil.
While I can see some merits to Light, and I can understand how it won the awards it has [edit] I can see that it's a good example of the sort of stuff that many award juries like[end edit], I have to say that I didn't really enjoy it. It's certainly engaging, and kept my interest to the end, but not exactly what I'd call "fun".