Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Nick Harkaway's The Gone-Away World

The Gone-Away World ~ Nick Harkaway
Genre: Science Fiction Novel
8/10

Nick Harkaway's The Gone-Away World, set in a world with the misleadingly unoriginal epithet of post-apocalyptic, follows the story of an unnamed narrator and his close childhood friend, Gonzo Lubitsch, combining an adventure epic with questions concerning human existence and the fear of the different through whimsical, quirky and often satirical writing reminiscent of Jonathan Stroud and Douglas Adams.

The story itself, whilst targetting perfectly the young readers' demographic through the inclusion of war, romance, gun-toting heroes, ninjas and mimes, touches sardonically on corporation culture and the natures of wars, as well as briefly reflecting on the inherent discrimination in mankind towards the unusual and the mutant. In itself, the plot would be fairly linear and, whilst gripping, fairly simple (once again, capitalising on the adolescent [primarily male] fascination with, but when considered in conjunction with Harkaway's antic style and an extremely satisfying twist it becomes a must read for any science fiction fan.

Anonymous I.

P.S. Interesting review by Steven Poole, of The Guardian;
"Reading The Gone-Away World is a bit like spending a week with a hyperactive puppy: there are delightful moments aplenty, but it's slightly wearing over the long run. Still, any author who has come up with the beautifully silly plan of melding a kung-fu epic with an Iraq-war satire and a Mad Max adventure has to be worth keeping an eye on."