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- Jun 13, 2006
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Well… it is not a reflection on this book that it has taken me such a long time to read. It is down to me that it has taken so long…
However this is a dark book and in some ways it is really hard to read. Centred on the city of Kray on an Earth where it might just be the last city; a crumbling conurbation that is seeing humanity pay the price for its sins. Here vegetation and the environment close in on the last scraps of human life and try and wring it mercilessly from the face of the planet they have all but destroyed.
Palmer manages to convey this with superb detail, the very atmosphere of the book is oppressive, you can almost feel the green closing in on the walls and buildings, tearing them down with slow, methodical purpose. This is not the last best hope of humanity, it is the final crushing of a parasite under nature’s heel.
It seems rather ominous yet honest that in all of this man still cannot come to terms with what is happening. There are still factions, still religions that bicker and fight over their beliefs and way of life even as those very existences are extinguished.
In some ways this book reminds me of Gormenghast, perhaps even a reflection of Peake’s novel, there it is the castle that is decaying with the wider world thriving; here the cleansed world is closing in.
Palmer manages to embellish things. His always inventive creations, in particular the organic technology, that grows almost plant-like seems plausible and alien at the same time. His society works well, almost exclusively female, they are the dominant sex, men reduced to propagators and toys, except in one case.
But for me the central element of this was the final days of a dominant species that has screwed up, and continues screwing up despite the planet taking back what belongs to it. There really is the feel of inexorable inevitability as the city reaches its final days, a level close to despair as those last few lives struggle to do just that, to live. The last few chapters blur by in a frenetic race for survival, something that seems so desperate so futile that as each life is ticked off it seems obvious that nothing can save the species.
It really becomes evident of what kind of talent Palmer possesses though, when he lets go of the darkness and embraces the light of a new day, capturing the feel of heady summer days and a world born fresh and new. With it he delivers something else that is perhaps, one of the most important attributes in a book like this: hope.
The book came with a few DVD like extras in the form of two short stories set in the same world. Both are well written, giving a deeper look at the world and the way things work there and are highly entertaining as well.
Palmer’s work is not going to be for everybody, but if you persevere, appreciate his imagination and descriptive prowess it is most certainly rewarding.
However this is a dark book and in some ways it is really hard to read. Centred on the city of Kray on an Earth where it might just be the last city; a crumbling conurbation that is seeing humanity pay the price for its sins. Here vegetation and the environment close in on the last scraps of human life and try and wring it mercilessly from the face of the planet they have all but destroyed.
Palmer manages to convey this with superb detail, the very atmosphere of the book is oppressive, you can almost feel the green closing in on the walls and buildings, tearing them down with slow, methodical purpose. This is not the last best hope of humanity, it is the final crushing of a parasite under nature’s heel.
It seems rather ominous yet honest that in all of this man still cannot come to terms with what is happening. There are still factions, still religions that bicker and fight over their beliefs and way of life even as those very existences are extinguished.
In some ways this book reminds me of Gormenghast, perhaps even a reflection of Peake’s novel, there it is the castle that is decaying with the wider world thriving; here the cleansed world is closing in.
Palmer manages to embellish things. His always inventive creations, in particular the organic technology, that grows almost plant-like seems plausible and alien at the same time. His society works well, almost exclusively female, they are the dominant sex, men reduced to propagators and toys, except in one case.
But for me the central element of this was the final days of a dominant species that has screwed up, and continues screwing up despite the planet taking back what belongs to it. There really is the feel of inexorable inevitability as the city reaches its final days, a level close to despair as those last few lives struggle to do just that, to live. The last few chapters blur by in a frenetic race for survival, something that seems so desperate so futile that as each life is ticked off it seems obvious that nothing can save the species.
It really becomes evident of what kind of talent Palmer possesses though, when he lets go of the darkness and embraces the light of a new day, capturing the feel of heady summer days and a world born fresh and new. With it he delivers something else that is perhaps, one of the most important attributes in a book like this: hope.
The book came with a few DVD like extras in the form of two short stories set in the same world. Both are well written, giving a deeper look at the world and the way things work there and are highly entertaining as well.
Palmer’s work is not going to be for everybody, but if you persevere, appreciate his imagination and descriptive prowess it is most certainly rewarding.
