The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here's a wild tale for ya.

Self-aware and bitingly critical even as it spins some really humorous commentary, Gone-Away World is more than a quasi-military SF adventure or fantasy fairy tale, but it is simultaneously both, and all of it. Indeed, you may as well just say that Vonnegut is alive and well in Nick Harkaway, and specifically this novel.

The disaster may as well be Ice-9, but the piano players (and Nick's Mimes and Ninjas) have all the levity of a big turd in a punch bowl at a gaudy political fundraiser--and for the sake of perfect clarity, I should mention that I think it's VERY, VERY funny.

But it's not simply humor here. The deep character exploration, the full history, loves, mistakes, realizations all humanize and invest me in the wildly fucked up tale.

We simply don't get novels quite as ambitious as this very often.

I'm certain it'll be sitting in my skull for quite some time. Very memorable.

My synesthesia will now forever experience the kinesthetics of a mime--invading me from the very text.


Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.

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