The Gone-Away World - Nick Harkaway

Books that genuinely surprise are rare these days.  Let's face it, we've seen just about every story, every trope and every plot device there is at this point.  The weight of all that's come before makes a surprising effort all the more difficult to come by.

Perhaps then, the only way to surprise these days is to write something that's absolutely bat-shit crazy.  Off the wall.

Allow me to introduce The Gone-Away World, the début novel from English author Nick Harkaway and one of the most surprising works of speculative fiction in recent times.

It's the tale of a world suffering from the devastation of the Go-Away War.  Where particles of matter left over from the war float around in storms which cause apparitions, hallucinations and the sub-creation of new and supposedly soulless people.  There's conspiracy.  There's adventure.  There are pirates and ninja-mimes.  There's a troupe of ex-special forces soldiers turned truckers known as the Haulage & HazMat Emergency Civil Freebooting Company of Exmoor County.  And trust me when I say, it's crazy.  It's off the rails, plain old nuts.

Funny, enthralling, and above all surprising, Harkaway's début effort is the sort of work which makes writer's jealous.  His obvious intelligence and mastery of humour, political savvy and philosophy shine through.  His use of language is entertaining, if at times convoluted.

If you can handle all that, then I dare you to read this book.  Invest the time and you'll be engaged, thrilled and delighted.  Sometimes all at once.  And just when you think you've nailed it down, this slippery, ambitious marvel of a book will surprise you again.

To be perfectly honest with you, my main concern with the novel is that Harkaway may have used up all of his creativity and his daringly silly ideas at once.  But that, after all, is not this book's problem.  It's also one I'll find the answer to when I dive into his sophomore effort, Angelmaker. Which I absolutely will.  With The Gone-Away World he earned it.

My score - 9/10