Just polishing up part 2 of Alpha Slip tonight (making sure to double-proofread this time... I'm so, so sorry to everyone who received the typo-riddled copy of part 1). As penance, here's another 30 second book review. Another sci-fi classic (for given definitions of classic).
The Crystal World, by J.G. Ballard.
The Crystal World is a retelling of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness with a spec-fic twist. Sanders, a doctor from a leper colony, arrives in Gabon while pursuing an old lover. He discovers that the military have taken over the small town where this lover (and her husband) are staying, because some phenomena in the nearby jungle is causing everything - plant, animal, and human - to crystallise.
The Crystal World is a very short book - around 170 pages - and it feels far too brief in places. The entire drama and mystery of the forest is only discussed from an internal, philosophical perspective, so don't expect any answers. The supporting characters are also only presented very briefly - there is a small war taking place in the jungle, but Sanders only glimpses it twice, and from a distance. Finally, Ballard has a pretty interesting light/dark metaphor running throughout the novel, but it's completely ruined by Sanders sitting down and discussing the metaphor on two different occasions. Dammit Ballard, the subtlety of a metaphor is ruined if a main character remarks upon it and then lists every time the metaphor was applied!
Despite this, The Crystal World is short enough so that it doesn't outstay its welcome. More a novel of ideas than plot or story, Crystal World is a very literary piece of spec fic. Whether that's a compliment is up to you.
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2 Responses
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Yeah, metaphors should be left alone. Give us something to do, authors! I'd like to do some thinking, not be given everything in the first read.
Nice review, I give it several stars out of several.
@Tom - Several stars out of several is more than enough for me! Glad you liked the review.