Nova Swing - M. John Harrison
After all the rave reviews and awards I was very excited about reading Nova Swing
by M. John Harrison. I really enjoyed Light (Nova Swing is a kind of sequel), so what could go wrong. Hmm, well unfortunately I didn't really like it.
The positives first. Great writing, evocative language, brilliant worldbuilding, a great sense of place, good characters. Undeniably based on these aspects alone the book is good.
The plot was passable, not gripping, not silly.
The negatives? The book is relentless in it's noir-ness, which ultimately I found depressing, gloomy and off putting. I enjoyed the denouement more than the rest of the book, because by then the characters had sorted themselves out (one way or the other) and more of the larger universe was revealed.
So it's good, and I wanted to like it, but didn't.
by M. John Harrison. I really enjoyed Light (Nova Swing is a kind of sequel), so what could go wrong. Hmm, well unfortunately I didn't really like it.The positives first. Great writing, evocative language, brilliant worldbuilding, a great sense of place, good characters. Undeniably based on these aspects alone the book is good.
The plot was passable, not gripping, not silly.
The negatives? The book is relentless in it's noir-ness, which ultimately I found depressing, gloomy and off putting. I enjoyed the denouement more than the rest of the book, because by then the characters had sorted themselves out (one way or the other) and more of the larger universe was revealed.
So it's good, and I wanted to like it, but didn't.
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