REVIEW: OUT ON BLUE SIX

Cover design by Neil Heacox

OUT ON BLUE SIX

BY

IAN McDONALD

ISBN: 978-1-48046-165-9

Pages: 288

Publisher: Open Road Media

First published: 1 April 1989

This edition published: 31 December 2013

On the cover:

(From the publisher's website.)

In a far-future city where happiness and stability are law, a group of rebels will fight for what it means to be human

The Compassionate Society was designed as a utopia, where people’s genetic predispositions and aptitudes—rather than random choice—guide their lives, and pain of any kind is illegal. In the self-contained city, happiness is the most cherished value, and the Ministry of Pain swiftly prosecutes anyone who interferes with the contentment of another. For many of its citizens—who were matched to their jobs, spouses, and friends—the Compassionate Society is perfect. But to Courtney Hall, a political cartoonist, it is a place of stifling mediocrity. When her satirical work makes her a target of the government, Courtney goes on the run, only to discover an entire underground network of dissidents, each fighting against the stagnation imposed by the Compassionate Society—a struggle that could stand as humanity’s last chance for growth, innovation, and ultimately, survival.

   This novel is somewhat surrealist in nature, at times you feel you are going down the proverbial rabbit hole. At times it has a feel of being Fantasy, but I would say this fits nicely into the Weird. The setting, for parts of the story at least, is pure Science Fiction and there are elements that are familiar for those that are versed in Earth-set Science Fiction.

  There is two plot-strands here and although they have the similarity of both being journeys, they are very different journeys.
   On the one hand we get a quest that owes much of its structure to Epic Fantasy, more specifically Quest Fantasy. Although I hasten to add that this is not anywhere near what you'd expect from Epic Fantasy. It is much more bizarre than that, and at times it takes turns that may be hard to follow for those that are not familiar with reading SFF. However it is this greatly imaginative quality that lifts this plot thread above the average for me. The plot becomes so unpredictable because it refuses to tie itself to the expected of such a quest that you are never quite certain where it will take you.
   The other quest is more about personal discovery. It does begin with the, at this time, not uncommon narrative device of a main character who does not know who he is. But where McDonald takes it from there means it in no way feels like it is something you've seen before. Sure, there are familiar turns at some points. Parts of what is happening does seem familiar, but it is set in a narrative context that still makes this feel very fresh, even when read 25 years after the novel's first publication.

   Taken overall, the novel is a joy to read, reading my review notes made me want to read it again. There's parts of this that are absolutely brilliant Science Fiction, and likewise parts that are excellent Quest Fantasy. When put together those two elements make for a great novel.
   The page count is not very long for a SFF novel, but McDonald has managed to make this world come vividly to life with the words he has used. Other SFF novels certainly go into more detail about the world they are set in. However the feel you get for the world you are in is excellent here, and it brings you closer to how this society looks like than many novels who go on in much more detail.

   As with the setting, the characters does not really get much detail given about them. They are more defined by their actions that by who they are, but I never thought that they were too flimsy as people. Learning more about them is simply not something you miss, the narrative just doesn't need you to get to know them in that way. You do however get a good feel for who they are, and in many respects what makes them tick. They are also very nice people to follow through the narrative. Both main and supporting characters come very much alive, and you can easily relate to them on enough levels that you feel comfortable with them.

   When I was reading this, and in the time after that when I have thought about it, it's sort of hard for me to see why this book has almost disappeared. Granted, it does predate the New Weird by several years, and it does in some ways straddle the  difficult Science Fiction/Fantasy gap but it is really an excellent SFF novel. That it wasn't reprinted, and re-marketed, when New Weird became popular is a bit baffling to me.
   This is a SFF novel that deserves to be read widely. Fans of McDonald will recognise his style of storytelling, and if they haven't already read this they should remedy that at once. Other SFF fans would do well to pick this up also, and fans of China Miéville and other New Weird authors should definitely pick this up. With it's mix of Quest Fantasy and Earth-set Science Fiction it should be an excellent choice for any SFF fan.

NOTE: I got an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher/NetGalley.

REVIEWS: River of Gods  Brasyl

LINK: Open Road Media

REVIEW: SNAKE AGENT

SNAKE AGENT

DETECTIVE INSPECTOR CHEN BOOK 1

BY

LIZ WILLIAMS

ISBN: 978-1-48043-819-4

Pages: 410

Publisher: Open Road Media

First published: 15 September 2005

This edition published: 17 September 2013

On the cover:

 (From the publisher's website.)

When a soul goes missing, an occult detective ventures into Hell to retrieve it

When the fourteen-year-old daughter of Singapore Three’s most prominent industrialist dies of anorexia, her parents assume that Pearl’s suffering has come to an end. But somewhere along the way to the Celestial Shores, Pearl’s soul is waylaid, lured by an unknown force to the gates of Hell. To save their daughter from eternal banishment, they come to Detective Inspector Wei Chen, whose jurisdiction lies between this world and the next.

A round-faced cop who is as serious as his beat is strange, Chen has a demon for a wife and a comfort with the supernatural that most mortals cannot match. But finding Pearl Tang will take him further into the abyss than ever before—to a mystifying place where he will have to cooperate with a demonic detective if he wants to survive. It’s easy, Chen will find, to get into Hell. The hard part is getting out.

   In some ways this book sits in the crossroads between several SFF subgenres. There's plenty of Urban Fantasy here, but there's a slight twist in that the "Urban" here doesn't necessarily signify a city on earth. You  could argue that this is Portal Fantasy, as there is extensive travelling in another realm - Hell to be precise. But it isn't really the kind of Fantasy that uses the Bible for inspiration. Hell here means Hell in the sense it is described in Chinese mythology. So the supernatural beings are not the ones you'd expect if you grew up in a society influenced by Old Testament culture. This means that the setting itself is quite different from what you would expect when you hear that you are dealing with demons.

   Williams has done a great job of making the setting come alive. You get a very good feel for the atmosphere of the earthly city of Singapore Three, a bustling Asian metropolis of the not too distant future. However that is not what I would call the main location here, although we spend a lot of time in it. The main location is without a doubt Hell.
   As I said above, this is Chinese Hell, which is a quite different place from the Christian one. It's actually a very interesting place, maybe even worth a visit if you are the adventurous type. There's lots of details about what goes on in this version of Hell, and it really comes alive in the pages of the novel. It's described in such a way that you can see it before you, and it doesn't feel any less real than the Earthly city the rest of the story takes place in.

   Storywise this starts out with what is really become a cliche, a women walks into a detective's office. But we have already been warned by the prologue that this isn't an ordinary Crime novel, and it's a matter of moments before everything takes a completely different turn. Once the supernatural elements are firmly introduced the story really gets going, and when it does it rarely lets up on the fast pace. 
   There is a lot of things happening, and there's several story threads to encompass them all. Although this means that we do jump around a bit in location and point of views, it doesn't mean that it feels disorganised or confusing. Williams manages to keep things going in the direction they are meant to be, and she seems very disciplined in how and when she introduces new viewpoints. There's no feeling of changes cluttering up the forward motion of the narrative.

   There are some of the elements of the Crime novel in the story, we get a central mystery that draws us in. This mystery build very nicely, and it twist and turns around satisfyingly. There are surprises coming at several points, and some cliffhangers will make it a necessity to keep reading. Sometimes the structure of the pacing will remind you of an Action-Adventure Thriller, although the novel stays in the Fantasy bookshelf throughout.
   There's some situations here that are quite humorous, but that doesn't mean the book is Humorous Fantasy, it stays well away from that. This is played straight. Although it must be stressed that this is a fun novel, with plenty of happenings that will bring a smile to your face.

    I always feel that the characters are important in this type of novel,. They are the ones we see the world through, and as such how they function is important to the readers experience. D.I. Chen is a very good character in that respect. He has a lot of depth to him, including the flaws that are so important to adding that third character dimension. Chen is in fact a very welcome acquaintance. He feels like a very natural supernatural detective, an "everyman" supernatural detective if you want. You're very much left with the feeling that this is how such a person would be. To put it very shortly; he feels real.
   Chen isn't alone in the book. He has the support of some very interesting characters. Especially his wife Inara and Zhu Irzh. The latter could almost be said to be the main character, and in some parts of the novel he steals the show. He is however subservient to Chen when it comes to getting this story told, but his importance is near the D.I.'s.
   There are other characters here too that have lesser roles than these three. And all of them are well drawn. Williams is very good at creating characters you can relate to on some level. Even some of the evil denizens of Hell comes across as interesting to know. (But perhaps not spend time visiting.)

   All in all this is very well written Urban Fantasy with a solid world behind it. The setting alone will give this a lot of freshness for those that read this kind of story. It isn't just decorating that sets this story in an Asian locale, the setting is very much integral to the story being told. And the story is a very entertaining one, it's a story that actually could justify the description "fun romp".
   I would recommend this to anyone who likes an action filled and fun Urban Fantasy story, and especially those that want stories set in a city outside Europe or North America. This is highly entertaining, and I for one will try to get hold of the other novels in the series.

NOTE: An e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher/NetGalley.

LINKS: Liz Williams  Open Road Media