M. John Harrison: Light

Space opera for the quantum age! Light is a beautiful book, written with remarkable skill. It isn't easy, that's for sure, but who cares? Reading it is a pleasure, whether you understand everything or not. Well, to be honest, this is certainly not for everybody: the book has about the same number of five-star and one-star reviews on Amazon.

The book has three threads, one in our time and two in distant future. All are, of course, connected in clever ways. In our time, we follow Michael Kearney, a researcher and a serial killer. He's a curious fellow, unpleasant yet fascinating. In future, we meet K-ship captain Seria Mau, who has given up her humanity in order to command a rather amazing spaceship. Ed Chianese is an ex-pilot turned into a virtual reality addict, a twink. His part of the book is overflowing with interesting ideas, it's an interesting world he lives in.

Kearney's bit reminded me of The Course of the Heart, another novel by Harrison. This one's better, though, as I enjoyed the science fiction parts more. I found Light quite impressive and while most readers will probably agree Harrison's prose is beautiful, many will still find the book unsatisfying or even frustrating. Proceed with care! [ Light at Amazon.co.uk ] [ Light at LibraryThing ]