What do you think?
Rate this book
One of Us
It's not what you've done that counts it's what you remember....
If you could sell your conscience, could you get away with murder?
Hap Thompson works the gray area between truth and lies. He works for REMtemp, taking on other people's memories. It's illegal, but usually harmless. Maybe a petty criminal wants to pass a lie detector test. Or an unfaithful spouse wants to enjoy a guiltless affair. All Hap has to do is carry the memories for a couple of hours. It's easy money. Until a beautiful young woman who committed murder leaves her memory with Hap and won't take it back.
Now Hap is on the run: from the LAPD, from six angels of death in gray suits and sunglasses, and from the best hit man in the business his ex-wife. Even worse, people all around Hap are disappearing in a strange white light. His only hope is to negotiate with a guy who may be much more than he seems, so he can stay alive long enough to discover who is and who isn't...
If you could sell your conscience, could you get away with murder?
Hap Thompson works the gray area between truth and lies. He works for REMtemp, taking on other people's memories. It's illegal, but usually harmless. Maybe a petty criminal wants to pass a lie detector test. Or an unfaithful spouse wants to enjoy a guiltless affair. All Hap has to do is carry the memories for a couple of hours. It's easy money. Until a beautiful young woman who committed murder leaves her memory with Hap and won't take it back.
Now Hap is on the run: from the LAPD, from six angels of death in gray suits and sunglasses, and from the best hit man in the business his ex-wife. Even worse, people all around Hap are disappearing in a strange white light. His only hope is to negotiate with a guy who may be much more than he seems, so he can stay alive long enough to discover who is and who isn't...
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
28 people are currently reading
1,498 people want to read
About the author
Michael Marshall Smith
258books1,035followersMichael Marshall (Smith) is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. His first novel, ONLY FORWARD, won the August Derleth and Philip K. Dick awards. SPARES and ONE OF US were optioned for film by DreamWorks and Warner Brothers, and the Straw Men trilogy - THE STRAW MEN, THE LONELY DEAD and BLOOD OF ANGELS - were international bestsellers. His most recent novels are THE INTRUDERS, BAD THINGS and KILLER MOVE.
He is a four-time winner of the BFS Award for short fiction, and his stories are collected in two volumes - WHAT YOU MAKE IT and MORE TOMORROW AND OTHER STORIES (which won the International Horror Guild Award).
He lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife and son.
He is a four-time winner of the BFS Award for short fiction, and his stories are collected in two volumes - WHAT YOU MAKE IT and MORE TOMORROW AND OTHER STORIES (which won the International Horror Guild Award).
He lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife and son.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
August 3, 2019
I've chewed on this review for a ridiculous amount of time. After two months, I'm left with a movie analogy:
I think Only Forward is the The Fifth Element, (spoiler for those who don't want images)
merged with Blade Runner (old school, not the new one).
One of Us, like the movies and Smith's other book,Only Forward, is a genre mash-up. Noir mystery, future science fiction and somewhat mystical fiction with a grim overtone. The main character is not entirely admirable, the main female isn't particularly likeable, and the villain is generally despicable. Still, there is a lot to enjoy here, particularly--and I feel certain I've never said this--the appliances.
The short version? Hap is in Mexico, looking for a woman. Not just any woman, but a client of his employer, a mostly illegal dream business that does completely illegal memory storage on the side. One of the memories Hap holds is of this woman shooting and killing a man, and some mysterious men in suits who arrive immediately after. And that's the most normal part of the story.
One of the things I like about Smith's writing is the almost thoughtless, exaggerated moments of humor, such as when he describes stopping for gas:
"The gas station claimed to be under new management, but the toilets were evidently still under some old management, or more probably governed by an organization that predated the concept of management altogether. Possibly the Spanish Inquisition."
or carries the description of the dirty refrigerator to a new level:
"Three cans of beer and some leftover Chinese in the fridge, the noodles covered in a bacterial culture so advanced, they probably had their own constitution and strong views on environmental issues."
But Smith's talent isn't just in the ironical tone. He also excels as some of the more challenging emotions:
"Sabrina didn't look like Sabrina anymore. The hardness in her face was gone, and her lips didn't look quite so airtight. I'm sure the change was only temporary, but it was an improvement. I just wish she hadn't had to be scared to allow herself to be more human, but I guess a lot of us are like that."
or
"She got over the death of her parents, in time: stopped expecting it to be her mother whenever the phone rang, or thinking of things to tell her dad. But she got over it partly by becoming something her parents would never have recognized, by untethering herself from the past they'd structured, by sidestepping into a different life."
It's an interesting, remarkable, challenging book. It does go off the rails a bit at the end, and like Only Forward, I found myself not entirely satisfied with the ending. But there is a note of hope that I appreciated.
It also left me with Joan Osborne on the brain.
I think Only Forward is the The Fifth Element, (spoiler for those who don't want images)
merged with Blade Runner (old school, not the new one).
One of Us, like the movies and Smith's other book,Only Forward, is a genre mash-up. Noir mystery, future science fiction and somewhat mystical fiction with a grim overtone. The main character is not entirely admirable, the main female isn't particularly likeable, and the villain is generally despicable. Still, there is a lot to enjoy here, particularly--and I feel certain I've never said this--the appliances.
The short version? Hap is in Mexico, looking for a woman. Not just any woman, but a client of his employer, a mostly illegal dream business that does completely illegal memory storage on the side. One of the memories Hap holds is of this woman shooting and killing a man, and some mysterious men in suits who arrive immediately after. And that's the most normal part of the story.
One of the things I like about Smith's writing is the almost thoughtless, exaggerated moments of humor, such as when he describes stopping for gas:
"The gas station claimed to be under new management, but the toilets were evidently still under some old management, or more probably governed by an organization that predated the concept of management altogether. Possibly the Spanish Inquisition."
or carries the description of the dirty refrigerator to a new level:
"Three cans of beer and some leftover Chinese in the fridge, the noodles covered in a bacterial culture so advanced, they probably had their own constitution and strong views on environmental issues."
But Smith's talent isn't just in the ironical tone. He also excels as some of the more challenging emotions:
"Sabrina didn't look like Sabrina anymore. The hardness in her face was gone, and her lips didn't look quite so airtight. I'm sure the change was only temporary, but it was an improvement. I just wish she hadn't had to be scared to allow herself to be more human, but I guess a lot of us are like that."
or
"She got over the death of her parents, in time: stopped expecting it to be her mother whenever the phone rang, or thinking of things to tell her dad. But she got over it partly by becoming something her parents would never have recognized, by untethering herself from the past they'd structured, by sidestepping into a different life."
It's an interesting, remarkable, challenging book. It does go off the rails a bit at the end, and like Only Forward, I found myself not entirely satisfied with the ending. But there is a note of hope that I appreciated.
It also left me with Joan Osborne on the brain.
May 18, 2011
This book is loaded with more Awesome than many I have come across...How much Awesome you ask?...More units of Awesome than a Vulcan DJ or Robocop riding a Unicorn…�
That is significant Awesome!!!
6.0 stars. This is the fourth book I have read by Michael Marshall Smith (MMS) and the lowest I have rated any of them is 5 stars (with this book and being on my list of All Time Favorites. I guess you could call me a huge fan of his work.
One of Us is a "hardboiled" style science fiction murder mystery set in a near future world where the technology exists to allow bad dreams and harmful memories to be transferred from one person (normally the rich and powerful) to another person....for a price. This technology has been declared illegal and so this very expensive service is provided on the black market.
Our main character, Hap Thompson, is an employee at the company primarily responsible for the “memory transference� market. Hap is one of the best at being able to deal with the mental fatigue and "backwash" involved with taking on another’s memories. Early in the story, Hap unwittingly finds himself in possession of the memory of a brutal murder and immediately becomes the target of several powerful factions, including a very mysterious group of men dressed in identical gray suits that seem to be able to do things that defy the laws of nature.
From beginning to end, the story moves along at a great clip and I was completely sucked in by the plot. Plus Hap is a terrific character and there is a great supporting cast that make the story even more compelling.
In my opinion, the greatest strength of the book is the brilliantly quirky world MMS has created. For those of you who have read Smith’s other work, you know the kind of phenomenal world-building of which he is capable. This is as good as he has done. Some of my favorite examples in this book include:
- Talking, semi-sentient, appliances that are generally either surly or wise-cracking and provide a good portion of the story's humor.
- A number of very original and creative drugs including: (1) "coincidence" which can actually make good coincidences occur for you and (2) "fresh" which makes everything a user experiences feel like it is happening for the first time.
- A virtual reality world where some people work and spend most of their lives.
The above is just a sample and the setting is really amazing. However, MMS does not cloud or confuse his world by using overly flowery language. Instead, his prose is fairly straight-forward and crisp (though excellent) and so you don’t find yourself having to battle dense writing at the same time you are trying to keep up with the amazingly crazy world-building components. I think it was a great decision and made for a superb reading experience.
I know I am gushing, but I think this book deserves it. Top-notch writing, engaging characters that are capable of being both extremely witty/funny in their observations and at other times convey "deeply compelling" insights on the nature of the human condition and society as a whole. All in a unique and compelling setting. MMS executes this flawlessly.
OH�...OH...OH....and I almost forgot, the BIG REVEAL/TWIST at the end is flat out awesome in the most awesomely awesome way and worth 6.0 stars all by itself. I won’t give away any details to it except to say that I thought it was pretty "bold" and "daring" given the subject matter and beautifully realized. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!!
That is significant Awesome!!!
6.0 stars. This is the fourth book I have read by Michael Marshall Smith (MMS) and the lowest I have rated any of them is 5 stars (with this book and being on my list of All Time Favorites. I guess you could call me a huge fan of his work.
One of Us is a "hardboiled" style science fiction murder mystery set in a near future world where the technology exists to allow bad dreams and harmful memories to be transferred from one person (normally the rich and powerful) to another person....for a price. This technology has been declared illegal and so this very expensive service is provided on the black market.
Our main character, Hap Thompson, is an employee at the company primarily responsible for the “memory transference� market. Hap is one of the best at being able to deal with the mental fatigue and "backwash" involved with taking on another’s memories. Early in the story, Hap unwittingly finds himself in possession of the memory of a brutal murder and immediately becomes the target of several powerful factions, including a very mysterious group of men dressed in identical gray suits that seem to be able to do things that defy the laws of nature.
From beginning to end, the story moves along at a great clip and I was completely sucked in by the plot. Plus Hap is a terrific character and there is a great supporting cast that make the story even more compelling.
In my opinion, the greatest strength of the book is the brilliantly quirky world MMS has created. For those of you who have read Smith’s other work, you know the kind of phenomenal world-building of which he is capable. This is as good as he has done. Some of my favorite examples in this book include:
- Talking, semi-sentient, appliances that are generally either surly or wise-cracking and provide a good portion of the story's humor.
- A number of very original and creative drugs including: (1) "coincidence" which can actually make good coincidences occur for you and (2) "fresh" which makes everything a user experiences feel like it is happening for the first time.
- A virtual reality world where some people work and spend most of their lives.
The above is just a sample and the setting is really amazing. However, MMS does not cloud or confuse his world by using overly flowery language. Instead, his prose is fairly straight-forward and crisp (though excellent) and so you don’t find yourself having to battle dense writing at the same time you are trying to keep up with the amazingly crazy world-building components. I think it was a great decision and made for a superb reading experience.
I know I am gushing, but I think this book deserves it. Top-notch writing, engaging characters that are capable of being both extremely witty/funny in their observations and at other times convey "deeply compelling" insights on the nature of the human condition and society as a whole. All in a unique and compelling setting. MMS executes this flawlessly.
OH�...OH...OH....and I almost forgot, the BIG REVEAL/TWIST at the end is flat out awesome in the most awesomely awesome way and worth 6.0 stars all by itself. I won’t give away any details to it except to say that I thought it was pretty "bold" and "daring" given the subject matter and beautifully realized. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!!
December 3, 2023
За съжаление, тази книга е безнадеждно остаряла и нямам нерви да я довърша... :(
Цитат:
"Лесните пътища имат свойството да те връщат обратно там, откъдето си тръгнал."
Цитат:
"Лесните пътища имат свойството да те връщат обратно там, откъдето си тръгнал."
February 7, 2014
This is only the fourth MMS (including The Straw Men, by his alter ego, MM) that I've read.
The great thing about this guy is that he has such a rich imagination, it's exciting to start one of his novels because you have no idea where he is going to take you.
Having said that, I'd have to say that One of Us left me wanting just a little more. Indeed, he ultimately took me to a bizarre and original place, but it is the one novel of his that I've read that didn't have as much of the amusing and poignant human observances that I've come to expect.
Now, it could be because he has set the bar very high after works like Only Forward and More Tomorrow. Those stories were unforgettable. And it's because of those that I will continue to be excited about reading him.
I'm giving this one 4 stars just for the big ideas in it!
He's a marvelous writer. Read him.
The great thing about this guy is that he has such a rich imagination, it's exciting to start one of his novels because you have no idea where he is going to take you.
Having said that, I'd have to say that One of Us left me wanting just a little more. Indeed, he ultimately took me to a bizarre and original place, but it is the one novel of his that I've read that didn't have as much of the amusing and poignant human observances that I've come to expect.
Now, it could be because he has set the bar very high after works like Only Forward and More Tomorrow. Those stories were unforgettable. And it's because of those that I will continue to be excited about reading him.
I'm giving this one 4 stars just for the big ideas in it!
He's a marvelous writer. Read him.
November 29, 2017
It's a shame that never quite achieved breakout status as a science-fiction writer, because the novels he wrote before he switched names (to ) and genres (to more conventional thrillers)—SF like , and the novel currently at hand, —were really original, and really good. I'd compare with classic works of weirdness like 's or 's novel (the latter also from 1998, by the way)—all three dive deeply into deeply implausible near futures, viewed through a cynical lens, where the bizarre is just another day's work for our wise-cracking, world-weary hero.
And all of them are great fun to read.
Hap Thompson is the cynical protagonist of . He's not exactly a gumshoe—more of a petty criminal, in fact—but once he gets hold of a problem, Hap's as tenacious about solving it as any Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade or Mike Hammer. (One disappointment: Hap's attitude towards dames owes a lot to and his misogynistic ilk as well.) Hap's world differs a lot from ours, in some ways. Los Angeles' Griffith Park has been turned into a high-end gated community, complete with holographic walls so the public still sees the old landmarks as they used to be. Cigarettes are not just frowned upon but outlawed—only criminals and cops still smoke 'em. Household appliances like Hap's alarm clock now come with biomimetic brains, for added convenience... and attitude. And (in common with many other early cyberpunk works), Hap's version of the Internet uses some bizarrely high-bandwidth virtual metaphors for what should be simple Web access (pages 73-74, I'm looking at you here...).
But all that's just window-dressing for the central issue that's consuming Hap. See, he's what you might call a professional dream-catcher (although I don't think that particular phrase is ever used in the text). The central innovation in , the big idea that tips this one over into the science fiction column, is this: Technology exists that can offload bad dreams directly to another mind. It has to be another human mind, which is inconvenient, but that just creates a business opportunity for people who can absorb more than their share of unpleasant imagery.
Hap turns out to be really good at taking on dreams... so good, in fact, that he's transitioned to the really profitable end of the business: receiving bad memories. Adulteries, traumas, scruples... Hap can hold onto those inconvenient truths for a little while, long enough to get the customer out of a jam, then transfer 'em back, while suffering few ill effects himself.
Offloading the memory of a crime this way is illegal, of course—actually, by statute, it's exactly half as illegal as the crime itself—so when Hap receives the memory of murdering a cop (one with whom he has a history, in fact) and can't transfer it back, he knows he has to figure out why, or go to prison (back to prison) as an accessory. This imparts a certain urgency to Hap's actions, but he still finds time to crack wise—and, occasionally, even be wise—about the parts of his existence that even he realizes are absurd.
Hap is an introspective protagonist, you see, in the best hard-boiled, world-weary tradition... and that's a large part of the fun. Like this poetic short-short SF story:
was another great find for me from in Minneapolis, Minnesota—and, as you might be able to tell from the number and length of the quotes above, I found a lot to like.
The title of raises a question—who are we, exactly? Smith waits a long time to answer that question, but in the end he does, and the answer will surprise you. It certainly surprised me. doesn't always give us what we want, perhaps... but I think that in retrospect, almost twenty years down the line since it was published, this novel still contains a few things that every one of us needs.
And all of them are great fun to read.
At least I was going to die nicely lit.
—p.284
Hap Thompson is the cynical protagonist of . He's not exactly a gumshoe—more of a petty criminal, in fact—but once he gets hold of a problem, Hap's as tenacious about solving it as any Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade or Mike Hammer. (One disappointment: Hap's attitude towards dames owes a lot to and his misogynistic ilk as well.) Hap's world differs a lot from ours, in some ways. Los Angeles' Griffith Park has been turned into a high-end gated community, complete with holographic walls so the public still sees the old landmarks as they used to be. Cigarettes are not just frowned upon but outlawed—only criminals and cops still smoke 'em. Household appliances like Hap's alarm clock now come with biomimetic brains, for added convenience... and attitude. And (in common with many other early cyberpunk works), Hap's version of the Internet uses some bizarrely high-bandwidth virtual metaphors for what should be simple Web access (pages 73-74, I'm looking at you here...).
But all that's just window-dressing for the central issue that's consuming Hap. See, he's what you might call a professional dream-catcher (although I don't think that particular phrase is ever used in the text). The central innovation in , the big idea that tips this one over into the science fiction column, is this: Technology exists that can offload bad dreams directly to another mind. It has to be another human mind, which is inconvenient, but that just creates a business opportunity for people who can absorb more than their share of unpleasant imagery.
Hap turns out to be really good at taking on dreams... so good, in fact, that he's transitioned to the really profitable end of the business: receiving bad memories. Adulteries, traumas, scruples... Hap can hold onto those inconvenient truths for a little while, long enough to get the customer out of a jam, then transfer 'em back, while suffering few ill effects himself.
Offloading the memory of a crime this way is illegal, of course—actually, by statute, it's exactly half as illegal as the crime itself—so when Hap receives the memory of murdering a cop (one with whom he has a history, in fact) and can't transfer it back, he knows he has to figure out why, or go to prison (back to prison) as an accessory. This imparts a certain urgency to Hap's actions, but he still finds time to crack wise—and, occasionally, even be wise—about the parts of his existence that even he realizes are absurd.
Hap is an introspective protagonist, you see, in the best hard-boiled, world-weary tradition... and that's a large part of the fun. Like this poetic short-short SF story:
It is my firm belief that in the afterglow of our civilization, when all we have made is come to naught and our planet slumbers once more, home only to a few valiant creatures—bugs, probably—who have the courage to struggle through whatever nemesis we have wrought on Mother Nature, some alien race will land and do a spot of archaeology. And all they'll find, particularly in coastal areas, is layers of mirrors made from reclaimed floorboards with homespun wisdom etched on them with a soldering iron, or pockets of driftwood sculptures of fishing boats that rock when pushed, and the aliens will nod sadly among themselves and admit that this was a civilization whose time had indeed come.And this bit could easily have come from an episode of , even though it's set in Los Angeles:
—p.69-70
The menu informed me that the pigs that had ended up in the sausage patties had all been organically farmed, and that everyone had been real nice to them throughout their life. It seemed unlikely to me that the diner's clientele would give a shit—these are guys whose hair is still wet from climbing out of the primordial soup. But that's LA for you: Maybe they all practice mugging without cruelty.Hap also has views on secrets, and the passwords that are supposed to protect them:
—p.83
A bit of a pain, and no real protection against someone who knows what they're doing. Secrets are difficult to keep, and anyone who runs their life around them is forever teetering on the edge of disclosure. Plus this: Making something secret makes it too important, elevates it to the point where it runs your life from the shadows. If you hide what's at your core from other people for too long, sooner or later you end up hiding it from yourself and waking up with no idea of who you are.Like , seems to have a defensive attitude about tobacco smoking... this is only the most pointed of several comments about cigarettes that show up throughout Hap's musing:
—p.83
When people make a horror film these days, it's not the promiscuous kids who die first—it's the ones with the pack of Marlboros in their pocket.As icing on the cake, it turns out that Hap, or rather Smith, is a fan, too:
—p.231
While I waited for them, an ancient song came on the jukebox, something about sending lawyers, guns, and money. Sounded like a service I could use.
—p.146
was another great find for me from in Minneapolis, Minnesota—and, as you might be able to tell from the number and length of the quotes above, I found a lot to like.
The title of raises a question—who are we, exactly? Smith waits a long time to answer that question, but in the end he does, and the answer will surprise you. It certainly surprised me. doesn't always give us what we want, perhaps... but I think that in retrospect, almost twenty years down the line since it was published, this novel still contains a few things that every one of us needs.
May 29, 2011
Just on originality alone this book gets full four stars all fat and juicy -- I also had a rollicking good time reading it being that it's so goddamn funny in parts and running on high-octane adrenaline in others. It's such a mish-mash of genres it left my head spinning in places, but at its core, after you strip away all the fun bells and whistles, this is a "noire-ish" hard-boiled detective story. There's an anti-hero on the run, trying to solve a mystery before time runs out, there's a best friend, a couple of beautiful women, some double-crossing and betrayal (and oh yeah, a few talking kitchen appliances thrown in for good measure!)
The wonderful thing about Smith's take on this "traditional" plot, is that he takes it to a whole new level and delivers it up with some crazy twists. The devil is in the detailed world-building. The "mystery" itself is pretty standard fare, it's the unraveling of it that's so very entertaining. And I really liked the characters, an unexpected bonus for a book that's so pulpy and plot-driven. The chemistry between Hap and best friend Deck is so very awesomely awesome -- Butch and Sundance worthy.
Smith's writing style is snappy and irreverent very much to the point. Here is one of my favorite examples:
Now what's not to like about that? :) If you're not completely sold, I would highly recommend you check out : he will convince you where I have failed and make you fall over laughing to boot!
The wonderful thing about Smith's take on this "traditional" plot, is that he takes it to a whole new level and delivers it up with some crazy twists. The devil is in the detailed world-building. The "mystery" itself is pretty standard fare, it's the unraveling of it that's so very entertaining. And I really liked the characters, an unexpected bonus for a book that's so pulpy and plot-driven. The chemistry between Hap and best friend Deck is so very awesomely awesome -- Butch and Sundance worthy.
Smith's writing style is snappy and irreverent very much to the point. Here is one of my favorite examples:
Up until then the situation I found myself in had merely been disastrous. Now it had sailed blithely into a realm where adjectives didn't really cut it anymore. It would have taken a diagram to explain, one showing the intersection of a creek and some shit, and making clear the lack of any implement for promoting forward propulsion. Deck stared back at me. "You're fucked," he said.
Now what's not to like about that? :) If you're not completely sold, I would highly recommend you check out : he will convince you where I have failed and make you fall over laughing to boot!
March 3, 2020
Hap Thompson looks after other people's memories for agreed periods of times and gets paid well for it. One night he looks after a longer memory'... and finds a murder! This surprising mix of speculative fiction with Chandler-esque noir and some dark comedy, is an interesting concept; however the lightening up of the dark humour as the book progresses ruins the overall feel of what is actually pretty good sci-fi noir. One for the charity shop I'm afraid... ain't ever reading this again... still a solid 7 out of 12, just not my cup of tea.
April 22, 2015
This book was not very good but it is rather hard to review. There is no clear way to explain even what this book was about and the synopsis on the jacket is inaccurate. The sci-fi concepts and worldbuilding are terrible. The main character is an unlikable petty criminal. The story unfolds unremarkably until a certain point in the book wherein the plot derails into complete nonsense.
September 8, 2010
Few books have as pacey, engrossing and spectacular a start as this novel. The setting, premise and world are introduced with a deft hand, and a skilled walk on the tightrope between alienation and overexplanation. At heart of the novel is the first person narrator, Hap Thompson, who acts as storage bank for annoying dreams and memories. Except, then there is a memory that could cost him dearly if it's found in his possession...
One Of Us stays the course of a ripping sci-fi yarn for almost three quarters of its length. Unfortunately, as the plot twists and twists and twists away, and each chapter asks new questions, the resolution becomes... well, a mess. It's as if plausibility might have been just about within reach, but it stayed invisible to the author, and so instead, he resolves everything in the second most botched way imaginable. Which is a pity - the novel could have deserved five stars and every prize going if only it hadn't ended up in such an unsatisfying mess.
I'd still recommend the novel highly. The writing is witty, exciting and pacey. There are a few Blackadderesque moments of lengthy, slightly humorous ranty insults and roundabout descriptions of things - in short, corny jokes - but for the most part, the book flows very well indeed.
One Of Us stays the course of a ripping sci-fi yarn for almost three quarters of its length. Unfortunately, as the plot twists and twists and twists away, and each chapter asks new questions, the resolution becomes... well, a mess. It's as if plausibility might have been just about within reach, but it stayed invisible to the author, and so instead, he resolves everything in the second most botched way imaginable. Which is a pity - the novel could have deserved five stars and every prize going if only it hadn't ended up in such an unsatisfying mess.
I'd still recommend the novel highly. The writing is witty, exciting and pacey. There are a few Blackadderesque moments of lengthy, slightly humorous ranty insults and roundabout descriptions of things - in short, corny jokes - but for the most part, the book flows very well indeed.
June 9, 2008
Man, Smith is nuts. I mean, I knew this and it's part of why I've always loved his books, but One of Us really rams the point home. I read it when it first came out in 1999, and just reread it as part of my rereading-MMS kick, and I still have no idea what it's about. God? Guns? Why alarm clocks really deserve to have the %^#@ kicked out of them? Who cares? I love MMS books for their atmosphere and skiffy insanity; I don't demand coherence. One of Us is pretty much an everything-jammed-in mess, and if you're not already an MMS fan I wouldn't recommend starting here. But if you are, it's a fun trip.
May 21, 2017
One of the author's earlier books - a sci-fi mystery with a dark sense of humour. Alarm clocks with lives of their own and people who hold other people's memories - for a price. Hap Thompson makes a good living out of taking on other people's memories, until something really bad happens. A young woman leaves him with the memory of a murder and won't take it back. Hap ends up on the run from the police and hit men (including his ex wife) while people in his life keep disappearing. It's a bizarre story, completely unlike his later Straw Men trilogy - 3 books which I absolutely love - but any Michael Marshall Smith book is worth investigating.
December 30, 2020
The story went from being entertaining and interesting to being a dumpster fire as it approached the climax. I did not expect it to go downhill like it did.
I'll add more thoughts about the things I liked when I put out the fire.
I'll add more thoughts about the things I liked when I put out the fire.
June 29, 2015
Майкъл Маршъл Смит е един от малкото автори, които пишат романите си в стила на кратките разкази. Всяка дума във всяко изречение е премислена и носи информация. Резултатът е плътно наситено произведение, подобно на блокче 90% шоколад, което ти взривява сетивата.
Множеството идеи заложени в книгата нямат оставен нито един развързан край. Затрупват те като лавина и те докарват до състоянието "Какво подяволите чета?" буквално през 30 страници.
В шантавия свят на "Един от нас" се преплитат киберпънк, фантастика, кримка, трилър, антиутопия и задължителната за автора щипка хорър. Имаме виртуални престъпления, търговия със сънища, изнудване чрез спомени, банкови обири, ангели с рязани пушки, мигриращи полубиологични електроуреди, отвличаня от извънземни, дози късмет на инжекции и какво ли още не.
А идеята на произведението, която няма почти нищо общо със сюжета, те удря като с чук от последните 20 страници.
Един от задължителните автори, нема лабаво. Пълна десятка.
Множеството идеи заложени в книгата нямат оставен нито един развързан край. Затрупват те като лавина и те докарват до състоянието "Какво подяволите чета?" буквално през 30 страници.
В шантавия свят на "Един от нас" се преплитат киберпънк, фантастика, кримка, трилър, антиутопия и задължителната за автора щипка хорър. Имаме виртуални престъпления, търговия със сънища, изнудване чрез спомени, банкови обири, ангели с рязани пушки, мигриращи полубиологични електроуреди, отвличаня от извънземни, дози късмет на инжекции и какво ли още не.
А идеята на произведението, която няма почти нищо общо със сюжета, те удря като с чук от последните 20 страници.
Един от задължителните автори, нема лабаво. Пълна десятка.
August 11, 2018
I do not have a clue how this book ended up on my shelf, I can only remember it appeared there about a year ago and was subsequently neglected until I picked it up last week.
Needless to say, this was my first novel by the author and I was, especially for someone who doesn't read sci - fi all too often, thoroughly impressed. Smith's writing style is so fluid, full of matter - of - fact British humour and throughout the book you have the impression he is sitting opposite you, while he is telling you the story.
The storyline is at times complex but perfectly paced and his characters (even the white goods) are beautifully coming to life.
There is only one point of criticism: The denoument of the story and Smith's deus ex machina are slightly disappointing, but the book as such is worth a read.
Needless to say, this was my first novel by the author and I was, especially for someone who doesn't read sci - fi all too often, thoroughly impressed. Smith's writing style is so fluid, full of matter - of - fact British humour and throughout the book you have the impression he is sitting opposite you, while he is telling you the story.
The storyline is at times complex but perfectly paced and his characters (even the white goods) are beautifully coming to life.
There is only one point of criticism: The denoument of the story and Smith's deus ex machina are slightly disappointing, but the book as such is worth a read.
April 19, 2008
Michael Marshall Smith keeps exploring a certain "noir" feeling in a near future, almost close to current events and yet different from what we would call "normal" life.
In this case the premise is less wild than others, dealing with transferred memories and dreams. A not-very simpathetic criminal with good friends gets tangled up in a metaphysical chase, getting ahead by a mix of smartassness and bloodymindedness, supported by a healthy dose of luck.
What makes you read MMS is not the plot, or even the likable characters, it is the small insights on how twisted what we consider normal is, as well as powerful one liners and great phrases. And he delivers quite a few great moments.
In this case the premise is less wild than others, dealing with transferred memories and dreams. A not-very simpathetic criminal with good friends gets tangled up in a metaphysical chase, getting ahead by a mix of smartassness and bloodymindedness, supported by a healthy dose of luck.
What makes you read MMS is not the plot, or even the likable characters, it is the small insights on how twisted what we consider normal is, as well as powerful one liners and great phrases. And he delivers quite a few great moments.
October 7, 2008
Brilliant. Michael Marshall Smith's sci fi books are always full of the unexpected - which is very refreshing.
January 9, 2020
Ein außergewöhnlicher Roman, der etwas zu viel wollte
Hap Thompsen schlägt sich mehr schlecht als recht durchs Leben, dabei war er früher einmal ein ganz unbescholtener, zufriedener Bürger � doch das war bevor er und seine Exfrau Helena durch unglückliche Umstände auf die schiefe Bahn und später dann auch noch wegen eines fehlgeschlagenen Bankraubs ins Visier der Polizei gerieten. Dank seines Cybernetkumpels Quat entgeht Hap aber der Strafverfolgung, denn der sorgt wieder für eine wie von Zauberhand blütenweiße Akte. Um sich seine Burger aber weiterhin leisten zu können reicht der mickrige Lohn als Kellner leider nicht wirklich. Also lässt sich Hap auf ein sehr lukratives aber auch illegales Jobangebot als »Traumverwahrer« ein.
»Vor einigen Jahren hatte man eine Methode entwickelt, um die Träume der Menschen in Echtzeit aus ihrem Kopf herauszulösen. Ein Gerät, das neben dem Kopf von (betuchten) Kunden aufgestellt wurde, war in der Lage, bestimmte elektromagnetische Felder zu erkennen und die dazugehörigen Geisteszustände aus dem Unterbewußtsein des Träumenden in ein Löschgerät abzuleiten.«
Hap macht diesen Job gut � so gut, dass er beschließt, es könne nicht schaden, einem noch illegalerem Angebot zuzustimmen und so noch mehr Geld zu verdienen. Also wird er zusätzlich noch »Erinnerungsverwahrer«. Gemeint sind damit eigentlich völlig harmlose Erinnerungen, wie die, dass man verheiratet ist zum Beispiel. Der Auftraggeber läd sie kurzfristig bei ihm ab und nimmt sie dann nach einem vereinbarten Zeitraum wieder zurück. Soweit die Theorie, die Praxis sieht für Hap dann aber schnell nicht mehr ganz so rosig aus. Seine Kundin Laura läd nämlich die nicht ganz so harmlose Erinnerung eines Mordes bei ihm ab und verschwindet, ohne sie wieder zurückzunehmen. Wird Hap jetzt erwischt, wandert er hinter Gitter und zwar nicht nur, weil die Aktion per se verboten ist, sondern auch weil er zur Hälfte das Strafmaß eines Mordes, den er gar nicht begangen hat, tragen muss. Weil Hap das aber alles andere als amüsant findet, setzt er alles daran, Laura zu finden und verstrickt sich dabei kurzerhand in einen ungeheuer komplexen Komplott, bei dem er selbst ins Visier der Drahtzieher gerät und ausgeschaltet werden soll.
Welche Rolle bei diesem spannendem Thriller-Noir bestechliche Türschlösser, ein nerviger aber doch nützlicher Wecker, Faltautos, ein verpfuschtes Mikroklima in L.A., Furzableiter für Prominente, in Rudeln durchs Land streifende Küchengeräte und Männer in grauen Anzügen, die sich merkwürdig gleichen, spielen � das muss man wirklich selbst lesen. Spaß hat man dabei, soviel ist sicher, denn Smith hat einen flüssigen, packenden Erzählstil, der gepaart mit viel Ironie und Humor ein äußerst unterhaltsames Lesevergnügen garantiert.
Seicht ist sein dritter Roman R.E.M. (OT: One Of Us) aus dem Jahr 1998 allerdings nicht, denn der Autor wagt zum Ende hin sogar einen Abstecher in die Metaphysik und Philosphie. Die ohnehin recht komplexe Handlung wird so auf eine weitere Ebene gehoben, die in Ansätzen zwar stark zum Nachdenken anregt, mich aber insgesamt dann leider auf dem letzten Drittel auch verloren hat. Für mich zu viel des Guten und auch zu weit weg von der Kernhandlung, die mich bis dahin wirklich sehr gut unterhalten hatte. Da trösten die toll ausgearbeiteten Charaktere und aller Humor mit einer gehörigen Portion Gesellschaftskritik dann leider auch nicht über das in meinen Augen etwas verwaschene Ende hinweg.
»Wir leben im Zeitalter der Sündenböcke, und Rauchen hat die Poleposition inne. Was kümmert es uns, daß unsere Nahrung ebenso ungesund ist und unsere Autos Zeug in die Atmosphäre schleudern, das sich niemals auflösen wird; wir hängen an unseren Hamburgern, unserem Bier und unseren Autos, also machen wir etwas anderes madig. Laßt uns das Rauchen an öffentlichen Orten und in Flugzeugen und in Kneipen verbieten, dann wird unsere Welt der Himmel auf Erden sein. Laßt uns unseren Problemen die Schuld an unserem Unglück geben, dann brauchen wir uns nicht mehr mit ihnen auseinanderzusetzen. In Horrorfilmen sterben heutzutage nicht mehr die frühreifen Teenager als erste - sondern die Leute mit einer Packung Marlboro in der Tasche.«
Fazit
Wer ein außergewöhnliches Leseerlebnis mit viel Humor, Gesellschaftskritik und außerordentlich guter Unterhaltung sucht, der sollte definitiv mal einen Blick auf die Romane von Michael Marshall Smith werfen. Auch wenn »R.E.M.« mir nicht so gut wie »Geklont« gefallen hat, so bereue ich die Lektüre keinesfalls und werde auch noch weitere Bücher von ihm lesen. Ein gewisses Suchtpotenzial kann man ihm einfach nicht absprechen.
Hap Thompsen schlägt sich mehr schlecht als recht durchs Leben, dabei war er früher einmal ein ganz unbescholtener, zufriedener Bürger � doch das war bevor er und seine Exfrau Helena durch unglückliche Umstände auf die schiefe Bahn und später dann auch noch wegen eines fehlgeschlagenen Bankraubs ins Visier der Polizei gerieten. Dank seines Cybernetkumpels Quat entgeht Hap aber der Strafverfolgung, denn der sorgt wieder für eine wie von Zauberhand blütenweiße Akte. Um sich seine Burger aber weiterhin leisten zu können reicht der mickrige Lohn als Kellner leider nicht wirklich. Also lässt sich Hap auf ein sehr lukratives aber auch illegales Jobangebot als »Traumverwahrer« ein.
»Vor einigen Jahren hatte man eine Methode entwickelt, um die Träume der Menschen in Echtzeit aus ihrem Kopf herauszulösen. Ein Gerät, das neben dem Kopf von (betuchten) Kunden aufgestellt wurde, war in der Lage, bestimmte elektromagnetische Felder zu erkennen und die dazugehörigen Geisteszustände aus dem Unterbewußtsein des Träumenden in ein Löschgerät abzuleiten.«
Hap macht diesen Job gut � so gut, dass er beschließt, es könne nicht schaden, einem noch illegalerem Angebot zuzustimmen und so noch mehr Geld zu verdienen. Also wird er zusätzlich noch »Erinnerungsverwahrer«. Gemeint sind damit eigentlich völlig harmlose Erinnerungen, wie die, dass man verheiratet ist zum Beispiel. Der Auftraggeber läd sie kurzfristig bei ihm ab und nimmt sie dann nach einem vereinbarten Zeitraum wieder zurück. Soweit die Theorie, die Praxis sieht für Hap dann aber schnell nicht mehr ganz so rosig aus. Seine Kundin Laura läd nämlich die nicht ganz so harmlose Erinnerung eines Mordes bei ihm ab und verschwindet, ohne sie wieder zurückzunehmen. Wird Hap jetzt erwischt, wandert er hinter Gitter und zwar nicht nur, weil die Aktion per se verboten ist, sondern auch weil er zur Hälfte das Strafmaß eines Mordes, den er gar nicht begangen hat, tragen muss. Weil Hap das aber alles andere als amüsant findet, setzt er alles daran, Laura zu finden und verstrickt sich dabei kurzerhand in einen ungeheuer komplexen Komplott, bei dem er selbst ins Visier der Drahtzieher gerät und ausgeschaltet werden soll.
Welche Rolle bei diesem spannendem Thriller-Noir bestechliche Türschlösser, ein nerviger aber doch nützlicher Wecker, Faltautos, ein verpfuschtes Mikroklima in L.A., Furzableiter für Prominente, in Rudeln durchs Land streifende Küchengeräte und Männer in grauen Anzügen, die sich merkwürdig gleichen, spielen � das muss man wirklich selbst lesen. Spaß hat man dabei, soviel ist sicher, denn Smith hat einen flüssigen, packenden Erzählstil, der gepaart mit viel Ironie und Humor ein äußerst unterhaltsames Lesevergnügen garantiert.
Seicht ist sein dritter Roman R.E.M. (OT: One Of Us) aus dem Jahr 1998 allerdings nicht, denn der Autor wagt zum Ende hin sogar einen Abstecher in die Metaphysik und Philosphie. Die ohnehin recht komplexe Handlung wird so auf eine weitere Ebene gehoben, die in Ansätzen zwar stark zum Nachdenken anregt, mich aber insgesamt dann leider auf dem letzten Drittel auch verloren hat. Für mich zu viel des Guten und auch zu weit weg von der Kernhandlung, die mich bis dahin wirklich sehr gut unterhalten hatte. Da trösten die toll ausgearbeiteten Charaktere und aller Humor mit einer gehörigen Portion Gesellschaftskritik dann leider auch nicht über das in meinen Augen etwas verwaschene Ende hinweg.
»Wir leben im Zeitalter der Sündenböcke, und Rauchen hat die Poleposition inne. Was kümmert es uns, daß unsere Nahrung ebenso ungesund ist und unsere Autos Zeug in die Atmosphäre schleudern, das sich niemals auflösen wird; wir hängen an unseren Hamburgern, unserem Bier und unseren Autos, also machen wir etwas anderes madig. Laßt uns das Rauchen an öffentlichen Orten und in Flugzeugen und in Kneipen verbieten, dann wird unsere Welt der Himmel auf Erden sein. Laßt uns unseren Problemen die Schuld an unserem Unglück geben, dann brauchen wir uns nicht mehr mit ihnen auseinanderzusetzen. In Horrorfilmen sterben heutzutage nicht mehr die frühreifen Teenager als erste - sondern die Leute mit einer Packung Marlboro in der Tasche.«
Fazit
Wer ein außergewöhnliches Leseerlebnis mit viel Humor, Gesellschaftskritik und außerordentlich guter Unterhaltung sucht, der sollte definitiv mal einen Blick auf die Romane von Michael Marshall Smith werfen. Auch wenn »R.E.M.« mir nicht so gut wie »Geklont« gefallen hat, so bereue ich die Lektüre keinesfalls und werde auch noch weitere Bücher von ihm lesen. Ein gewisses Suchtpotenzial kann man ihm einfach nicht absprechen.
January 17, 2025
Subtle and complex, One of Us drip-feeds alarmingly insightful philosophical asides into a maelstrom of gun-toting action. But it’s not all serious. A supporting cast of AI-charged domestic appliances provides farce aplenty. There’s a strong mythopoeic current tugging us down into the depths of a mercurial narrative that flows from sci-fi detective romp to journey-of-self-discovery, in which scientific understanding and mystic spirituality merge seamlessly. More mature than Michael Marshall Smith’s first two novels, this third is confident and convincing in its characterisation, if lacking slightly the wit and wonder of the likes of Only Forward and Spares. Nevertheless, a more than worthy addition. Highly recommended.
January 5, 2016
Questo libro è stato scritto nel lontano 1998, ma francamente mentre lo leggevo pensavo risalisse a parecchi anni prima.
Il futuro fantascientifico che prospetta è un futuro molto simile al presente (e si svolge più o meno verso il 2020), con giusto qualche differenza tecnologica che basta a classificarlo come fantascienza.
Per cominciare, e la cosa è di fondamentale importanza per la trama, sono state create macchine per togliere ricordi e sogni dalla mente di una persona, e immetterli in altre persone. Pratica, quando si parla di ricordi, alquanto illegale visto che senza il ricordo di un crimine neanche l’efficace siero della verità in uso in questa epoca può inchiodare un criminale.
Poi internet è una vera e propria realtà virtuale, un mondo ricalcato su quello materiale dove la gente può entrare con apposite strumentazioni, muovendovisi normalmente.
Si possono acquistare coincidenze, dosi che garantiscono un certo numero di coincidenze nelle prossime giornate, ma di qualità variabile, non prevedibile. Puoi imbatterti nel biglietto vincente della lotteria, o pensare a una persona proprio mentre questa ti sta per chiamare.
E visto che i conti bancari fisici non usano schede magnetiche o chips ma riconoscono l’impronta digitale del cliente, il mercato nero offre illegalissime dita mozzate, valide finché il proprietario non viene dichiarato morto (e tenute in forma da apposite sacche di plasma).
Fin qui sembra un normale futuro tecnologico.
Un futuro un poco fantascientifico in cui si muove Hap, un delinquentello da quattro soldi che ha passato gran parte del suo tempo vagabondando per l’America, facendo il barman qua e là, compiendo piccoli crimini per stare a galla.
Ha un solo vero amico, Deck, un grande amore ormai sparito, Helena, un quasi amico divenuto il suo acerrimo nemico, Trevis, e una folta schiera di comparse pseudo-malavitose che gravitano nei paraggi.
Le cose cambiano quando Hap va a lavorare per Strasser, che gestisce la REMtemp. Comincia col ricevere i sogni dei clienti, ed essendo molto dotato mnemonicamente fa rapidamente molti soldi, poi passa all’attività vagamente illegale di conservare per brevi lassi di tempo i ricordi dei clienti.
Infine, riceve un lavoro in nero.
Prendersi per sempre un certo ricordo da una cliente.
Accetta, sono tantissimi soldi. Accetta a scatola chiusa.
E la storia comincia con Hap che dà la caccia a questa sconosciuta cliente per costringerla a riprendersi i suoi ricordi, visto che si tratta dei ricordi di quando lei ha ucciso il tenente di polizia Hammond, pluridecorato e recentemente trovato morto. Hap non ha a che fare con l’omicidio, ma visto che a indagare è lo stesso Trevis che da anni cerca di trovare le prove della sua colpevolezza in una vecchia storia comprendente una rapina in banca e dei morti, preferisce non rischiare.
Farà bene? Farà male? Fatto sta che dei misteriosi e inquietanti personaggi, tutti uguali tra loro, che erano arrivati a giochi compiuti anche sulla scena del crimine, sembrano dare la caccia a lui e a Laura, la sua cliente.
Una donna isterica e ubriacona, attraente ma scontrosa. Paranoica e depressa.
E quando la trova, che fa? Si mette a fare il gentiluomo, senza pressarla per farsi dire tutto sull’omicidio di cui rischia di essere accusato.
La storia si trasforma in una sorta di poliziesco mischiato con elementi fantascientifici, una corsa contro il tempo di Hap e del fedele amico Deck per scoprire chi vuole incastrare Hap e magari salvare anche Laura. Prima che Trevis lo prenda, e prima che l’ex-moglie di Hap, Helena, arrivi a ucciderlo per riscuoterne la taglia.
Già, perché a quanto pare Helena è una spietata killer. Ma le cose potrebbero essere anche diverse da come sembrano, mano a mano che l’autore si degna di fornirci dei particolari sul passato di Hap.
Detta così, la storia sarebbe intorno alla sufficienza� un cinque, alla peggio, dovuto al fatto che i dettagli forniti si fanno pregare, e alla noncuranza con cui Hap evita di indagare con Laura.
E anche per il voler dare a tutti i costi ai personaggi un’aria hard-boiled.
Peccato che ci siano un paio di elementi che distruggono l’atmosfera, rendendola assurda.
Il primo elemento sono gli elettrodomestici. Qui tutti gli elettrodomestici, gli oggetti elettrici e persino le serrature sono senzienti. Parlano, si muovono� l’orlogio di Hap lo insegue ovunque per dargli la sveglia, le serrature si possono corrompere, la segreteria parla al suo proprietario, e lungo le strade deserte si incrociano colonne di forni o frigoriferi ormai abbandonati, intenti ad attraversare la strada diretti verso chissà dove.
Una nota weird che sarebbe interessante, e molto, se non fosse che ha rilevanza solo in un certo punto della storia, usata come una sorta di deus ex-machina e priva di senso con i comportamenti tenuti in passato (cioè, Hap ha maltrattato enormemente l’orologio, e viene visto come un Messia?), salvo ogni tanto citare questi branchi di elettrodomestici. Inutile ai fini della storia, e troppo ricorrente per essere un divertissement.
L’altro elemento sono i sei tizi che inseguono Hap, e l’uomo vestito di scuro. Quando dalla fantascienza tecnologica siamo passati agli alieni e poi addirittura a Dio e agli Angeli, mi sono cadute le braccia. Una conclusione che non mi è piaciuta per niente.
Peccato, perché la storia in sé non era male.
Ma tutta la parte -decisiva- su quei sette personaggi enigmatici non sono riuscito a digerirla.
Il futuro fantascientifico che prospetta è un futuro molto simile al presente (e si svolge più o meno verso il 2020), con giusto qualche differenza tecnologica che basta a classificarlo come fantascienza.
Per cominciare, e la cosa è di fondamentale importanza per la trama, sono state create macchine per togliere ricordi e sogni dalla mente di una persona, e immetterli in altre persone. Pratica, quando si parla di ricordi, alquanto illegale visto che senza il ricordo di un crimine neanche l’efficace siero della verità in uso in questa epoca può inchiodare un criminale.
Poi internet è una vera e propria realtà virtuale, un mondo ricalcato su quello materiale dove la gente può entrare con apposite strumentazioni, muovendovisi normalmente.
Si possono acquistare coincidenze, dosi che garantiscono un certo numero di coincidenze nelle prossime giornate, ma di qualità variabile, non prevedibile. Puoi imbatterti nel biglietto vincente della lotteria, o pensare a una persona proprio mentre questa ti sta per chiamare.
E visto che i conti bancari fisici non usano schede magnetiche o chips ma riconoscono l’impronta digitale del cliente, il mercato nero offre illegalissime dita mozzate, valide finché il proprietario non viene dichiarato morto (e tenute in forma da apposite sacche di plasma).
Fin qui sembra un normale futuro tecnologico.
Un futuro un poco fantascientifico in cui si muove Hap, un delinquentello da quattro soldi che ha passato gran parte del suo tempo vagabondando per l’America, facendo il barman qua e là, compiendo piccoli crimini per stare a galla.
Ha un solo vero amico, Deck, un grande amore ormai sparito, Helena, un quasi amico divenuto il suo acerrimo nemico, Trevis, e una folta schiera di comparse pseudo-malavitose che gravitano nei paraggi.
Le cose cambiano quando Hap va a lavorare per Strasser, che gestisce la REMtemp. Comincia col ricevere i sogni dei clienti, ed essendo molto dotato mnemonicamente fa rapidamente molti soldi, poi passa all’attività vagamente illegale di conservare per brevi lassi di tempo i ricordi dei clienti.
Infine, riceve un lavoro in nero.
Prendersi per sempre un certo ricordo da una cliente.
Accetta, sono tantissimi soldi. Accetta a scatola chiusa.
E la storia comincia con Hap che dà la caccia a questa sconosciuta cliente per costringerla a riprendersi i suoi ricordi, visto che si tratta dei ricordi di quando lei ha ucciso il tenente di polizia Hammond, pluridecorato e recentemente trovato morto. Hap non ha a che fare con l’omicidio, ma visto che a indagare è lo stesso Trevis che da anni cerca di trovare le prove della sua colpevolezza in una vecchia storia comprendente una rapina in banca e dei morti, preferisce non rischiare.
Farà bene? Farà male? Fatto sta che dei misteriosi e inquietanti personaggi, tutti uguali tra loro, che erano arrivati a giochi compiuti anche sulla scena del crimine, sembrano dare la caccia a lui e a Laura, la sua cliente.
Una donna isterica e ubriacona, attraente ma scontrosa. Paranoica e depressa.
E quando la trova, che fa? Si mette a fare il gentiluomo, senza pressarla per farsi dire tutto sull’omicidio di cui rischia di essere accusato.
La storia si trasforma in una sorta di poliziesco mischiato con elementi fantascientifici, una corsa contro il tempo di Hap e del fedele amico Deck per scoprire chi vuole incastrare Hap e magari salvare anche Laura. Prima che Trevis lo prenda, e prima che l’ex-moglie di Hap, Helena, arrivi a ucciderlo per riscuoterne la taglia.
Già, perché a quanto pare Helena è una spietata killer. Ma le cose potrebbero essere anche diverse da come sembrano, mano a mano che l’autore si degna di fornirci dei particolari sul passato di Hap.
Detta così, la storia sarebbe intorno alla sufficienza� un cinque, alla peggio, dovuto al fatto che i dettagli forniti si fanno pregare, e alla noncuranza con cui Hap evita di indagare con Laura.
E anche per il voler dare a tutti i costi ai personaggi un’aria hard-boiled.
Peccato che ci siano un paio di elementi che distruggono l’atmosfera, rendendola assurda.
Il primo elemento sono gli elettrodomestici. Qui tutti gli elettrodomestici, gli oggetti elettrici e persino le serrature sono senzienti. Parlano, si muovono� l’orlogio di Hap lo insegue ovunque per dargli la sveglia, le serrature si possono corrompere, la segreteria parla al suo proprietario, e lungo le strade deserte si incrociano colonne di forni o frigoriferi ormai abbandonati, intenti ad attraversare la strada diretti verso chissà dove.
Una nota weird che sarebbe interessante, e molto, se non fosse che ha rilevanza solo in un certo punto della storia, usata come una sorta di deus ex-machina e priva di senso con i comportamenti tenuti in passato (cioè, Hap ha maltrattato enormemente l’orologio, e viene visto come un Messia?), salvo ogni tanto citare questi branchi di elettrodomestici. Inutile ai fini della storia, e troppo ricorrente per essere un divertissement.
L’altro elemento sono i sei tizi che inseguono Hap, e l’uomo vestito di scuro. Quando dalla fantascienza tecnologica siamo passati agli alieni e poi addirittura a Dio e agli Angeli, mi sono cadute le braccia. Una conclusione che non mi è piaciuta per niente.
Peccato, perché la storia in sé non era male.
Ma tutta la parte -decisiva- su quei sette personaggi enigmatici non sono riuscito a digerirla.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 24, 2014
The spine of this book labels it as "suspense," and it certainly does share some aspects of that genre. It is also, however, a science fiction, mystery, fantasy, speculative religious thriller. This is both the joy of the book, and its curse. The joy is simply reading it for the excitement of not knowing what Smith is going to throw at you next. The curse is wanting it to coalesce into something besides the ephemeral pleasure of a roller coaster ride, and being disappointed when the coaster car simply comes gliding back into the station.
Hap Thompson is a petty con man who has fallen into the less-than-savory business of being a dream-washer and memory-holder. This would have likely been fine, except for his character flaw of being able to turn down wads of cash hovered virtually in front of him. He agrees to do a side memory job for a client so as to see all of the cash rather than just the skimmed bit given to him by his employer, REMtemps, and instead finds himself holding onto the memory of the murder, and if he doesn't get rid of it soon, LAPD will be on him. It doesn't matter that he didn't commit the murder--just having the memory is enough to set him up for life.
Michael Marshall Smith hovers between writing like Raymond Chandler and William Gibson, and the result isn't as unpleasant as that match might seem (in fact, I've long thought Gibson's style of cyberpunk fit the early noir of Chandler, and only needed the psychological edge of James M. Cain to really perfect it). The book breaks down towards the end, however, when Smith starts trying to channel either Benny Hinn or Joseph Campbell. This is similar to the macguffin in Neal Stephenson's work, where he actually tries to make sense of all the fun and all it sounds like is pseudo-scientific claptrap.
Smith's an interesting enough writer to watch, however, and there are a number of science fiction/mystery novels that don't even come close to being as engrossing as One of Us. You could do much worse for pleasure reading, and there's not much better being published today.
Hap Thompson is a petty con man who has fallen into the less-than-savory business of being a dream-washer and memory-holder. This would have likely been fine, except for his character flaw of being able to turn down wads of cash hovered virtually in front of him. He agrees to do a side memory job for a client so as to see all of the cash rather than just the skimmed bit given to him by his employer, REMtemps, and instead finds himself holding onto the memory of the murder, and if he doesn't get rid of it soon, LAPD will be on him. It doesn't matter that he didn't commit the murder--just having the memory is enough to set him up for life.
Michael Marshall Smith hovers between writing like Raymond Chandler and William Gibson, and the result isn't as unpleasant as that match might seem (in fact, I've long thought Gibson's style of cyberpunk fit the early noir of Chandler, and only needed the psychological edge of James M. Cain to really perfect it). The book breaks down towards the end, however, when Smith starts trying to channel either Benny Hinn or Joseph Campbell. This is similar to the macguffin in Neal Stephenson's work, where he actually tries to make sense of all the fun and all it sounds like is pseudo-scientific claptrap.
Smith's an interesting enough writer to watch, however, and there are a number of science fiction/mystery novels that don't even come close to being as engrossing as One of Us. You could do much worse for pleasure reading, and there's not much better being published today.
January 4, 2018
Майкъл Маршaл Смит бе явление на литературния ми небосклон преди време, когато посегнах към негова книга, без да я проуча предварително (нещо, което много рядко правя). Книгата беше "За подмяна" и си остава една от любимите ми. С големи очаквания (може би прекалени) зачетох "Един от нас" и затова в края, удовлетворението не беше пълно. Имам чувството, че това бяха два-три романа събрани в един (нещо, което не е непременно лошо, но в този случай изпълнението не беше на висота). Странна амалгама от търговията със спомени от клипа на "I will remember" на ТОТО, палавите одухотворени електроуреди в клипа на "Sexx Laws" на Бек и Кевин Смит-овия филм "Догма". Написаното дотук звучи прекалено критично, но не оставайте с подобно впечатление. М.М.Смит си струва!!!
March 8, 2024
Tenía ganas de leer este libro pero lo que me encontré superó totalmente mis expectativas.
Es una novela donde hay que prestarle atención a cada mínimo detalle porque TODO es importante aunque no se crea. Y los finales que le da a cada capítulo muchas veces te generan más dudas que el total de respuestas que él te da en un capítulo (no sé si me explico).
Lo que si me generó mucho conflicto fue tratar de entender la clase de sociedad en la que vivían. Siento como que faltaron un poco más de explicaciones por ese lado, o tal vez a mí me costó entenderlo.
De todas maneras, un libro que amé y súper recomiendo.
Pasan tantas cosas que son inimaginables e inesperadas. Por momentos no podía parar de leerlo.
Es una novela donde hay que prestarle atención a cada mínimo detalle porque TODO es importante aunque no se crea. Y los finales que le da a cada capítulo muchas veces te generan más dudas que el total de respuestas que él te da en un capítulo (no sé si me explico).
Lo que si me generó mucho conflicto fue tratar de entender la clase de sociedad en la que vivían. Siento como que faltaron un poco más de explicaciones por ese lado, o tal vez a mí me costó entenderlo.
De todas maneras, un libro que amé y súper recomiendo.
Pasan tantas cosas que son inimaginables e inesperadas. Por momentos no podía parar de leerlo.
April 7, 2007
The oddest compliment I can give this fine almost-sci-fi novel is that I would read it again, if only because I can't remember how it ends. I found the writing compelling and the storyline interesting enough to keep me reading on a long flight. Didn't like the other Marshall Smith novels I read, so this one felt like a fluke, or a gift.
September 21, 2007
I loved this book. I really enjoy a first-person tale, esp when as deftly written as this. It is an interesting SF mystery. Very evocative. Loved the clock. Just go read it.
May 14, 2014
"Sorry. Ambient light projector."
- God
I should have known a book by Michael Marshall Smith wouldn't play straight with its own premise. Walking into this, I was ready to talk about a book that was just some kind of dark, twisted Noir story about a man who deals in memories and dreams for a living. I was ready to tell you that this was a slow, brutal burner about things going slowly wrong for Hap Thompson as he tried to dig himself further and further out of a slowly-tightening net. And I was actually surprised. But the words of a friend of mine, one I'll call Greg for the time being, came to me. And while they're not exactly the way they're supposed to be, I'll paraphrase them here:
"What part of 'written by (Michael Marshall Smith) didn't you understand?*"
It's honestly a mistake I've made before. I made it with Darren Shan when I read Hell's Horizon, a book that started as kind of straightforward (if there can be such a thing) noir and then plunged into sacrifice rituals, blind priests, torture, and lesbian sex. I made it with Joe Hill when NOS4A2 seemed like it was just going to be a Stephen King book written by Joe Hill, not a book by the same mad scientist who brought us Heart Shaped Box and Horns. And I made it again with One of Us. Because halfway through the book, most of the major mysteries are connected and explained. But their answers just lead to a bigger mystery.
And it is in this bigger mystery that One of Us finds its most compelling cases. And quite compelling it is. It's not as brutal and twisted as Spares, but it exists in a space all its own, a space where what's going on is never quite what's going on, and it's well worth the time and effort of tracking it down to read it.
Why? Well, read on...
One of Us is the story of Hap Thompson. Hap works as a REMTemp, a quasi-legal profession that involves having peoples' dreams for them in exchange for money. The more dreams he can have in a night, the better he gets paid. Hap is so good at his job that he gets blackmailed into another even less-legal job: Working as a memory courier. When people need to stash a memory, they take it to Hap, and Hap stores it for a time. And when he's offered a side job that would make him more than he usually makes over the course of several nights, he absolutely leaps at the chance and holds the memory of a woman's first-degree murder. Of a cop. After which, people immediately stop returning his calls.
And then things get weird.
Seemingly unstoppable men in gray suits begin tailing Hap and his friends, looking to bring Hap somewhere. They don't seem to have a preference between "dead" or "alive". A cop with a burning desire to bring Hap in suddenly shows up with a three year old warrant for Hap's arrest, a warrant Hap was sure was out of the system. His ex-employer puts a hit out on him, with the contract picked up by his ex-wife. And an omniscient man who uses an ambient light projector to disorient people and obscure his face pops up and claims he's god...
There's a conspiracy going on and Hap is somewhere in the middle of it, not just for the memory he's carrying, but because of his part in something much, much bigger. Something involving aliens. Something involving the man who keeps claiming he's God. Something involving Hap's past. And all of it is coming to a head. If Hap wants to save himself, if he wants to save his friends and family, he's going to have to figure out how to recall the things he's blocked. Because it's what you don't remember that's going to hurt you the most.
The thing that sets One of Us apart from something like Spares is that where Spares kept its depravity hidden for later in the book and let character agency drive the story, One of Us doesn't bother with as much agency, but provides a good reason for such a thing-- people are being led around by their memories. It's a nice excuse, even if it is kind of cheating. And introducing the concept of God or a possible godlike being also helps to soften the blow that people are doing things more for the plot than anything else. Another thing that makes the plot interesting and sets the book apart from Spares is that by halfway through the book, the conspiracy's already well laid-out. It's just a matter of tracking down the plot, and there's a bigger reveal halfway through. I like this approach. It's like he knew the plot was fairly easy to figure out, so he started to solve it about a hundred fifty pages in and reveal there was something even darker and stranger going on. It functions like Douglas Adams' theory of the universe: Once someone figures it all out, it'll be replaced with something far stranger than we ever thought possible.
Second, I would like to congratulate Smith on his characters again. One of Us takes place not in the prime of these peoples' lives, but well after that...the small-time hood already pulled his one last job and is looking for a steady paycheck. The outlaw hacker plays for his own side but seems to have trouble telling exactly which side he's playing anyway. The hired killer just wants to get out of the terrible business she's in. And the corporate influence and corruption are rampant. One of Us takes place well after those last bastions of hope cyberpunk novels have were extinguished, and for most of the book, one of the conspirators is placed highly in a barely-legal corporation and manages to be a huge thorn in the side of the cast for almost the entire time he's in there, just because he owns most of everything. But there's a veneer of age to the whole thing...these are young peoples' roles, but played by people who are no longer as young or as fast on the trigger as they used to be. At this point, the cast is mainly looking for closure and a way out of their increasingly desperate situation, especially Hap and Helena, the main character and the hired killer. And this actually works well for the book.
Third, there is the empathy. Even the appliances are characters Smith manages to empathize with at least a little bit, and it goes a long way towards selling the book for me. The emotions are tangible things, and one of the sequences that really broke me up was Hap telling the AI appliances of a murder victim that yes, their owner or his wife would be back soon to take care of them and that they shouldn't worry. It's a character-establishing moment, and as someone who once saw The Brave Little Toaster, it hit me right where it hurt. Another nice touch was Hap's war with his trash compactor (he threw away his coffeemaker and it was having a romance). The little scenes with the appliances, ironically, help to humanize the main character and make us sympathize with him a little better.
But there is one issue I'd like to address here, and it's the issue of bringing God right into the book. Even if he's not quite who he says he is, even if he's some kind of alien, the supernatural touches don't quite work or fit in the story. This is a story that works best when it's grounded, or at least, is strongest when it's grounded, and when it flies off in separate directions, it doesn't work nearly as well. There are moments where it reaches a point close to cohesion, but it never goes all the way there. And in the end, that's the problem...the book is best when it's grounded, but the flights into unreality aren't telegraphed enough and it comes out of nowhere. I like being blindsided, but I'd like the plot to follow its internal logic from one moment to the next and not just pull everything out its hind end. It's how I tell I'm not reading something like Ulysses. And the book doesn't seem to do as much as it could with its premise. Yes, it's about memories and holding on to them, but somehow it completely abandons the premise of holding someone else's memories to play around with ghosts and aliens and the like.
In the end, though, One of Us is worth a read. It's an interesting mystery with some good metaphysical components and a very strange conspiracy story. It's well worth the time and price of admission, though unlike Spares by the same author, I'd have to say taking this one out of the library or borrowing it from someone else would be a better idea. But find it. Michael Marshall Smith's an amazing author, and you could do worse for a book where God is actually a character.
NEXT WEEK:
- The Riptide Ultraglide by Tim Dorsey
AND THEN
- Insane City by Dave Barry
- Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
- The Black Opera by Mary Gentle
AND MANY OTHERS
*In truth, and I'm pretty sure the friend in question doesn't read this blog, the exact quote was "What part of 'written and directed by Matthew Bright' didn't you understand?" when I decided to watch Freeway with a few friends. My answer was "I know, I know..." but in truth I didn't.
- God
I should have known a book by Michael Marshall Smith wouldn't play straight with its own premise. Walking into this, I was ready to talk about a book that was just some kind of dark, twisted Noir story about a man who deals in memories and dreams for a living. I was ready to tell you that this was a slow, brutal burner about things going slowly wrong for Hap Thompson as he tried to dig himself further and further out of a slowly-tightening net. And I was actually surprised. But the words of a friend of mine, one I'll call Greg for the time being, came to me. And while they're not exactly the way they're supposed to be, I'll paraphrase them here:
"What part of 'written by (Michael Marshall Smith) didn't you understand?*"
It's honestly a mistake I've made before. I made it with Darren Shan when I read Hell's Horizon, a book that started as kind of straightforward (if there can be such a thing) noir and then plunged into sacrifice rituals, blind priests, torture, and lesbian sex. I made it with Joe Hill when NOS4A2 seemed like it was just going to be a Stephen King book written by Joe Hill, not a book by the same mad scientist who brought us Heart Shaped Box and Horns. And I made it again with One of Us. Because halfway through the book, most of the major mysteries are connected and explained. But their answers just lead to a bigger mystery.
And it is in this bigger mystery that One of Us finds its most compelling cases. And quite compelling it is. It's not as brutal and twisted as Spares, but it exists in a space all its own, a space where what's going on is never quite what's going on, and it's well worth the time and effort of tracking it down to read it.
Why? Well, read on...
One of Us is the story of Hap Thompson. Hap works as a REMTemp, a quasi-legal profession that involves having peoples' dreams for them in exchange for money. The more dreams he can have in a night, the better he gets paid. Hap is so good at his job that he gets blackmailed into another even less-legal job: Working as a memory courier. When people need to stash a memory, they take it to Hap, and Hap stores it for a time. And when he's offered a side job that would make him more than he usually makes over the course of several nights, he absolutely leaps at the chance and holds the memory of a woman's first-degree murder. Of a cop. After which, people immediately stop returning his calls.
And then things get weird.
Seemingly unstoppable men in gray suits begin tailing Hap and his friends, looking to bring Hap somewhere. They don't seem to have a preference between "dead" or "alive". A cop with a burning desire to bring Hap in suddenly shows up with a three year old warrant for Hap's arrest, a warrant Hap was sure was out of the system. His ex-employer puts a hit out on him, with the contract picked up by his ex-wife. And an omniscient man who uses an ambient light projector to disorient people and obscure his face pops up and claims he's god...
There's a conspiracy going on and Hap is somewhere in the middle of it, not just for the memory he's carrying, but because of his part in something much, much bigger. Something involving aliens. Something involving the man who keeps claiming he's God. Something involving Hap's past. And all of it is coming to a head. If Hap wants to save himself, if he wants to save his friends and family, he's going to have to figure out how to recall the things he's blocked. Because it's what you don't remember that's going to hurt you the most.
The thing that sets One of Us apart from something like Spares is that where Spares kept its depravity hidden for later in the book and let character agency drive the story, One of Us doesn't bother with as much agency, but provides a good reason for such a thing-- people are being led around by their memories. It's a nice excuse, even if it is kind of cheating. And introducing the concept of God or a possible godlike being also helps to soften the blow that people are doing things more for the plot than anything else. Another thing that makes the plot interesting and sets the book apart from Spares is that by halfway through the book, the conspiracy's already well laid-out. It's just a matter of tracking down the plot, and there's a bigger reveal halfway through. I like this approach. It's like he knew the plot was fairly easy to figure out, so he started to solve it about a hundred fifty pages in and reveal there was something even darker and stranger going on. It functions like Douglas Adams' theory of the universe: Once someone figures it all out, it'll be replaced with something far stranger than we ever thought possible.
Second, I would like to congratulate Smith on his characters again. One of Us takes place not in the prime of these peoples' lives, but well after that...the small-time hood already pulled his one last job and is looking for a steady paycheck. The outlaw hacker plays for his own side but seems to have trouble telling exactly which side he's playing anyway. The hired killer just wants to get out of the terrible business she's in. And the corporate influence and corruption are rampant. One of Us takes place well after those last bastions of hope cyberpunk novels have were extinguished, and for most of the book, one of the conspirators is placed highly in a barely-legal corporation and manages to be a huge thorn in the side of the cast for almost the entire time he's in there, just because he owns most of everything. But there's a veneer of age to the whole thing...these are young peoples' roles, but played by people who are no longer as young or as fast on the trigger as they used to be. At this point, the cast is mainly looking for closure and a way out of their increasingly desperate situation, especially Hap and Helena, the main character and the hired killer. And this actually works well for the book.
Third, there is the empathy. Even the appliances are characters Smith manages to empathize with at least a little bit, and it goes a long way towards selling the book for me. The emotions are tangible things, and one of the sequences that really broke me up was Hap telling the AI appliances of a murder victim that yes, their owner or his wife would be back soon to take care of them and that they shouldn't worry. It's a character-establishing moment, and as someone who once saw The Brave Little Toaster, it hit me right where it hurt. Another nice touch was Hap's war with his trash compactor (he threw away his coffeemaker and it was having a romance). The little scenes with the appliances, ironically, help to humanize the main character and make us sympathize with him a little better.
But there is one issue I'd like to address here, and it's the issue of bringing God right into the book. Even if he's not quite who he says he is, even if he's some kind of alien, the supernatural touches don't quite work or fit in the story. This is a story that works best when it's grounded, or at least, is strongest when it's grounded, and when it flies off in separate directions, it doesn't work nearly as well. There are moments where it reaches a point close to cohesion, but it never goes all the way there. And in the end, that's the problem...the book is best when it's grounded, but the flights into unreality aren't telegraphed enough and it comes out of nowhere. I like being blindsided, but I'd like the plot to follow its internal logic from one moment to the next and not just pull everything out its hind end. It's how I tell I'm not reading something like Ulysses. And the book doesn't seem to do as much as it could with its premise. Yes, it's about memories and holding on to them, but somehow it completely abandons the premise of holding someone else's memories to play around with ghosts and aliens and the like.
In the end, though, One of Us is worth a read. It's an interesting mystery with some good metaphysical components and a very strange conspiracy story. It's well worth the time and price of admission, though unlike Spares by the same author, I'd have to say taking this one out of the library or borrowing it from someone else would be a better idea. But find it. Michael Marshall Smith's an amazing author, and you could do worse for a book where God is actually a character.
NEXT WEEK:
- The Riptide Ultraglide by Tim Dorsey
AND THEN
- Insane City by Dave Barry
- Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
- The Black Opera by Mary Gentle
AND MANY OTHERS
*In truth, and I'm pretty sure the friend in question doesn't read this blog, the exact quote was "What part of 'written and directed by Matthew Bright' didn't you understand?" when I decided to watch Freeway with a few friends. My answer was "I know, I know..." but in truth I didn't.
May 26, 2018
Fixing things doesn't solve everything: Your life will still have been broken. But at least you can use it again.
One never doubts that they're reading the same author between Michael Marshall Smith's first three novels in the 1990s. Even if the settings aren't explicitly intended to depict the same canonical universe, they may as well be with their darkly humorous late-stage-capitalist dystopian societies including such shared absurdities as appliances with personalities and agency.
Smith veers slightly towards cyberpunk on this occasion, with a hint of Blade Runner and Snow Crash at times but in his own unmistakable style. The plot and protagonist have similarities to Spares but this time have more of a chase-thriller feel than a noir detective story. Paranoia is plentiful and double-crossing frequent, but always with a wisecrack and a certain air of siliness.
And, of course, he makes it ever so slightly bonkers. This time it's achieved partly by way of a plot element about god-aliens that plays on all sorts of mystical, philosophical, theological and conspiracy theory-esque ideas. Oh, and the not insubstantial strangeness of the central premise of people transferring their dreams or memories to someone else for a fee, so that they can temporarily be free of them. To say any more would be to spoil it.
One of Us is an excellent novel and on balance I slightly prefer it to Spares.
May 29, 2018
It's been a couple of weeks since I finished this book so I will have forgotten many of the points I wanted to make in this review, but I'll give it a go.
This is an exciting, well written, science fiction novel. It's written in the style of a pulp detective novel but is unashamedly SF in its content with concepts like walking, talking AI household appliances, futuristic gated communities, dream and memory transfer technology and a virtual reality world similar to the one in Ready Player One.
The author writes a story that grabs the attention and holds it and he also throws in some beautifully written prose too.
I was ready to give it five stars until quite near the end but I wasn't sure how I felt about the revelation at that point and how it changes the dynamic of the story. It reminded me of the end of Stephen King's The Stand, which I remember feeling disappointed with many years ago.
** spoiler alert **
To say he's relied on deus ex machina to resolve the final dramatic scene feels like an understatement as we have both machines and god appearing separately to change the final outcome. I hope this was done consciously because I would then see it as the author making use of two important facets of the plot to present a wry take on this old literary device.
So, to summarise, an enjoyable, well written, fast paced SF thriller with loads to offer the SF fan but an ending that left me, personally, a bit disappointed.
This is an exciting, well written, science fiction novel. It's written in the style of a pulp detective novel but is unashamedly SF in its content with concepts like walking, talking AI household appliances, futuristic gated communities, dream and memory transfer technology and a virtual reality world similar to the one in Ready Player One.
The author writes a story that grabs the attention and holds it and he also throws in some beautifully written prose too.
I was ready to give it five stars until quite near the end but I wasn't sure how I felt about the revelation at that point and how it changes the dynamic of the story. It reminded me of the end of Stephen King's The Stand, which I remember feeling disappointed with many years ago.
** spoiler alert **
To say he's relied on deus ex machina to resolve the final dramatic scene feels like an understatement as we have both machines and god appearing separately to change the final outcome. I hope this was done consciously because I would then see it as the author making use of two important facets of the plot to present a wry take on this old literary device.
So, to summarise, an enjoyable, well written, fast paced SF thriller with loads to offer the SF fan but an ending that left me, personally, a bit disappointed.
July 4, 2020
Oh dear. I thought I would get back into some sci-fi…I recall loving MMS so went for a re-read and was terribly disappointed to find
- this novel is either wholly geared at a ‘young adult� audience (which I previously was!),
- or it has dated (published 1996)
- or it really just isn’t that great.
For its time, it may have seemed futuristic, but now it is just all a bit silly. It incorporates speaking and moving ‘white goods� into the plot (and indeed today we can purchase white goods that will talk to us like Alexa) but in a ridiculous way. Even the writing is a bit shady at times and the author seems to go off on rants, then suddenly stops and randomly picks up the plot again. Sometimes it was even misogynistic. It was devoid of characters for a substantial part of first 25%, where for an endlessly long time it is focused on the central character only. It has some quirky interesting things like being able to take a ‘coincidence shot� which invokes 3 coincidences in one’s world. I also found his rant amusing about how an affair is nothing more than ‘aerobic session for your hormones to stir them up and keep them flowing� as a detraction from the day-to-day ordinariness of relationships.
I wonder what I saw in this when I first read it? I was never a big comic book or graphic novel fan, maybe this is too close to that territory. But I am giving it a 2 as I do remember finding it very adventurous when my younger self read it.
- this novel is either wholly geared at a ‘young adult� audience (which I previously was!),
- or it has dated (published 1996)
- or it really just isn’t that great.
For its time, it may have seemed futuristic, but now it is just all a bit silly. It incorporates speaking and moving ‘white goods� into the plot (and indeed today we can purchase white goods that will talk to us like Alexa) but in a ridiculous way. Even the writing is a bit shady at times and the author seems to go off on rants, then suddenly stops and randomly picks up the plot again. Sometimes it was even misogynistic. It was devoid of characters for a substantial part of first 25%, where for an endlessly long time it is focused on the central character only. It has some quirky interesting things like being able to take a ‘coincidence shot� which invokes 3 coincidences in one’s world. I also found his rant amusing about how an affair is nothing more than ‘aerobic session for your hormones to stir them up and keep them flowing� as a detraction from the day-to-day ordinariness of relationships.
I wonder what I saw in this when I first read it? I was never a big comic book or graphic novel fan, maybe this is too close to that territory. But I am giving it a 2 as I do remember finding it very adventurous when my younger self read it.
January 16, 2019
I don't recommend this book at all, unless you're looking for something long and meandering and with a plot that moves forward and then doubles back on itself and then doesn't move. If you've just read Catcher in the Rye, or are in the mood for some serious monologuing, read this book.
"Fixing things doesn't solve everything: your life will still have been broken. But at least you can use it again."
"Waiting for perfection is merely a way of turning your back on reality, placing a higher value on what's inside your head than what is evident all around you."
They were some really amazing description lines, but a book of descriptive lines is not what I wanted. I wanted more moving plot and I nearly hated this book trying to finish it, but I got there, and I think it would be worth a read on a day when I'm in a different mood.
Every human emotion and possible feeling is described faultlessly in this book. This author can spin the tale of every human interaction going, so that was impressive.
The sci-fi side, felt contrived and shoved into the story to begin, but once the plot doubles back and explained some of the past I started to enjoy them more.
This book is not a happy fluffy read, there are very few, if any, uplifting parts. It goes well with the kind of mood you're in when you are irrationally angry and feel like you're constantly hard done by and the world just don't get you.
"Fixing things doesn't solve everything: your life will still have been broken. But at least you can use it again."
"Waiting for perfection is merely a way of turning your back on reality, placing a higher value on what's inside your head than what is evident all around you."
They were some really amazing description lines, but a book of descriptive lines is not what I wanted. I wanted more moving plot and I nearly hated this book trying to finish it, but I got there, and I think it would be worth a read on a day when I'm in a different mood.
Every human emotion and possible feeling is described faultlessly in this book. This author can spin the tale of every human interaction going, so that was impressive.
The sci-fi side, felt contrived and shoved into the story to begin, but once the plot doubles back and explained some of the past I started to enjoy them more.
This book is not a happy fluffy read, there are very few, if any, uplifting parts. It goes well with the kind of mood you're in when you are irrationally angry and feel like you're constantly hard done by and the world just don't get you.
April 24, 2024
A fun cyber noir about a criminal conspiracy and the illegal trade of memories that kicks off when our protagonist unwittingly downloads the memory of a murder into his mind. The world is peppered with fun details of a science fiction future Los Angeles where sentient appliances roam the streets and you can speed through the streets of the internet in a digital sports car. We follow Hap as he tracks down the murderess who has dumped the memory on him and keeps the LAPD off his trail in the process, and we find ourselves glued to the page as he uncovers just how deep the conspiracy goes.
And THEN, about 2/3 of the way through, the author seemingly swan dives into a bathtub full of cocaine and shrooms and the book devolves into the hottest of messes, starting with alien abductions, and SOMEHOW, ending up with God (big G God, the Alpha and Omega Himself). I cannot express how much this just DOES NOT WORK. It doesn't even feel like the same book, it's like watching a movie on TV and instead of cutting to commercial break it just cuts to some college-aged stoner bro at a frat party trying to impress girls with mumbo jumbo he was only half paying attention to in his introduction to philosophy class that he'll barely manage to scrape a 'c' in after he realizes he actually has to read the assigned literature.
And THEN, about 2/3 of the way through, the author seemingly swan dives into a bathtub full of cocaine and shrooms and the book devolves into the hottest of messes, starting with alien abductions, and SOMEHOW, ending up with God (big G God, the Alpha and Omega Himself). I cannot express how much this just DOES NOT WORK. It doesn't even feel like the same book, it's like watching a movie on TV and instead of cutting to commercial break it just cuts to some college-aged stoner bro at a frat party trying to impress girls with mumbo jumbo he was only half paying attention to in his introduction to philosophy class that he'll barely manage to scrape a 'c' in after he realizes he actually has to read the assigned literature.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.