O.R.S.: This book is about the journey of young boy with a special talent, Nathaniel Treeves, as he gets chosen to work for a sinister master as a house servant, set in a world which appears to be post-our time and composed of ever-living, recombinant DNA/horrors. It’s third person, largely following a single character.
Felt a little punishing to read. The premise is a Dickensian take on the trendy idea of a future world that’s regressed to a kind of pre-science, but with the residuals of science run amok (e.g. DNA engineering magic/horror). The author does a great job of describing the grime and fallenness, and you really feel for the main characters, particularly the protagonist, Nathan, who starts the story as a child with a particular talent and goes through some pretty awful “best of times/worst of times” experiences. In reading, it felt as if the author was going for something literary, but overdid the grim, mistaking it for depth. The first act is nice bildungsroman-esque and worldbuilding wonderful. Then it just feels a little mean and gray and soupy (there’s a lot of wetness in this book). And then one learns, spoiler alert possibly———————————that this is not standalone, and the book ends on a cliffhanger for the next. Ack. Clearly talented writer, understood this to be his step-out into genre–perhaps following the footsteps of Ishiguro or Whitehead? So it’s a lovely world, would love to have been immersed in a story with a bit more unexpected rather than Russian literature-like beatdown. But then again, grimdark has its audience. Prefer Vurt for similar kind of prophetic future/weird thing. Or revisit Gene Wolfe or Gormenghast, as other reviewers have referenced. But Mr Pheby can write! And the world is very good.
312p
If On a Winter's Night, a Traveler... 