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24th out of 771 books
—
677 voters
The Inverted World
The city is winched along tracks through a devastated land full of hostile tribes. Rails must be freshly laid ahead of the city & carefully removed in its wake. Rivers & mountains present nearly insurmountable challenges to the ingenuity of the city's engineers. But if the city does not move, it will fall farther & farther behind the optimum & into the crus...more
Hardcover, 310 pages
Published
May 28th 1974
by Harper & Row (NYC)
(first published May 1974)
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Feeling really burned after Nixonland, I meandered about my home horde, reading some Gass and Kronenberger essays, some of Prestowitz's Three Billion New Capitalists, dipping here and there into Borges, Scruton, and Posner, but nothing was really sticking other than my skin to the back of my chair. Then I espied my good ol' shelf of NYRB Classics, so beautifully formal, so stiffly aesthetic, redolent of that pulpy pureness that engenders almost a postcoital bliss—so why in the hell not? Summer a...more
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So, we know from Einstein that space and time are both part of a larger concept that unifies them, and moreover that spacetime is curved.
Much to his credit, Christopher Priest manages to turn this observation into a metaphor which forms the basis of an imaginative, well-written science-fiction novel. There are some startling images, and he gets you curious right from the start. Why is the city on rails? Why does it have to keep moving? Why do they refer to the direction it's come from as "the p...more
Much to his credit, Christopher Priest manages to turn this observation into a metaphor which forms the basis of an imaginative, well-written science-fiction novel. There are some startling images, and he gets you curious right from the start. Why is the city on rails? Why does it have to keep moving? Why do they refer to the direction it's come from as "the p...more
10 likes · like · see review
Nov 18, 2008
Terran
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
SF readers who enjoy abstractions and mysteries
Shelves:
reviewed
I found this book both fascinating and frustrating. Overall, I would highly recommend it, but with caveats.
I had never read Priest before, but I picked this up randomly when I was on travel and running out of reading material. It was shelved next to The Prestige, his 1996 (IIRC?) novel that was recently filmed. Susan and I really enjoyed the movie, so I thought that this Priest guy might be worth a gamble. I avoided The Prestige as a first cut because I wanted something new. (And I knew how tha...more
I had never read Priest before, but I picked this up randomly when I was on travel and running out of reading material. It was shelved next to The Prestige, his 1996 (IIRC?) novel that was recently filmed. Susan and I really enjoyed the movie, so I thought that this Priest guy might be worth a gamble. I avoided The Prestige as a first cut because I wanted something new. (And I knew how tha...more
7 likes · like · see review
March 2009
I'll just say what everyone else is saying: this is not an easy one to review. On one hand, Inverted World appears pretty straightforward: Helward Mann comes of age in the city of Earth and ventures outside for the first time, where he learns that the city rests on wheels, forever rolling north along tracks. But as we learn what the city is moving towards--and what it is moving away from--the central mystery of the story becomes weird, strange, eerily convoluted, and--for me, at least-...more
I'll just say what everyone else is saying: this is not an easy one to review. On one hand, Inverted World appears pretty straightforward: Helward Mann comes of age in the city of Earth and ventures outside for the first time, where he learns that the city rests on wheels, forever rolling north along tracks. But as we learn what the city is moving towards--and what it is moving away from--the central mystery of the story becomes weird, strange, eerily convoluted, and--for me, at least-...more
Woo, this is a difficult novel to review.
As a sff fan, I have to say that I usually don't find idea stories in themselves to be satisfying. I need either strong plot or strong characterization to go with them. This means that I'm not much of Heinlein fan or a fan of the great oldies of sf, though I give full credit to the roots of the genre.
But this is an idea story for which I'll make an exception. In rare moments, our protagonist makes it all the way to 2 dimensions, and there is very little p...more
As a sff fan, I have to say that I usually don't find idea stories in themselves to be satisfying. I need either strong plot or strong characterization to go with them. This means that I'm not much of Heinlein fan or a fan of the great oldies of sf, though I give full credit to the roots of the genre.
But this is an idea story for which I'll make an exception. In rare moments, our protagonist makes it all the way to 2 dimensions, and there is very little p...more
The Inverted World is choke-full of big ideas for a relatively short book. But the real problem with this book is, towards the end, Priest turns unconvincingly realistic with his approach and hence it seems a bit rushed and a lot of things are left unexplained.
I think Priest wrote himself into a corner and then seeing no way out, rushed towards a more realistic and thus an anti-climatic end. But in retrospect, I think that might have been the only way ashe himself was not sure how to end the bo...more
I think Priest wrote himself into a corner and then seeing no way out, rushed towards a more realistic and thus an anti-climatic end. But in retrospect, I think that might have been the only way as
I've been out of work for more than two years now. When I was working I was a classic "workaholic", it was pretty much all I did. Now that I'm currently out of the work force, I've started to view this book as a metaphor for "work", or really anything that causes you to have blinders on for a large portion of your life. Just like the people in this book, I had blinders on, not really seeing that there was a great big world outside of my tiny little job. My family is so much more important to me...more
Jul 27, 2008
Elmistico
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Elmistico by:
Mon intuition.
Shelves:
sf
Il faut dire que Priest sait comment accrocher son lecteur dés le début. Quand on apprend que le personnage avec lequel on va voyager à un âge de 1000 kilomètres, une question se pose alors directement, comment un âge peut être mesurer en kilomètres.
Ainsi avec ce héros de milles kilomètres habitant une cité mobile appelé Terre, on est lâche dans un monde inconnu a nos yeux mais aussi aux yeux du héros principal. On se sent totalement perdu ce qui renforce alors la proximité avec Maan, en effet c...more
Ainsi avec ce héros de milles kilomètres habitant une cité mobile appelé Terre, on est lâche dans un monde inconnu a nos yeux mais aussi aux yeux du héros principal. On se sent totalement perdu ce qui renforce alors la proximité avec Maan, en effet c...more
I'm no great fan of Science Fiction, but this novel transcends the genre. It has a corker of a plot, which I won't spoil here. The only thing I was not crazy about was the way Priest uses dialog throughout to relay a lot of exposition. That's okay early in the novel because the narrator is a young apprentice of a guild; it's natural for him to ask questions about his new duties and surroundings. Toward the end of the book, however, the device shows its creakiness. But don't let me put you off th...more
Like many other readers, I find this book difficult to review. On the surface it is a classic science fiction story of a man trying to understand the world in which he lives (in this case, the city of "earth" which must be moved along a track at a rate of 1 mile every 10 days to stay close to "optimum") and the rules of the guild which he has joined. But more than that it is a story of perceptions and choice.
My main complaint about a lot of science fiction is that often whatever quirk makes the...more
My main complaint about a lot of science fiction is that often whatever quirk makes the...more
Like many others, my first 'interaction' with Christopher Priest was watching the movie based on his novel The Prestige. After discovering him, I read his most recent book 'The Islanders,' which is an excellent, if non-traditional work of fiction that takes the form of a travel guide.
The Inverted World is the first true full-length novel I've read of Priest's, and it's just as gripping as any of his other stories. It's not long by any measure; I believe the ebook version clocked in around 250 p...more
The Inverted World is the first true full-length novel I've read of Priest's, and it's just as gripping as any of his other stories. It's not long by any measure; I believe the ebook version clocked in around 250 p...more
This is one of those books that draws heavily from the Flatland school of math-as-narrative, and it sort of works. It's also a book that to discuss is to spoiler, since the whole story critically depends on the central gimmick: that the book takes place on an Earthlike planet that's shaped like an inverse sphere. Wikipedia calls it a "pseudosphere" if you want to look up the math on it, but the point is that the book's narrative follows the same hyperbolic path that the main character's does. Th...more
Like many others, I find this a difficult book to review. If I am honest, it's because I felt like my head was wrapped in cotton wool most of the way through, and I had this feeling like I was wading through a pocket of dense, solidifying air, and that somewhere just beyond my reach would be a key which would make the whole thing clear. There are no real characters, and no real human feeling in this book; it is a book set in a world which is turned inside out, in a city which is travelling on a...more
A novel seemingly made of an episode of Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman. There is a great deal of imagination here that comes together with solid narration through the eyes of the main character. Although it takes a while to get used to, it starts picking up speed and you have no choice but to come along for the ride and involve yourself in the mystery of the city and it's plight. Christopher Priest takes you to worlds that most people could not imagine themselves without the help of th...more
Кристофър Прийст описва странен град на релси в “Преобърнатият свят”
http://www.knigolandia.info/2011/07/b...
Добрата фантастика си е добра фантастика и това си е. Кристофър Прийст (за който научих, че е и автор на литературния предходник на филма “Престиж”) и “Преобърнатият свят” са точно пример за такава фантастика – великолепна идея, развита плавно и елегантно, до един странен, според текста на задната корица – изненадващ, – според мен по-скоро очакван край. Не заради разкритието на истината,...more
http://www.knigolandia.info/2011/07/b...
Добрата фантастика си е добра фантастика и това си е. Кристофър Прийст (за който научих, че е и автор на литературния предходник на филма “Престиж”) и “Преобърнатият свят” са точно пример за такава фантастика – великолепна идея, развита плавно и елегантно, до един странен, според текста на задната корица – изненадващ, – според мен по-скоро очакван край. Не заради разкритието на истината,...more
This is a warning as much as a review - I'm sorry to say that I haven't looked at this properly in about a decade - but basically I just want to say: this book will mess with your head.
Really. The first time I heard of it, it was preceded with the words 'hyperbolically strange' and that's a better capsule description than any I can give. Basically, it's the story of a young fellow named Helward Mann (possibly a crashingly unsubtle piece of metaphor, possibly not) who's just coming of age as a ci...more
Really. The first time I heard of it, it was preceded with the words 'hyperbolically strange' and that's a better capsule description than any I can give. Basically, it's the story of a young fellow named Helward Mann (possibly a crashingly unsubtle piece of metaphor, possibly not) who's just coming of age as a ci...more
Sep 19, 2009
Cécile Cristofari
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who do not mind seeing their habits disturbed
Shelves:
science-fiction-sf
The reason I initially picked this novel is that its first sentence is now quite famous (I had reached the age of six hundred and fifty miles), for epitomising the SF process that consists in throwing an incongruous detail at the reader, and then send nim fishing for the explanation along the book. I was therefore going to play the game and started to imagine all sorts of explanations. I must say I was not disappointed: the key to the mystery was nowhere near to anything I figured. Naturally I a...more
I stumble into this sci-fi accidentally, was not looking or in the mood for one, which explained the small rating.
It's really quite ok. At the beginning it reminded me a lot about The Passage, the way the children was raised in isolation and finding out about the world at their coming of age. Or maybe I should say the passage was using the same plot device since this book was published earlier. Anyway, we're supposed to learn about this world together with the protagonist and being a lazy reader...more
It's really quite ok. At the beginning it reminded me a lot about The Passage, the way the children was raised in isolation and finding out about the world at their coming of age. Or maybe I should say the passage was using the same plot device since this book was published earlier. Anyway, we're supposed to learn about this world together with the protagonist and being a lazy reader...more
"The Inverted World" should be counted amongst those timeless classics, and I think it's such a shame I didn't even hear of it until recently! I definitely regret not having come across it sooner, because I simply loved everything about it!
The book tells the story of a city named Earth, forced to always move forwards towards a point they called "Optimum". Why? Well, the people of the city believed that because of the rotation of the earth, the city would have been carried south, in a zone of pow...more
The book tells the story of a city named Earth, forced to always move forwards towards a point they called "Optimum". Why? Well, the people of the city believed that because of the rotation of the earth, the city would have been carried south, in a zone of pow...more
Wow - I enjoyed this. As literature, it's not that special - the characters don't really stand out and the writing wasn't particularly evocative. But the story makes for an excellent puzzle. Translated into stars, it's maybe a 3 1/2. I came across the author from his introduction of another book - The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. Inverted World is a bit of a sci-fi mystery with a premise that's incredibly odd but also fascinating. In a run down landscape, where society seems to have fallen apart,...more
"Преобърнатият свят" е втората книга (и със сигурност няма да е последната) на Кристофър Прийст, която прочетох тези дни. След като довърших шедьовъра "Престиж", естествено, първата мисъл, която ми мина през ума беше, че навярно той е най-значимото произведение на автора. Уви! За щастие не се оказах прав. "Преобърнатият свят" си има всичките необходими качества, за да се определи като едно от най-значимите произведения в научната фантастика. Не ми е ясно защо Прийст не е от водещите писатели в т...more
I forget how I found this book, probably so me list of "must read classic sci-fi" or somesuch. I did not even realize it was by the same guy that (20+?) years later, wrote The Prestige (yes, that Prestige - it was based on a book (which I also also didn't know know)). So I found it, then I read it. Because that's what I (and many others!) do.
I guess it is one of the (or "the") first British Hard SFs. And it was alright. It was one of those "reveal the world" stories, where the world is as much (...more
I guess it is one of the (or "the") first British Hard SFs. And it was alright. It was one of those "reveal the world" stories, where the world is as much (...more
Though my knowledge of SF is obviously nearly less than zero – surpassed only on the downside by my understanding of science in general, I’m going to hazard a few thoughts about what seems (from my point of view, at least) to be wrong with this genre.
Browsing today through the Sci-fi lists of some of the GR people I follow, I’m stunned to see that even those who are big, BIG readers of this genre think most of the books that they’ve read are, basically..., crap (or mediocre, anyway – two and thr...more
Browsing today through the Sci-fi lists of some of the GR people I follow, I’m stunned to see that even those who are big, BIG readers of this genre think most of the books that they’ve read are, basically..., crap (or mediocre, anyway – two and thr...more
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4.0 stars. Outstanding science fiction novel. This is the first novel by Christopher Priest that I have read and I plan to read the rest of his wroks based on the strength of this novel. Great premise, good characters and and tightly woven plot that is never boring. Unlike some other reviewers, I thought the ending was great. Highly recommended!!
Winner: British Science Fiction Award for Best Novel
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
Winner: British Science Fiction Award for Best Novel
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
What a wonderfully executed book! The structure of the book, its pace, how it negotiates between first-person, third-person, and a more distanced narrator in one section, are all handled superbly and lend a cadence to the episodes in the novel as well.
I did almost give up halfway through Part 1, and I assume many readers might find the detailed pages—and pages and pages—of track-laying laborious. But, just as it is laborious for Helward, so, too, must it be for the reader; this is the crux of th...more
I did almost give up halfway through Part 1, and I assume many readers might find the detailed pages—and pages and pages—of track-laying laborious. But, just as it is laborious for Helward, so, too, must it be for the reader; this is the crux of th...more
10 likes · like · see review
This book has the feel more of an extended thought-experiment than a novel at times, but the mystery of why the world through which Helward Mann's city-on-rails travels kept me turning pages, wanting to find out why the hell time moves differently north and south of the city, why the ground is pulling the city towards its destruction, why the sun appears as a hyperbolic solid rather than a sphere...
Other reviewers have complained that there is not a conventional story here, that the protagonist...more
Other reviewers have complained that there is not a conventional story here, that the protagonist...more
I picked up this book not knowing what to expect, but the first line hooked me: "I had reached the age of six hundred and fifty miles."
This was a stellar read, part mystery, part science fiction. I found the "answer" of the book to be fulfilling, not what I expected at all, but satisfying nonetheless. I would compare this book to A Canticle for Liebowitz, in its style. Priest writes in a matter-of-fact manner which is easy to read, but the story is full of complexity. I think that boiled down th...more
This was a stellar read, part mystery, part science fiction. I found the "answer" of the book to be fulfilling, not what I expected at all, but satisfying nonetheless. I would compare this book to A Canticle for Liebowitz, in its style. Priest writes in a matter-of-fact manner which is easy to read, but the story is full of complexity. I think that boiled down th...more
Jun 13, 2013
David
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
science-fiction
Inverted World has one of the strongest first lines I've read in quite a while: "I had reached the age of six hundred and fifty miles." This hints at the strangeness of the novel, and the particular flavor of strangeness. It tells the reader that time and space hold an odd place in this world, and that they are essentially inverted (although they are not the only things that are inverted about the world). It also implies that this age is important, and hints that the novel is a coming of age sto...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The city of Earth is moved through the world on its immense reusable tracks. Behind lies the past and oblivion, ahead lies danger and the Future. The population of the city must be kept in the dark about the true nature of the universe they live in and those few guildsmen who are trusted with the truth sworn to secrecy. This status quo has existed for almost two hundred years, but new obstacles and the natives of this unknown world threaten to undo everything and destroy everything they have wor...more
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Christopher Priest was born in Cheshire, England. He began writing soon after leaving school and has been a full-time freelance writer since 1968.
He has published eleven novels, four short story collections and a number of other books, including critical works, biographies, novelizations and children’s non-fiction.
He has written drama for radio (BBC Radio 4) and television (Thames TV and HTV). In...more
More about Christopher Priest...
He has published eleven novels, four short story collections and a number of other books, including critical works, biographies, novelizations and children’s non-fiction.
He has written drama for radio (BBC Radio 4) and television (Thames TV and HTV). In...more
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