"Ian McDonald's Desolation Road is one of the books that has influenced me the most as a writer. Funny and sad and wildly imaginative... What a boo...
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Jul 10, 2010
Jacob
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Here is the story of Desolation Road, a ramshackle, hodgepodge little town of misfits that, over the course of its decades-long existence, would grow to be the epicenter of scandals, time travelers, a religious movement, terror cells, labor disputes, a baby in a jar, and an all-out war which would, briefly, turn the accidental colony into the most important place on Mars.
Despite its sci-fi setting, Desolation Road fits more in the magical realism genre with its colorful setting and d More...
Despite its sci-fi setting, Desolation Road fits more in the magical realism genre with its colorful setting and d More...
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Jul 08, 2011
Klytia
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Desolation Road è il soprendente romanzo d’esordio di Ian McDonald
Desolation Road è una città che non dovrebbe esistere: ad un solo passo da Paradise e sulla strada per Wisdom; una fermata non prevista per i treni della Bethlehem Ares Corporation; un’oasi di verde, pannelli solari e mulini a vento nel mezzo di un deserto rosso.
Con toni evocativi McDonald mette al centro della storia le vite dei numerosi personaggi, come sempre descritti con magistrale realismo. E’ una saga familiare quella che More...
Desolation Road è una città che non dovrebbe esistere: ad un solo passo da Paradise e sulla strada per Wisdom; una fermata non prevista per i treni della Bethlehem Ares Corporation; un’oasi di verde, pannelli solari e mulini a vento nel mezzo di un deserto rosso.
Con toni evocativi McDonald mette al centro della storia le vite dei numerosi personaggi, come sempre descritti con magistrale realismo. E’ una saga familiare quella che More...
Jan 18, 2011
figura4
rated it:
Ho deciso di dedicare l'ultimo gorno di queste vacanze natalizie alla lettura di McDonald. Avevo bisogno di qualcosa per combattere la malinconia della fine delle feste.
Pessima idea. Non perchè Desolation Road non sia un bel romanzo (tutt'altro), ma perchè ho finito per leggerlo tutto, quindi alla malinconia della fine delle vacanze si è aggiunta quella di aver terminato un bel libro. E i bei libri non crescono mica sugli alberi. E io sono schizzinoso di brutto in fatto di libri.
Basta delirii More...
Pessima idea. Non perchè Desolation Road non sia un bel romanzo (tutt'altro), ma perchè ho finito per leggerlo tutto, quindi alla malinconia della fine delle vacanze si è aggiunta quella di aver terminato un bel libro. E i bei libri non crescono mica sugli alberi. E io sono schizzinoso di brutto in fatto di libri.
Basta delirii More...
Jul 07, 2010
Hugo
rated it: 
I'm not really sure how to categorize this one. On the surface, it's sci-fi - it's set on Mars and there are robots, artificial intelligence and fusion-powered trains, but story-wise it is more like fantasy, much in the vein of Jack Vance. The language is beautiful, and paints a colorful picture of a Byzantine and highly imaginative world. If this novel should ever be filmed, Terry Gilliam would be an excellent choice of director. The first half of the book reads like a collection of short stori
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Feb 02, 2010
Libby
rated it:
Each chapter of this book reads like a standalone short story, and even though the McDonald's elevated figurative language only really works for me about 50% of the time, it's an ambitious book that largely succeeds in what it's trying to do, which is to combine science fiction with magical realism.
The book has much in common with Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" in that the book centers on a group of families in a geographically isolated village and spans t More...
The book has much in common with Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" in that the book centers on a group of families in a geographically isolated village and spans t More...
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Feb 13, 2011
Klytia
rated it:
Desolation Road è il soprendente romanzo d’esordio di Ian McDonald
Desolation Road è una città che non dovrebbe esistere: ad un solo passo da Paradise e sulla strada per Wisdom; una fermata non prevista per i treni della Bethlehem Ares Corporation; un’oasi di verde, pannelli solari e mulini a vento nel mezzo di un deserto rosso.
Con toni evocativi McDonald mette al centro della storia le vite dei numerosi personaggi, come sempre descritti con magistrale realismo. E’ una saga familiare quella che More...
Desolation Road è una città che non dovrebbe esistere: ad un solo passo da Paradise e sulla strada per Wisdom; una fermata non prevista per i treni della Bethlehem Ares Corporation; un’oasi di verde, pannelli solari e mulini a vento nel mezzo di un deserto rosso.
Con toni evocativi McDonald mette al centro della storia le vite dei numerosi personaggi, come sempre descritti con magistrale realismo. E’ una saga familiare quella che More...
May 01, 2010
Rob
rated it:
...Despite the ending Desolation Road is a very interesting novel. Especially once we reach the point where McDonald zooms out from the little town and Desolation Road's inhabitants start to make a name for themselves in the world. It is not the sprawling, technology fuelled, near future science fiction McDonald presents in his more recent work however. If I had to put a label on it I'd say it leans to magic realism. So depending on what you expect from this book it could be a terrific read or a
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Jun 10, 2010
Jack
rated it:
A marvelous book.
Picked up at the library on a whim, I found the first couple of pages promising so I checked it out. Later I discovered that this was McDonald's first published novel. (More recently his Cyberabad Days and Brasyl have been well-received.)
I like the way McDonald treads the lines between adventure and allegory, between the rational and the mystic. I like the way he turns away from making the villains hateful or the heroes entirely heroic. I like the w More...
Picked up at the library on a whim, I found the first couple of pages promising so I checked it out. Later I discovered that this was McDonald's first published novel. (More recently his Cyberabad Days and Brasyl have been well-received.)
I like the way McDonald treads the lines between adventure and allegory, between the rational and the mystic. I like the way he turns away from making the villains hateful or the heroes entirely heroic. I like the w More...
Jan 01, 2010
Julie
rated it: 
This book is ....indescribable. I read it because my boyfriend read it years ago and said it was really entertaining. I suppose it was, but... there's just so many characters and strange tangents that it's difficult to follow at times, and even when you DO understand what's going on, it doesn't make much sense. There are some interesting characters, and some amusing parts; I may give it another try later on, now that I know what to expect.
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Aug 31, 2011
uroš
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This book is similar to One Hundred Years of Solitude by G.G. Márquez, only better. It starts with the foundation of Desolation Road, a small western-like settlement in the middle of nowhere by an enigmatic Dr.Alimentado, who's working on an arcane theory of space and time. One by one we get to know the strays and castaways who trickle in and help to found the settlement. But Desolation Road isn't focused on anyone in particular, it's focus is the town itself and what transpires in it. We follow
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Jul 27, 2009
Psychophant
rated it: 
This is a book that is tailor made for me. A well done mix of Magic Realism and Science Fiction, with homages and small details from many writers I enjoy, from Borges to G. Wolfe, from Vance to Zelazny, going through Bradbury. The short chapters really grip you and keep you reading a little more, till the night is almost gone.
It tells the story of a place through the lives of several of its inhabitants. Some of them are unforgettable, and all are special in their own way. In a way, i More...
It tells the story of a place through the lives of several of its inhabitants. Some of them are unforgettable, and all are special in their own way. In a way, i More...
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Feb 18, 2010
Brennan
rated it:
If I had to pick one book as my absolute favorite work of fiction ever, this one would not only be a serious contender, but I'm about 99% sure that it would be the inevitable winner.
It's been described as Gabriel Garcia Marquez on Mars, but I've never read any Marquez (which I should remedy, I know), so I'd have to describe it as a much more compelling and unusual Martian Chronicles, a mismatch of folktale and character study, a novel approach to nearly every classic trope of pulp s More...
It's been described as Gabriel Garcia Marquez on Mars, but I've never read any Marquez (which I should remedy, I know), so I'd have to describe it as a much more compelling and unusual Martian Chronicles, a mismatch of folktale and character study, a novel approach to nearly every classic trope of pulp s More...
Sep 16, 2009
Meredith
rated it:
This was a great, interesting read - it had time travel, talking trains, supernatural aspects, fables combined with futurism, and fighting The Man. In short, all the things I normally love in several books condensed into one. There are a lot of unforgettable characters - in fact, possibly too many. It was hard to settle down into the story, as the point of view shifted from moment to moment. Instead, I enjoyed it almost like a collection of short stories that all had to do with one town. De
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Feb 12, 2010
Matthew
rated it:
Hmm...this is a tough review to write for it is not written in a traditional novel format. The best I can describe Desolation Road is it is like watching a TV show. There are individual episodes that have a short story arc and moral message, while there is usually some overall story arc that binds them all together.
Each chapter follows an individual character. The initial dozen or so stories chronicle the creation of Desolation Road - a small town in the Martian Desert along a t More...
Each chapter follows an individual character. The initial dozen or so stories chronicle the creation of Desolation Road - a small town in the Martian Desert along a t More...
Mar 29, 2010
Mikolaj
rated it:
It's a beautiful book, slowly mounting to an epic climax through many sub-plots and turnings, but I somehow wasn't captivated. Possibly the episodic style moves too quickly over too many changes for one accustomed to epic fantasy potboilers, and the grand disdain for any underlying consistency of magic or technology is slightly jarring - you never can tell what's going to happen next, and while that's initially lapped up with eager incredulity, one's eyes tend to glaze over a little after a whil
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Jun 06, 2010
Simon
rated it:
Wow.
This book just blew me away. In so many ways. Sometimes it is a fascinating character study, of characters adorable and characters repellent. Sometimes it is like a really good anime, with crazy people doing crazy things and winding up in a crazy climactic battle to rival 'Akira'. There is time-travel and mysticism and robots and murder and religion and incest.
But the real star of the show is the language. Rarely has any book demonstrated such mastery of prose and timing and emot More...
This book just blew me away. In so many ways. Sometimes it is a fascinating character study, of characters adorable and characters repellent. Sometimes it is like a really good anime, with crazy people doing crazy things and winding up in a crazy climactic battle to rival 'Akira'. There is time-travel and mysticism and robots and murder and religion and incest.
But the real star of the show is the language. Rarely has any book demonstrated such mastery of prose and timing and emot More...
Dec 17, 2007
Jasonk
rated it:
Amazing interweaving of stories and details.
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Mar 07, 2011
Nate
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This is the first Ian McDonald I've ever read and what a read. Ostensibly, the history of a town that springs up overnight in the barren Martian desert, it's a vehicle for McDonald's lyrical prose and wonderful use of magical realism. The book has been compared (rightly so) to One Hundred Years of Solitude and in it's structure, characters, and use of magical realism it owes a large debt to Gabriel Garcia Marquez. What's surprising to me though is that I haven't seen anyone referencing The Martian Chronicles
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Jan 29, 2012
Nicolas
rated it: 
Ce roman nous raconte comment la ville de Desolation Road naquit, vécut et mourut.
Voilà, c'est vite dit, mais le dire plus lentement m'imposerait de rentrer dans entrailles de ce roman assez tortueux, et je n'en ai pas spécialement envie.
Dans la préface de cette édition, Gérard Klein nous indique que, s'il faut trouver des inspirateurs à ce roman, il faut chercher du côté de Chroniques martiennes et de je ne sais plus quelle vieillerie d'Edgar Rice Burroughs. Ca doit être vrai. En to More...
Voilà, c'est vite dit, mais le dire plus lentement m'imposerait de rentrer dans entrailles de ce roman assez tortueux, et je n'en ai pas spécialement envie.
Dans la préface de cette édition, Gérard Klein nous indique que, s'il faut trouver des inspirateurs à ce roman, il faut chercher du côté de Chroniques martiennes et de je ne sais plus quelle vieillerie d'Edgar Rice Burroughs. Ca doit être vrai. En to More...
Oct 30, 2009
Jason
rated it:
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)
Regular readers know that in the last year, I've ended up becoming a huge salivating fanboy of science-fiction author Ian McDonald, and that I have no problem with people knowing this; that's part of what being a book lover is all about, after all, is finding certain writers that we can g More...
Regular readers know that in the last year, I've ended up becoming a huge salivating fanboy of science-fiction author Ian McDonald, and that I have no problem with people knowing this; that's part of what being a book lover is all about, after all, is finding certain writers that we can g More...
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Jan 09, 2011
Ian
rated it:
Okay. I give up. I've been trying to read this book all the way through since it came out, about twenty years ago. I've given it at least four college tries. My best try saw me to about page 100, whilst the try that I'm just now giving up only made it to page 43. I have never so badly wanted to like a book that I just can't finish.
First off, I love Ian McDonald. Some of his books are among my all-time favorites. I love his mix of surrealism, poetry, and stream of consciousness wi More...
First off, I love Ian McDonald. Some of his books are among my all-time favorites. I love his mix of surrealism, poetry, and stream of consciousness wi More...
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Jun 21, 2011
jayson
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This is probably the most complex book I have read that I could enjoy. It has many stories and characters that all intersect in one way or another, that would be hard to follow if the characters and places were not so well written that they feel alive, real, and made me care about them. I love the vast, limitless, open landscapes and characters described in the story, and the action and adventure is perfect. I could not put this down once I start on it. One of the best books EVER!!!!
j
j
Oct 26, 2009
Sherm
rated it:
This is a book about magical things happening on Mars. It is a pure fantasy with only the thinnest and occasional veneer of science fiction. The writing is good and the characters well-drawn and amusingly quirky, along the lines of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" but not as funny.
Whenever the going gets rough, the author trots out whatever magical device comes to mind. Time gets rewound to fix awkward developments, the electric-guitar-of-death brings on the rain, etc More...
Whenever the going gets rough, the author trots out whatever magical device comes to mind. Time gets rewound to fix awkward developments, the electric-guitar-of-death brings on the rain, etc More...
Oct 11, 2009
Michael
rated it:
Let me be up front: I only made it through 160 pages of this book. I'm kind of ashamed to say that, but, I really tried hard to make it through it, and just couldn't.
After reading Cory Doctorow's review/plug for this book not too long ago on BoingBoing, I was really intrigued. Mostly because he generally suggests great books, but also because I thought that it'd be outside of my comfort zone, so it would be a good exercise in trying something new.
However, it just didn't j More...
After reading Cory Doctorow's review/plug for this book not too long ago on BoingBoing, I was really intrigued. Mostly because he generally suggests great books, but also because I thought that it'd be outside of my comfort zone, so it would be a good exercise in trying something new.
However, it just didn't j More...
Sep 07, 2009
Ralph
rated it:
An excellent book. Superbly weird and weirdly superb. It's a sort of magical realist/sci-fi book of a sort I've never read before. Or even heard of. Very original.
The characterization and thematic development are especially outstanding 'for a sci-fi book' as well as in general. If his name was 'Borges', he'd be read in literature departments instead of just winning award in the SF ghetto.
There's no hyperbole in the entire history of hyperboles that can adequately captu More...
The characterization and thematic development are especially outstanding 'for a sci-fi book' as well as in general. If his name was 'Borges', he'd be read in literature departments instead of just winning award in the SF ghetto.
There's no hyperbole in the entire history of hyperboles that can adequately captu More...
Jan 14, 2012
Phil
rated it:
The thing I love about Ian McDonald's work is how he combines the fantastical with scifi elements. I tend to put him in the same category as Neil Gaiman.
This book tells the improbably story of how a town is founded and grows in the desert, and what happens to the people who live there. Only after reading for quite a while do you realize that 'earth' is actually a terraformed Mars. McDonald never spells anything out explictly, which I love. For example, I got confused about how the More...
This book tells the improbably story of how a town is founded and grows in the desert, and what happens to the people who live there. Only after reading for quite a while do you realize that 'earth' is actually a terraformed Mars. McDonald never spells anything out explictly, which I love. For example, I got confused about how the More...
Jul 07, 2009
Adam
rated it:
McDonald combines the story telling techniques of Gabriel Garcia Marquez with the weird future fables of Cordwainer Smith and Jack Vance (the fable like story telling of all three authors isn’t as different as one would think). It also exists as an examination of our contemporary myths about Mars, including little green men, Bradbury's colonists, and Wells's tripod death machines. A beautiful stories within stories structure. Mcdonald has the mixed blessing of writing a classic in his first boo
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Aug 01, 2009
Moonglum
rated it:
Its kind a bit like Northern Exposure on Mars. Its a magic realist story of an unlikely Martian settlement inhabited by misfits.
I loved the first half or so, and the end. The more traditional military adventure plot in the second half of the book was not too much my cup of tea, though I liked the company man rebels hiding in the walls of the corporate HQ.
I loved the first half or so, and the end. The more traditional military adventure plot in the second half of the book was not too much my cup of tea, though I liked the company man rebels hiding in the walls of the corporate HQ.
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Mar 21, 2010
Raj
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This was a a great book about a town on a terraformed planet that shouldn't exist and its many and varied inhabitants. It's a very well-written book, full of strange characters, locations and things. And lists, lots of lists. The writer obviously had fun writing it and some of the language and descriptions are excellent.
