The Half-Made World

Apr 08, 2013 Terry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, western, steampunk, weird-weird-west

Order and Chaos. The Line and the Gun. The battle between the two elemental forces of order and chaos has long been a favourite for fantasy literature and it has provided ~~fallow~~ fertile ground for many tales of human society as it gets caught in the middle of these two titanic ways of viewing the universe. What better stage for displaying this great and never-ending battle than the American West? What other time period more succinctly portrays the stark differences between these two great forces...more Order and Chaos. The Line and the Gun. The battle between the two elemental forces of order and chaos has long been a favourite for fantasy literature and it has provided ~~fallow~~ fertile ground for many tales of human society as it gets caught in the middle of these two titanic ways of viewing the universe. What better stage for displaying this great and never-ending battle than the American West? What other time period more succinctly portrays the stark differences between these two great forces? Felix Gilman has taken this stage, albeit in an alternate world that only mirrors that of our own, in order to paint in the stark blacks and whites of this endless battle. Standing in for Order and Chaos we have, as has already been mentioned, the Line and the Gun. These two great unnatural (supernatural? abnatural?) forces are presided over by demonic spirits who drive on the humans in their service in an attempt to forever destroy their opposites. The Line are housed in great Engines that control and drive their human slaves in the name of industry and progress. Their tracks criss-cross the West and lay waste to all in their path, flattening the hills and mountains and filling in the valleys to turn all into orderly, flat wastelands populated only by their great Stations and factories. The Guns take a more personal approach, inhabiting their weapons of steel and wood and brimstone and riding their bearers, shaping them into superhuman gunslingers, able to move almost faster than the eye can follow and heal from grievous wounds in mere moments.

The alternate world that Gilman has created for this story has a great continent broadly divided into two great zones: the settled East, where things have been 'made' or 'shaped' into their final forms as we know them. Peace, order and (good?) government are the rule here and the countries of the East seem to combine elements of both the settled eastern states of the historical U.S. and the 'old world' of Europe. Science and Technology, law and order, are well-founded here, though not with the inflexible singleness of vision of the Line. Out beyond the borders of the map, however, lies the West. Beyond the great, and aptly named, World's End Mountains, lies a country that grows more lawless, and even physically unformed, the farther out you go. Only the Line has brought Order to parts of the West, but its order is a sterile thing, consuming all in its path and replacing it with factories and stations for its great engines, peopled by its hive-like minions who are driven to build and destroy in equal measure. The Agents of the Gun are themselves compelled by their masters to halt the Line wherever they are able, revelling in death and chaos no matter the price. Caught between these two forces are the small communities of 'normal' people who seem to simply sit back and hope that both the Line and the Gun will ignore their presence, at least in their own lifetime.

Amidst these great swathes of black and white, however, Gilman does manage to include many shades of grey in his story at both the macro and the micro level. At the macro level we have the Red Valley Republic, a gathering of many smaller nation-states of the unformed West under one banner and the leadership of the great General Orlan Enver. The Republic is another great power, able in its heyday to do the impossible: hold off both the Line and the Gun, and prosper in the unformed West. They are not, apparently, driven by any demons or supernatural forces, but only the human ideals and hopes of their founders...though these prove to be as dominating and heedless, in their own way, as the more metaphysical powers. At the micro level we have Gilman’s nuanced characterisation, especially as seen in his three main protagonists who move the plot forward: Liv Alverhuysen, a bored widow and professor of psychology at the Koenigswald Academy who dreams of the possibilities of adventure that await in the West, John Creedmoor an aging charmer who also happens to be an Agent of the Gun, and Sub Invigilator (Third) Lowry, a lowly cog in the great human machine of the Line.

As the story proper begins the Red Valley Republic is nothing more than a dream and a memory: a failed fable and cautionary tale of the price of opposing the two great Powers. Liv has received an enigmatic letter requesting assistance from the aptly named House Dolorous, a hospital and hospice on the very edge of the settled West designed to care for those broken by the endless war of the Powers. She jumps at the chance to leave her comfortable and staid life behind and go into the unknown. Creedmoor, a somewhat cowardly and lazy adventurer who has been laying low and avoiding the call of his harsh masters, is suddenly prodded back into service and set on a track that will lead him to cross paths with the other main players of the tale. Lastly, we have Lowry, the lowly, but ambitious, peon of the Line, destined to rise in the ranks of the great machine as he too is goaded on by his masters to find the prize that all three characters will eventually pursue: the great General Envers, thought lost, though now convalescing at the House Dolorous in a fit of madness brought on by one of the horrible weapons of the Line. Apparently the general holds a great secret of the First Folk (the somewhat elvish, somewhat aboriginal, somewhat otherworldly first inhabitants of the West who are enslaved by everyone else when they are not free to roam the unformed wilderness), that both Powers crave for their own, and fear may fall into the hands of their enemies.

I really enjoyed this book, and Gilman's prose is very fluid, so even though it is a sizable tome I found that the pages flew by fairly quickly. This is my first introduction to what has been labelled the ‘Weird West’ in genre circles, and which shades mildly into areas of steampunk, and if it’s an indication of what else is out there in this genre then I’m excited to continue in my discoveries. I thoroughly enjoyed this book both for the extensive worldbuilding that Gilman did, as well as his admirable work with characterisation. Each of the main protagonists is nuanced and interesting, and even Creedmoor and Lowry are able to rise above being simply placeholders for their respective Powers. For his part Creedmoor combines the nostalgic regret of an old gunslinger seeing something of the error of his ways, though held back from change by inertia and cowardice, while Lowry, despite being born and bred as simply a cog in a wheel, displays aspects of individual thinking and initiative that could just as likely get him killed by his Masters as promoted by allowing him to complete his goal. Liv stands in for the rest of us, those ‘normal’ people not beholden to any supernatural Power for their goals and abilities, and who must make her way in the world with only her own intellect and conscience to guide her. General Envers, even though insane and mostly silent for the majority of the book, is also a very interesting figure who, despite his affliction, looms large in the story and stands almost as a power unto himself.

Highly recommended.

Also posted at Shelf Inflicted (less)

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Apr 08, 2012 sologdin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: speculative

The opposite of post-apocalyptic--antegenetic, maybe--and, like the old Rahab story from Jewish legend, the setting is not yet truly created--but nevertheless the narrative proceeds. I'm not sure if it's a brilliant conceit about the writing of speculative fiction to leave the setting rough along its margins (and we are constantly reminded of the writtenness of the setting, insofar as the story consistently refers back to its own "outright myths and stories and the most unplesant sort of fantasi...more The opposite of post-apocalyptic--antegenetic, maybe--and, like the old Rahab story from Jewish legend, the setting is not yet truly created--but nevertheless the narrative proceeds. I'm not sure if it's a brilliant conceit about the writing of speculative fiction to leave the setting rough along its margins (and we are constantly reminded of the writtenness of the setting, insofar as the story consistently refers back to its own "outright myths and stories and the most unplesant sort of fantasies" (119))--or if it's a gimmicky writerly indolence, where most of the story occurs within those margins. Either way, I likes.

The principal conflict involves a chase after crucial information lost for many years, into uncreated space, involving proponents of an industrializing theofascist state and of an atavistic violence cult, along with some mystical aboriginals, members of neutral liberal states, and some leftover radicals in exile, living with "no money at all" in a manner "communistic after the manner of the prophets of the ancient texts" (396). The fascists, the atavists, the mysticals, and the commies all seem to be fundamentalists of a sort, and the first three involve express supernaturalisms--their principals are immortal. The communists base their fundamentalism on their charter, which sounds more liberal than marxist in its several descriptions--in some ways, this is an answer to The Iron Council, wherein a group of dissenters casts off into the unformed wilderness under the banner of emancipation. Despite those descriptions of the constitution, the practices and symbolisms are leftwing.

The conflict does not appear to be resolved at the end, so there's likely a welcome sequel in the works. It is a nifty trick to have the conflict focused on an old guy's memory, render the guy unresponsive, and then leak out details of the contents of the hidden memory, which may or may not be dispositive of the setting. I'm not sure if it's a red herring, ultimately.

The setting, as the title tells us, is half-made--which is something of a drawback. We don't really know what the primary mechanisms of the supernaturalisms are--it's vaguely described as devliry, which is perfectly in character for the describers, but the lack of an authoratitive opinion from the text leaves something to be desired. But perhaps that's something revelatory for later installments. The geography is difficult to chart out, and the timeline is more implied than laid out. But these are the picayune complaints of a reader brainwashed by long residence in secondary creation.

Recommended for those effaced from the history of their country, persons who inhabit an ecology of machines, and ones who, out of a purer strain of virtue, make no deals.(less)

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Mar 19, 2013 Wealhtheow rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, queer-characters, steampunk

Really fantastic, imaginative adventure set in something a bit like America's Wild West of old. Like many Westerns, the main characters are damaged people in pursuit of their own interests, demonstrating occasional bursts of heroism. But unlike most Westerns, people are queer, female, and not necessarily white. And of course, there is the magic: the Line, with their noise-bombs that tear at the mind and their sentient engines; and the Agents of the Gun, whose weapons confer superhuman power but...more

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May 03, 2013 Lise rated it 4 of 5 stars

"In The Half-Made World" Felix Gilman takes us on a journey to a different US, a Wild-West that is ruled by different sorts of "demons". There are two main opposing forces called "the Line" and "the Gun". The Line is industrial while the Gun is weaponised. Both forces enslave their human followers - followers who are willing to do anything to enjoy what they see as beneficial changes to their lives.

Both the Line and the Gun have as their purpose to destroy their opponents, paint the West in thei...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Autumn rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. I'm glad I didn't see that it was "steampunk" because thus far most of the books I've read that were marketed as steampunk have sucked donkey balls, or at least had prose that made me mentally re-write it at least two times a page. This guy writes like he reads a lot of Elmore Leonard, (a good thing, especially for dialog.)

This is sort of sci-fi, sort of alternate history, but mostly western. It has the time-honored theme of "progress" vs. the "wild west" vs. "civilization." (...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Spoonay rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Its in a steampunk setting where one half of the world is about 18th century steampunk while the rest is completly undeveloped, except for the hillsfolk residing there. On the edge is total war between the greedy linesmen and the treacherous Gun. The story is told through three different main characters: Liv a brilliant psychologist at a University in the more civilized part of the world, until she is called to the mysterious House of Dolorian a hospital on the ed...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars

The setting of The Half-Made World is innovative even in an era when the 19th Century is being routinely mined for fantasy setting material. It isn't properly steampunk, because while one faction in the world has clockwork technology and airships, they are not available to everyone and are considered technological marvels.

The action takes place across a world-spanning continent. The eastern part of the world is reminiscent of Europe--settled, peaceful, refined, maybe even effete. However, across...more The setting of The Half-Made World is innovative even in an era when the 19th Century is being routinely mined for fantasy setting material. It isn't properly steampunk, because while one faction in the world has clockwork technology and airships, they are not available to everyone and are considered technological marvels.

The action takes place across a world-spanning continent. The eastern part of the world is reminiscent of Europe--settled, peaceful, refined, maybe even effete. However, across the World's End mountains (so named because they once marked the edge of the world) lies a land reminiscent of 19th-Century America, with slave-holding barons in the South, small towns in the shadow of the mountains to the east, and a vast, Wild-West-like landscape in the rest of the "made area."

The West is dominated by two supernatural forces engaged in a war for control of humanity. Line, a collective of 37 demonically possessed railroad engines, represents order to the point of fascism, spreading its stations and tracks in an ever larger and denser network, threatening to take over the landscape. Gun, a group of maybe a couple dozen possessed weapons (which we learn change their appearance based on their user), represents chaos (and freedom) to the point of anarchy, bonding with the most extraordinary misfits in its efforts to sabotage the Line.

The story details the intersection of the lives of Liv Alverhuysen, a psychology professor from the settled East; Lowry, an ambitious man of the Line who can't quite learn the collectivist self-denial and humility his masters expect of him; and John Creedmoor, an aging agent of the Gun who wishes he could retire but is constantly pulled back into service. What draws them all West is one man: General Orlan Enver, the military leader of the old Red Valley Republic, an idealized version of America's founding vision which crumbled before the forces of Gun and Line. The General is now confined to a hospital at the edge of civilization (literally), his mind seemingly permanently addled by the effects of the Line's noise bombs. However, his mind still holds a secret given to him by the aboriginal Hill Folk, the location of something (a weapon or a cure, nobody knows which) that promises to bring the Great War between Gun and Line to an end and change the world. The effort to recover the general's secret will take all of our major characters into the titular half-made world, the area west of civilization. There the landscape, and even the times of sunrise and sunset, are unpredictable from one day to the next.

While the setting is clearly a metaphor for American history and the American character, Gilman makes sure that his story isn't an allegory or a blunt statement about history or contemporary politics. Instead, this novel feels like the story of characters trying to fulfill their dreams and solve their problems in a landscape that just happens to be an extended metaphor. That means you don't have to be a historian or history buff to appreciate this book.

There are a few odd wrinkles of the setting. For example, it is implied that there is some form of Christianity in this world, which makes me wonder why Yahweh isn't running around the West smiting people with thunderbolts, since human thoughts have a tendency to be given being there. There is also some confusion about whether the divide between civilization and the frontier runs east-west or north-south. This error and other small errors occur just often enough to be distracting, but they still don't overshadow the many good things about this book. I look forward to reading the recently released sequel, The Rise of Ransom City (less)

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Apr 16, 2012 David Willson rated it 5 of 5 stars

I had never heard of Felix Gilman but The Half-Made World had glowing cover recommendations from the likes of Ursula K. Le Guin and Stephen R. Donaldson, two authors I respect greatly. Also, it was obviously in the Steampunk genre, which I generally enjoy.

The story takes place on a vaguely familiar North American continent that is metamorphosing out of elemental chaos simultaneously with a 19th Century-like industrial revolution and westward expansion. A very interesting concept considering that...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Tami rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Red Valley Republic is fighting a losing battle against the Line. The fate of the world depends upon the General. He has learned an important secret from the First Folk. A secret. A weapon. The ultimate weapon. Should the General succeed, the war will be over but if he fails the Republic (and all hope) will die with him.

Unfortunately, just as the General is about to realize his finest hour, the Line makes a surprise attack. Although the General is not killed, the secret is locked inside his...more

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Mar 31, 2012 My Awful Reviews rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's no secret (for those who know me) that I lightly dabble in writing from time to time. One of the ideas that I have sloshing around in my brain is for a fantasy western with x-men style powers. So, whenever I see a book that has elements of the wild west and magic, I automatically have to give it a go. And I have to say, I'm very glad that I gave The Half-Made World a go.

The novel starts with an excellent prologue, where The General, who is losing his mind, tries desperately to cling to anyt...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Alison Looney rated it 2 of 5 stars

I feel like I should have a better defense of a two star review, but it's hard to muster more than a shrug for this book. A story about a war should make me want to pick a side. Or present a character or two I could root for.

The positives: the writing is solid - in particular, the descriptions of the Half Made portions of the world are cool, since the laws of physics and nature haven't been completely sorted out. The prologue was quite gripping (almost deceptively so - I feel like I was tricked...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Allisyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Half-Made World is one of those books that I enjoy immensely while reading but once I've finished, I realize that there are enough questions left and flaws that I'm disappointed.

The Half-Made World gives snapshots of extensive world building but when all is said and done, I don't feel that I understand the world at all. I still don't understand the motives of the Gun and the Line and I don't even have a vague idea about what the Gun does beside oppose the Line. I can tell that Gilman knows...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Travis Knight rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, speculative-fiction

Felix Gilman's novel, The Half-Made World, is one of those few books you need to see to believe. It is a once-a-decade masterpiece that should be—and I hope will be—held up as a testament to what underrated and niche genres can do when treated with thoughtful and unreserved creativity. But the question must be posed: what genre is The Half-Made World? The book declares itself as among the "New Weird," but if you've never heard of that, you're not alone. Gilman's novel has clear steampunkqualitie...more Felix Gilman's novel, The Half-Made World, is one of those few books you need to see to believe. It is a once-a-decade masterpiece that should be—and I hope will be—held up as a testament to what underrated and niche genres can do when treated with thoughtful and unreserved creativity. But the question must be posed: what genre is The Half-Made World? The book declares itself as among the "New Weird," but if you've never heard of that, you're not alone. Gilman's novel has clear steampunkqualities, as well as the makings of a fantasy-western, alternative history, horror, science fiction, and a half-dozen other genres. "New Weird," therefore, seems quite apt. It indulges, teases, and rises above all of those genres, though, and settles in a precarious perch between powerful and delicate.

Gilman's cast is an excellent example of the balancing act. Populated almost entirely by villains, madmen and anti-heroes, The Half-Made World plays the line between sympathy and disgust expertly, hooking readers into even the most inhuman and twisted minds, but never staying with one long enough that the disgust overcomes the intrigue. Among those most twisted is John Creedmore, who is the vehicle for the book's wild race into the un-made lands. Creedmore is a classic anti-hero, envisioned in a dusty, crusty old cowboy-ish rogue. He carries a six-shooter named Marmion, one of the widely-feared, demonic Guns that gives Creedmore superhuman powers. Marmion and Creedmore fill the book with funny, sarcastic dialogue that recalls the best buddy-cop movies, even while Creedmore commits atrocities demanded by Marmion's kind, and they do it with flare, blatantly making fun of—and celebrating—the best tropes of westerns as a genre.

Where the Creedmore and the Gun are a clear glorification and mythologizing of the cowboy pantheon of American history, the other major force in the novel, the Line, is a similar celebration of the industrial revolution. Like the Guns, the Line is a demonic force that subjugates humans and imposes harsh, inhuman laws and regulations that serve no purpose than to forward the progress of the line. Linesman, somewhat reminiscent of Nazis in dress and manner, have become gray, shriveled, squat men that live and breathe only to serve their horrible masters, the Engines, which take the form of, you guessed it, locomotive engines

The Line is the primary source of the book's steampunkery. They use industrial-flavored clockwork weapons and machinery, including ornithopters, bombs, spying devices, motor guns, trucks, and a huge more. Their technology seems to be at about the level of our own, circa 1900, but with clearly fantastical advances. The war for the west between Gun and Line forms the foundation o f the book's conflict, which is set in a strange rendering of North America that caricatures the American obsession with manifest destiny, the worship of invention and industry, the conflict with the stalwart Native Americans (envisioned in the bizarre, mute and mystical First Folk) into an incredible and richly imagine world—the half made world.

Gilman’s realization of steampunk is at once eloquent and reserved. Gone are top hats with decorative gears and Da Vinci-style fliers made of paper and coal engines, missing are the zeppelins, the towering, twisted cities of iron and steel and bronze; he never overdoes the Line’s technology, nor the limits of Creedmore and Marmion’s superhuman roguish adventures.

Both sides want to lay claim to General Enver, the long-lost and febrile father of the crumble Red Republic. The mad general, who talks only in nonsense fairy tales, holds the secret to unearthing a supreme power that could turn the war between Gun and Line in the favor of the secrets' holder. Both sides have dispatched agents to secret the general away from the House Dolorous, a hospital at the edge of the made-world... but the Guns are as unprepared as the Engines of the Line when Creedmore pit he's out into the paradoxical, impossible lands past the edge of the Made World.

Forced along for the ride is the widowed Liv Alverhuysen, a psychiatrist from the old and ordered East. She, along with her simpleton friend Maggfrid, have made their way west in order to investigate the authenticity of the House Dolorous' miraculous healing spirit. When Creedmore kidnaps the general, Liv, trying to be a good doctor, gets in his way, and gets dragged away into the culminating conflict of a centuries long war. I'd not here that, although I've given the book high praise, Gilman has a bit of a problem with his characters; typically, in fantasy, the protagonist is the character who doesn't understand what's going on because they come from a small village and haven't had much experience with adult hood. The character is an empty vessel that learns things along with the reader; think Frodo, or Luke Skywalker. Gilman, however, doesn't have a real empty-vessel character. The closest that we come is Liv, who hails from back east, and doesn't know much about the wild wars of the west... but the problem here is that she, knows a lot about her own society, and so does Creedmore, so that information—that is, any kind of explanation or detail about the old east—is totally precluded from the novel. The reader is left without any real sense of the other side of the world, which is, much like Tolkien’s shire, kept safe and secret from the war between Line and Gun, but is still very interesting.

But that qualm aside, what follows the kidnapping at the House Dolorous is more than you can imagine, and weirder than you'd expect. You'll be pulled in and wide-eyed, and I'm sure readers will struggle with whom—if anyone—to sympathize with. Gilman's cast asks for no love from the reader, but before long you'll want to throw your lot in with one side—Gun or Line—and either way, you'll be selling your soul.

The Half-Made World has something for everyone, even if you don't expect it. Its wild, fantastic reimagining of the American west and the demonic struggle for and against manifest destiny is well worth your time, and if you don’t fall in love with Gilman’s half-made world, you’ll certainly never look at a history book the same way.The Half-Made World (less)

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Sep 23, 2011 Galena rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk

I think maybe I expected too much from the Half-Made World (Felix Gilman) and the Windup Girl (Paolo Bacigalupi) because I read Cherie Priest and Scott Westerfeld who know how to do steampunk right. That is, as a flavor to their world-building and not as the main focus of the descriptive text to the point where I got outright bored by it. I didn't even finish the Windup Girl (too bored, not enough happening, I quit halfway through when it was due back to the library after a month's checkout. I c...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Dag rated it 4 of 5 stars

It has been awhile since I've read any fiction. Years. Many years. However, I thought since I was expecting a lot of relaxation time at the cottage, I'd grab a book. Chapters was closing and I didn't have much time... I read Fantasy back in the day and enjoyed it, so I went to that section. I was hoping to start a multi-book series... but nothing stood out. One book did, and it was endorsed by one of my favourite author's Ursela Le Guin, so I grabbed it. Under a week later and I just finished Fe...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Andrea McDowell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: good-fantasy

I don't know how to categorize this. It was kind of a steampunk fantasy western novel about the problems with modern civilization. The world is a world much like this one, only the west is not only untamed, but un-made: the rules of physics don't yet apply there; there are monsters, and magic, and half-human (or twice-human, depending on your perspective) natives, and the world kind of ends at some point beyond which is only a sea of churning and undifferentiated matter. There are guns, and then...more

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Jul 24, 2011 William Freedman rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm neither a Steampunk nor a Weird Western fan -- or at least I wasn't until I read The Half-Made World. Felix Gilman creates a fully-made half-made world, internally consistent and rich in detail. It's easy for readers to imagine the scenery in their minds' eyes because the author has done all the hard work.

The half-made world, as stated above, is fully made, but it seems to me the characters were only half-made. The two protagonists are (gasp!) a well-traveled rogue of a man who finds out he'...more

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Jun 01, 2011 Meredith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian-futures

This is a whopper of a weird west tale, but not always an entirely pleasant one. The three major characters are Creedmore: a seedy but charming Agent of the Gun; Liv: a psychiatric doctor from out east and an opiate addict; and Lowry: a sycophantic toady of the Line. All three are drawn into the race to reach a man called the General first, thus preventing either the Line or the Gun from utilizing whatever knowledge is buried in the General's war-scrambled brain.

Like many good westerns, morality...more

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Apr 21, 2011 Kirsten rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, from-library, spec-fic

The world is unfinished. Everything is very solid and normal in the East, but the farther West one travels, the more unfamiliar and changeable the world becomes. Powerful forces will stop at nothing to gain control: on the side of chaos are the Agents of the Gun, individuals whose masters are demon-haunted firearms. On the other side is The Line, a society controlled by sentient machines known as Engines. The Line moves inexorably into the West, and the Gun does what it can to impede its progres...more

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Apr 11, 2011 William Bentrim added it

The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman

I don’t seek out SteamPunk nor do I avoid it. This story is one of conflict between The Line and The Gun. It seems like a straight forward conflict between industrial progress and outspoken civil liberties. All is not as it seems. There is a third party or is it fourth party involved in the major conflict. The novel is a thought provoking, penetrating glimpse into fanaticism.

I really didn’t find any characters I particularly liked. The conflict between The Lin...more

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Mar 01, 2011 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, genre

I read quite a bit about "The Half-Made World" by Felix Gilman last year, and what I had heard sounded really good on paper. This is something of a phantasmagorical western, with the forces of order, The Line (Faceless drones ruled by sentient train engines) at war with The Gun who are basically superhuman outlaws with demonic guns.

I liked Liv, the rather complex female protagonist, and the book had some excellent action scenes that were sufficiently violent without being gratuitous. A number o...more

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Feb 23, 2011 Timothy rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a fun book that I enjoyed, but I didn't think of it as a masterpiece or as spectacular. First and foremost, it is a very unique world that Felix Gilman created, starting with some American history cliches, but moving to some fantastic imagery as the half-made part of the world becomes more explored by the characters. The characters themselves were well written for the location and the time period in which you would imagine the world to be. What I really liked though, is this book was ab...more This was a fun book that I enjoyed, but I didn't think of it as a masterpiece or as spectacular. First and foremost, it is a very unique world that Felix Gilman created, starting with some American history cliches, but moving to some fantastic imagery as the half-made part of the world becomes more explored by the characters. The characters themselves were well written for the location and the time period in which you would imagine the world to be. What I really liked though, is this book was about the characters, not about the landscape, or the religions, or the governments. Those aspects of the story are used only to shape the characters you follow. None of the characters are perfect or fit any mold, as though to say this guy is the 'hero' and this guy is the 'villain.' Everyone is equally broken. I also enjoyed the buildup of the Red Valley Republic, only to find out out they weren't so perfect either. There is no utopia, at least not yet.

Things I didn't care for, probably the way it was written from multiple perspectives. There are really no surprises when this chapter is about what this character is seeing, and the next is from someone else, and then the response from the first character again, and so on. I tend to prefer 1st person narratives, but that is more a preference issue than a mark of bad writing. Secondly, I didn't care for the ending. It wasn't a cliff hanger, but it was unresolved, and you never find out what the 'weapon' they were looking for is leaving a sense of wasted time and pointlessness. It kind of drops off with possible expectation of a second book, even introducing a new character whom could be a primary player in a second work. When I think of a second book, I'm not sure I'm interested in it, even though I enjoyed the characters from this one. They have already traveled to the ends of the earth, the only mystery left is the 'weapon' they were looking for, and is that going to hold an entire new book?

All in all, it was a good book that I enjoyed, but I probably wont reread, or pursue a sequel.(less)

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Nov 29, 2010 Nathan rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what to say that hasn't been said already by better reviewers than myself. I grew up in cowboy country, so I went through my westerns phase. There's something deeply ingrained in me that craves those kind of stories. I became a fantasy and sci-fi reader very shortly after, and for some reason the idea of telling a high-fantasy parable using western mythology never once occurred to me. If it had, I doubt I could have imagined it pulled off as well as Felix Gillman did in The Half-Mad...more

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Nov 21, 2010 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

The year is 1889.

Thirty years ago, The General built the Red Valley Republic. At this time the world was lush with trees and grass. The world was evolving. Flash forward to present day. The world is desolate…thanks to the battle between the Lines and the rebel Guns. The Lines are focused on industry and spreading it across the world as quickly as possible. The Guns are the bandits of the world. They fight not with words but with weapons and violence.

Liv Alverhuysen is a doctor of Psychology. D...more

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Nov 07, 2010 Mardel rated it 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this novel a lot - very much. I thought the characters were fun to read. The "gods" and their lackeys, or followers were fun to hate, and on the whole I enjoyed reading a book where there were no heroes. Everyone had at least one flaw in their character.

The world building was wonderful. I especially loved the descriptions of the wild - the uncreated world. This is just amazing. When you read this book, there is a part where a few people travel through the "wild" west - pay particular a...more I enjoyed this novel a lot - very much. I thought the characters were fun to read. The "gods" and their lackeys, or followers were fun to hate, and on the whole I enjoyed reading a book where there were no heroes. Everyone had at least one flaw in their character.

The world building was wonderful. I especially loved the descriptions of the wild - the uncreated world. This is just amazing. When you read this book, there is a part where a few people travel through the "wild" west - pay particular attention to the plant life, the animal life and the general descriptions of anything to do with the uncharted areas of the wild - even time is in flux. Felix Gilman has a hell of an imagination.

I considered The Half-Made World a very satisfying read, flawed characters and all. I am looking forward to reading the sequel to this book, which I hear is coming. The lives of three main characters are followed, glimpses are given of their pasts. The three people are coming to an intersection of their lives where they all interact with each other. They are each a part of a larger faction (for want of a better word). Liv is from neutral territories, and is a Doctor of the mind. Creedmore is an Agent of the Gun - one of the godlike supernatural cadre of beings that control the crazed, the weak-minded and the slightly-to-completely evil men, using them to further their own goals of destruction and chaos. Lowry is a persistant cog in one of the many wheels of progress - The Line. The Line seems to be ruled by engines, engines that control and subjugate whole cities - laying down train tracks from city to city, taking over and completely depleting whole sections of the country, taking over city by city in a heavy fisted way. There might be a lesser of evils here - possibly The Guns (they seem to be like the anarchists or rebels of many countries); definitely not the The Line (who in the name of progress develop horrific weapons and think nothing of murdering whole towns of people - women and children included). Possibly the neutral territories are the less evil- although they commit their own brand of evil in the way they do nothing to stop either the Guns, or the Lines....but really what could anyone do? Interesting premise.

The novel is full of interesting characters, dialogue, evil plotting, - quite a variety of people and objects. Mr Felix Gilman has quite a way with words and worlds. Even though I knew that Creedmore, as an agent of The Gun, has done his fair share of murder and mayhem I couldn't help enjoying his parts of the book a bit more than the others. He had a certain devil-may-care attitude, and he was a fun character to experience. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author and more from this world.
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Oct 16, 2010 Lenore Webb rated it 4 of 5 stars

This evening I plan on curling up with a book. Yes, one of all time favorite things to do. I have a new one. You knew that! The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman is a interesting mix of fantasy and reality. It is a combination of western, adventure and magic in a sci-fi kinda way. Hard to tell you but I know that I am already trying to carve out time for myself so I can continue reading it. I promise you it is not a easy glib book, but one that has you really digging in deeper. It is a world that...more

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Dec 05, 2012 Julia Reed rated it 1 of 5 stars

From such a promising beginning (Western! Steam punk! Imaginative setting! Mystery!) came big disappointment for me. I keep trying to make steam punk happen for myself and I keep failing. Tough it seems to marry some of my favorite genres, I can never find a book that really brings things together in a satisfying way. The Half Made World was more the same. I found the plot to really drag when it should have run and to really run when it should have slowed down and explained a little more. I did...more

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Nov 23, 2011 Leah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, r-2010, steampunk, arc

I found the basic premise of The Half-Made World to be intriguing and couldn’t wait to read it. Unfortunately, I was so unimpressed with the characterization of the heroine that it wasn’t until the last 50 pages that I actually felt real interest for the story. Imagine a Wild West populated by an indigenous mystical race (The Hill People), add demon-possessed guns (The Gun) that use humans as assassins and huge scary sentient engines (The Line) that control humans like ants and you have The Half...more I found the basic premise of The Half-Made World to be intriguing and couldn’t wait to read it. Unfortunately, I was so unimpressed with the characterization of the heroine that it wasn’t until the last 50 pages that I actually felt real interest for the story. Imagine a Wild West populated by an indigenous mystical race (The Hill People), add demon-possessed guns (The Gun) that use humans as assassins and huge scary sentient engines (The Line) that control humans like ants and you have The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman. The Line and The Gun have been warring for years. The known world in the east is slowly being devoured by The Line, which turns cities into little more than factories. In the prologue, a General of the Red Republic (rebels for a new world) becomes a victim of a Line noise bomb. The story begins with Liv Alverhuysen who is a psychologist tasked with helping the General recover enough memory to spill a devastating secret given to him by The Hill People. But first she must journey to where he is which is a hospital at the edge of the known world.

For an adventurous psychologist Liv is a surprisingly lackluster character. It’s never entirely clear why she accepts a dubious position in what amounts to an asylum located on the other side of the world. She doesn’t seem at all emotionally connected to the war. Her desire to leave everything she knows is only vaguely referred to as some kind of wanderlust. Despite this, I had high hopes for her. I ended up disappointed though because I was never able to get a sense of her personality. She has a devotion to her sense of duty, which gives her some spine, but when things get stressful she adds a few drops of “tonic” to her tea and all is well. Most of the middle of the book is spent on her journey to the hospital. The story bogs down quite a bit here as she spends more time reacting to things than actually precipitating events. It wasn’t until John Creedmore, agent of The Gun extraordinaire, entered the story that I started to care what happens. He’s selfish, arrogant and irreverent but ultimately likable. He knows he is not a good guy. The spirit-possessed gun that commands him to kill controls him and he likes the thrill of the hunt but deep down he wants to be a hero. He wants redemption. When he obeys his “master” it is with an impertinence that is endearing. However, I found it mildly annoying that the most important character to the story, the General, was absolutely boring. For the entire novel he has severely diminished mental capacity and seems little more than a prop. Even the linesman Lowrey who chased after Creedmore, Liv and the General was little more than a brainwashed minion with delusions of grandeur. His character might have been more interesting if Gilman gave him more than the barest hint of a background.

The last 50 pages or so are mildly exciting and the ending takes the story in a new direction but I’m not quite sure if I can recommend it. I thought this story suffered quite a bit in its characterizations (with one exception) so it was a difficult read for me.(less)

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Feb 20, 2011 Miz Moffatt rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: supernatural, science-fiction, western, steampunk

Felix Gilman builds a breathtaking, brutal world filled with the creeping horrors of progress against the wild backdrop of the West. The Half-Made World combines the speculative nature of science fiction with the merciless gunslinging of the Wild West, and then populates the pages with imposing supernaturals. On one hand, we have the workers of The Line breaking the land under the steel tracks of new railroads, and enslaving the world in the name of progress; on the other hand, we have the Agent...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Barac Wiley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Beautifully written, with a vivid, imaginative mythical West, laced with familiar tropes (gunslingers, trains, natives, frontiertowns, etc) but skewed so that the trains are mighty Engines, immortal gods that inexorably cover the landscape in their filthy, grey industries and their regimented legions of the Line. And gunslingers are demon-possessed savants of chaos, ridden by their unholy Guns to wreak sabotage and a constant, murderous, losing war against the forces of the Line. The natives are...more

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