30 Second Book Review: Light, by M. John Harrison

Three characters - a serial killer in modern London, a pilot in the far future who has chemically bonded with her stolen ship, and an ex-pilot-turned-drifter addicted to artificial realities - are thrown together in a frantic race to outrun the mysterious creature known as the Shrander, and work to unravel a mystery left atop a lonely asteroid.

That's what the blurb on the back of Light tried to sell me. Shame, because none of that ever happens.

I don't know what to say about Light. The prose is beautiful, bordering on poetic, but the novel itself is largely plotless. Characters meander about, being acted upon by deus ex machina forces until they finally arrive at the novel's largely lacklustre conclusion. Those three characters that I was kind-of-promised would all collide in one super cool space mystery? They never meet. Their plotlines intersect only tangentially, and because of that the book feels like a tease from beginning to end.

In terms of wordplay and worldbuilding, Harrison is a master. In terms of building a compelling story... or hell, even giving his characters something to do... he's a long way from the great authors of science fiction and fantasy.

Maybe Light just wasn't for me. My copy has Neil Gaiman's endorsement on the cover. I think his word counts for more than mine.

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Want to check out some other book reviews of mine? I've got a whole bunch! Alternatively, would you like to know what I thought of the semi-sequel to Light, Nova Swing? The full review is here!