Light

Damn: hard review to write.

China Miéville has said the following about Micheal John Harrison: "That M. John Harrison is not a Nobel laureate proves the bankruptcy of the literary establishment. Austere, unflinching and desperately moving, he is one of the very great writers alive today. And yes, he writes fantasy and sf, though of a form, scale and brilliance that it shames not only the rest of the field, but most modern fiction."

Light is the first of three connected books--The Kefahuchi Tract trilogy. It won the Triptree award, and its sequel Nova Swing won the Clarke and the PKD. The trilogy is also known as the Empty Space trilogy--Empty Space being the title of the last book, published in 2012. All three books are quite different, and Light can easily be read as a standalone novel.

Do I agree with Mièville? I'm not sure, and besides, I've only read this one book. But after reading Light, I'll finish the entire trilogy. The same goes for The Centauri Device--a stand-alone space opera title published in 1974. I also bought Viriconium--a fantasy series of novels and stories started in 1972 and finished in 1985. So I'll get back to you in a couple of years on that Nobel prize. In the meantime, let me try to convey the atmosphere of Light.

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