The Gone-Away World
Ratings6
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings6
Average rating3.7
A wildly entertaining novel, introducing a bold new voice that combines antic humor (think Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut) with a stunning futuristic vision (a la A Clockwork Orange and 1984) to give us an electrifyingly original tale of love, friendship and the apocalypse..A wildly entertaining debut novel, introducing a bold new voice that combines antic humour with a stunning futuristic vision to give us an electrifyingly original version of the apocalypse.The Jorgmund Pipe is the backbone of the world, and it's on fire. Gonzo Lubitsch, professional hero and troubleshooter, is hired to put it out – but there's more to the fire, and the Pipe itself, than meets the eye. The job will take Gonzo and his best friend, our narrator, back to their own beginnings and into the dark heart of the Jorgmund Company itself. From rural childhood in Cricklewood Cove to military service in a bewildering foreign war; from Jarndice University to the sawdust of the Nameless Bar; their story is the story of the Gone-Away World. It is the history of a friendship stretched beyond its limits; a tale of love and loss; of ninjas, pirates, politics; of curious heroism in strange and dangerous places.Part adventure, part comic odyssey, and part geek nirvana, this is The Gone-Away World.
Reviews with the most likes.
Wow. Um, I kind of feel like I can't talk about all the reasons I love this book because they're MAJOR spoilers. I will say: hang in there. You're going to be introduced to a rowdy group, an intriguing set of circumstances and an imminent mission, and then that will be put on hold to tell the majority of someone's life story, get acquainted with those introduced, and then you pick up at where you left off and things get wild in a way I, at least, did not see coming. In that first half/two-thirds there are elements of war/dystopian novels from which I usually run a mile. The social commentary is exquisitely impactful. The last third (? reading this on ebook has mucked up my sense of page count) reads very different but still has something to say with a great conclusion. Again, SPOILERS! What I will say: there are ninjas, and nightmares, and love and loss, and incredible fight scenes and beloved characters. True warmth and humour and despair and hope and acceptance. Yeah, if there was any doubt, Nick Harkaway is now affirmed as a favourite author. And now I have to wait until his next novel is published! ⚠️animal death, (+ not quite sure, feel like body horror might fit best)
