Disclaimer: I am not a professional critic nor am I a professional writer, I am an amateur at best. I do not intend to make deep analysis as to the quality of the work as I do not finish works I do not “like”. Therefore, consider this review (personal synopsis) highly biased in favor of the work’s positive points. I will attempt to make this as spoiler-free as possible.
If ever a day comes when Earth resembles The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway, count me out. Oh the horrors I would unwittingly bestow. Let’s have a recap, shall we? The protagonist (unnamed) initially sets a scene placed in a post-apocalyptic world, where roughly 2 Billion humans have survived what is being called the Go-Away War. Most of the remaining population huddles close to a large pipe that circumnavigates the planet, which acts as an irrigation system for a chemical Called FOX. The protagonist is part of a band of Mercenary Jacks-of-all-trades that has just been hired for a very important job, conveniently regarding this “FOX”. We’ll get back to that.
Shortly after learning about the fate “modern” humans find themselves dealing with our story is brought back to the literal beginning. We learn of the protagonist’s life before the war. We also learn of his history & friendship with the secondary character, Gonzo Lubitsch, and we’re treated to 2 life stories that weave in and out of contact with each other. Both men have similar experiences, but to varying degrees. For example, at an early age the protagonist is found to have excellent agility & motor control. This catches the eye of a wise and powerful martial-arts expert, who spends the next few years training his protege. Gonzo on the other hand learns to fight, but in a more brutish manner.
Eventually both men are recruited by a secretive military department. We learn this department is in possession of technology that can make matter disappear, or Go-Away. Research shows it to be a clean and terrifying weapons technology that will replace the threat of Nuclear Weapons. Unfortunately, when the department is “forced” to display their new military might they’re shocked to learn that every major world power possesses this technology. An all-out worldwide barrage ensues, deleting all manner of peoples and places.
Even more unfortunate, our heroes soon learn the Go-Away bomb is not nearly as clean as initially thought. When matter is “disappeared” it is actually stripped of information, not substance, essentially making it disappear. This “Stuff” collects in large pools that begin to travel the world. When Stuff comes into contact with human thoughts it is given information and brings to life the thoughts encountered, creating all manner of horrifying new realities. FOX, the chemical in the world-circling pipe, nullifies Stuff & makes post-Go-Away War life a much safer thing indeed. But of course, nothing is as good, or as bad, as it seems.
Nick Harkaway has a wonderful sense of humor and a terrific descriptive voice, both of which are brought through very well with numerous asides and protagonist-driven editorial comments. But I found that many of these branches were too long & sometimes vaguely related to the story at hand. And since a good two thirds of the “story” is historical context to get the reader up to speed it can be a harrowing task to navigate his prose. While done in a relatively coherent manner the meandering story couldn’t hold my interest for long stretches. Another issue I have is the sheer amount of back story.
Later portions of the “present” rely heavily on the time spent with our characters, but when I finally reached it I had honestly forgotten where the story had begun. I don’t think the end effect could have been achieved in any other manner, but I feel the back story could have been trimmed quite a bit. Despite my qualms I was entertained on the whole. The story may jump from point to point, but it is done with finesse and narrative movement. If the back story was allowed to stagnate the entire novel would have been ruined. To Mr. Harkaway’s credit this did not happen. Recommended.