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Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

M. John Harrison's "Light"

18:01 / 09.11.05

Apologies all round for the histrionic subheading, but this novel has truly spun my head. Has anyone here read it? Having been a fan of Gibson, Sterling, et al for a long time and really been becoming inured to gimmicky cyberpunk, I was really refreshed and given a whole new outlook on science fiction when I found this book.
If you haven't heard of this book, I can summarize the plot in another post, or you can google it--there's tons of reviews that are much better-written than I can manage.

A fall of geckos

21:12 / 09.11.05

I think M John Harrison's more recent work is fantastic. His early stuff such as Viriconium Nights is good, but I feel his recent novels stand out from most other science fiction authors. If you liked Light, try Signs of Life. It's set now, but uses science fiction elements to create a stunningly emotive story concerning dreams and obsessions. It's truely a haunting book.

He seems to play with his writing style. I seem to remember reading an article by him in which he discussed the idea of trying to write without plot - which I think you can see in his early stuff, but not so much the later books.

Has anyone read his semi-fictional autobiography Climbers? If so, what's it like?

08:16 / 10.11.05

Big M J Harrison fan here. The Viriconium books are some of my favourite fantasy ever. Climbers is pretty good, some beautiful writing, the bit where he's describing being ten in a cafe looking out of the window into the carpark is so evocative. Instantly took 25 years off me! Light is great, the ending in particular is wonderful, but my favourite is The Course of the Heart,(which is now re-released with Signs of Life as Anima) absolutly stunning book. The story of three friends who perform a vague magical operation whilst at university the results of which follow them for the rest of their lives.

He's also a great short story writer. Gifco and Egnaro are two of the creepiest fucking stories i've ever read!

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

08:20 / 10.11.05

Oh dear. This thread has just reminded me that I have Illmatic's copy of this, which he lent me about two fucking years ago, and which I have neither read nor given back. Maybe I should start it today. (Sorry, Illmatic...)

Not too familiar with MJH, though TangoMango assures me he's fabulous- I've been quite tempted by the Viriconium stuff, as I've been given the impression it's what heavily influenced Mieville (a friend of Harrison's, iirc).

lord nuneaton savage

10:05 / 10.11.05

Personally I reckon he's one of the best writers in the English language. His prose is superbly evocative, in particular when he deals with supernatural elements which he gives a real "On the edge of sight" feeling.

His collection of short storys, "The Ice Monkey", contains some of the creepiest tales I've ever read. The sort of stories that chill you without you really knowing why. Particularly "The Incalling" which, in its evocation of a dank occult London, sets a tone rivaled only by Arthur Machen at his best.

But, more to the point, I still haven't read "Light", it's on my "To Read" list, I simply haven't got round to it. I may rectify that with a trip to the bookshop today, actually.

19:09 / 10.11.05

Yeah, read Light a year or two ago and was very struck. It put me in mind of that adjective that got plastered into all SF blurbs in the 70's: vertiginous. It was about the only time I felt that word could realistically be applied to the experience of reading someone's words (one of the other notables being Rudy Rucker's White Light).

His descriptions of infinite maths bleeding over the edge into our reality is somehow totally believable and as terrifying as a fever dream. Top stuff.

22:05 / 10.11.05

Stoatie. Yea the Viriconium books are a big influence on Mielville. The lineage down from Peakes is really apparent. They are well worth checking out. You can get them all collected in the Fantasy Masterworks seies. The last two books in that collection, 'In Viriconium' and 'Viriconium Nights' are where it gets shit hot.

Whilst i'm linking to books of interest i just have to give a nod to my most recent fucking great writer find Michael Cisco. His book The Divinity Student is amazing. Thomas Ligotti raves about him, 'A festival of unrealities, and entrancing body of hallucinations mutilated with surgical precision by a masterful literary maniac' I totally agree. Fans of Harrisons books will enjoy, i feel.

Anyway, sorry for slightly rotting the thread. Back to Harrison. As you say Lord Savage, one of the best writers about at the moment. The way he deals with the magical and unatural in the everyday is just stunning. A real 'goosebumps' writer. His stories always stay with me for a long, long time after i've read them.

22:17 / 10.11.05

Quick one...If anyone fancies the Michael Cisco book, Get 'The San Venefico Canon, which is 'The Divinity Student' and it's sequel 'The Golem' in one book.

13:47 / 11.11.05

Stoatie: Ah, you remember.. wouldn't mind it back at some time! Only 'cos I'd really like to read it.

17:53 / 15.11.05

OK, just bought and read The Course of the Heart on the strength of this discussion and... though I kind of enjoyed it and its evocation of a really grim atmosphere in the midst of a love story, its fantastic floral imagery, there were large parts of it about which I had absolutely no clue.

I'd be fascinated if anyone could give me any pointers as to what they thought the Couer signified - that whole Ashman gig was about half of the book - but I suspect I'll just have to be happy being shallow...

06:32 / 25.11.05

I've been re-reading "Light", and have been really amazed at how Harrison manages to interweave so many details from the three main stories in the book. It's almost as if you could read the book as a fractal. I think it's definitely a beautiful example of the holographic qualities of the universe(s). How you really can see infinity in a grain of sand. I've had experiences that echo Kearney's, at least being able to see the spaces between things and their relationships to the whole of the universe. Not the Shrander though. (Thank my lucky stars!)

I have to wonder if his whole trope about "Gold-diggers of 2400 AD" will come true. I've lived long enough to see many of William Gibson's predictions of future culture and technology come partly true. Is it possible for science fiction authors to be prophets? As much as it is for comic book authors to be magickians....

The beauty of it is, for me anyhow, is that the huge discovery of the book--the q-bit-- happens in the present day. Who am I to say that the discoveries that will eventually allow us to surf the waves of probabilities across the universe aren't being worked on right now? Look at the current pace of innovation. If the U.S. manages to survive the next ten years intact as a country, much less a "superpower", we might have a chance at seeing Mars in our lifetimes. I don't know much about the condition of the various space programs on this planet right now, but I will say this; "Light" has re-kindled my fascination with space and the physics of planets. And my enthusiasm for hard SF.

I apologize for temporising somewhat in this post, I'm mostly working some ideas out. Anyone care to discuss?

Imaginary Mongoose Solutions

21:28 / 30.11.05

Light, while having some amazingly well-crafted bits, is one of those books that I don't understand why there's so much buzz about it. For me, it by turns enthralled and bored me and then collapsed completely anticlimaticly and left me completely unsatisfied.

19:28 / 06.11.06

Just a quick bump as the sequel to Light, 'Nova Swing' is out now. Can't say much more as i'm only a few pages in but will get back to the thread when i've finished it.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

21:07 / 06.11.06

I'm actually half-way through Light at the moment... (I've stopped reading much at the moment so I don't just end up ripping shit off for NaNoWriMo). So far it's reminded me, in equal parts, of Ken MacLeod and Richard Calder. Which is a good combination.

03:57 / 21.11.06

I read Course of the Heart while travelling in Thailand and loved it. I have a collection or two of short stories - one very literarily packaged, and the other an old Panther Sci Fi paperback.

There's a short story of his about a knight on a quest that ends very violently, which I've read about five or six times because the ending is a great subversion of the quest genre's tropes.

Sometimes I feel like I don't really understand his stuff - usually when I have to tell people what I like about it and I can't even really remember the plots. It's a bit like Moorcock's cornelius in the way it has that effect on me. more like swimming than reading? or am i a ponce?

lord nuneaton savage

08:11 / 21.11.06

No you're on he money there. He's a fantastic writer of sensation and feel.

What's Nova Swing like then, anybody?

Janean Patience

17:08 / 10.02.07

Just finished Nova Swing and, I'm loath to report, it's not that good. Despite a narrative much more limited in both space and time than its predecessor it doesn't hold together. There was a nagging familiarity, reading it, that I'd seen this kind of character-based lowlives-run-scams and flawed detective schtick before, and halfway through I recognised it as a sort of sci-fi stab at Elmore Leonard. But not one of the good Leonards, where the characters and the plot manage to bind nicely together. One of the indifferent ones where the characters don't really want to know each other and get shot of the plot the minute they can. Only in the universe of Light.