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Title: Spares by Michael Marshall Smith ISBN: 0-553-57901-0 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 02 February, 1998 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.05 (37 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Dark, tragic and funny. Another winner from Smith!
Comment: "Spares" is Michael Marshall Smith's second novel, his first being the simply amazing "Only Forward".
Like its predecessor, "Spares" is an unusual mix of Douglas Adams like humour, Gibson-esque science fiction, fantasy, action, philosophy, adventure, romance and horror that all combines to create something disturbingly familiar yet satisyingly unique.
Set in a futuristic post-apocolypse America, "Spares" centers around the life of Jack Randall a down on his luck ex-cop who finds himself the guardian and protector of six spares; a group of cloned humans whos existance is due to a very sinister agenda by those in power. Having escaped The Farm with the spares in tow, Jack seeks refuge in New Richmond; an ex-flying shopping center made city, attempting to secure an escape vehicle for himself and his charges. But instead of salvation Jack finds himself confronted with his past and a frightening vista of reality known to Jack as The Gap. Stuck with no place to go Jack has no option but to fight the demons of years past.
Starting off relatively light hearted and humorous "Spares" quickly darkens in tone until at last the horrors of The Gap along with the ravages of drug addiction are revealed to Jack. This novel is a much darker and disturbing work than "Only Forward" yet is just as satisfying as a peice of literature.
The narrative is told by the central character himself and makes for an easier to read almost conversationalist tone. With this easily accessable style "Spares" can acurately be described as one of those book which is impossible to put down, despite its disturbing surreal overtones.
"Spares", while lacking the commentary on the human condition shown in "Only Forward", still makes some very astute observations on the human psyche. With its crucible of concepts and styles "Spares" comes highly recomended and quite possibly will become the best book you have ever read, unless of course you have read "Only Forward" in which case it is a tie.
Rating: 5
Summary: An involving mix of noir and science fiction.
Comment: Michael Marshall Smith is a great new writer with a very unique and invividual voice. Coming on the heels of his debut, _Only Forward_, _Spares_ confirms that he is definitely someone to watch!
Some reviewers have faulted Smith for attempting to shoehorn too many diverse ideas into a single book, or for creating such an unlikeable person in his protagonist, Jack Randall. Depending on your point of view, this may be a valid criticism. For me, the mix worked and worked in a magical way I come across all too infrequently in my reading these days.
Jack is a drug-addicted former policeman in the surreal future world of New Richmond, Virginia, a grounded MegaMall which has been taken over as the basis for a city. On the run with a group of spares he's liberated from a Farm, Jack comes up against the same forces which necessitated his escape five years previously. Throw in the Gap, a strange, interdimensional reality, not quite analagous to cyberspace but similar, in which a war was fought 20 years ago, a war Jack and several of the other characters are veterans of, and the book is almost overflowing with ideas, originality, and an amazing level of energy.
If you're a fan of cross-genre mixes, hardboiled/sci-fi, this book is definitely worth your while. Based on his first two novels and a number of his short stories, including "More Tomorrow," an excellent Internet horror tale, Smith has quite a future ahead of him and, for now, a dedicated new fan in this critic.
Rating: 5
Summary: Ever Thought Of Cloning Yourself ?
Comment: Michael Marshall Smith effortlessly blends the worlds of Douglas Adams, William Gibson, Will Self and Raymond Chandler in this illuminating Sophomore novel. "Spares" is a humane, cleverly written rumination on the nature of humanity, and how far we'll go to convince ourselves that we've lost it, masquerading as a cyber-punk detective-thriller/comedy/fantasy/horror novel. Taking, as it does, our worst fears about the misuse of cloning technology and accelarating them to the Nth degree, Michael Marshall Smith plunges us into the world of Jack Cardigan, a disgraced former policeman/war veteran/drug addict running from a past he can't escape into a future he can't control. On the way he'll revisit another plain of reality, be accosted by a talking Fridge and explain to you where cats really do "go" when you let them out. Yes, it is as off the wall as it sounds and several times more ingenious than you suspect. If you're a would-be writer, you'll put down your pen and not want to bother after reading this. It really is that good.
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Title: One of Us by Michael Marshall Smith ISBN: 0553580698 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 06 July, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith ISBN: 0553579703 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 05 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: The Straw Men by Michael Marshall ISBN: 0515134279 Publisher: Jove Pubns Pub. Date: 30 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan ISBN: 0345457684 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 04 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Santiago : A Myth of the Far Future by Mike Resnick ISBN: 0812522567 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 06 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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