In a near-future Europe, gene-hacker Alex Sharkey has created a new life form: fairies - genetically-altered dolls with human intelligence. As the fairies develop their own societies, it become apparent that one group has sinister intentions, and Sharkey must try and put an end to their plans.
Fairyland
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Amazon Review
Having already made the final shortlist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award with his SF novels Eternal Light and Pasquale's Angel, Paul McAuley finally won this coveted prize with Fairyland. The title's hint of fey fantasy is blackly ironic: this is a streetwise cyberpunk future, replete with gene-hacking, instant designer drugs, and mind-warping viruses that function as "love bugs" or "loyalty plagues". One spinoff of genetic tailoring is a slave race of blue-fleshed "dolls", modified baboons made bright enough to do society's dirty jobs--until they're liberated by the unholy alliance of an idealistic child prodigy and a biologically savvy nerd, boosting them to thinking, evolving, breeding "fairies". And indeed the night becomes full of unwholesome magic and fanged terrors again, as this new race steps into the old mythological niche of the dark elves, attacking venomously from the trees and setting up their private fairyland in the decayed remains of a certain Magic Kingdom outside Paris... Though occasionally obscure and not quite plausible in all its plot details, Fairyland is a creepily effective nightmare of a world becoming increasingly chaotic under the stress of runaway biotechnologies, excessively deadly toys in the hands of people with no more common sense than children. Vivid and viscerally compelling. --David Langford
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
When gene hacker Alex Sharkey helps a super-smart girl turn a genetically-engineered doll into a new species he accidentally gives history a dangerous shove
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A. J. Cull
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Set in a dystopian near future, Fairyland is filled with exotic and sinister technological wonders. Designer drugs, mind-altering viruses, savage "warewolves", personalities uploaded into virtual worlds. And, of course, there are the dolls, artificial beings created for humanity's amusement but which, like miniature Frankenstein monsters, become increasingly and alarmingly independent. Fairyland suffers from being a novel in three parts, with separate casts of minor characters, and this makes it rather disjointed. But the firecracker display of ideas is exhilarating, Alex Sharkey is a refreshingly atypical hero and, despite dating from over a decade ago, this novel remains relevant and enjoyable.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By John Kwok
Format:Paperback
"Fairyland" remains one of the most impressive works in post-cyberpunk fiction, conjuring a nightmarish vision of a near future Europe in which biotechnology has run amok, creating new species of humans designed for pleasure and violent sport. Paul J. McAuley's novel is a fast-paced thriller reminiscent of William Gibson and John Shirley's early cyberpunk novels in its pacing. Succumbing to the charm and vision of a megalomaniac brilliant young child, Milena, genetic engineer Alex Sharkey helps unleash a dire threat to humanity's existence, allowing "dolls" - bioengineered beings based on human DNA, designed for pleasure, slavery and wanton destruction in gladiator-like amusement games - the opportunity to think for themselves and understand the notion of free will. He will pursue these beings and other, similar, creatures across decades across a European landscape wasted by the ravages of war and poverty, searching for Milena and a means to ensure humanity's survival. Without question, "Fairyland" is still one of Paul J. McAuley's greatest works in fantasy and science fiction, demonstrating his great gifts in storytelling and writing.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I love my sf. I found Mcauley while browsing waterstones on a dull wet day having neared the end of my previous read. It sounded promising, cyber-nano-faeries, what a great combination.
I'm also keen on not wasting my precious spare time draggin my eyes and mind through books that just dont do it for me. This is one of those books i'm afraid to say.
Its starts off well and you get a good feel for the character Alex and his (possibly induced) infatuation with Milena. Then part 2 arrives and it all goes a bit astray. Alex's character becomes watered down and theres no real sense of belief in any of the other characters that appear. Part 3 just confuses the situation even more. I haven't even finished it to be honest as I have lost all interest in it. The only thing I can say, as an aspiring writer (in those precious spare moments between life, hence the need for books to really enage, and not waste my time) is that if Mcauley can win an award for this then there is hope for all budding authors!
I'm also keen on not wasting my precious spare time draggin my eyes and mind through books that just dont do it for me. This is one of those books i'm afraid to say.
Its starts off well and you get a good feel for the character Alex and his (possibly induced) infatuation with Milena. Then part 2 arrives and it all goes a bit astray. Alex's character becomes watered down and theres no real sense of belief in any of the other characters that appear. Part 3 just confuses the situation even more. I haven't even finished it to be honest as I have lost all interest in it. The only thing I can say, as an aspiring writer (in those precious spare moments between life, hence the need for books to really enage, and not waste my time) is that if Mcauley can win an award for this then there is hope for all budding authors!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Skillful modern mythology
A rich and strange world is conjured by this novel. Fairytale creatures and subjective points of view are created by quite plausible but roughly sketched genetic engineering,... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Loose Bones
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dystopic Biology 101
Clever dystopian sf heavy on the biology, well written characters, quite taunt plotting. Not probably a good idea if you already feeling suicidal; but for anyone else who's... Read more
Published 18 months ago by DWS
1.0 out of 5 stars
Worst of a good bunch
I bought this as part of the otherwise fantastic Gollancz 'Future Classics' series, but unfortunately this one fell way short of the mark. Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2009 by BloodyOllie
3.0 out of 5 stars
An Enjoyable Science Fantasy Loses It’s Way
For two-thirds of its length Fairyland is an enjoyable character-driven science fantasy, but unfortunately it falls at the final hurdle with an overly obscure and anticlimactic... Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2003 by Jane Aland
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Dark, Very Confusing, Very Good
An amazingly vivid and colourful read about the future, the dark imagery used for places you can imagine or even know really come to life in a decaying near future set up. Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
Alex in Nano-land: Cyber-opera and our cultural origins.
This book blew my mind. Without giving too much away.. it started like a detective novel, snaked its way through cyber-punk and blossomed into a treatise on the very nature of what... Read more
Published on 3 Aug 2001 by Jess (jez@vesicapisces.fsnet.co.uk)
4.0 out of 5 stars
A sprawling synthesis of decadence, nanotech and wonder.
McAuley has added to the small set of books which add a new paradigm to SF. His atmospheric nanotech-dominated world, infused with the culture of global immersive web-space,... Read more
Published on 14 Feb 1999
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