Inverted World (S.F. MASTERWORKS)
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Product Description
Book Description
'One of two or three of the most impressive pure-SFnovels produced in the UK since World War Two' ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION.
Product Description
A uniquely powerful novel of a society in decay. On a planet whose very nature is a mystery a massive decrepit city is pulled along a massive railway track, laying the line down before it as it progresses into the wilderness. The society within toils under an oppressive regime, its structures always on the point of collapse, the lives of its individuals lived in misery. No one knows where they are going, why they are going or what they will find when they get there. The ending of the novel provides one of the most profound twists in SF.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Partly on the back of the justly-celebrated film of his 1995 masterpiece 'The Prestige', Chris Priest has recently been receiving something a little bit closer to the amount of attention and praise his work deserves. If you've enjoyed other Priest books, you owe yourself a copy of the majestic invention that is 'Inverted World'. High-concept SF can be a joy if undertaken by experts and 'Inverted World' is built around the 'highest' concept SF has seen for a very long time. While coming up with the notion of a world shaped like a hyperboloid with infinite limits at its poles and equator seems difficult enough, putting that notion to work in a compelling fiction seems a harder thing still. And yet Priest pulls it off: the world of his slightly dissociated exploratory Guildsman, Helward Mann, proves to be inverted in more ways than one and to reflect an odd light back on what we take to be our world. Without giving too much away, fans of later Priest books like 'The Affirmation' and 'The Prestige' will find in 'Inverted World' an early but powerful use of many of Priest's most interesting and enduring concerns. Incidentally, the NYRB Classics edition of 'Inverted World' contains a short but significant 'Prologue' which (I think) has never been printed in any of the many British editions that the novel has clocked-up since its initial publication in 1974. (Certainly the 'Prologue' doesn't appear in my old, beloved, 1986 Gollancz edition or the edition in Vol. 2 of the 1999 Christopher Priest omnibus.) The NYRB edition also has an engaging and informative afterword from John Clute, who relates 'Inverted World' usefully to Priest's other works and British SF as a whole. So this edition is well worth acquiring even if you're already a fan.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although none of Priest's novels can be described as conventional, I thought this was perhaps one of the very oddest. The setting is mind-bendingly bizarre. At first the characters seem to inhabit a comparatively normal city, and much of the novel is spent discovering (alongside the hero) its true nature - and exploring the even stranger world which lies beyond its walls.
Inverted World is an extremely compelling novel, which combines a hard sf core with plenty of human interest - in fact at times `Inverted World' reads (superficially at least) like a heroic fantasy novel as we follow the progress of the hero, Helward, through his initiation into an elite guild, his arduous training, and his call to adventure. Priest's is a highly individual voice, and he resists pigeonholing. Reading `Inverted World; is a very strange, but very rewarding, experience.
Inverted World is an extremely compelling novel, which combines a hard sf core with plenty of human interest - in fact at times `Inverted World' reads (superficially at least) like a heroic fantasy novel as we follow the progress of the hero, Helward, through his initiation into an elite guild, his arduous training, and his call to adventure. Priest's is a highly individual voice, and he resists pigeonholing. Reading `Inverted World; is a very strange, but very rewarding, experience.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I randomly found this book while browsing. since then, i have bought several others in the SF masterworks series due to this story.
The entire concept is shocking and compelling. the personal struggles, sacrifices and daily routines are actually quite powerful. this book shows what people will do to carry on when they feel they must.
There are some very good parts where Priest descibes how things change during a journey. its rewarding to imagine it as if there yourself, what you would see and feel while moving through some trippy scenery.
Another thing i got from this novel was a broad view of a struggle that must be won at all costs. in a lot of ways this book mainly deals with struggles of varying scale and type.
As the end nears much is revealed and this creates some of the best parts. knowing puts things into context.
Definitely worth reading. i couldnt put this book down.
The entire concept is shocking and compelling. the personal struggles, sacrifices and daily routines are actually quite powerful. this book shows what people will do to carry on when they feel they must.
There are some very good parts where Priest descibes how things change during a journey. its rewarding to imagine it as if there yourself, what you would see and feel while moving through some trippy scenery.
Another thing i got from this novel was a broad view of a struggle that must be won at all costs. in a lot of ways this book mainly deals with struggles of varying scale and type.
As the end nears much is revealed and this creates some of the best parts. knowing puts things into context.
Definitely worth reading. i couldnt put this book down.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Defective on kindle
This book is a good story and well worth your money, but dont buy it on the kindle, There are massive gaps between each paragraph, even if the paragraph only contains one line. Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. J. Owens
Enjoyable, but a little contrived and predictable
I bought this book on the recommendation of a friend, and was a little disappointed, but then I think I had higher expectations. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mike N
Engaging
I am a fan of Christopher Priest for his unusual ideas and normal but not quite normal worlds. However I haven't always managed to finish them being a fairly 'casual' reader. Read more
Published 3 months ago by M C
A good read and a great twist at the end
I'm gradualy working my way through the whole SF Masterworks series, but at the moment I'm just cherry picking the books that sound the most appealing. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Peter
Very original idea, but the serialised magazine version has the better...
I read this years ago, and was enthralled. But I first read it in episodes in If (or was it Galaxy?), then I bought the book, and the ending had been changed from an excellent... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Captain Kirk
...and there followed on Earth planet a long period now known as the...
Priest may be better known as the writer of the book The Prestige, later filmed by Christopher Nolan with the same title. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Eileen Shaw
Hard going.... only got 1/3 through it, when .....
I didn't really like this book and found it a bit slow. The descriptions are nice to a point but soon get familiar and up to the point that I read nothing new really seemed to... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Tony Day
Fabulous book in perfect condition
Fantastic Priest book - fantastic read that, as usual had me wondering what was going on and whether i just really needed to re read it now that I thought I knew where he was... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Jodi-ann Deegan
Impending doom, future style
Inverted world has as its central conceit a small "city" which is built on wheels and propelled on tracks ever forwards towards an elusive "optimum". Read more
Published 13 months ago by S. Jary
A good read
I have enjoyed most of Christopher Priest's books and this was no exception. The conclusion was a little rushed and a bit of a disappointment though. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mr. A. Buckle
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