Signs of Life [Hardcover]

‘Imagine Reservoir Dogs scripted by Alan Bennett and you will have some idea of the flavour… superbly realized.’
The Times

‘Remarkable… Signs of Life is a glorious hybrid, mixing elements of science fiction and literary art into a striking fable that reads like little else currently on bookshop shelves. His dystopian view of a Britain running riot with unregulated biotechnology is truly frightening.’
Sunday Times

‘Brilliantly sustained. If you’ve never discovered M. John Harrison, now’s your chance. Far too long the most underrated writer of his generation, he’s one of the best we’ve got.’
Time Out

‘Like all good literature, Harrison’s stories are worth reading again and again; the more you read, the more you understand.’
Iain Banks

A dazzling modern fable of a woman who yearns to fly, from one of the most distinctive voices in modern British fiction – hailed in the Times Literary Supplement as ‘Grittier than Carey and wittier than McEwan’.

Mick Rose runs a fast – and sometimes illegal – courier service to the genetics industry. Money is plentiful, and life with his young lover Isobel Avens is all he ever wanted. But Isobel is dissatisfied. Beautiful, she wants to be more beautiful; earthbound, she dreams of flying. And when she takes a new DNA-based genetic treatment, Mick finds out more than he wants to know about Isobel – and the goods his firm has been carrying all these years.

M. John Harrison has been hailed as one of Britain’s most original novelists, viewing the modern world through sharp, unforgiving eyes. In Signs of Life he has created his most captivating novel yet, a dark, unsettling, heart-rending tale of a future that is nearly upon us and of dreams that will always be distant.

Mick Rose runs a fast – and sometimes illegal – courier service to the genetics industry. Money is plentiful, and life with his young lover Isobel is all he ever wanted. But Isobel is dissatisfied. Beautiful, she wants to be more beautiful; earthbound, she dreams of flying. And when she takes a new DNA-based genetic treatment, Mick finds out more than he wants to know about Isobel – and the goods his firm has been carrying all these years.

M. John Harrison has been hailed as one of Britain's most distinctive and imaginative novelist, viewing the modern world through sharp, unforgiving eyes. In 'Signs of Life' he has created his most captivating novel yet, a dark, unsettling, heart-rending tale of a future that is nearly upon us and of dreams that will always be distant.

"Remarkable…'Signs of Life' is a glorious hybrid, mixing elements of science fiction and literary art into a striking fable that reads like little else currently on bookshop shelves. His dystopian view of a Britain running riot with unregulated biotechnology is truly frightening."
STEPHEN AMIDON, 'Sunday Times'

"Brilliantly sustained. Characterized by his fusion of super-realistic dialogue with caustic observation…the writing in 'Signs of Life' is better than ever. If you've never discovered M. John Harrison, now's your chance. Far too long the most underrated writer of his generation, he's one of the best we've got."
NICHOLAS ROYLE, 'Time Out'

"Like all good literature, Harrison's stories are worth reading again and again: the more you read, the more you understand."
IAIN BANKS

Signs of Life is M. John Harrison’s eighth novel. His fifth, In Viriconium, was nominated for the Guardian Fiction Prize; his sixth, Climbers, won the Boardman Tasker Award in 1989. He has written for several periodicals, including the Spectator, and currently reviews new fiction for the Times Literary Supplement.

‘A cross between John Fowles and Iris Murdoch.’ Independent on Sunday

‘A blazing original. A great imaginer, and an extraordinary writer.’ Clive Barker

‘Uncommon brilliance.’ TLS