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The Gone-Away World [Paperback]

Nick Harkaway
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Book Description

29 Jan 2009

The Jorgmund Pipe is the backbone of the world, and it's on fire. Gonzo Lubitsch, professional hero and troubleshooter, is hired to put it out - but there's more to the fire, and the Pipe itself, than meets the eye. The job will take Gonzo and his best friend, our narrator, back to their own beginnings and into the dark heart of the Jorgmund Company itself.

Equal parts raucous adventure, comic odyssey and Romantic Epic, The Gone-Away World is a story of - among other things - love and loss; of ninjas, pirates, politics; of curious heroism in strange and dangerous places; and of a friendship stretched beyond its limits. But it also the story of a world, not unlike our own, in desperate need of heroes - however unlikely they may seem.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 592 pages
  • Publisher: Windmill Books (29 Jan 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0099519976
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099519973
  • Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 3.8 x 19.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 19,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

"Its scope and ambition are extraordinary, its execution is often breathtaking, and its style is by turns hilarious, outrageous, devastating, hip and profound ... Hugely entertaining" (Independent on Sunday )

"Breathtakingly ambitious ... A bubbling cosmic stew of a book, written with such exuberant imagination that you are left breathless by its sheer ingenuity" (Observer )

"[A] post-apocalyptic triumph ... Immensely rewarding ... Genuinely terrifying" (The Times )

"A stunning debut" (Scotland on Sunday )

"Exuberant...Wildly inventive" (Michael Gove The Times )

Book Description

The literary debut of 2008 - part adventure, part comic opera, part geek nirvana

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars I'm confused more by the reviews than the book 16 Jun 2010
Format:Hardcover
I just don't get all the criticism that has been levelled at this book: it is certainly one of the best books I have ever read. Don't get me wrong, it is complex, convoluted and verbose. These are precisely the things that make it superb. The book is very, very clever (which may explain why some people are so opposed to it); very, very violent (which may explain why some people are so opposed to it); very, very funny (which may explain why some people are so opposed to it) and very, very enjoyable (which probably doesn't explain why some people are so opposed to it, but you can never tell). Whenever I run out of books to read (which is often, since I read 3 to 4 books a week, if not more), I always come back to this and everytime i do I love it. After all, what's not to love? Ninjas, Pirates, post-apocalyptic world, very bad bad-guys, very bad good-guys, murder, kidnap, intrigue and social divide.

And did I mention funny? Because it really needs to be stated at least twice. Admittedly, the first time I read it, I needed to consult a dictionary more than once (and that's quite impressive- I'm rather wordy myself), and several times I needed to google up some reference or another. However, it was all worth it. I find myself waiting to see what Mr Harkaway puts out next. It's either going to be truly magnificent or complete and utter tosh. Either way, I'll give it a go!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The apocalypse has never been funnier 8 Jan 2012
Format:Paperback
"If we one day cease to exist, what will be remarkable is that we were ever here at all."

What I love about post-apocalyptic novels is that pretty much anything can happen in it. And it happens in John le Carre's Son's first novel.
At the beginning at the story, most of the the world has exactly done what the title says, gone away.The reasons for that happening, and how some of the world was saved by the Jorgmund Pipe seem to have something to do with a band of adventurers , who, as the story opens, are being called upon to save the world. Again.
The narrator recounts his schooling, his training in kung fu (with Master Wu), his student-politics days and his work at a top-secret military installation where they are building a fancy weapon. Then he is sent off to war, the fancy weapon is used, and the world goes all post-apocalyptic.
From there it goes all comic from horse/men monsters to "shark things with legs" and arguments about the use of sheep in the battlefield ("A warsheep would be a cross between a dolphin and a small, limber elephant." ). Evil ninjas("Ninjas are silly. They are the flower fairies of gong fu and karate." )and a pack of very strange but harmless mimes.("I have known heaven, and now I am in hell, and there are mimes." )

It's a beautiful love story too.I had to laugh out loud when a particularly boring and sentimental sequence before the climax is interrupted rudely by the lovable military combat instructor Ronnie Cheung, who calls everyone "Bumhole" and now insists, effectively, that they get on with the bloody story.(more Ronnie Cheung moments are needed ).
It's like Joseph Heller,-Stephen King,-Ben Elton,-Ian M Banks together writing a story...on drugs kind of novel.
... Read more ›
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinarily good first novel 28 Jan 2010
By M. R. N. Shackelford TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Mixing a range of styles - from Joseph Heller's "Catch 22", through the wacky world of "Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, to the attention to detail and plot complexity of "Cryptonomicon" by Neil Stephenson - this is a superb book.

A post apocalyptic vision of the Earth, with most of the planet contaminated by an Information Bomb that makes Matter "Gone Away", and populated by refugees from the "Mad Max" films - I thoroughly enjoyed the book, even the various flash backs into a kung fu childhood.

If you have enjoyed any of the above authors - give this a go.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars a true original 7 July 2008
Format:Hardcover
its not often a book just blows you away with the scope of its ideas and the ability of its writing, but this is that book. Do not sign up if you have ADD or lack the capacity to keep all the ideas being fired at you spinning all at once. Phillip K Dick Vonneguht Mieville William Gibson all are possible reference points but its the sheer verve of the characters and of the way he describes events that just carries you along. Great fun and your brain cells get a work out - what more do you want from a book!
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable epic, but no easy read 27 Jun 2008
By R. WEST-SOLEY TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
Always a fan of post-apocalyptic plots, I wasn't disappointed by Harkaway's exploration of his particular ideas about a reconstructed, shattered world. An eclectic mix of shock and dark humour, and some engaging, expertly drawn characters mean that there is a lot to get your teeth into. The idea of the inevitable cycle of rise and fall is played out in an intriguing mish-mash of the war and sci-fi genres.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a holiday novel or a light read, then this probably isn't it - it's a book you have to approach with the same kind of heavyweight attitude that the writer injects into it with some very carefully crafted prose. And perhaps that is the book's sticking point - it's so carefully constructed along rather orthodox lines that at times it feels a little false. That said, if you have the patience with it, there are some fascinating tableaux to explore. Stick with it when it loses pace - there is light at the end of the tunnel, and your reward for pushing through is a very enjoyable end to the book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Inelastic fantasy.
Mr. Harkaway writes like an artist employs oil paint in an impasto painting. Layer upon layer of words building depth and texture to create an image which has substance both of and... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Phill Evans
1.0 out of 5 stars Everyone loved this book
I hated this book and wish I hadn't struggled through all 590 pages. The asides and digressions were neither funny or clever; just incredibly tedious If these bits of nonsense had... Read more
Published 25 days ago by Helen Baynham
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book- highly recommend it!
Brilliant book- highly recommend it! I got this on a recommendation and although at times it can be a little hard to stick with- keep on going, it's worth it.
Published 28 days ago by Sonia Stubbs
5.0 out of 5 stars Brlliant, funny, complex
I read the Angelmaker before I did this one and absolutely loved it. Considering that this is Nick Harkaway's debut novel I had my reservations, for what could he have written... Read more
Published 1 month ago by H Berryhill
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly weird
It starts as a fairly normal sci fi sort of thing and slowly and imperceptibly gets stranger until it hits you with the twist .. Which is just brilliant .. A great book .. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Simon
1.0 out of 5 stars Not half as good the author thinks it is.
If you find names like Gonzo William Lubitsch, Sally J Culpepper, Jim Hepsobah and Dick Washburn hilarious this may be the book for you. Read more
Published 1 month ago by G. K. Lowell
4.0 out of 5 stars A great read... Long, meandering, but it gets you there in the end...
Others have reviewed this book extensively, and for me I would be amongst those that loved it. Having recently read Angelmaker I was hungry for all things Harkaway and found this... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Cerebralai
5.0 out of 5 stars Five stars aren't enough
The book starts with a group of adventurers being hired to put out a fire at a facility that protects the few pockets of reality left in the world from the UN-real created by the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. King
5.0 out of 5 stars Weird but SO much fun!
I was inspired to buy this book because it sounded so original, and the reviews from other Amazon readers were so varied but overwhelmingly positive. Read more
Published 3 months ago by N. J. Brandi
5.0 out of 5 stars Its a Mad Mad world...
Probably one of the most amazing books I have ever read, I absolutely adored this. Its insane, completely compelling,clever and complex and while I was reading it I was completely... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Liz Wilkins
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Who should play Gonzo Lubitsch in a film of this book? 1 22 Sep 2008
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