Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So Close to Greatness!, 1 Nov 2009
In the mid 21st century London has been turned into a giant theme park. Buckland Corp has recreated a historically accurate replica of the city during the Victorian era. Visitors pay hefty fees to relive the old days, relishing in the violence, decadence and squalor of Pastworld where everything, including the law, is exactly as it was during the reign of Queen Victoria.
Eve is a young woman living in this Victorian city, with no idea that the outside world exists or even any memory of her life before the age of fifteen. Trouble stalks Eve as a ragged looking man begins to follow her and rumours are circulating of the return of the Fantom, a deranged killer much like the Ripper who rules most of the criminal world.
Caleb is visiting Pastworld for the first time with his father, one of the creators of the city. Events turn against him and finding himself accused of kidnap and subject to the old laws of Pastworld, Caleb must a way to escape. Together with Eve, Caleb finds himself drawn into a plot that has been years in the making and must find the Fantom if he is ever to escape.
The premise to Pastworld is a brilliant one and Ian Beck gives his world a moody and atmospheric feel. There is little difficulty in imagining the Victorian London as he describes the foggy streets thronged with huge jostling crowds and the occasional pickpocket. Many of the situations are historically accurate or culturally familiar such as the Victorian obsession with supernatural séances, the Jack the Ripper style murders and the appearance of a main character who very much resembles the Artful Dodger. The plot is well developed and interesting as futuristic science mingles itself with this old world and shows just what lengths some people will go to enrich themselves. The villain of the story is particularly good with his creepy appearance and bloodthirsty behaviour which gradually reveals him as a mad criminal mastermind.
Whilst the premise provides a great backdrop and the plot is exciting and enticing, it is very difficult to become involved with the main characters. Their actions are sometimes unusual and unrealistic, which is a jolt to the natural flow of the book. This is a disappointment as it is the only thing to let down what could have been a great book. Had the characters been slightly more developed and the action scenes been a bit more exciting Pastworld could have had huge success. As it is the idea behind the story is what pulls it out of the bag and it would be great to have this added to in a sequel. I would in particular like to hear more of the strange outside world from which all these visitors come.
A good read that narrowly misses out on being a great one.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Great world building shame about the characters, 2 Nov 2009
To be honest a novel that I loved the book blurb for but one I really couldn't get into. A great shame as it was something that I thought really would keep me not only amused but greatly entertained for a few hours. What made it so difficult for me however was that it felt that I couldn't get an emotional attachment to the principle characters backed up with a lack of emotional care really did want me to just close this offering without bothering to reread.
That said there are positives to the tale the idea is perhaps unique, the writing skill pretty much a mine field with bits of information exploding out of there left right and centre and backed up with an almost Dickensian feel to the whole piece. Which whilst good, sadly didn't make up for my glaring goth like sentiments to the characters. Whilst this isn't an endorsement for the author, it has made him a name that I've made a note of and as such I will look at future offerings in the hope that problem's I've had here will be fixed. If that's done then Beck will have a very promising future indeed.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Quite something., 28 Oct 2009
A Kid's Review
What if all of London were really an amusement park--a whole city returned to Victorian times to entertain visitors from the twenty-first century? That's the wildly original premise of Ian Beck's Pastworld, a high-stakes mystery set in a simulated past.
Eve is a lifelong resident of Pastworld who doesn't know she's living in a theme park until a mysterious threat forces her to leave home. Caleb is a visiting tourist who finds the lawlessness of the past thrilling--until he suddenly becomes a fugitive from an antiquated justice system. And in the midst of it all, in the thick London fog a dark and deadly figure prowls, claiming victim after victim. He's the Fantom, a creature both of the past and of the present, in whose dark purpose Caleb and Eve will find their destinies combined.
Page-turning, complex, and haunting, Pastworld masterfully exposes the human experience of the past, of violence, of technology, and of entertainment.
I didnt enjoy this as much as 13 little blue envelopes (which I was eading at the time), maybe because it was a rather dark subject when compared to each over, I was kind of suprised that it wasnt gorier, considering its about someone trying to carve people's guts out...
It was elaborately written and an the conclusion took about 100 pages, which would have been quite tiresome, but it was told in each characters point of veiw, which added something different each time, but I dont reccomend reading it in an uncomfortable postion, as it is quite long
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