Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Magnus Mills belter, 11 Aug 2005
Fans of Magnus Mills won't be disappointed by yet another strange, unsettling and darkly comical adventure. Employing his trademark themes and dialogue Mills has produced another classic, closest in feel to Three To See The King. The harsh insolated setting provides a perfect backdrop for two separate teams of explorers who set off to reach the Agreed Furthest Point. Black humour and matter of fact dialogue creates a warmth amidst the gloom of the dark, cold, barren landscape.
Not wanting to give anything away I will resist from adding any more except to say that if you've never read a Magnus Mills book before you must get this NOW. You won't be disappointed.
When I discovered his first book Restraint of Beasts I thought I'd found a one-off work of comedy gold, who'd have thought he'd follow it up with my favourite All Quiet on The Orient Express.
As with his other 4 novels you will want to re-read "Explorers.." as soon as you finish the last page. Although not essential and without trying to put people off reading this immediately I would suggest you read the first 4 novels in order of publication to get a feel for his writing style. My only disappointment is I've got to wait a couple more years for his next yarn. Get ready to enter the weird world of your new favourite author.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Men have been driven to distraction by lesser torments.", 3 Jun 2006
Ever since his debut novel, The Restraint of Beasts (1998), Mills has been surprising and delighting readers with his short novels. His minimalist prose and terse dialogue complement the bleak settings and set his sometimes dark messages into high relief. Satiric and often wryly humorous, Mills offers social commentary and thoughtful assessments of the human condition.
Here two explorers, Captains Johns (British) and Tostig (Scandinavian), race to see who will become the first man to reach the AFP, or Agreed Furthest Point. Mills creates obvious parallels between this race and the 1911 race for the South Pole between Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who became the first man to reach the South Pole, and the British explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who, with his crew, died in the attempt.
From the outset, the novel is full of anticipation and excitement, as the rival crews head south with their pack mules. Johns, his ten-man crew, and twenty-three mules blaze a trail across the scree; Tostig with four men and ten mules, follows a dry river bed. Alternating the point of view between the two parties, Mills shows their differences--the Johns party is better equipped, with twice as many men and mules, while the Tostig camp is better organized and better disciplined. In the Johns party, petty jealousies arise, men compete for influence, and some men begin to scapegoat others. With Tostig, all the men can perform multiple roles, and they work together for a common goal.
The rush to the AFP is fascinating and exciting in its own right, as readers get caught up in the action and identify with some of the participants, but there is a much bigger story here. More than halfway through the novel, Mills dramatically reveals what is motivating the trip to the AFP (though it cannot be described without spoiling the novel for readers). This revelation introduces a whole new set of parallels and broadens the themes--the arrogance of power, man's inhumanity toward others, and the intolerance of differences--issues which have dominated twentieth century history. Simultaneously, Mills also recognizes and celebrates those moments, rare and often brief, when man succeeds in making emotional commitments to the world at large.
Though some readers may find the parallels to be somewhat didactic, the author is careful not to violate the limits of his plot, and he does not sermonize. Writing with dark humor and irony, Mills is more political than in the past, but the message, incorporated within this fable/fantasy, is powerful, suggesting new ways to consider contemporary history. Mary Whipple
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wierd and wonderful, 19 Sep 2005
I happilly discovered Restraint of Beasts a few months ago and have hungrilly devoured all of Magnus Mlls books since. He seems totally restraint free when it comes to imagination and originality. All his books have certain things in common- they are all compulsive reads, filled with dry/black humour and they all put you in a literary comfort zone for certain periods only to keep surprising you and kicking you out of that zone regularly.
Two teams from different countries are trying to reach the 'Agreed Furthest Point' from civilization. At the start of the book we don't know why (it becomes clear later) but we can see that the two teams become competitive and want to reach the destination first. Both teams are made up entirely of men (Yes, this is a Mills book) and each team have a few mules with them. It seems that one team is extremely proffessional and the other (the British) are amateurs.
Explorers of the New Century is set in an alternative world that seems normal at first but as the book continues little things jump out at you and have you thinking 'what's going on here?'. You will wonder if these are aliens and they've been given British names to fool you. You will wonder what the mules signify and what the moral lesson is. You will think of slavery, of racism, of rank and purpose. What's frustrating about writing a review is that there's no easy answers to any of this. It's like a big puzzle and I would be lying if I claimed to know the answers at the end. But I'd say this is Mills' best book since All Quiet on the Orient Express. Read, enjoy, and think.
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