Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Somewhat Slight with a Predictable Twist, 3 May 2006
Mills' first two books (The Restraint of Beasts and All Quiet on the Orient Express) are among my all time favorites, however, his last two (Three to See the King and The Scheme for Full Employment) were deeply disappointing. This latest brief novel has many of the Mills' hallmarks, such as sparse deadpan prose, black humor, and an almost entirely male cast, but ultimately falls more into the disappointing category.
The story is built around a kind of pastiche of the 1911 "race" to the South Pole between Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and British explorer Robert Scott. Set in what seems to be the same era, the chapters alternate between the efforts of an apparently British team and an apparently Scandinavian team to reach the "AFP" (Agreed Furthest Point from Civilization). The composition of the teams mirrors the real Amundsen/Scott race in that the British is made up of a large group of enthusiastic amateurs and the Scandinavian team is a smaller unit of professionals. Like the real-life expeditions, there is much hardship and battling of the elements, although this expedition is not polar, but faces harsh landscapes, bitter wind, and weeks without sun. Since it's not a polar setting, there aren't the sled-dogs one might expect, but instead, there are mule trains, which are vital to the expeditions.
All of this is fairly straightforward stuff, as are the various interpersonal rivalries and jealousies that erupt between the members of the expeditions. The formal, quasi-military groups are the perfect venue for Mills' spare, deadpan style, which perfectly mirrors the psychological discomfort among the men. However, as one would expect from a Mills novel, disparate episodes slowly congeal into a darker atmosphere. For example, what is this "Theory of Transportation" which is the catalyst for the expeditions? And why are the two teams intent not just on reaching the AFP, but of establishing a trail to be used in the future by others? Anyone whose read any of Mills' books knows that All Is Not As It Seems...
It becomes impossible to discuss the novel's larger themes and ambitions without revealing the book's major twist. However, the twist is not a fresh or surprising one (especially to avid readers of classic science fiction), and anyone who's guessed the twist is likely to be left feeling rather underwhelmed by it all. The Amundsen/Scott framework is carried through to the end, but ultimately, this ends up feeling more like a neat idea than an actual novel. It's not bad, just somewhat slight.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Magnus Mills
by Magnus Mills
by Magnus Mills
by Magnus Mills
by Magnus Mills
