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End Of The World Blues (GOLLANCZ S.F.) Paperback – 9 Aug 2007

by
Jon Courtenay Grimwood (Author)
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Jon Courtenay Grimwood (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars 14 customer reviews
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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (9 Aug. 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0575079533
  • ISBN-13: 978-0575079533
  • Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 2 x 19.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,240,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

"Fast yet humane, hip yet bizarre, futuristic yet embedded in the absolute present moment of the world, Jon Courtenay Grimwood's novels read like thrillers but maintain a kind of caring irony and clarity of political vision which not only make him one of the best of the new U.K. SF writers but suggest new directions for every kind of writing."--M. John Harrison, author of Light "Defiantly individual, and works in that interesting margin where myth, futurism, literature and pop culture all interbreed." --"Times," UK "Grimwood's latest tale reads as if Kurt Vonnegut were writing manga for the producers of "Doctor Who,""--"Publishers Weekly"

Book Description

The stunning new novel from the critically acclaimed master of literary SF.

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Customer Reviews

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsGrimwood on good form
By Kindle Customer on 18 Aug. 2006
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This follows a familiar Grimwood pattern; two parallel stories, one cyberpunk-flavoured one set in the near-future and a harder science-fiction one set in the far future. Characters connect with both threads, and as always with this writer, it takes a while to figure out quite what's going on and how the two stories connect. Grimwood captures the flavour of street-level Tokyo beautifully and also the less glamourous and cyberpunk South London. There is the usual attention to detail with bands and cultural icons namechecked at appropriate moments. The story is fast paced and is somehow more accessible than one or two of his previous offerings. Some more familiar Grimwood themes are explored as the lead character works through issues of identity, guilt, and commitment. A great read!
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3.0 out of 5 starsCross-genre shenanigans
By Mr. A. M. Mcdonald on 5 April 2008
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This is my first experience of John Courtney Grimwood, and it is a positive one. His characters are well rounded, with a particularly good ear for dialogue. He's also keen on cross-genre writing - a concept as a writer I'm in favour of. When mixing genres it's important to maintain the integrity of the story underneath: the mix is nothing without a compelling narrative. End Of The World Blues succeeds, but in spite of this.

In End of The World Blues (henceforth known as EOTWB) we have two parallel stories - one set in modern day Japan and the other in a future version of what appears to be a dying Earth. While the story following Kit, an English bar owner in Tokyo, soon to have a number of live changing events is a conventional thriller, the parallel narrative following Neku, a princess living within a 'sentient' castle in the future, jarrs in its execution.

Yet apart from Neko and her appearance in Kit's life in modern day Japan, these parallel narratives keep a firm distance apart. Barring the odd tweak you could remove the science fiction mix from EOTWB without being any the worse off. The question is: why is it there? My problem with the sci-fi element is not that it's unwelcome, but that less attention has been furnished to the future world than with more conventional real world. Grimwood doesn't give the reader the time to relate to characters in the future earth - each one is weak, unmemorable and for the most part unlikeable, whereupon in the real world each character has depth and and human, modern day interest - that Grimwood has been unable - or unwilling - to translate to the future portion of the novel.

Grimwood is an engaging writer, sharp and witty, yet is subtle enough with his characterisations that cliches are avoided and surprises are unexpected. He puts me in mind of a less romantic Michael Marshall Smith, thin on hyperbole but generous with allowing his characters space. I will look forward to reading more of his work.
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4.0 out of 5 starsWord woose, good but strangely unmemorable
By Ed.F VINE VOICE on 29 Aug. 2007
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
A page turner from Grimwood, with his usual intertwined multi-layered story telling. The two connected stories are a present +20 minutes thriller and a dystopian far future "end of the world". The connection between the two is the schoolgirl Nijie who may or may not carry the memories of a power player from the far end of time.

I liked the conceit that the far future is linked to the near present via threads stronger than mere causality but I question the effectiveness of the dual stories, I found myself rather more intrigued by Nijie's near present story than Lady Neku's far future one and as such I wonder if this is really a Sci-Fi novel at all but more of a contemporary thriller with some Sci-Fi metaphor bolted on in parts.

As such this focus on only one half of the story makes the other rather less memorable to this reader and as such almost fragments the narrative into chunks of interesting thriller spaced by all too forgettable end of time padding.
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2.0 out of 5 starsProbably best for teenagers
By hfffoman TOP 500 REVIEWER on 31 May 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I enoyed the story but overall I was dissatisfied with this book. I will try to be fair to it and help you decide whether you are like me or like those who did like it.

On the positive side, it is not a bad thriller. The bad guys are nasty (but stupid), the hero is tough and cynical (but with a heart), the police are machiavellian (but capable of being outsmarted), and the girls are cool. It is fast paced with plenty of action, suspense, sex, mystery and above all a pervading sense of decadence that affects everyone.

On the negative side, I very much agree with Ed F's review. The device of having two stories doesn't work well. The SF story (floating rope world) is interspersed in the main story at a rate of about one chapter every five. At best it felt like reading a separate story and at worst it was an irritating distraction. Some of its SF concepts are imaginative and fun, but are they justified? Anyone can think up a bunch of zany ideas such as slicing the moon into segments and having real sword fights in which the loser gets a new body. The question is whether these ideas are properly integrated into the story. In this case where they take place in separate chapters in a separate world far in the future, is the connection between the two stories convincing, is it an essential part of the book? Or is the extra story just a bit of titillation added on to spice it up, with a few contrived links to the main world? Could the main story have been written as a standalone novel?

You might reply, in that case wouldn't the parallels and interactions between the lives of the people in the two worlds have been lost? I am not convinced. Quite frankly, there weren't many of them, and they weren't fully explored.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

great !

Published 13 months ago by KENNETH TURNER
2.0 out of 5 starsNouveau Quiche

I am a huge science fiction fan, but I am also easily annoyed by the genre. Science fiction is something that allows an author to open up every possibility and do anything, but... Read more

Published on 24 April 2012 by Sam Tyler
3.0 out of 5 starsInteresting but ultimately unsatisfying.

The main characters are likeable and believable, quirky and strange but
interesting.
Nijie reads like a manga character and Kit like a character from a detective... Read more

Published on 11 Sept. 2010 by plot hound
5.0 out of 5 starsAWESOME

Used the free delivey and still got it in two days. As Usual Grimwood has excelled himself, talking cats, multidimentional time travel and warring Yakusa. Awesome.

Published on 22 July 2010 by SHANEY
4.0 out of 5 starsStylish, If Convoluted, Post-Cyberpunk Thriller from Grimwood

Jon Courtenay Grimwood's "End of the World Blues" is a stylish, often convoluted, post-cyberpunk thriller which will easily remind readers of William Gibson's early "Cyberspace"... Read more

Published on 14 Aug. 2008 by John Kwok
4.0 out of 5 starsStylish, If Convoluted, Post-Cyberpunk Thriller from Grimwood

Jon Courtenay Grimwood's "End of the World Blues" is a stylish, often convoluted, post-cyberpunk thriller which will easily remind readers of William Gibson's early "Cyberspace"... Read more

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4.0 out of 5 starsSudden surprise

Having previously read 9Tail Fox, I picked up this title without knowing anything about it, I think thats why I enjoyed it a little more than most. Read more

Published on 27 Jun. 2008 by Colonel
3.0 out of 5 starsGood writing but I'm not sure I followed it

Kit is a burnt out ex-soldier running a bar in a sleazy part of Tokyo. He is mixed up in the business of the Yakuza in Japan through the husband of his lover, and with British... Read more

Published on 7 April 2008 by P. G. Harris
5.0 out of 5 starsProper mental

I had only previously read 9 Tail Fox from Grimwood, but I loved that... and I love this! As with 9 Tail Fox, it's a fairly open ended story leaving the reader to decide which way... Read more

Published on 10 Dec. 2007 by spoonofmilk
5.0 out of 5 starsSparkling rollercoaster from a master storyteller

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Published on 29 Aug. 2006 by searcher

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