Harkaway (Gnomon) combines a satisfying mystery with a thought-provoking science-fictional setting and just the right touch of heartbreak to make for a compelling read. Recommended for those who enjoy reading SF/mystery blends such as The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal, Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty, and especially Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson.
The book functions as a riposte to the dangers of the surveillance state, demonstrating the interconnectedness of consciousness and the triumph of the all, the gnomon, over totalitarian control of the few. This work goes so far as to invoke the reader's role in creating the narrative, which is simply astonishing; to be read at all costs! [See Prepub Alert, 7/31/17.]
In a world dominated by high-tech government surveillance, state inspector Mielikki Neith is asked to investigate when suspected dissident Diana Hunter dies in custody and discovers that Diana had sought to slow the investigation by unfurling stories about fantastic characters, from an ancient Carthaginian alchemist to a London-based Ethiopian painter designing a boundary-breaking video game...
With its bizarre scenarios and feverish wordiness, its huge cast of British eccentrics and the dark forces of paranoia and totalitarianism lurking everywhere, this novel recalls the works of Martin Amis and Will Self. Immense fun and quite exciting. [See Prepub Alert, 9/11/11.]