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Title: WHEN GRAVITY FAILS by George Effinger ISBN: 0-553-25555-X Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 December, 1987 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Fantastic
Comment: This novel is, in my opinion, one of the best SF efforts of the 80s. The writing is modern, dynamic and more refined than in the average cyberpunk novel. The narrative progression is vigorous but the reader never gets out of his depth, because Effinger's aim, beyond the solving of the "mystery", is to show how a man can be framed by his own capacities: Marid Audran, indeed, is chosen by Friedlander Bey because he's the only man in the Boudayin to have the sufficient amount of shrewdness / charism / guts to find the killer. Against his will, he accepts to have his brain wired, succeeds but will get no reward in the end (to say the least). A tragic destiny, quite unusual in SF. Nevertheless, as another reviewer wrote, Effinger was smart enough not to insert too many digressions or metaphysical considerations (like many other authors would have done): on the contrary, he punctuated the plot with wellcomed strokes of black humour.
All the characters are colourful and unforgettable. In the end, I felt like I was one of them, like I belonged to their community. It's really hard not to get involved personnally in this book (... the sign of a good book). The description of the Boudayin is amazing: it avoids most of the usual exotic cliches about North Africa (where I've never been to), but in the same time, the reader catches very quickly who does what and why, even if he's not familiar with arab civilization. In other words, Effinger plays intelligently with the western unconscious perception of this culture.
I think this novel may appeal to many sci-fi readers: the unexperienced readers will certainly appreciate the fast pace and the unusual setting; the more experienced readers will appreciate the numerous references and, in a way, the fidelity to the spirit of the golden age of SF.
The only problem I see with WGF is: what's next? Is this the end of a cycle or the beginning of another? Effinger seems to have reached his top with this book: the two sequels, written in 1989 and 1991, are in my opinion very inferior. I wish someone took up the gauntlet soon.
Rating: 4
Summary: Narrative Misstep Mars Amazing Setting & Characters
Comment: In this novel Effinger takes Marid Audran, a reluctant, layabout, fiercely independent gumshoe straight out of Raymond Chandler, and sticks him in a Cairo of the future that is both brilliantly and economically rendered. In this cyberpunkish future, pretty much everyone who can, has their brain "wired" for modifications. These modifications take the form of personality "modules" that turn the user into whatever the particular module is programmed as--this can take the form of virtually any real or invented personality imaginable (James Bond is a favourite, as are many pleasure-optimized models). In addition to modules, there are "add-ons" which are little plug-ins which can grant instant knowledge of a language or skill. This technology, plus the vast improvement of, and subsequent proliferation of sex change operations makes for a world where few people are as they were born. Unlike many sci-fi writers, Effinger manages to convey this technology quickly and simply, making instantly plausible, and part of the landscape.
Audran's stubborn refusal to wire his brain is what sets him apart from more of the other denizens of the "Budayeen" (old city--think casbah), he prefers to alter his mental state through heavy drinking and drug use. Most of his days are spent sleeping off hangovers and then drifting through the red-light district, sitting around with friends and series of bartenders. However, when a series of seemingly unrelated murders attracts the attention of Freidlander Bey (the local godfather figure), he is prodded into investigating the murders and coming up with answers. Audran's interactions with Freidlander Bey masterfully capture the elaborate verbal dances and coffee ritual that accompany traditional Arab business dealings. Unfortunately, once Audran is hooked, the plot starts to betray the great setting and characters Effinger has established.
It's established that the murderer is using some sort of bootlegged module to assist in committing their crimes. Therefore, in a somewhat suspect leap of logic, it is decided that in order to track the murderer down, Audran will need to be wired with experimental brain implants. This narrative misstep not only abandons the one trait that made Audran unique, independent, and likeable, but also pushes the technology to the fore of the story at the expense of character. Once this is done, the mystery is solved relatively quickly, and in a rather pedestrian way. Of course, there's more to the mystery than a simple psychopath gone amok, but the whys are only partially convincing. It's still a great book, but the last third is a bit of a letdown after the amazing beginning.
Rating: 5
Summary: OOP but still a classic SF thriller worth chasing down
Comment: George Alec Effinger wrote three books about Marid Audran, a private investigator living in the Budayeen, the red light district of an unnamed Arab country in the 23rd century (but in actuality modeled on the French quarter in New Orleans, where Effinger lived). When Gravity Fails is the first of the three books, which introduce us to Marid, who was raised in Algeria by his mother, an Algerian prostitute, and who never knew his French father. Considered a barbarian north african by the Arabs in his city, Marid lives on the fringes among the drug dealers and users, and the strippers, protitutes, sex changes and outcasts that live just outside the law, working as a private detective when he can find a client. Marid prides himself on being unwired, that is, unlike most residents of the Budayeen, Marid has not adapted his brain to accept personality modules, or Moddies, or add-ons, better known as Daddies. Nor does Marid work or live under the largesse or protection of Friedlander Bey, better known as Papa, who controls most the business, legitimate or otherwise, in the Budayeen.
When a client is killed in front of Marid's eyes and Marid's acquaintances start dying horrible deaths, Marid is drawn into an uneasy alliance with both the police, whom he does not trust, and Papa, to whom he does not want to be beholden.
Effinger has created a world that is unlike most science fiction books, keeping the actual science light, and letting us believe that this is how the Arab world might be in the 23rd century, with not much changed except a bit of technology. Effinger offers both an interesting who and why-dunnit, while examining the issues of faith and identity. Is Marid, a heavy drug and alcohol user who lives by his own code and is committed neither to Allah nor any other human, the faithful one, or is it Papa, who kills and extorts in the name of business but who faithfully prays 5 times a day? What is it like to be an outsider, and how do you find yourself?
This book is sadly out of print, but easily available used on the internet. Still compelling after all this time and well worth tracking down.
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Title: A Fire in the Sun by George Effinger ISBN: 038526349X Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 01 June, 1989 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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Title: The Exile Kiss by George Effinger ISBN: 0385414242 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 01 April, 1991 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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Title: Budayeen Nights by George Alec Effinger, Barbara Hambly ISBN: 1930846193 Publisher: Golden Gryphon Pr Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1) by Neal Stephenson ISBN: 0380977427 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 23 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Broken Angels by Richard K. Morgan ISBN: 0345457714 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 02 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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