I love Ballard, but I'm taking it slow when it comes to reading his work. I limit myself to one of his novels every few years. I've read Crash and High Rise, so far. I just love his work. It's visceral and raw. Tooth and claw.
I'd get obsessed with his work if I didn't limit myself. So, it's a little treat to read another.
This book was written 11 years before High Rise, you can see that from the setup. A doctor and an architect as central characters. There's the same detachment in them. The same slightly aloof character that orbits things. The lackey with a taste for destruction for its own sake. But it's all in this primordial state, a little less venomous than high rise.
Similarities certainly, but don't get me wrong they don't detract from the magic of this novel. I love the concept. It's so stark, but in a far more harrowing way than I'd expected. Thirst is not something a citizen of a developed country can really understand as a danger. But it is our quickest death. Food and sleep can be set aside for WAY longer.
The descriptions have the same Ballard precision. He's got great skill at setting a scene.
Breathtakingly well written. It was believable, despite the surreal characters and events that happen. It had this authenticity to it, a scary insight into how human beings would really act in the wake of the collapse of civilisation.
If you loved High Rise then you will adore this novel. Pick it up immediately.
The descriptions are precise and have this sort of crystalline purity to them. A starkness to match the landscape. The interactions between people are tense. It’s impossible to predict what will happen next, except one could be sure it would be brutal and born of some slight or a grudge whose origin is long forgotten.
I think this might be in my Top 10 at the end of the year. It is THAT good.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
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