It's a mystery! It's modern fiction! It's science fiction!
Ohmygosh, I liked it!
Usually, I fear and loathe RPG novels. Generally, these tend to be
someone's pet campaign splashed onto paper, so I was a bit apprehensive
about reading this. On the other hand, it was from Atlas, one of
the more experimental of good game houses. So, one summer night,
I picked it up to read a few chapters.
I regretting having to go to work the next day, as it meant I couldn't
finish the book for a whole 9 hours! Once home, I leapt back to it and
devoured a few more chapters. Do you get the idea that I liked it?
Perhaps the best part was that you didn't have to know the "On the Edge"
universe in order to enjoy it. The characters were drawn out,
self-complete. The plot itself unfolded gracefully.
It was vagually "Snow Crash"esque in terms of style and structure,
starting with one main character but tracking several other
characters, from their own points of view, throughout the book.
The characters interact in different combinations throughout the
book, then come together at the close.
The plot is about either:
- the nature of God
- why people kill themselves
- what family means
- the validity of drug-induced experience
- the purpose of human existence
or perhaps a few other things. While not preachy or deep, it
managed to get a lot of neat concepts across. The setting of
Al Amaja was bright and witty, and totally believable. It was
an enjoyable read, yet it also built to something.
Alas, the only weak point was the ending. It seemed a bit rushed.
and it left some things hanging, including a major point or two.
Perhaps the point was to let the reader decide the issues for
themself, but I'm a lazy reader and not up to the task. So it was
particularly bittersweet that the book had to end.
A good book, kept from greatness only by the ending. I recommend
it highly, and hope it gets the exposure it deserves.
Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)
