The Grand Dark

by Richard Kadrey

Vikas Adam (Narrator)

"A stand-alone heavy hitter that's more in line with recent deviants like Chuck Wendig's upcoming Wanderers (2019) and Daniel H. Wilson's The Clockwork Dynasty (2017). Tonally, this lush novel is closer to Scott Lynch's pirate fantasy The Lies of Locke Lamora (2006), but technologically it resembles the near-future dystopias of Cory Doctorow or China Mieville [...] Wildly ambitious and inventive fantasy from an author who's punching above his weight in terms of worldbuilding--and winning."

-- Kirkus (starred review)

From the bestselling author of the Sandman Slim series, a lush, dark, stand-alone fantasy built off the insurgent tradition of China Mieville and M. John Harrison--a subversive tale that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos.

The Great War is over. The city of Lower Proszawa celebrates the peace with a decadence and carefree spirit as intense as the war's horrifying despair. But this newfound hedonism--drugs and sex and endless parties--distracts from strange realities of everyday life: Intelligent automata taking jobs. Genetically engineered creatures that serve as pets and beasts of war. A theater where gruesome murders happen twice a day. And a new plague that even the ceaseless euphoria can't mask.

Unlike others who live strictly for fun, Largo is an addict with ambitions. A bike messenger who grew up in the slums, he knows the city's streets and its secrets intimately. His life seems set. He has a beautiful girlfriend, drugs, a chance at a promotion--and maybe, an opportunity for complete transformation: a contact among the elite who will set him on the course to lift himself up out of the streets.

But dreams can be a dangerous thing in a city whose mood is turning dark and inward. Others have a vision of life very different from Largo's, and they will use any methods to secure control. And in behind it all, beyond the frivolity and chaos, the threat of new war always looms.

--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

• ISBN10: 0062931601
• ISBN13: 9780062931603
• Publish Date: 11 June 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperAudio
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Audiobook (MP3)
• Duration: 16 hours and 13 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Grand Dark is a new standalone novel from Richard Kadrey. Due out 11th June 2019 from Harper Voyager, it's 432 pages and will be available in hardback, ebook, and audio formats.

I requested this eARC because of my familiarity with the author from his other work (especially the Sandman Slim series). This book quite impressively different. It's always interesting to see authors whose work one admires releasing different styles of work. It's a credit to Kadrey that this book is -so- different from his established characters and series. The entire style is different, it's a serious, philosophical, brooding book, with lightning flashes of real horror. The pacing is much slower and the dramatic tension simply builds and builds instead of building and releasing. In a lot of ways, technically, this is a much different exercise (and more challenging). There's no easy banter, very little snark. Other reviewers have said it has a Kafkaesque feel, and I would say that's apposite. I saw flashes of Lang's Metropolis in there as well, certainly intentional.

In a lot of ways, this was an uncomfortable read for me. The pacing was very slow, almost ponderous, and the story arc felt as though it were grinding inevitably along (dragging me with it to a destination I wasn't at all sure I wanted to visit). There was no sarcastic banter. There was a lot of brooding atmosphere and sporadic violence. The world building and atmosphere were masterfully done; I really liked the inclusion of background information and setting through news items, diary entries, and notes/letters.

Four stars. Beautifully written, divisive, uncomfortable, difficult, important.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.