Roth starts this book with his usual brilliance, and delivers a message that rings ominously in light of the ongoing erosion of American democracy andRoth starts this book with his usual brilliance, and delivers a message that rings ominously in light of the ongoing erosion of American democracy and the attendant triumph of ignorant primitivism. But the narrative unravels into bizarre nonsense toward the end, especially in explaining away the demise of the Lindbergh administration. Five stars for about 60% of the book, two stars for the last 40%....more
In Market Forces, Richard K. Morgan weaves a hard-hitting, violent near-future world where capitalism runs rampant (or has perhaps reached its logicalIn Market Forces, Richard K. Morgan weaves a hard-hitting, violent near-future world where capitalism runs rampant (or has perhaps reached its logical conclusion). The writing style is dark and cynical, the story, save for a few snags, runs smoothly. Even the over-the-top elements that read slightly ridiculous in the retelling ((view spoiler)[corporate executives fighting each other in Mad-Max-style road duels for promotion, or to win bids (hide spoiler)]) are skilfully integrated into the narrative and somehow made believable.
The only problem with the novel is the utter lack of characters for the reader to empathize with. Everyone who's not peripheral to the story is a piece of shit. The main character goes from being a piece of shit to being a bigger piece of shit, and after a while the only reason I was interested in him was to see what Morgan had in store for him. Would he be redeemed by turning into a kind of martyr, or would he meet some unspeakable fate ((view spoiler)[neither - at the end of the story, he's still just a piece of shit, albeit a very wealthy one (hide spoiler)])? I feel like the book would have been better, had there been a character arc for Chris. Either way, it's an entertaining read....more
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