Another Sky Press Forums Topic: CLICK review

Another Sky Press Forums Topic: CLICK review http://www.anothersky.org/asp/forums/ Another Sky Press Forums Topic: CLICK review en Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:35:18 +0000 superk on "CLICK review" http://www.anothersky.org/asp/forums/topic/click-review#post-68 Mon, 19 Jun 2006 08:10:11 +0000 superk 68@http://www.anothersky.org/asp/forums/ Hehe, didn't expect that ;) That's the beauty of posting on a forum which the author might read :) This adventure would never have been possible without the Net. We have to remember ourselves from time to time that the Net has only been around «grand public» for 10 years. Anyhow, sure will remember Kristopher. K kristopher on "CLICK review" http://www.anothersky.org/asp/forums/topic/click-review#post-59 Wed, 14 Jun 2006 21:59:32 +0000 kristopher 59@http://www.anothersky.org/asp/forums/ Superk, you just totally made my night. Make a note that you're superk when you buy it and I'll make sure you get a signed copy. kristopher superk on "CLICK review" http://www.anothersky.org/asp/forums/topic/click-review#post-58 Wed, 14 Jun 2006 21:35:39 +0000 superk 58@http://www.anothersky.org/asp/forums/ It's late. I just found this on slashdot. Here's how I usually decide if I like a book or not. I read two or three paragraphs and that's it. I'm either seduced or forerver turned away. Click rocks. It reminds me of the rhythm I found in Christian Gailly's "K. 622", a French novelist who writes about a weirdo's crazy passion for Mozart (http://www.leseditionsdeminuit.fr/catalogue/litterature-france-roman.htm). Clic is visibly passionate, deranged and sexy. No doubt about it. I'll buy the book ASAP. K P.S.: and yes, I've del.icio.us-ed it: <a href="http://del.icio.us/superk" rel="nofollow">http://del.icio.us/superk</a> Lotus on "CLICK review" http://www.anothersky.org/asp/forums/topic/click-review#post-38 Fri, 19 May 2006 17:11:24 +0000 Lotus 38@http://www.anothersky.org/asp/forums/ CLICK by Kristopher Young (2006, Another Sky Press) He plays the percentages, the muzzle of a pistol lodged in his mouth. He pulls the trigger, the hammer falls, the barrel shifts, and there is the click. And he is still alive. He arcs, loops. Out of work and maybe out of his mind, he walks among the populace. It is here that he almost unwittingly alters tiny destinies, one incident - one potential victim - at a time. Revolution through evolution. Click. One man's [s]apparent[/s] escalating insanity and the mental anguish he endures due to a bizarre, visceral evolution in the mental state. The story occurs in a de-personalized urban maze of dirty streets and narrow alleyways that most closely resembles New York but is not far from Gibson's Sprawl. But it could be anywhere, today, tomorrow. What could be perceived as slow narrative build-up is simply the establishment of the character(s) and the arc of the book - not filler or unnecessary exposition, but necessary for events soon to unfold. Every line bears meaning toward the greater whole. As for influences, Alfred Bester has been mentioned. The "Bester style" is noticeable not in the prose, but in the theme of evolution. For instance, in The Stars My Destination, the anti-hero of Gulliver Foyle progresses with his "Jaunte" ability beyond the rest of humanity. Similarly the nameless protagonist of Click finds himself in a similar situation - the ability to manipulate newfound mental powers without others, for much of the book, being able to relate. Unlike the callow, unrefined Foyle, Click's hero is an erudite narrator with strength of conscience and a keen sense of justice, as well as empathy for the lower echelons of society. Of course, Click's main man seems to be losing his mind with a mixed blessing of time and event manipulation, as well as varieties of often-imagined physical carnage and self-abuse. There is also a hallucinatory shade to Click, which reminds to a slight degree of Philip K. Dick, mainly the mind-bending novel A Scanner Darkly. However, it feels like less of a direct influence and more of a detached association. One might even sense the Cronenberg film Scanners as an inspiration, as well. And there is the Palahniuk factor. Chuck can generally be seen as influential on many contemporary works that could be described as "dark," "moody," "intellectual," or "edgy." However, like any talented writer, Kristopher Young defines his own voice throughout the novel. The relation to a "Chuck book" can be noticed in the idea of a lone male central character that has become disconnected from the rest of the world in some manner (see Fight Club, Survivor, Choke). This character has experienced an upheaval, often of the psychological variety. The hero of Click might even inhabit the same universe as a Palahniuk protagonist - or at least a parallel galaxy. The Palahniuk factor is a badge of honor when the vitality and punch of Chuck's writing is taken under consideration. And as a final word on this, if the correlation must be made, then Chuck finds himself in good company with Young, and vice-versa. If there is any criticism, it would be that the build-up to the climax occurs too quickly. The concept of the lone character on the run from his enemies, fleeing from nameless town to the next nameless town in order to survive gives the hero odds that seem insurmountable. The reader is never sure how all of this is going to end. And to have had a little more of the fugitive life and perhaps a couple of (additional) close calls with those in "authority" might have provided even more suspense and build-up to the prodigious mind-warp of an ending. The positive side to this is that the pace is brisk and the reader's interest does not wane. Perhaps the desire to keep the book going just a little longer brought on this minor critical point. Though each chapter is concise and absorbing, there are standouts. Without delving too far into spoiler territory, the chapter to forever be deemed "The Night of the Living Dead chapter" and its metaphor of hunger, decay, and single-minded obsession comes to mind. The perspective of narrator experiencing "life" through the eyes and mind of the "undead" - provides superb zombie-point of view writing. It is especially fun for horror and zombie movie fans, so Romero fans take notice. Another standout chapter concerns the death of a family member, told emotionally but without sap. The chapter titled "Broken World" reads almost like the prologue to a political (or anti-political) manifesto. But it's not out of place - it seamlessly fits the realm of the book and the protagonist's mindset and belief system. There are words that describe the skewed world we inhabit right now. "They bind through creating a world which blinds." "They unwittingly spread the lies of the oppressors..." And one of the finest lines in the novel: "'their pessimistic passivity pollutes the collective consciousness and helps to build the conceptual cage for everyone else - one based on fear, distrust, futility, and distraction." The "Accidental Perfection" chapter lays claim to the espousal of certain beliefs - to "strive" to make the world a better place. "The mechanics of the universe" is a kind of universal truth for anyone who thinks beyond what is seen, what we do (or are allegedly supposed to do), who we are. An attempt to understand infinite concepts of life, and finding it rewarding in its futility. Rewarding because it is still worthwhile to try and grasp the larger complexities, even if it does not temper the yearning. Perhaps the older man driving the car is a rearview mirror reflection of the author. With the wordplay apocalypse of the final chapter comes the big payoff. There is a note of ambiguity in the closing sentences Click, and the reader's imagination takes over after the last word, and befittingly so. Much like life and the desire to evolve, the ability and the answers are not always easily defined.