Reviewed
by: Keith Nixon
Genre:
Science Fiction / Dystopian / Psychological
Approximate
word count: 15-20,000
words
Availability
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on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes &
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Author:
Richard Godwin
is a widely published author, with a focus on horror and crime, poet
and playwright. He holds a BA and MA in English and American English.
He splits his time between the UK and US.
You
can learn more about the author at his website.
Description:
Dale
Helix can’t make sense of the world. He thinks he may kill people
on behalf of The Assembly, a shadowy group who run the dystopian city
in which he resides. No one believes him, including his wife and
daughters. The Destiny Programme is social engineering at its worst…
Appraisal:
This
is a book whereby it is difficult to put a finger on the genre. It’s
located in a science fictional world, yet many of the themes reminded
me of Godwin’s previous work. Of those I’ve reviewed they split
between mainstream and not, straightforward and highly complex. In
the former camp is Confessions
of a Hitman and One
Lost Summer. In the
latter Piquant Tales of
the Mustard Man,
Meaningful Conversations
and now this novel. All bar Hitman
have a very strong psychological element.
Personally
I’ve preferred the mainstream output, in fact they’ve been some
of the best books I’ve reviewed, but that is down to my preference
as an individual – I don’t wander too far off the centre line and
ultimately this affected my overall rating in comparison to Hitman
and Summer.
One
aspect is unarguable, the quality of the author’s writing is clear
in all the cases, as it is here again. Godwin can no doubt write, and
write damn well. He adopts a unique use of language. I guess in this
case I struggled a little more to understand what the hell was going
on. The style is present tense and from Dale’s perspective. He’s
a mess – is he mad or going mad? Is the stuff that he thinks is
happening actually occurring? Who are the people surrounding him?
What is the Assembly? And the Programme itself? This novella sat in
my mind long after I’d finished it.
In the
end it does come together, in Godwin’s trademark fashion. This
novel requires concentration and an open mind to best enjoy. If you
like something a little different and with multiple layers of
complexity then boy, is this the book for you…
FYI:
Several
uses of the strongest of language.
Format/Typo
Issues:
None.
Rating:
**** Four Stars
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