Not set in Southern California

[threemonkeys]

George Alec Effinger seems to be one of SF 's sadder figures with a life dominated by illness. But during that life he managed some remarkable work. Some of it remarkable for being to strange to read - perhaps comprehensible if you took a lot of drugs first. Some if it remarkable for being such ordinary hack work - to pay all those medical bills y'see. But some of the work was remarkable for being powerful and subtle. Three books are remembered by those of us who were keen fans of the heyday of the cyberpunk movement. Those three books have just been reissued and so I have purchased the set and am working on re-reading them - the first one today.

When Gravity Fails has aged well. Some of those cyberpunk books from 20 years ago fail on the technology front - they pick the wrong trends and hang their story on it. Effinger is much more about the characters and the setting and yet the technology is still there. It is a stylish book with the whole Chandler noir thing going but more than that. There are little bursts that come from his more absurdist writing style but never enough to do more than suggest frazzled brain cells. It is a layered book too with cultural messages in there as well as a subtext about innocence lost where there is no innocence to lose.

OK, its a superb book and it stands up well, but it got me thinking about something that was interesting me a few months back. I was interested in the way the whole 911 and "war on terror" social phenomenon has influenced writing in all sorts of obvious and not so obvious ways. When Gravity Fails is so obviously a pre-911 book. No author could write such a sympathetic and comfortable portrayal of a future Arab Muslim society these days. It is a close and friendly portrayal but not blinkered, nationalistic or intending to make a statement - it is just a rich place to tell a story. I find myself keen to re-read those other stories in that same setting.

Comments

[beagl.livejournal.com]

I found it fascinating to read Agatha Christie's "They Came to Baghdad" a year or so ago. And these days I often struggle with pre-internet SF.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

I love Cristie's work - of course everything in her work is like a completely different world these days.

[strangedave.livejournal.com]

What about Jon Courtney Grimwoods Arabesk Trilogy? Two of the three books where written and published post-2001, and they seem to be about as sympathetic to Muslim society as Effinger.

I reread When Gravity Fails last year, and the sequel (yet to get around to re-reading the third book), and I agree, it stands up really well. I think the main reason is because the only bit of technology that really dominates the story, moddies and daddies, are still far future. The rest of the technology is modern day, but with a suggestion of being in a bit of a technological backwater, so it doesn't jar.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Haven't read the Arabesk Trilogy so I'm not really in a position to compare. Are they worthwhile otherwise?

[strangedave.livejournal.com]

I thought they were well worth the read.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

I'll keep my eye out to pick one up

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

Read one, When Gravity Fails is a lot better.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I'll do the old comparison test.

[stephen-dedman.livejournal.com]

I also preferred When Gravity Fails, but the Arabesk Trilogy is still a good read.

IIRC, the first of the Arabesk books was due to be given a big release in the US in October 2001 - but after 9/11, the publisher became much less enthusiastic about them.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Interesting - make me wonder if there is a difference in tone between the first and second books (assuming that the second was written after 911)