Light (M. John Harrison, 2002)

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ISBN 0-5750-7403-5

Light is Viriconium with sex. Quite a lot of it, actually, the point of which eludes me completely. Looking for other influences, Samuel Delaney's Nova is an obvious starter, and possibly even Michael Moorcock's The Blood Red Game, but essentially this story is Viriconium translated into space. Vanished alien races take the place of the Afternoon Cultures and the Great Rust Desert is strewn across half the Galaxy.

If there is any message, I'm afraid the allegory is quite lost on me: I think it is just a story.

Annie Glyph is the only genuinely likeable character; all of the others are, in varying degrees, self-serving and mean spirited.

Recommendation: No masterpiece but an interesting and quirky read; compelling in places. Recommended.

Look and Feel: My edition is the usual paperback.

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Light (M. John Harrison, 2002)

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