Market Forces
by Richard K. Morgan (Victor Gollancz, 2004)
audiobook read by Simon Vance (Tantor, 2006)
Near-future dystopia that mashes brutal, corporate-driven world politics with Shakespearean tragedy. Though deeply flawed, antihero Chris Faulkner almost charms as the embodiment of an increasingly dog-eat-dog society. It’s hard not to imagine him and Mike Bryant as Sam Tyler and Gene Hunt.
Attica
by Garry Kilworth (ATOM, 2006); audiobook read by Simon Vance (Blackstone, 2013)
Alice in Wonderland meets Homer’s Odyssey. There’s a dark whimsy in Kilworth’s story of three children journeying through a boundless attic, yet it does not evoke wonder so much as despondency. The characters grow but afford too little payoff at journey’s end.
The Prestige
by Christopher Priest (Simon & Schuster, 1995); audiobook read by Simon Vance (Blackstone, 2006)
The intertwined life stories of two feuding magicians, told by way of their respective reminiscences. The overlapping viewpoints allow for an exploration of narrative felicity and also, dramatically, an almost Shakespearean tragedy; concomitantly, there’s no denying the book sags in the middle.