Review

“The Inverted World” by Christopher Priest is a mind-bending story in which a society faces various hardships in a world in which they must constantly move their home. It is a tale of hardship and a constant struggle to drive forward their home no matter the cost. Their society is made up of a rigorous set of guilds that each specialise in their task in order to best aid the city.

Seeing that this is the second book I have read by Christopher Priest I find that once again the book is extremely well-written and constantly leaves the reader guessing at the explanation for the mystery. While he is probably the least “flashy” science fiction writer I have so far read, ee is an expert at keeping the reader guessing throughout the book and slowly unravelling the clues to the mystery. Another strong point for the story is the characters that are written and how they struggle through their existence no matter what comes in their way. The lives of the characters are very realistic and unremarkable - The most remarkable thing is the world they live in. The constant momentum they must keep and how they achieve it through hard work is admirable and should serve as an inspiration to all.

Comparing “The Inverted World” is best done by comparing it to Christopher Priest himself. If one was to compare it to anyone else I would personally compare it to the books by Arthur C. Clarke as their style of writing is very similar. Arthur C. Clarke is, in my experience, more focused on the science part of it, but it is clear that they stem from the same school of science fiction writing.

Score: 8/10

Chrisopher Priest is a solid and stable write. He sets out to tell a story of hardship and writes it with no heroes or heroines. The characters are complex creatures which are not super-human, but just ordinary people at the centre of their own lives. It is a style of writing that encompasses my understanding of the classic British phrase: “Keep calm and carry on.”

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