Mar 15 2008
Stand on Zanzibar update
I’m about 30 pages into Stand on Zanzibar and so far…
I love it.
It’s strange, it’s completely non-linear and all over the place. And at the same time it’s incredibly easy to read, apart from Brunner’s lingo (but that’s pretty easy to decipher). Brunner spews information out left and right, and while there is a sequence of events, it always seems small, like there’s a bigger picture to be considered. The only problem is that there isn’t always a lot of setting being described, so characters sort of just float in front of vague backdrops in my head sometimes. And did I mention it’s about 500 pages long? Thank goodness it’s mostly dialogue (which is another change for me).
The book feels, so far anyways, like a puzzle. It’s not straightforward or pretentious in it’s speech… I like the feeling that I’m being led through this mess of parts, and in the end I’ll come out with something whole and interesting. Like a noiseless vacuum cleaner. Man, what I’d give to have one of those.
