Arms Race

by Nic Low

'Outrageous, clever, passionate: a must-read. These stories delight on so many levels, and are written with a singular energy and skill.'
EVA HORNUNG, AUTHOR OF DOG BOY

DATA THEFT, internet memes, advertising, terrorism, indigenous sovereignty, drone warfare, opium addiction, syphilis, the moon landing, mining, oil slicks, climate change, giant octopuses: nothing is spared in this collection. Nic Low’s stories go beyond satire, aiming for the dark heart of our collective obsession with technology, power and image.

Set variously in London, Delhi, remote Mongolia, the West Australian outback and mountainous New Zealand, these are prescient visions of the future and outlandish reimaginings of the past. Arms Race is an arresting debut from a fierce, playful new voice in Australian writing.

'Low's stories are like controlled detonations. Arms Race is machete-sharp, politically engaged and thematically fearless. Australian short fiction just got lobbed into the twenty-first century.'
MAXINE BENEBA CLARKE, AUTHOR OF FOREIGN SOIL

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

248 pages, Hardcover

First published July 23, 2014

About the author

Nic Low is an author and artist of Ngai Tahu and European descent. Born in Christchurch, he now divides his time between Melbourne and a bush retreat near Castlemaine. Nic’s fiction, essays and criticism have appeared in the Big Issue, Monthly, Griffith REVIEW, Lifted Brow, Art Monthly and Australian Book Review, and until recently he ran Asialink’s international writing program. His second book, a literary exploration of New Zealand’s Southern Alps, will be published by Text in 2016.

Reviews

[Kiran Bhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Low shifts between dialogue, narration, and voice without any discernment. His sentences jolt out of order, they give little room for reflection and pause, and they are filled with a sense of disorder and ambulation."

- A portion of this review was published as part of a greater collective essay at 3AM Magazine: https://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/futur...

[WarpDrive · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not really sure how to rate this book. It is a collection of short stories of highly varying quality - it almost seems as if more than one author contributed to it. A hit-and-miss literary work.

The style of the author is always very direct, bare, provocative and even aggressive.
Some of the stories are highly original, witty, insightful and intriguing, and they deal with important contemporary, post-modern themes. A couple of them are real jewels.

On the other hand, other stories are just pretentious, dull, and simply fail to effectively convey the author's points in a convincing and engaging manner.

I also think that having lived in Australia and/or New Zealand would probably help in better appreciating the message and atmosphere of at least a couple of the stories (and some of the author's jokes, probably).

Definitely a mixed bag, but likely still worth reading for some of the good stories in it. 3 stars.

[Carole888 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great short story collection with many themes, including mining, terrorism, data theft, the moon landing, printing and copyright issues, oil slicks and more! Did I have a favourite? I’m not sure …. some stories stayed with me more than other’s did but each one was cleverly crafted …. I was amazed to get such a wide look at the world through the authors eyes. It was thought provoking, brought lots of surprises and was an absolute treat to read.

[Dillwynia Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the senior librarians at my public library is an interesting guy of eclectic tastes; he suggested I read these stories, and I am glad he did.

The majority of them were enjoyable, but I loved the story Rush. I love it when someone can turn the tables on say a politician or company using the same insulting words they used ie: making them eat their own words & this is the case of this delightful tale of an Aborigine alliance ripping up the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne looking for minerals.

There are a few futuristic tales using the classic sci-fi formula: what would the outcome be if a current situation is expanded upon in the future. Thus Low discusses future people-less warfare using drones and media manipulation, and one about what happens to all those Facebook entries one does now, being stored in obsolete servers, only to manipulate the writer in future decades.

These is some wonderful modern mysticism in the story Octopus, and a clever dealing of the supposed 1969 moon landing hoax. The least favourite was Scar: I felt about 2 more pages of writing was needed to complete this fully & leave me satisfied. Not bad for a collection of stories.

It does help (mildly) if you are, or have lived in, Australia or New Zealand (I think the jokes are fully appreciated), but this shouldn't deter my overseas friends. These are fun, witty & well written stories on contemporary topics.

[jeniwren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cracker of a read. I am not a great fan of short stories but this collection are an impressive debut and I will definitely read anything Nic Low writes next. The themes are very topical including Aboriginal land rights, advertising, mining and the Internet all with humour and a touch of science fiction. These defy all genre that anyone will enjoy.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went in with high expectations & I was not disappointed. I'm going to be raving out this book to everyone. The best short story collection I've read in years.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arms Race is a book of twelve short stories by New Zealand-born author and artist, Nic Low. The settings are as varied as the subject matter, although a few of the stories have common elements or themes that draw tenuous links between them. Octopus, the first story, is set in New Zealand and feels like the first chapter of a longer work. Making It proposes an interesting link between syphilis and art, and its mix of humour and the yuk factor will cause readers to laugh and squirm simultaneously. Photocopy Planet is a hilarious look at a well-known travel guide. Rush is irreverent, funny and delightfully satirical. There is a post-apocalyptic feel to Data Furnace and How Much Courage; Slick looks at the power of advertising in a unique way; Facebook Redux is a cautionary tale that explores information sharing and data mining; Arms Race takes the idea of drone warfare to an unexpected extreme; The Culler is an amusing look at the First Moon Landing that will leave the reader wondering. In this little bag of literary gems from Nic Low there are some real diamonds for readers: The Culler, Photocopy Planet, Scar and Rush. It is no surprise that Rush was shortlisted for the 2012 Commonwealth Short Story Prize and runner-up for the 2013 Overland Victoria University Short Story Prize. Low treats the reader to tales that are sharp, funny and thought-provoking. An amazing debut.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the stories were very high-concept which I appreciate in a short story collection. It's all basically science fiction dealing with culture, technology, capitalism, colonialism. yes! thank you. I never want to read another story about a middle-aged academic cheating on his wife ever again. or anything described as "lyrical", "luminous", "suffused with melancholy", etc. like, fucking spare me.

anyway. ahem. occasionally the stories here were a bit too neatly allegorical or, on the other side, ambiguous and obscure in their symbolism. but overall this was ambitious, refreshing, terrific.

[Kirsten Krauth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection fights and grapples with language, counter-culture and consumerism, the characters inhabiting a plastic-elastic world being reshaped in the mould of whoever gets to the gold first.

See my review in The Australian of this great debut:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/...

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stories have their moments, and the times and places Low delves into are interesting. But each is very dialogue driven and there's too little work put into characters to make each little snapshot especially rich.

[amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so much better than three stars, truly a great debut from an author I hope I can read again, I just couldn’t get into it for some reason. It might’ve been that I got the flu and thus lost the rhythm for it, idk. Wish I’d been able to read it all in one week.

[Harold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nic Low is nuts. His narrative arcs are jumbled but very entertaining.

[Andrew Grenfell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great bunch of short stories, really well written, covering lots of different subjects.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining mix of short stories, many of them speculative, and quite a few of them with a twist ending.

[Tarsh Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant, witty, surprising and on point

[Owain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freshest collection of short stories I've ever read.

"It's like the al-Qaeda training manual with a Maori flavour. Heavy weapons and explosives, but they throw in some taiaha and haka and a bit of cannibalism."

I like that the author's from New Zealand because I've never read anything by a kiwi author, despite having lived in NZ for a year.

This guy has a wicked sense of humour and an imagination you would have thought too broad to box within the boundaries of a story that only lasts a few pages. If you haven't read a book that made you laugh in a while then read this because it's guaranteed to.

[Tama · Rating 2 out of 5]

Consistent short stories. I was most excited by the last scene between Neil and ‘The Culler.’ Its homoeroticism/intimacy, if it had such an ending it could’ve been a five page knockout.

After the first two stories I was already fatigued by the style. Short fiction that doesn’t experiment with storytelling in the same voice is too much for me. It was consistently amusing and good quality though. Having read garbage short story collections in the past this is too much. But it was good to get to know Nic a little bit.

3/5

[Andrew Pople · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arms Race is a remarkable collection of tales questioning our current world and fascination with, among other things technology.

Low's brevity and style beautifully evoke each world and challenge us to imagine ... What if?

Check out my interview with Nic on a recent episode of #FinalDraft...

http://www.2ser.com/component/k2/item...

[Annelie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Low has a gift for writing short stories that are so varied that it seems different authors wrote each one.
I've never written a review before, but the short story Rush absolutely blew me away and compelled me to recommend it to everyone. Rush should be compulsory reading for every Australian.

[Beth Beamish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the ideas behind Nic's stories. He has a talent for seeing the world in a creative way. I especially enjoyed 'Rush' about aboriginal land rights - very clever.

[Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some totally genius plots and ideas here.

[Victoria Kennedy]

A very interesting read indeed!
FULL REVIEW TO COME

[Bret Polok]

quirky and creative stories from NZ...