Pretty Little Things to Fill Up the Void

by Simon Logan

In a city of chemical warehouses and entropic factories, viral DJ's and anarchist skatepunks share the streets with nihilistic video game junkies and makeshift revolutionaries, whilst pirate broadcasters battle against one another and renegade paramedics hijack the dead and dying for profit . . . Pretty Little Things to Fill Up the Void is the story of four characters and their constantly-intertwining lives as they search for meaning and purpose in a place that seems to deny either: Elisabeth Afterlife, a renegade documentarist, haunted by the ghost of a bloody girl; Catalina Rodriguez, a fiery teenager and thrill-seeker; and the artists-lovers Camille and Auguste. And alongside all of them there is the mysterious Shiva, lurking in her complex of workshops, and moving devious chemical hands that will soon encompass all of the characters in an explosive point of singularity . . .

316 pages, Paperback

First published November 23, 2007

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the industrial/biological-infused concept complimented by the well written descriptive world-building, think Jeff Vandermeer but with concrete, oils, and man-made pollutants – the notion of people as ‘roaches’, immune to pollution and poisons is an interesting element to the story. The setting felt post-apocalyptic but there’s not definitive backstory confirming this, just an overwhelming sense of repression, poverty, and hopelessness.

The story is bleak yet well crafted.

Pretty Little Things to Fill up the Void, follows the lives of 4 people, who for the most part aren’t connected in any real way as their stories slowly converge on one another. I enjoyed reading about these unique characters but would’ve liked more purpose to them. The slow-burn connecting-of-the-dots just took too long for me.

My rating: 3/5 stars. This book requires patience for the pay off. There’s so much to like and I can’t help think but this would’ve been a 5 star book if the connective narrative formulated much sooner.

[Simon Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first full-length novel.