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The Unstable Realities of Christopher Priest
Paul Kincaid's book divides itself into a series of chronological and thematic readings of Christopher Priest's life and work. Historical context proves itself to be key in the chronologically ordered chapters, while the thematically arranged ones provide a place to discuss islands, reality, doubles, and the arts. This duality provides an excellent space for Kincaid to use his incisive powers of critical thinking to capture the evanescence and ambivalence of Priest's writing.
- GenresScience Fiction
254 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 26, 2020
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 29, 2021
As the author says, Christopher Priest is not a science fiction writer, but he writes science fiction. Christopher Priest is not a mainstream writer, but he writes mainstream fiction. Both these things are true.
This critical study of Priest's work is not for the novice unfamiliar with Priest, but for readers who have read enough of his work to be intrigued by the recurring themes and methods he uses, and wants to understand what Priest is trying to accomplish in his work.
Those who appreciate Priest's work enjoy ambiguity, distraction, confusion in plot elements, and characters who disappear and reappear in different forms. This may sound disjointed, but Priest has a very deliberate way of using themes like twins and doubles, time travel, geographical distortion, and plot discontinuity. He offers no answers, but offers plenty of room for readers to consider the fallibility of memory, the various forms of consciousness, and what, after all, are we expected to believe a story consists of.
Coming of age in the 1960s and appreciating the 'New Wave' of British science fiction, Priest has laid down over fifty years of increasingly complex, sophisticated work. Probably his best known work (and possibly most successfully written novel) is “The Prestige”, made into a movie by Christopher Nolan and starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as dueling stage magicians. As bizarre as that movie was, the book is even more bizarre and trickier to follow.
This critical study of Priest's work is not for the novice unfamiliar with Priest, but for readers who have read enough of his work to be intrigued by the recurring themes and methods he uses, and wants to understand what Priest is trying to accomplish in his work.
Those who appreciate Priest's work enjoy ambiguity, distraction, confusion in plot elements, and characters who disappear and reappear in different forms. This may sound disjointed, but Priest has a very deliberate way of using themes like twins and doubles, time travel, geographical distortion, and plot discontinuity. He offers no answers, but offers plenty of room for readers to consider the fallibility of memory, the various forms of consciousness, and what, after all, are we expected to believe a story consists of.
Coming of age in the 1960s and appreciating the 'New Wave' of British science fiction, Priest has laid down over fifty years of increasingly complex, sophisticated work. Probably his best known work (and possibly most successfully written novel) is “The Prestige”, made into a movie by Christopher Nolan and starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as dueling stage magicians. As bizarre as that movie was, the book is even more bizarre and trickier to follow.
May 17, 2021
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3644975.html
I know and like both subject and author, but even if I didn't, I think this would stand out as a superb explanation of what Priest is trying to do with his writing and how he does it, and would also engage readers who are less familiar with his work. All I ask of my sf criticism is that it leaves me better informed about what I have read, and eager to try what I haven't, and this incisive and succinct analysis did both for me. Strongly recommended.
I know and like both subject and author, but even if I didn't, I think this would stand out as a superb explanation of what Priest is trying to do with his writing and how he does it, and would also engage readers who are less familiar with his work. All I ask of my sf criticism is that it leaves me better informed about what I have read, and eager to try what I haven't, and this incisive and succinct analysis did both for me. Strongly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews