PositiveThe Arts DeskJohn Lanchester meets his reader at the point at which the spectral intersects with the digital, all the while dissecting the seemingly simple notion of reality and its contents. The fusion makes for a compelling series of tales ... Lanchester’s protagonists are often erudite, logical and attractive ... In nearly all of the stories, the soft power of technology takes over the lives of the hard-headed. These characters’ inbred processing powers fall down when they meet with ghostly apparitions and phones that ring from nowhere. The point, clearly, is that we don’t know what \'reality\' is in the technological age – even the success stories of our society can’t make it out ... But these tales are plot-driven, and don\'t attempt to do clever things with language or grammar. Occasionally, one might hope for a little more linguistic flair, or expect the form to be more closely aligned with the techno-ghost content. But ultimately, the stories hold their own through engaging first-person narration and strong, unsettling plots. The endings are deceptively neat, but often introduce a twist, encouraging us to evaluate the preceding tale in a new light. Added to that is a liberal sprinkling of recognisable product and place names, which give a contemporary feel to otherwise traditional stories. Lanchester has struck just the right balance.
Mary South
PositiveThe Arts DeskSouth’s stories are zeitgeisty, but there are segments that we almost cannot bear to read ... \'Keith Prime\' is a little worn by the obvious parallels with its forerunner Never Let Me Go, other stories blossom from their location within a tradition of difficult technology and deep bodily discomfort. South finds a fresh and poignant language to tell the tale of contemporary internet-laden society ... With a touch of humour, South brings contemporary youth-speak...to bear in this recognisably bland universe. Her dual agenda is illustrated by some particularly nice turns of phrase, which jostle against the sparse language of technological modernity ... That said, South’s stories lack the roundness we might expect from really expert short fiction ... Although South’s writing delves into the uncanny realms of the technological psyche and hazards a portrayal of the harm the internet has done to language, the counterbalance to this nightmarish world is the fresh power of writing ... Despite a few weak tail-offs and a difficulty in starting originally, it is this smooth merging of the technological and the literary that is the achievement of this debut collection.
