Simon's Reviews > Viriconium

I'm going to review this now, even though I haven't quite got to the end because, quite frankly, I don't know if I ever will.

This is an omnibus that includes three novels and one short story collection. The stories are arranged in what I can only assume is some sort of chronological order. The first novel "The Pastel City" was published in 1971 and then there is a nine year break after which the two remaining novels and finally the short story collection were published throughout the early 1980's. Stylistically, there is a big difference between the first novel and the rest of the stories. Harrison had obviously evolved as a writer over this time and, for me, this was not a good thing. He had obviously become far less concerned with story and far more concerned with style.

So, I thoroughly enjoyed "The Pastel City" but I really struggled with "A Storm of Wings" (the second novel). It followed on some years after the events in the first story and with some of the same characters but was far less cohesive, far more abstract. There was an intense focus on imagery and plot development and dialogue took a back seat. I ploughed through it but it was not an enjoyable experience. I have completed most of the short stories and with one or two exceptions, they are all rather dull and seem pointless to me.

At some point I want to try and finish the collection and tackle the final novel but I just can't face it right now.