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the complete review - fiction

Slaughtermatic

by
Steve Aylett

general information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author

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Our Assessment:

B : clever and fun, but doesn't quite sustain a novel

See our review for fuller assessment.

  From the Reviews:

• "Both the bullets and the gags fly fast and furious in Steve Aylett's hyperkinetically violent, hilarious time-traveling crime caper." - Michael Porter, The New York Times Book Review

Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.

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The complete review's Review:

       Steve Aylett's first real novel takes us back to crime central, the lovely metropolis of Beerlight first encountered in The Crime Studio (see our review). Many of the same colourful characters are found again. But this time Aylett is somewhat more ambitious -- this is more of a novel, rather than the episodic fiction that is The Crime Studio.
       Dante Cubit and the Entropy Kid plan a bank robbery, using the fanciful weapons at their disposal. To outtrick modern crime fighting techniques, Dante sends himself back in time, duplicating himself so that he can basically save himself. But things don't quite work out -- as they rarely seem to in Beerlight.
       Aylett still writes a decent, fast-paced action packed, hypermodern thriller. There's more cleverness on a single page than in most sci-fi novels, and Aylett is decidedly something of a stylist. The bon mots and clever one-liners abound.
       Unfortunately, it doesn't quite fit together as a novel. Oh, it's a hell of a ride, and worthwhile for all that, but not quite all it could be. Aylett is a talent, and he's on the right track. The title, alone, suffices. But he will do better.
       There's enough here to please. Aylett remains razor-sharp. "(D)enial had reached such a pitch, it was illegal not only to premeditate a crime but to remember it later." Newspapers include the Daily Denial and the Parole Violators' Bugle. It's fun and entertaining stuff, with almost too many ideas.
       Sci fi, the modern crime novel, the future of fiction: it's all here. Recommended, with some care.

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Links:

• Orion publicity page
• Four Walls Eight Windows publicity page

• American Reporter
• Clarence (Italian)
• Dark Star
• MEviews
• The New York Times Book Review
• Re:mote Induction
• SF Site

• The complete review's Steve Aylett page
• www.steveaylett.com - the official Steve Aylett site

• Atom
• Bigot Hall
• The Crime Studio
• The Inflatable Volunteer
• Lint
• Only an Alligator
• Shamanspace
• Toxicology
• The Velocity Gospel

• See Index of Science Fiction and Fantasy books
• See Index of Contemporary British fiction

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About the Author:

       British author Steve Aylett was born in 1967. He has written several novels.

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