Subject: Review: "Only Forward" by Michael Marshall Smith

From: "John Shiali" <[email-masked]>
Date: 18 Aug 1997 21:26:51 GMT

"Only Forward" by Michael Marshall Smith
		Review Copyright 1997 John Shiali

[This review contains spoilers for the book.  --AW]

Stark is a fixer.  Tell him what needs doing and, if he takes the job,
he'll get it done - no matter what.  Although there are quite few people
that you could hire to get something done, Stark has a special talent that
makes him unique, that sometimes means he takes a job only because he know
that no one else can do it - these are the jobs that he *really* hates.

Stark's city is a place of enclaves, each with their own social rules,
atmosphere and physical style.  Stark lives in Colour, where the coulours
of walls, streets, houses, and even the sky, are tweaked for the fun and
pleasure of the people who live there -- not recommended for epileptics,
except at night when you have to wear black to give everyone's eyes a
rest.  Red is a violent no-go area of deadly anarchy where Stark has a
number of friends, including Ji, the top warlord.  Centre is where the
Actioneers live, constantly in motion, doing good deeds and important
work, where Zelda, Stark's unrequited love is working her way up the
ladder of promotion.  Stable have closed themselves from the outside
world, living in a timewarp of Victorian values and telling their people
that the outside world has been devastated by nuclear war.  And so on.

His current job isn't one of those ones he hates.  It's an easy job, given
to him by the hyperactive Actioneers - find one of their top brass who has
gone missing, maybe kidnapped, and get him back safe and sound.  Of course
things are never that simple, and Stark's life is about to become a lot
more complicated than it already is - and it's pretty darn complicated
already.

"Only Forward" is yet another storming debut by a British science fiction
author.  The city with its different enclaves, all unique, all rounded
out, and all interesting.  The story twists and turns - just when you
think you have a handle on what is going on, things change.  Halfway
through the book, when Stark realises that this *is* ones of those hated
jobs that takes his unique talent, you can almost feel the book in your
hand morph into a much darker, more emotional, and downright disturbing
book.  Even the conclusion is a bittersweet mix of a jaw-dropping plot
twist, happy ending, sad ending, and stunning realisation.

"Only Forward" also stands out because of its humour.  The book is
narrated by Stark in the first person, and he is a good storyteller, some
times glossing over facts or even fibbing, never taking himself too
seriously, sometimes sad and emotional, sometimes terrified, but mostly a
funny guy who will do anything to help a person in trouble - Stark is the
kind of guy that you would like as a friend - though the price would be
involvement in his chaotic life.  Michael Marshall Smith provides Stark
with many props with which to exercise his humour, some of which are
absolutely hilarious.  Random samples are:

 - an escape on foot from Stark's apartment in Colour, at night when his
companion isn't dressed in regulation black and the intelligent streets
object strenuously.

 - the grenade that gives you a bad cold.  Not only does the target get a
bad case of flu, you can hear them sniffling and coughing when they try
and sneak up on you.

 - The lethargy bomb, that makes your pursuers give up in sluggish apathy.

 - When you enter Centre, the Actioneers give you an ID bracelet with a
time limit on it.  Overstay and it explodes, just to make sure that you
are not malingering.

 - The pizza delivery that sends a gorgeous android to have sex with you
in your apartment, and then cooks you a great fresh pizza afterwards.

 - Sound is a silent enclave, but residents are allowed to spend one hour
an evening shouting and screaming - all in a soundproof room of course.

 - The anti-bugging device with an attitude.

and many more examples of situational and conceptual comedy, too numerous
to mention, giving a contrast to the darker and disturbing second half of
the book.

Don't be put off - as I was for many months - by the cover of the book
which tells you nothing about the plot.  Discovery is part of "Only
Forward's" story, and ultimately the journey that Stark has taken to get
to his current point in life and what he learns from that journey, is the
essence of this wonderful and remarkable book.

%A	Smith, Michael Marshall
%T	Only Forward
%D	1994
%G	ISBN  0-586-21774-6
%C	Bury St.Edmonds, Suffolk
%I	Harper Collins 
%O	paperback 4.99 UKP
%P	455 pp
 
 John - 
As sensitive as a toilet seat and almost as warm.