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Reader Reviews | |
Review by Terence (230806) Rating (9/10) Review
by Terence
The world of urban exploration does not easily make the transition
to the literary page. Some novels, like Caldwell and Thomason's
The Rule of Four have skirted around the subject, using
the cool fashionability of the activity as a quick-entry credibility-ticket
into the youth-culture market. Other tales, such as David Morrell's
Creepers have masqueraded as urban exploration adventures
whilst really being nothing more than spooky building horror stories. Numbed by the tedium of a career going nowhere, Osmond's nameless protagonist - the story is unusually recounted in the second person and the gender of the main character is never specified - finds escape from the 9 to 5 existence in a most unexpected fashion: by discovering a mysterious grating beneath the carpet tiles underneath their desk, leading to… a great, unexplored network of tunnels and passageways which interweave and interconnect in the spaces between the floors of the office tower block. The gradual exploration of these hidden spaces provides unexpected pleasures, but also unforeseen dangers. The story is told in an edgy style, interspersed with humorous asides and painfully acute moments of paranoia akin to Chuck Palahniuk, which will have the reader wincing in pained recognition. Initially, I had doubted that the second person narrative could be successfully sustained over the whole length of a novel, and there are occasional moments where the device seems rather awkward, but it cannot be denied that it brings an immediacy and intimacy to the writing which may not have been possible if the book had been written in a different style. The writing contains many elegant office metaphors and much inventive prose, plus a compelling, if slightly surreal, story which leaves you slightly unsure whether the book is intended to be read as pure allegory, or as actual fact.
There is already talk of a related film-venture. When is there
not? But does urban exploration actually want to be recognised
by the mainstream? As Osmond's protagonist says:
A sure-fire cult hit for 2006. |
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