2011 Reading #44: Noise by Darin Bradley
Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
41. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien.
42. Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.
43. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.
44. Noise by Darin Bradley. Darin's debut novel is dark, people. It begins on the verge of the Collapse, a tipping point in the near future that leads to a breakdown of law and order. The protagonist and his best friend are ready for it, thanks to the pirate-TV broadcasts of Salvage, an enigmatic proto-anarchist entity that has been sending dispatches on surviving the Collapse to the disaffected for months. The Book that Levi and Hiram (not their real names) cobble together from these dispatches is part role-playing rulebook, part instructional guide for a build-your-own-society merit badge; this is not accidental, because Bradley's characters are working from a foundation of D&D and the Boy Scouts. Bradley pushes these aspects about as far as they will go, especially the role-playing ones--the characters take new names, teach each other to think of themselves as part of a Party, do everything they can to distance themselves from the extreme actions they are preparing to (and do) undertake. This is the sort of book that makes you squirm not because of what's happening to the characters but because of what they themselves are capable of. It's distressing and smart and I can't get it out of my head.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
41. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien.
42. Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.
43. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.
44. Noise by Darin Bradley. Darin's debut novel is dark, people. It begins on the verge of the Collapse, a tipping point in the near future that leads to a breakdown of law and order. The protagonist and his best friend are ready for it, thanks to the pirate-TV broadcasts of Salvage, an enigmatic proto-anarchist entity that has been sending dispatches on surviving the Collapse to the disaffected for months. The Book that Levi and Hiram (not their real names) cobble together from these dispatches is part role-playing rulebook, part instructional guide for a build-your-own-society merit badge; this is not accidental, because Bradley's characters are working from a foundation of D&D and the Boy Scouts. Bradley pushes these aspects about as far as they will go, especially the role-playing ones--the characters take new names, teach each other to think of themselves as part of a Party, do everything they can to distance themselves from the extreme actions they are preparing to (and do) undertake. This is the sort of book that makes you squirm not because of what's happening to the characters but because of what they themselves are capable of. It's distressing and smart and I can't get it out of my head.