Down There in the Darkness [Hardcover]

George Turner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1999

Turner was a significant Australian novelist before turning to SF in the 1970s and becoming one of the great living SF writers, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for best novel. This novel chronicles the future destruction and eventual rebirth of human civilization.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his final novel, SF master Turner, who died in 1997, presents an eerie vision of the future. By the year 2070, "the four horsemen of the greenhouse apocalypse"Aoverpopulation, pollution, nationalism and unemploymentAhave made life nearly intolerable for the sunburned denizens of Victoria, Australia. In the middle of a January heat wave, police detective Harry Ostrov is assigned to what he hopes will be a career-saving case. The painter Brian Warlock has been in a comata-like state for 20 years, the victim of an electronically induced hypnosis experiment gone awry. Now a psychiatrist who was present at the original procedure will try to reanimate the artist in order to resolve a dispute over the ownership of several of his valuable paintings, and Ostrov's secretive boss has asked the cop to spy on the operation. Ostrov requests help from his friend Gus Kostakis (his ally in The Destiny Makers), and the two soon become embroiled in a plot to tap the depths of the human unconscious. Falling victim to foul play, Ostrov and Kostakis are captured, frozen and defrosted 100 years later. Upon awakening, they are confronted by a dystopia in which the overpopulation problem has been brutally resolved by a powerful, sanctimonious scientist. Employing radical time changes and alternating points of view, Turner creates a land reminiscent of Huxley's Brave New World. His narrative innovatively blends conceptual art, aboriginal philosophy and genetic engineering, and his characters display a memorable vibrancy. Nonetheless, as Turner had just completed the draft of this novel before he died, it often reads more like a collection of intriguing ideas strung together than a fully polished work. (May) FYI: According to the publisher, Turner is to be the Guest of Honor at the 1999 World SF Convention in Australia.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In a dystopic future Australia, policeman Harry Ostrov acts as a witness to the resuscitation of artist Brian Warlock, locked in a coma for 30 years, and plunges into a dark conspiracy aimed at seizing control of the future. Turner's lucid prose and bold imagination combine in a tale that contains elements of sf noir, police procedural, and metaphysical fiction. Published posthumously (Turner died in 1997), this compelling and disturbing exploration of the darkness of the human soul belongs in most sf collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312868294
• ISBN-13: 978-0312868291
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,220,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploring the dark future of humanity proves illuminating., May 30, 1999

By 

Edward Alexander Gerster "miamibooks" (South Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Down There in the Darkness (Hardcover)

George Turner was a superb writer, and this novel brings together many themes explored in his earlier novels. The future as distopia, the power of the mind, the bleakness of humanity and it's reactionary procession through time.

As dark as it all sounds, it really is quite illuminating to see the author's vision, and as a tale showing a possible future without shoving cautionary rhetoric down the readers gullet. It *is* a remade "Brave New World"--updated for the new century, and told with the voice of an aging writer who has seen worlds of change in his lifetime. There is a lot more here than is first exposed, and put's this in the "thoughtful" school of science fiction--possibly a bit heavy for some. Entertaining as well as enlightening, and highly recommended.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Zigs and Zags to a stirring conclusion, October 26, 2000

By 

Hank Schwartz "banjo & SciFi" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Down There In Darkness (Paperback)

I found this novel a bit troublesome to read on several accounts. The story is extremely well written and very absorbing, but it takes several great leaps and in so doing leaves the previous plots and major characters behind. The second problem stems from the fact that the author was Australian and has incorporated a fair amount of Australian Koori lore and Australian vernacular into his tale.

That said, I found it a remarkable book. Each "section" is very interesting in its own right. Turner's dark vision of a future Earth is well rendered and gives considerable pause to reflect. The characters are finely wrought, but I feel that the star of this effort is the concept itself.

The intense drama revolving around the "cleansing" of the Earth is as much a shock to us as it is to Gus, one of the few survivors from the bitterly difficult earlier times. The ending of the story is a curious and curiously refreshing twist that speaks of hope and lifts us above the dark brew.

Not a simple read, but highly recommended.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Down There in Darkness, August 21, 2001

By 

keith (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Down There In Darkness (Paperback)

I am an Aussie and I stumbled across this book not long ago. I was impressed with the cover so decided to take a chance to read as I had not heard of the author before but since it was an Aussie book i decided to give it ago. I read this book and was very impressed. I wondered why George Turner is unknown when he writes great books such as "Down There in Darkness." I recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories about the near future and the social decay that is predicted with it.