Down There in Darkness [Paperback]

George Turner (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Tor Books (1999)
• ASIN: B000OTMHX0
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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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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Amazon Verified Purchase

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.