Customer Reviews

Idlewild

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Neil Gaiman called this book a "roller coaster ride of fusion fiction" and it's easy to understand why. This delightful and diabolically intricate creation transforms from caterpillar to butterfly by way of gothic fantasy, mystery, apocalyptic science fiction, mythology, eschatology, a coming of age story, and even a romance. Ambitious novels like this run the risk of seeming all over the map, but Idlewild hangs together beautifully, with influences from each genre synthesized and reinvented through the pen of an imaginative and strikingly original storyteller.

Sagan begins with a pinpoint focus on his flawed but likeable antihero, who must solve the riddle of his amnesia, and gradually widens the scope to explore a deeper mystery that involves the whole of humanity. Multiple plotlines thread together seamlessly as hidden layers are revealed. This is a rich, dark, compelling tale that refuses to insult the reader's intelligence. Dialogue crackles and sparkles, and the protagonist's inner monologue builds to a furiously witty fever pitch.

My only complaint would be the pacing. It's one of the fastest novels I've ever read, and I tore through it so quickly that I'm left wanting more. That's about as negative as I can be here. Idlewild is simply that good, one of those rare books that stays with you long after you've closed it.

Highly recommended for everyone, and especially for fans of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series.

A smooth blend of virtual reality and suspense, impressively reminiscent (to this reader anyway) of Iain M Banks (particularly The Bridge) crossed with Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash) with just a touch of Ender's Game thrown in. With the Author's heritage you might perhaps have expected a harder SF slant but this is set in the near future and is a more contemporary book touching on themes of genetics, AI/VR, and even, in an subtle way, certain comic book conventions which are used to good effect (groups of related 'special' people, each with defined characteristics and allegiances/rivalries).

I suggest that the book is best read knowing as little as you can about the plot (i.e. try and avoid reading the dust jacket description)...allowing you to enjoy unravelling events along with the main protoganist who starts the story with amnesia.

This is very much an 'origins' story and whilst it stands alone well (in the way the film Unbreakable does), I would be very surprised if a follow-up was not planned. I'm looking forward to it.

Sagan's first novel surprised me in that I rather expected it to be fantasy, based on the cover. The first part of the book carried me along in that notion, but then I discovered it was so much more.

This is by no means a polished work, but it is very very good for a first novel. I've read a lot of sf, and this still managed to surprise me (plotwise). Which was refreshing.

It might not be knock your socks off good, but it's definitely worth reading. I'll be nominating Sagan for the Campbell award (best new SF Author) this year.

The virtual reality tale has become a mainstay of science fiction, a frequently used template for books and films that explore the increasingly intimate interplay between human beings and technology. It is territory well worth exploring, as more and more human-to-human interaction in the real world is modeled and replicated in the digital environment of the Internet, an environment that is as pervasive as it is profound in its effect on civilization. But as with any genre, the difference between mainstay and cliché is defined by the skills of the storyteller.

With IDLEWILD, his first novel, author Nick Sagan has distinguished himself as a storyteller of considerable talent. Sagan, the son of the late scientist and author Carl Sagan, has crafted a story that delivers everything one expects in a cyberpunk/virtual reality novel. But IDLEWILD throws enough curves at the reader to keep the story well out of reach of the clichés that might otherwise mark it as yet another cut-and-paste virtual reality clone.

IDLEWILD opens as a young man awakens in the middle of a field, having been rendered unconscious by some unidentified trauma. He is unable to remember who or where he is. His environment reveals itself to be a fantastic place, populated by strange creatures with strange powers. As his memory slowly returns he realizes that this fantasy world is a virtual environment of his own creation and the strange creatures are his classmates in Idlewild, an exclusive midwestern prep school that uses sophisticated virtual environments as classrooms.

Gabe, the young man, learns that the trauma he suffered was a potentially fatal electric shock and that the massive current surged through his body as he lay wired into his virtual reality world. Gabe suspects that the shock was no accident and begins a cautious investigation of his classmates and of Ellison, the artificial intelligence that acts as the virtual headmaster of the school. Who would want to kill him, and why? As Gabe digs deeper into the mystery, the lines between the real and the virtual worlds blur and with each answer comes a new question. Gabe's paranoia increases as he learns that even his own perceptions are suspect.

To describe the storytelling technique Sagan uses in IDLEWILD would be to reveal too much of this intricate tale. But it can be safely revealed that Sagan has deftly juggled multiple storylines to produce a slick cyberpunk whodunit with a tight and energetic narrative and an apocalyptic kick. Good stuff from a writer with a bright future.

--- Reviewed by Bob Rhubart from Bookreporter.com

One thing I can say for Sagan, he knows how to put you in the scene. From the first page, his writing takes you straight to the action and you can practically taste the atmosphere his characters have been dropped into. Every description comes through crystal clear, almost making me feel like I was watching a movie, rather than reading a book.

The premise is clever. Much like the protagonist, the semi-amnesiac Halloween, the reader is forced to learn what's going on through painful, frustrating investigation. This drags out the suspense, making you want to know the truth as quickly as possible.

I take off only one star b/c the surprise twist was not exactly earth-shattering. The last twenty pages was a bit of a chore to read, but I still recommend this book on its "fun-ride" value.

A friend of mine is a big science fiction fan and she gave me Idlewild for Christmas. We don't usually share the same tastes (I'm a huge mystery/thriller fan), so I acted happier about getting it than I actually was. But she promised I'd love it, and sure enough she was right!

Nick Sagan's debut novel is a literary gem and a true genrebuster. Not only did I find the plot smart and compelling and the characters well-drawn, but the writing itself is crisp and moving. The mystery keeps you guessing, but it raises deeper questions too, the kind that rise far above the average whodunit.

I sped through this page turner in three days and now can't wait for the sequel. If all science fiction books read like this one, I'd be a major fan of the genre.

Idlewild is powerful fiction, read and enjoy.

I read a great deal of sci-fi as well as contemporary novels and this book satisfied both of my literary cravings. Initially, I found it myself very confused and lost with the plot but sticking with it was well worth the wait. I picked up the book because I liked the cover and when I read the summary on the back I was intrigued with the idea of the character waking up with amnesia and a knowledge that someone was trying to kill him. It interested me even though it seemed a little clichéd. However, the back cover summary of this book is a poor respresentation of what it is actually about. I started reading expecting an interesting if overdone story and found myself blown away by the world created by Sagan in his post-apocalpytic novel. I was constantly surprised by the twists in the plot and found myself becoming loyal to the characters in a very personal, involved manner. Weeks after having finished I'm still thinking about it. I've also picked up the second book, Edenborn, but so far it as not as captivating as Idlewild.

Ten kids, growing up in a school. A virtual school, in a virtual world. Lied to by every program and every programmer about who they are, their purpose, and their future. Never knowing their real family, never knowing what real life was like. Trained to be the future elite, doctors. Trained in reality to reincarnate the world. The Black Ep has killed off everyone, so in humanities last attempt at having a future they program this world, all for training of these ten specially designed children, to grow and live in a simulation of life, as to restore real life. They hate it at the school, so want to get out to live in the "real" world, and go to a "real" school, when, in reality it is the same as the virtual world of the school, only they don't know it.
The main character, Halloween, never believed in any of this, and rebelled against it all, his teacher, Maestro; his "parents," his peers, everything.
Another character, Lazarus, is surely dead, and Halloween has been attacked, but isn't dead, and he must find who has tried to kill him and who has killed Lazarus. Nobody believes someone is trying to kill anyone, for the program doesn't want fear in its students, the program even says that Lazarus just disappeared because he "graduated." Halloween doesn't believe this, and strives to find the answer.
This has to be my favorite book in a long while. It is high-tech, yet cultured, and smart. Written in such a beautiful way you never wish to set it down... you are fully tossed into the world Nick Sagan has created. It is a dark, lonely, sad, desperate novel, in which there are lies, death, loss, confusion, hatred, and backstabbing around every bend.
This truly is a beautiful book, one of my favorites of all time. An intelligent, wonderful, detailed, emotional first novel. It's hard to believe writing can get better than this, but let's see what Sagan can do with experience.

This hypnotic and absorbing novel begins mysteriously and ends with tremendous force. It has many things going for it.

+ clever plotting
+ a nuanced, emotionally complex protagonist
+ breakneck pacing
+ imaginative imagery
+ absorbing themes

But what I love most about Idlewild are its subtleties. Each time I read it I discover something new.

I know that it has often been said before, but its really applicable: THIS A MUST READ. The author's weaves a plot that is not 5 stars, no its 10 stars: Very, exciting, very interesting, very wonderful. As the story unfolds you cannot believe how the next page or the next 20 pages can be better than the last, but I assure you they are.