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Inverted World

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Christopher Priest's science fiction master work, Inverted World could be considered a literary exercise in relativity. It's the story of Helward Mann, a citizen of the city of Earth, who as a consequence of his guild duties begins to question the purpose behind the very existence of his world. The city itself is a sort gigantic train, winched along on rails, which are perpetually being constructed, moving on a course constantly being charted; If the city fails to progress it will succumb to a mysterious crushing gravitational force. So Earth has become a self contained ever moving metropolis, where most of it's citizens are blissfully unaware of its outer environs.

The city of Earth's infrastructure is maintained wholly by its various secretive Guilds, such as the Bridge Guild, the Militia Guild, and other such groups dedicated to the mechanization and preservation of the city. The guildsmen, a class consisting only of adult males, are the elite of society. As Helward comes of age, he is ushered into their ilk, being tasked with escorting a group of young women back to their outlying homeland. The farther they travel away from the city, the more distorted the environment, and the women, become.

Priest fashions a bizzaro world in flux, alien and familiar by turns. Time speeds and slows, oceans become rivers, matter flattens and expands in spastic perspective. Everything escapes relativity. By the end of Priest's tale, all is explained with scientific elegance. Along the way, this book sucks you into its vortex, it has you scratching your head then grinning in awe-filled wonderment at the surprising plausibility of its climactic revelation. The Inverted World is a must read if not for its subtle social commentary, then for its grasp of natural philosophy, its revealing science of power.

~Book Jones~ 5 Stars

Inverted World
Christopher Priest
NYRB Classics
2008
Trade Paperback
336 pages
ISBN: 1590172698
Literary Awards - British Science Fiction Association Award for Novel (1975)

Once upon a time there was a great City known as Earth that constantly, slowly, and persistently moved ever-forward on rails towards its grinding goal to reach, or , at least, pace "Optimum." Slowly, at a tenth of a mile a day, the City slouched northward toward the horizon. To fall behind was unthinkable and deadly or so the denizens had been taught. Behind this lumbering behemoth, the Traction Guild strained to remove the ties and rails and quickly transport them to the front of the City. The Navigator Guild would send scouts great distances to determine the best routes forward. Rivers, canyons, lakes, and other natural impediments were spanned by the Bridge Guild. Protecting them all from dissident villagers along the way was the Militia Guild. So begins the quirky story of "Inverted World" by Christopher Priest.

Normally, I would label my evaluation of "Inverted World" as a classic book review since this story was first published in 1974. However, and shame on me, I did not read this marvelous work of fiction until recently and therefore I cannot in good conscience label it a classic. However, had I read it twenty or thirty years ago I think I'd have deemed it an instant classic then. The characters are believable and well-written but trapped within the confines of their Guilds. Some search for answers while others, like the City, plod ever-onward without question or purpose. Strange "distortions" follow the City and those who travel too far behind it suffer physical and temporal changes to themselves and their surroundings. The mystery of how this "world" came to be unravels slowly but expertly in Priest's hands. The main premise of the book consists of pure hard science and while the laws of physics appear to be strained at first, all is explained in the end. And, in my opinion, the wait is definitely worth it. The mysteries of the planet and the city are skillfully, although slowly, unraveled throughout the narrative and kept me interested until the very last page. If there is a flaw with this story it is that it is much too short and the open ending might have been expanded to full closure (which I won't spoil here with explanation.)

Written with compact and concise detail this too short novel drew me in from the very first paragraph and the themes of respect, responsibility, parity, warped realism, and discovery were woven together in such a way that kept me totally engrossed and my imagination working in hyper-drive. Overall I became lost in the story and its enormous sense of wonder, buildup of mystery, and ever-present suspense as Priest's portrayal of this interesting society grew. Ah, to become lost in wonder while reading... isn't that all we ever ask from any intelligent book?

4 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

Amazon allows us one thousand words for our reviews. For a review of "The Inverted World", only one word is necessary, and that word is 'masterpiece'. This is the rarest of finds in the science fiction section, a book that does nearly everything right.

The City is on the move. It's a contraption a third of a mile long, featuring an odd mix of the modern, the medieval, and everything in between. Electric power is provided by a nuclear generator and sophisticated machines crank out food and clothing. Political power, on the other hand, is held by a group of guilds, each holding its own secrets and vowing death to any member that lets those secrets out. Physically, the city is moved along a sliding track by a series of winches and cables, always in pursuit of a mysterious place known as "optimum". All around them, strange tribes of primitive villagers dwell, sometimes cooperating and trading with the mobile urbanites, sometimes being hostile.

Helward Mann is thrust into this bizarre upon reaching the age of 650 miles (times is measured by the ground which the city covers) and being ushered into one of the guilds. He's eager to learn, but none of the adults are much willing to share information. The secrets of the City will only spill out gradually, and Helward's coming of age will coincide with a major crisis of identity for his city and everyone in it.

"The Inverted World" is many things: a mystery, a science fiction adventure, a bildungsroman, an introductory lesson to non-Euclidean geometry and structural engineering. Above all else, it is a fine story. Many bookstores and libraries would nominally classify it as children's or 'young adult' reading, and indeed it would be a gratifying, mind-expanding choice for any bright youngster. But it would serve just as well for an adult, or really for anyone who appreciates great literature.

"The inverted world" is well thought-of and reflects the often absurd situations in which humanity has to stay away from problems which it has created by itself, yet without always realizing that. The novel speaks about a young boy who, towards adulthood, gradually unravels (with the help of a local) the origin of his "city on wheels" and why he and his peers were doomed to stay on the move in a constant chase after the "optimum", where conditions are suited for life, as we know it. The end result of this attempt of "chasing one's own tail" is beyond anything I thought of.

That being said, I feel nevertheless the need to question the exact purpose of putting all of the inhabitants in the same "city on wheels" completely detached from the outside world, with only a handful of "guildsmen" whose purpose was to maintain the city in good shape and keep it on the move without any delay. That's a rather difficult to maintain, and finding a way to make that thing go over a bridge may prove as hard as building the pyramids. It is shown in the book that the guildsmen end-up working too hard as they kept the tools of the trade, as well as their purpose, as their secret. The structure proves vulnerable and sluggish towards the end when locals (outside the city) begin to attack it. I wonder what happens next (in the author's mind beyond the story's end) when the city dwellers inevitably find-out the reason for this way of life and what it did to them.

This book is so much fun. Reading the first sentence I felt a little confused...then curious. As I progressed through the story I was entranced and enchanted. Priest keeps your attention riveted with the mystery of what's transpiring, the impossibility of what's apparently so. Then he manages the neat feat of wrapping everything up and demonstrating in a sense how easy it all is. A wonderfully fun read.

I first read this book when I was in high school. I found the 'inverted world' concept fascinating. I thought the 'twist' at the end was very clever.

Many have disparaged this book, but they compare it to modern science fiction. I feel this book has aged very well. Often I buy a book I loved as a child only to find that the fascination and wonder is no longer there. Not so with this book.

Sparse language in a surreal world. This book will make you ponder about what is real, what is perceived and what is in-between.

First off, I must say that I enjoy comic books, but not generally Science Fiction. I find SF to generally be misogynistic and kind of reactionary. I read "The Prestige" and loved it, so decided to check out another book by Priest. I settled on this one.

It is somewhat impersonal. The characters are pretty thin. There are only two fleshed out characters in the book, and even these two are sparsely developed. Yet the story is compelling and thought provoking. I ended up drawing the shape of the world on the back of the book and referring to it all the time.

I read this book three months ago, and I am still thinking about it. That shows it stands the test of time. Really, not dated at all, and almost everything "futuristic" reflects the time in which it was written. Extremely well done book, but I take off one star because it is rather cold and, while not misogynistic, definitely male-oriented.

An extraordinarily powerful book which stretches your mind as you attempt to understand Priest's world. His characters are genuine individuals, their friendships and conflicts are entirely natural and believable. Yet the book remains genuine SF. I agree to some extent with the reader whose critique said the ending is a little weak. Still, I wonder how better it could possibly have been done. In any event, it follows chapters of extremely powerful distorted realism. This is a book I will long remember and confidently recommend to any SF enthusiast.

Inverted world is classic SF. While written in the 70's it has a timeless feel that makes the story enjoyable today. Guild member Mann, the main character, has some truly strange experiences that keep the pages turning at a good pace. Priest describes some math that is worth reviewing online to enhance the story.
There is some switching from first person to third person that makes the story awkward at times. Over all it is a great book.