Customer Reviews

One of Us

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I picked this one up on a whim. I had never heard of Mr. Smith, and I certainly hadn't read anything by him prior to this. Talking, walking alarm clocks? Roving bands of coffee makers? Is this book for real????? Luckily I continued reading despite my initial reaction to the story. I am so glad I gave this book a chance. It is bizarre, it is surreal, but somehow it all works.
Hap Thompson narrates this story about how he came to be employed as a dream and memory receiver, and how this line of work quickly puts him in danger. On the sly, Hap decides to accept a memory (which is illegal work) from a client who then refuses to take back the memory; Hap is in danger not only of going to prison for life but of being killed for this memory. He then sets out on a roller-coaster adventure that addresses ethical, philosophical and theological issues....but it's done in such a tongue-in-cheek, film noir style that it avoids being preachy.
The setting is sometime in the future in a world where humans share space with appliances that not only talk but have attitude. Surfing the internet takes on a literal meaning in this story, and computer hacking is central to the plot. This is a quick, funny, suspense story, and I enjoyed it immensely. Sometimes I'm totally surprised by a book....this one surprised me by how much I enjoyed it. I described it to a friend as Mickey Spillane meets Alice in Wonderland meets the X-Files meets Brave Little Toaster.

I had this book pressed upon me. My friend gave it to me far to early one morning. Every time I met him he asked me if I was reading it yet. Eventually I started it. And was thoroughly confused. The opening is utterly preplexing, but intriguing. It draws you in. Then you get to the premise, and that's it. Forget about stopping, it's not really an option.

Sure, many of the ideas may not be original, but frankly, there's not much originality out there. The genius is in the mix, and Michael Marshall Smith get it just right. He does something that doesn't seem to be widely expected in the days of 5-second attention spans, he makes you think. And wait. The anticipation of an explanation for the various events that shaped Hap's life are what drives the book along. When I finally got to the bank, I was remarkably excited about it (actually, to such an extent that the more detached part of my mind was really worried about me), but it was quite an unusual experience.

Lastly, I have to comment on the humour in the book. I think that's why my friend was so insistent on my reading it. The humour of the book is brilliant. I haven't laughed reading a book so much in quite a while. Jingo, by Terry Pratchett, perhaps. That was 1997. Incedentally, if anybody has read both, and reflecting on the use of other material, did you notice the similarity between Hap's alarm clock and the Disorganiser Lady Sibyl got Vimes?

One Of Us is a very well crafted novel featuring modern-day humanity in a not-too distant future. I love Smith's knack for twists on technology - the talking appliances (also seen in Spares but less developed) add quite a bit of humor to the reading. Smith also has a fabulous way of describing the ordinary that will make you chuckle.

I found myself drawn in throughout the book in a similar way to the first two. I say one only must read it once as a comparison to Only Forward, and even Spares. With Only Forward, I immediately turned back to the first page and started reading the entire book again, having so many questions. What drew me in was Smith's ability to make you think - and though there are signs of it in One Of Us, it lacks some of the power in Only Forward. Still, it is a complete book and one I would highly recommend!!

One of Us follows two amazing books, Only Forward and Spares. I liked it, but it doesn't compare well to the previous two.

Smith seems to be developing a pattern to the plot in his novels. Lots of mystery, interrupted by the occasional talking applicance, followed by some weird reality-bending concepts toward the end of the book. One of Us has a more intricate plot than the previous novels, and a more solid grounding in conventional reality, but I would have liked to see him break out of the mold entirely.

The characters seemed somehow less alive. The ruminations of the protagonist lacked a certain something.

The book is considerably less gory than his earlier works; whether that's an improvement is a matter of taste.

I've come to view this book as Smith "lite". It's an easier introduction to his writing than, say, Spares, but it just feels like there's something missing.

I should finish by pointing out that, although this review is generally negative, it's only so because I loved his earlier works so much more.

The spine of this book labels it as "suspense," and it certainly does share some aspects of that genre. It is also, however, a science fiction, mystery, fantasy, speculative religious thriller. This is both the joy of the book, and its curse. The joy is simply reading it for the excitement of not knowing what Smith is going to throw at you next. The curse is wanting it to coalesce into something besides the ephemeral pleasure of a roller coaster ride, and being disappointed when the coaster car simply comes gliding back into the station.

Hap Thompson is a petty con man who has fallen into the less-than-savory business of being a dream-washer and memory-holder. This would have likely been fine, except for his character flaw of being able to turn down wads of cash hovered virtually in front of him. He agrees to do a side memory job for a client so as to see all of the cash rather than just the skimmed bit given to him by his employer, REMtemps, and instead finds himself holding onto the memory of the murder, and if he doesn't get rid of it soon, LAPD will be on him. It doesn't matter that he didn't commit the murder--just having the memory is enough to set him up for life.

Smith hovers between writing like Raymond Chandler and William Gibson, and the result isn't as unpleasant as that match might seem (in fact, I've long thought Gibson's style of cyberpunk fit the early noir of Chandler, and only needed the psychological edge of James M. Cain to really perfect it). The book breaks down towards the end, however, when Smith starts trying to channel either Benny Hinn or Joseph Campbell. This is similar to the macguffin in Neal Stephenson's work, where he actually tries to make sense of all the fun and all it sounds like is pseudo-scientific claptrap.

Smith's an interesting enough writer to watch, however, and there are a number of science fiction/mystery novels that don't even come close to being as engrossing as One of Us. You could do much worse for pleasure reading, and there's not much better being published today.

A gripping yet belivable read. Profound, humorous in style, keeping in line with his previous publications..Only Forward and Spares.

Eagerly waiting for the next title...

It's refreshing to read a novel containing future technology that's written by someone who understands current technology! The quirky aspects of this book, like the talking appliances, made it stand out from a crowd, and the observations of our hero regarding the world around him truly cracked me up. Good characters, good story, and a view of the future that I could actually fathom make this an excellent read.

I enjoyed Michael Marshall Smith's latest quite a lot. A lot of post-Neuromancer books go overboard on hip, futuristic dialogue and lose hold of the characterization, but he is able to create very human, appealing characters. The only let-down was the metaphysics lesson at the end, I would have preferred for Smith to have let God and the 6 Angels remain more of a mystery.

Firstly, all claims that this is 'Only Forward' revisited are entirely justified. The book follows exactly the same trend of Original Ideas, tension, humour, gore and cats.(only one cat this time actually) All Michael Marshall Smith books so far have been pretty much along the same lines and brilliant because of it. The only reason you shouldn't buy this book is if you haven't yet bought 'Only Forward' & 'Spares'

As always Michael Marshall Smith shows staggering creativity in One of Us. I think One of Us matches Smith's first book, Only Forward in vision, but he is much more understated and well developed. An *exellent* book for anyone who likes fantasy that makes you think.