End Of The World Blues (Gollancz S.F.) [IMPORT] (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: seven chimneys, stroll garden, Lady Neku, Lady Katchatka, Brigadier Miles (more...)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz (August 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 057507616X
• ISBN-13: 978-0575076167
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,734,666 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stylish, If Convoluted, Post-Cyberpunk Thriller from Grimwood, June 25, 2008

By	John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: End of the World Blues (Paperback)

Jon Courtenay Grimwood's "End of the World Blues" is a stylish, often convoluted, post-cyberpunk thriller which will easily remind readers of William Gibson's early "Cyberspace" trilogy. However, Grimwood's depiction of a near future Japan owes more to Haruki Murakami's vision of Japan than Gibson's in its realism (which isn't surprising since Grimwood has, unlike Gibson, resided there). Young British expatriate Kit Noveau must contend with the unexpected demise of his wife and of the bar that she had owned. His only chance at redemption lies in an ex-girlfriend who left a suicide note before vanishing. His only friend is a rather bizarre young Japanese girl, Neku, who believes that she is an aristocrat from Earth's distant future. Together they travel through the urban jungles of Japan and Great Britain in search of the missing keys that will explain who was ultimately responsible for the death of Kit's Japanese wife. Without question, Grimwood is one of Great Britain's best young writers of literary science fiction and fantasy; "End of the World Blues" merely reinforces the ample critical and popular acclaim he's earned on both sides of the Atlantic.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Strange High, August 30, 2008

By	doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: End of the World Blues (Paperback)

Jon Courtenay Grimwood is an incredibly intelligent and inventive writer, and readers looking for intricately plotted cerebral fiction will love the dark and mysterious depths of his novels. The other reviewers here have used the word "convoluted" to describe this story and they're right, because Grimwood's bizarrely twisted plotlines tend to overwhelm his fascinating characters and vibrant settings. Note that the novel is not really science fiction, but a slightly cyberpunk-ish crime mystery (and a very complex one) with some sci-fi elements added on. The main character Kit Nouveau gets caught up in a very tangled web of intrigue involving organized crime lords and evil conspiracies in both England and Japan, trailed by the mysterious Lady Neku, a forlorn Japanese street urchin who also inhabits a future alternate reality, or just thinks she does.

Lady Neku's story is intriguing but very vague and ambiguous, which is clearly an intentional strategy by Grimwood to fire the reader's imagination, but some readers may find her far-future sci-fi homeworld too undeveloped for comfort. Meanwhile, Kit Nouveau's adventures in crime and redemption remain exciting, but Grimwood keeps piling on intricate twists and conspiratorial subplots to the point of distraction, with the story nearly collapsing under its own weight. Granted, the sheer power and uniqueness of Grimwood's imagination, and his skills in plot construction, will keep adventurous readers fascinated. But those with more structured imaginations might have to read this book three or four times to really figure out all the twists and turns, which might just be too showoff-ish for their own good. [~doomsdayer520~]

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars complex somewhat convoluted character driven thriller , October 4, 2007

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: End of the World Blues (Paperback)

In Tokyo, runaway teenager Lady "Countess of High Strange" Neku hides fifteen million dollars in a in a train station locker. Soon afterward she saves the life of former Iraq war veteran Kit Nouveau when she efficiently kills a mugger attacking him. The Pirate's Mary bar owner tells Neku he owes her.

Many groups are after Neku because of the money she hid; this includes the yakuza syndicate and, British espionage agents; Several of Kit's former lovers and a few he still sees are after him. Neku also "lives" in an alternate reality as a princess married to an adversarial family. She fears her virtual life has interacted with her real life while Kit feeling an obsession to save a former girlfriend who left a suicide note behind wonders what he has gotten into since Neku saved him from a mugging.

The END OF THE WORLD BLUES is a complex somewhat convoluted character driven thriller that hooks readers who prefer something different yet compelling. Kit with his world ended yesterday philosophy and Neku with her strange kick butt attitude make for a dynamic read as her adventures tie into his past, present, and apparently his future making the double helix look like preschool science. Jon Courtenay Grimwood is at his most complicated best with this strong tale.

Harriet Klausner