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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Luminous. Does the work that tragedy should..., October 6, 2000
In 1991 I read Erickson's *Tours of the Black Clock*, and came away touched to the core by his reckoning with evil, loss, and the secret history of the Twentieth Century; I felt in finishing the book as if I had been given an incredible gift. He was definitely going to be one to watch.Well, I devoured *Amnesiascope* and *Arc D'X* and *Rubicon Beach*, but despite the appearance of the same tropes (like J.G. Ballard, Erickson obsessively redeploys the same imagery, in his case fractured time, deserted Chinatowns, flooded cities) they didn't bring me off quite the way *Tours* did. Now *Sea* does, again. It's a haunting and beautiful meditation on time, loss, evil, and redemption - call it a scruffier alternate take on DeLillo's *Underworld*, for post-boomers. It's uneven in spots, but it did the work that all great writing is supposed to do: it triggered the simultaneous grief, acceptance, and joy in that acceptance that means you've arrived, at long last, at your own life. You should buy this book. Oh, and: thanks, Steve.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating but Flawed, May 14, 2000
Steve Erickson is one of the most challenging and visionary of all contemporary American writers and the fact that many of his books are going out of print is certainly cause for alarm. While some critics have compared Erickson to Pynchon and DeLillo, and there may be some similarities, "The Sea Came in at Midnight" shows Erickson moving past such comparisons and developing a style and technique that is very much his own. "The Sea Came in at Midnight" is certainly his finest novel to date but it is, unfortunately, plagued by some of the same inconsistencies of his previous work.The thematic and stylistic elements of which this novel is composed are the stuff of undeniable brilliance. The innovative structure of the novel is also an asset through most of the novel but by the time we near the end it has become one of the most problematic elements. In this novel Erickson tells several stories at once, weaving each into the others with intricacy and skill. Among the many plots that emerge are a teenage girl's attempt to dream, a madman's attempt to document the world's slide into apocalypse and another teenage girl's brush with death on film. Each plot thread makes for engrossing reading and as I read I was constantly surprised by how Erickson managed to tie one plot thread to the others. The problem is that by the time the end of the novel approaches, which is far too fast, none of the plot lines actually terminate, they just trail out into space. It is possible that Erickson tried to do too much in too small a space - just over 250 pages. This novel might have been better if it had been a hundred or so pages longer and Erickson had been able to bring everything together and create some sort of closure. As it is thing never come full circle, and while perhaps it was not Erickson's intention to close the circle for a while he makes it look like he is definitely trying. Even so "The Sea Came in at Midnight" is a fantastic and absorbing novel, one which is well worth reading more than once. I am eagerly anticipating Erickson's next work and I can only hope that his genius will not continue to go unnoticed.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What is The Sea?, February 12, 2001
The three nights I spent reading Erickson's "The Sea Came at Midnight" were both riveting and disturbing. Rarely do I dream, but Erickson's fantasy gave my nights urgent and almost panicked visions. In retrospect I fancy my mind unable to process the wild implications and subconscious import driven to point by only the experiences of his few characters. "The Sea Came at Midnight" is not only beautifully written and well-composed, but it is also ominous... Like all significant works of writing it leaves you hungrier than sated, straining to bring into focus the looming world you know lays waiting behind the words -- A world that is more your own than Erickson's, because he has only given you a fleeting, piercing glimpse at all you refuse to perceive about humanity.
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