Rating: 
Summary: Weirder than Lovecraft, but with living characters
Review: This is my favorite novel because it is so beautifully sad. I can't explain how this sadness is conveyed, however, so I will just point out its other merits. It is narrated by a character who, the reader gradually discovers, cannot be trusted. The meaning of entire portions of the novel is flip-flopped several times in light of previously withheld information suddenly dispensed by the protagonist. His story is too painful to him to tell all at once, and the consequences of this fact are manifested in the plot itself as its events steadily grow more bizarre and grotesque. Leaving aside the amusement provided by this post-modern presentation, there is the lure of a surreal anarcho-capitalistic setting and writing which can convincingly move to being funny, to horrifying, to just plain depressing. Saying any more might spoil the many surprises. A completely original book.
Rating:
Summary: Do yourself a favour - BUY THIS BOOK
Review: This is the only book I have ever actually forced the people around me to read. I don't just recommend it - I preach the word of Michael Marshall Smith!This book is full of unexpected twists and turns, comedy, action, tragedy....I could go on. The book is genre-defying, combining a personal insight into the narrator's mind (and, sometimes maybe even the author's), a fantastic sci-fi action plot, as well as a deeply personal philosopical outlook on life in general. This book touched my heart and I want it to touch others, so whatever genre you're into - go and buy it now - it will never leave you.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've ever read......
Review: This is without a doubt the best book I've ever read. He totally suprises you with an ending you would never guess in a million years. Add the occasional comic moment and you have and extremely enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've ever read......
Review: This is without a doubt the best book I've ever read. He totally suprises you with an ending you would never guess in a million years. Add the occasional comic moment and you have and extremely enjoyable read.
Rating: 
Summary: 3 Stars for Story + 1 for Creativity
Review: This story is a rarefied view of what might happen as culture degenerates into hundreds of separate world views. The narrator's name, Stark, was short for stark-raving-mad. Each of the other characters represented a turn in the maze which drove Stark insane. Jeamland, as a transition way station to his many future pocket universes, was packed full of possibilities for creating a complex character. Stark was not one man but a series of Russian doll selves, each representing a period in his growth from childhood. As to the mystery element, yes, at first the reader wonders in what direction the story will turn next but finally realizes that it doesn't matter at all. The most daring insight presented is the discovery that molecular computers are churning out the bits of data that makes up Stark's brutal existence. Once Stark's mind leaps through the Jeamland portal into the future there is no return to either sanity or the present. The exposition revealed in chapters 21-2 belonged in the opening to this weird tale. The reader deserved to know outright that Jeamland was a mind portal leading to the far distant future. The happy ending demanded by Hollywood agents was not convincing. The division of this future City into unique, idiosyncratic neighborhoods was very creative. Smith envisions the future as made up of pockets of people who shared similar neurosis and psychosis. The novel was a collection of a hundred short stories stitched together by the mind of the narrator Stark. I read it thinking: so much more could have been done with this material.
Rating:
Summary: Only forward a must
Review: This was Michael Marshal Smith's first published novel, I bought this back in '93. Since then he brought out 'Spares' 'One of Us' and 'What You Make It' - his book of short stories. In some ways 'Only Forward' is not as mature as the later works, but then that is a big part of it's beauty, it's a whole new world, a very funny world, in both senses of the word. But I have not enjoyed a book quite like this before or since. It is the only book I can read over and over again, It's a one in a million find.
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