tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944796799720738820.post775885144009092040..comments2013-10-28T22:46:53.202+00:00Comments on Strange News From The Plankton: Flight of fantasyPlumbagohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04517664753686599228noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944796799720738820.post-86960899499765882052009-03-25T08:44:00.000+00:002009-03-25T08:44:00.000+00:00I'd agree that the book doesn't do its readers any...I'd agree that the book doesn't do its readers any favours for at least the first half. You're just left twisting in the wind wondering what it's all about. <BR/><BR/>The "unravelling" is actually kind-of spoilt by the book cover blurb, which makes it abundantly clear that the narratives are the fantasies of a comatose man. If you didn't know that, then it would present something of a puzzle (perhaps your edition didn't mention this?).<BR/><BR/>Anyway, when it comes, the unravelling seemed a bit forced to me. And the connections between the narratives seem only to be that the comatose man has visited the Forth Railway Bridge a lot, and that the amnesiac and barbarian have occasional visions of a man on hospital bed. Why, for instance, the amnesiac goes on a journey that takes him to a warzone (and a bit of bestiality) is completely opaque.<BR/><BR/>Overall, I'd certainly not rate it as highly as his other books by any means, but as I said in the blog, it's a pretty singular novel. And I loved the idea of people living on a never-ending bridge. That and the barbarian's portions are pretty funny.Plumbagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04517664753686599228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944796799720738820.post-61758857171857351582009-03-24T23:07:00.000+00:002009-03-24T23:07:00.000+00:00Ahhh... The only Banks book I've started and then ...Ahhh... The only Banks book I've started and then gave up...and started and gave up... I don't think I ever had the patience to try and unravel it. But maybe the key is as you suggest not to try and decipher.Grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08900977491825566654noreply@blogger.com