Inverted World
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Book Overview
Featured in Science Fiction: The Best 100 Novels
Winner of the British Science Fiction Award
Nominated for the Hugo Award
The "devilishly entertaining" masterpiece of hard science fiction, set in a city moving through a strange, dystopian world--from the multi-award-winning author of The Prestige (Time Out New York)
The city is winched along tracks through a devastated land full of hostile tribes. Rails must be freshly laid ahead of the city and carefully removed in its wake. Rivers and mountains present nearly insurmountable challenges to the ingenuity of the city's engineers. But if the city does not move, it will fall farther and farther behind the "optimum" into the crushing gravitational field that has transformed life on Earth. The only alternative to progress is death. The secret directorate that governs the city makes sure that its inhabitants know nothing of this. Raised in common in cr?ches, nurtured on synthetic food, prevented above all from venturing outside the closed circuit of the city, they are carefully sheltered from the dire necessities that have come to define human existence. And yet the city is in crisis. The people are growing restive, the population is dwindling, and the rulers know that, for all their efforts, slowly but surely the city is slipping ever farther behind the optimum. Helward Mann is a member of the city's elite. Better than anyone, he knows how tenuous is the city's continued existence. But the world--he is about to discover--is infinitely stranger than the strange world he believes he knows so well.
Winner of the British Science Fiction Award
Nominated for the Hugo Award
The "devilishly entertaining" masterpiece of hard science fiction, set in a city moving through a strange, dystopian world--from the multi-award-winning author of The Prestige (Time Out New York)
The city is winched along tracks through a devastated land full of hostile tribes. Rails must be freshly laid ahead of the city and carefully removed in its wake. Rivers and mountains present nearly insurmountable challenges to the ingenuity of the city's engineers. But if the city does not move, it will fall farther and farther behind the "optimum" into the crushing gravitational field that has transformed life on Earth. The only alternative to progress is death. The secret directorate that governs the city makes sure that its inhabitants know nothing of this. Raised in common in cr?ches, nurtured on synthetic food, prevented above all from venturing outside the closed circuit of the city, they are carefully sheltered from the dire necessities that have come to define human existence. And yet the city is in crisis. The people are growing restive, the population is dwindling, and the rulers know that, for all their efforts, slowly but surely the city is slipping ever farther behind the optimum. Helward Mann is a member of the city's elite. Better than anyone, he knows how tenuous is the city's continued existence. But the world--he is about to discover--is infinitely stranger than the strange world he believes he knows so well.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1590172698
ISBN13:9781590172698
Release Date:July 2008
Publisher:New York Review of Books
Length:336 Pages
Weight:0.78 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 7.0" x 8.0"
Related Subjects
Dystopian Contemporary Fiction Literature & Fiction Science Fiction Science Fiction & FantasyCustomer Reviews
5 ratings
Extraordinary tale for its time.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago
I first read this book when I was in high school. I found the 'inverted world' concept fascinating. I thought the 'twist' at the end was very clever. Many have disparaged this book, but they compare it to modern science fiction. I feel this book has aged very well. Often I buy a book I loved as a child only to find that the fascination and wonder is no longer there. Not so with this book.
My personal SF favorite...
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
Imagine an encapsulated city trying to survive in a strange world where mysterious "optimum" is moving and the city has to keep moving on it's tracks trying to reach it. Every natural obstacle in this unfriendly environment has to be solved and the city has to keep moving or else... People in the city refer to the landscapes ahead as "the future" and to the landscapes behind as "the past." Everybody is working hard, for the optimum must be followed at any price... Is the ending of the book (which is one of the best endings in SF) going to reveal the real truth? What is the real truth anyway? The one you perceive? Or the other one, the one you can't see...
One of best Sci-Fi ever written
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
I was looking for The Glamour and noticed unfortunately that most of Priest's books are out of print...how sad, as most are truly original. I then noted that The Inverted World had only been reviewed 4 times and wanted to add my thoughts. READ IT. YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!
Among the best novels in the genre!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
This book is listed among David Pringle's top 100 sci-fi novels, and deservedly so. The story immediately captivates, as Priest introduces us to the large moving vehicle-structure called "city Earth". The vehicle is continuosly moved upon rails, through a series of winches and cables, and the tracks are laid as the vehicle progresses. The permanent residents who live inside are organized into many guilds, each responsible for various functions vital to the community's survival. The reader is only gradually given hints about the seemingly strange world that is the setting, and only gradually learns the reasons why the vehicle must continually move. A fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable book, this story keeps you guessing about the nature of reality until the very end.
Excellent Thought Provoking Science Fiction!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
First published over 20 years ago, Inverted World remains fresh today. Priest reminds us that our universe, our concepts, and our very being can be adversely altered by mass distortions of perception. Full of adventure, this novel is well worth the effort to find.
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