The Pastel City

Tight and well paced science fantasy. I've been searching for more stories of Virconium ever since reading this, and i'd have to disagree with some of the other reviews here - i think the books berevity adds to the story. I love good stories that can be told in one book. Look for this at your favourite used book store it's worth the effort.

M. John Harrison, The Pastel City (Doubleday, 1971)That The Pastel City, now long out of print, has been considered a classic by so many for so long may be, in fact, the book's greatest failing. As I've perused reviews of it, the one thing I notice in the negative reviews is disappointment; they didn't get the be-all and end-all of fantasy they thought they were going to. Ay, but here's the rub; a book can be a classic for more than one reason.The Pastel City is, from the plot standpoint, your typical epic fantasy. If you've read Moorcock, Leiber, etc., you have a basic idea of what's going to go on here. Love, death, betrayal, lots of nonhuman baddies, lots of human baddies, a brooding hero-type and his overly sanguine friend, maybe a crazy dwarf or two, and lots of stuff blowing up. This is nothing out of the ordinary, and to be expected from epic fantasy. Those who read it looking for a classic of plot, I assume, are the ones most disappointed by the book.What elevates it from its peers is its sense of style. This is a fantasy as written by a true lexiphile, Elric through the lens of John Dryden, or Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser as written by Chaucer. As with most true prose stylists (Cormac McCarthy comes to mind), Harrison's subtle blend of archaic "it's not a fantasy novel unless you do this" diction, contemporary British phrasing, and little stylistic tricks that pull the whole in an entirely new direction takes a little getting used to at first. But once you've got the rhythm of it down, you can get pulled along for the ride with consummate ease. So let me make this clear: The Pastel City is a good book. A fine book, and one worth reading. The typical fantasy fan should probably not expect too much. The fantasy fan who is more attuned to the details of writing will get the most out of it. Word lovers, fantasy fans or not, are going to get a kick out of this. *** ½

Every year or two I take this book off the shelf for sheerreading pleasure. Many authors would have padded thisvolume out to make a trilogy (or worse), but the brevity of thetale and the beauty of the writing make this a wonderfulexperience. More is not necessarily better - this book justleaves the reader wanting more. A great adventure story,a quest, with memorable characters, plot, and a startlingdenouement. Scour your pre-owned bookstores for this one. (I buy every copy I can find and pass them on to friends.)

I pull this book out a couple of times a year and let it take me for a spin. I've been doing that for about 30 years now and I still get a thrill every time. This is very fine work indeed. Mr. Harrison will have you visualizing his landscapes and characters as few other authors could ever hope to do. These are real people in unreal settings, and that makes for the greatest of storytelling. This is a tale of a far future land where technology has mostly been forgotten and rusted away. A power struggle between two queens has erupted in the post-Arthurian city of Viriconium and a handful of loyal old knights gather together to protect the young queen and restore her to the throne. Some of my favorite characters in fiction live in this book. I consider it an absolutely must read for sci-fi and fantasy fans alike.

This a short novel that's set in the same world as the Viriconium short stories from the same author. It tells of how Viriconium, where the remains of an extinct technological civilization are exploited by a sort of medieval kingdom under a young queen, is defended by a small band of warriors against the invasion from the north by the enemy queen, who has resurrected an army of brain-eating androids. The book is a good read for anyone who enjoyed the oblique, surreal world in Viriconium Nights..