320 pages
Published Sept. 30, 2014 by Scribner.
We are heading for interesting times indeed - when we can print new bodies at a moment's whim won't that make them disposable? And when simulations are more realistic than reality who could judge the difference?
Cronenberg's debut novel features a disappointing lack of his signature depravity and body horror, and its severe shift in focus to a peripheral character's story make this a shockingly dull read from a horror legend.
Fetishes revisited
Cronenberg returns to his early interests of surgeries, insects, and hysterical bodies, rendered in deeply affective prose. Eagerly awaiting more!
I've loved Cronenberg's film work, so it's probably no surprise that I enjoyed his first novel. What did surprise me is the feel of the book. There were times where this book felt like it could have lived in William Gibson's Bigend universe without being any kind of 'overt' ripoff. Of course, with Gibson being one of my favorite authors this speaks well for this book.
The ending did feel a touch incomplete for me, almost as if two characters were describing the ending to us in summary. But the book really captured my attention and the story was very compelling, so I can overlook this.
I'm not sure which came first, his short film "The Nest" from 2014 or the idea for this book, but they are very clearly related.
