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A review by girlfriday4
A Wrong Turn at the Office of Unmade Lists by Jane Rawson
3.0
It's great to read sci fi by an Australian author and I loved how inclusive and multicultural the book was, with one of the main characters being Aboriginal and the story populated with people of all different backgrounds.
The central ideas of fictional characters coming to life, and magical objects that transport through time and space aren't particularly new, but I liked the spin Rawson gives them - quirky, but still emotionally real.
The book is 'Cli Fi' (climate change fiction) but it is far from being disaster porn. Rawson's vision of a post apocalyptic Melbourne - apparently under UN control - is compelling and believable, but written with a light touch. It's so easy to get depressed by climate change that it's refreshing to read a book that reminds us that in spite of the very real threat it poses, ultimately it's human resilience and connection to each other that will get us through hard times. This is the kind of book that shows why SF is important, people!
It's also very funny in places, especially when we arrive in the realm of the Office of Unmade Lists, where I was strongly reminded of the best of Monty Python.
I'm looking forward to whatever Rawson comes up with next.
The central ideas of fictional characters coming to life, and magical objects that transport through time and space aren't particularly new, but I liked the spin Rawson gives them - quirky, but still emotionally real.
The book is 'Cli Fi' (climate change fiction) but it is far from being disaster porn. Rawson's vision of a post apocalyptic Melbourne - apparently under UN control - is compelling and believable, but written with a light touch. It's so easy to get depressed by climate change that it's refreshing to read a book that reminds us that in spite of the very real threat it poses, ultimately it's human resilience and connection to each other that will get us through hard times. This is the kind of book that shows why SF is important, people!
It's also very funny in places, especially when we arrive in the realm of the Office of Unmade Lists, where I was strongly reminded of the best of Monty Python.
I'm looking forward to whatever Rawson comes up with next.