Only Forward

Rating:
Summary: A Well Done Genre Blender
Review: I'll start by saying that I love this book and have read it several times without it getting old. It is an interesting mix of noir, science fiction, and supernatural thriller. However, because it breaks the standard formulas, it will not be to everyone's liking. If you find yourself wandering the bookstore passing by the usual scifi and fantasy, or you just want a change, you won't go wrong with Only Forward.

Rating:
Summary: Very Entertaining.
Review: If you are into science fiction you will like this book. It is a complex and rewarding story, taking you through many weird settings. The story is kind of slow in the middle, but the last couple of chapters, when the book explains it all is amazing

Rating:
Summary: Something Different
Review: If you like your plot straightforward, don't bother reading this. Only Forward is a surreal journey, one that only an author such as Smith, who possesses a great deal of talent, is capable of pulling off. The first half is something along the lines of your traditional cyberpunk noir mystery storyline. However, Smith writes this in a lighter tone than usual and has a great flair for being humorous. The second half is a mind-bending twister of a read that flings you in and out of reality. A fantastic read, for great characterization and loads of originality.

Rating:
Summary: His Best Work
Review: If you're going to read one MMS book make it Only Forward. It's his most original and entertaining work.

Rating:
Summary: great offbeat read
Review: In a future world a lot weirder than the present, only a lunatic or a desperado would seek the services of Stark. Somehow, when he is on the job, everything seems to go screwier as Stark makes a sentry dog seem more like a gentle house pet.

Thus, when Actioneer Zenda Renn introduces Stark to Darv and C of the Action Center's Intelligence Agency (ACIA), he knows they must be in extreme trouble, which they are. Apparently, three days ago someone abducted Senior Actioneer Fell Alkland who was doing highly classified work. Stark is to find out who kidnapped Alkland, how they did it, and bring him back alive.

Stark thinks the case has nothing to do with abduction, but knows that any inquiries in any of the Neighborhoods can be very perilous to one's life even if the case appears quite simple like this one. However, even the ultra-cautious Stark is not yet aware that Murphy's Law has been renamed for him because he soon becomes the target of friend and foe alike.

If anyone had doubts before ONLY FORWARD was published that Michael Marshall Smith owns the absurd futuristic who-done-it sub-genre, they will not think so after this wild novel. ONLY FORWARD is weird, yet also amusing and entertaining. The story line is filled with a strange world loaded with intriguing but hard drive error gizmos inside a wonderful mystery. Stark is a great protagonist while the support cast provides depth to this surreal world. Not for everyone, Mr. Smith satirizes the mystery and science fiction genres while ripping every ONE OF US with its acerbic tongue in cheek plot.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: I love this novel
Review: Michael Marshall Smith is one off the greatest and most inovative writers I have ever had the plesure to read. The characters and storyline are wonderful and the idea of Nieghbourhoods is so fresh and the diversity of the areas he created make this book extreamly emtertaining. This novel is an absolute GEM. Its a pity that Smith is not better known as he is one of the best modern authors.

Rating:
Summary: Read Only Forward, Oh and by the way - Good Luck!
Review: MMS' first novel and his best. This story has something for fans of practically every genre of fiction.

I bought Only Forward at a small shop where the owner had gone out his way to create a sign telling people to purchase a novel that was "quite possibly the best piece of fiction you will ever read". The blurb on the back was unhelpful, but I bought it anyway. I'm glad I did.

The first part of Only Forward is basically sci-fi, set in a future when humanity has organised itself into communities populated by people of similar interests.

The second part is set in the land of dreams, where Smith introduces us to the idea "sometimes things _are_ what they seem".

Only Forward is funny, shocking and thought provoking. And if you can get hold of the original UK release, the cover has a cool texture and black color.

Rating:
Summary: Weird, Wacky, Wild, and... um, did I mention Weird?
Review: No review of Only Forward would be complete without mentioning the word "surreal," so I'd just like to get that out of the way up front. But there's a differnece between surreal and wack, and Smith has wack down to a science.

Smith is from Britain, so it's understandable that there might be some British slang in. But making the slang contemporary throws the reader off a bit (since it's ostensibly set in the future, see). On top of that, I was reading an American edition of the book, so many (although not all) of the Britishisms were Americanized. The final result is a book written in partially Americanized contemporary British slang, which leaves no room for doubt as to which side of the 'wack' line this book falls.

Another hallmark of reviews of these sorts of books is the phrase, 'I don't want to give anything away, but...' There's so much going on in this book that it's hard not to. I'll do my best to keep revelations to a minimum, but read no further than this paragraph if you want to stay spoiler-free. The short answer is that this book is great. If you love science fiction, this'll be a keeper.

So, quick and dirty introduction: Stark, the book's narrator, is a sort of a futuristic hard-boiled private eye. He's got contacts everywhere, he's 100% sure of himself at all times, and he seemingly can get any job done no matter how unusual. His speciality, apparently, is finding lost people, which brings us to this story wherein things don't go quite as they'd been planned. Enh, gotta have conflict somewhere, right?

Smith paints an unusual world in this future Earth. Most of the land is covered by The City which is, itself, divided into Neighbourhoods, each of which has its own rules and regulations. But there's nothing normal about these neighbourhoods -- there's Cat, which is apparently run by cats; there's Action, where you can be blown up if you visit for too long; there's Red, which is run by gangs and thugs. C.f. the 'wack' statement I started out this review with. Of course, Stark has contacts everywhere, so the sense of danger is combined with a sense of extreme confidence, and the reader is just swept along, absorbing the events.

Cross that with an unreliable narrator -- an admitted unreliable narrator -- and you end up with a story that's nearly as bizarre as it thinks it is. Obscurity is built up, layer upon layer, until you're not sure what is real and what Stark's just making up, or what Smith is making up, and then you pause and realize that of course Smith is making it all up, so why should we care about Stark anyway and then you take a deep breath and put the book down for a minute and watch TV instead.

I'm a TV addict, what can I say?

Seriously, though, it's tough to know what to believe, even at the end where Stark pretty much gives the game away. Or, at least, claims to. There's always the undercurrent that there may be something more to the story, but this is a review, not a critical analysis, so I won't go further than that here. That's not to say I haven't been thinking about this, off and on, ever since I finished reading the book.

At the end of the day, all you have to go on is the text of the story, so you have to either believe something or just mark the book down as a waste of time. And it's not even close to being a waste of time. Smith has managed to tell a story where the reader must constantly reassess what has transpired. You read along, assuming one set of facts, and then learn something new which changes what has gone before and you think to yourself, "Ah, now I get it." And then Smith lets another bomb drop later on and you think to yourself, "Oh, now I understand." And so on, and so on. By the end, your disbelief suspenders have been given an incredible workout.

Rating:
Summary: Weird, Wacky, Wild, and... um, did I mention Weird?
Review: No review of Only Forward would be complete without mentioning the word "surreal," so I'd just like to get that out of the way up front. But there's a differnece between surreal and wack, and Smith has wack down to a science.

Smith is from Britain, so it's understandable that there might be some British slang in. But making the slang contemporary throws the reader off a bit (since it's ostensibly set in the future, see). On top of that, I was reading an American edition of the book, so many (although not all) of the Britishisms were Americanized. The final result is a book written in partially Americanized contemporary British slang, which leaves no room for doubt as to which side of the 'wack' line this book falls.

Another hallmark of reviews of these sorts of books is the phrase, 'I don't want to give anything away, but...' There's so much going on in this book that it's hard not to. I'll do my best to keep revelations to a minimum, but read no further than this paragraph if you want to stay spoiler-free. The short answer is that this book is great. If you love science fiction, this'll be a keeper.

So, quick and dirty introduction: Stark, the book's narrator, is a sort of a futuristic hard-boiled private eye. He's got contacts everywhere, he's 100% sure of himself at all times, and he seemingly can get any job done no matter how unusual. His speciality, apparently, is finding lost people, which brings us to this story wherein things don't go quite as they'd been planned. Enh, gotta have conflict somewhere, right?

Smith paints an unusual world in this future Earth. Most of the land is covered by The City which is, itself, divided into Neighbourhoods, each of which has its own rules and regulations. But there's nothing normal about these neighbourhoods -- there's Cat, which is apparently run by cats; there's Action, where you can be blown up if you visit for too long; there's Red, which is run by gangs and thugs. C.f. the 'wack' statement I started out this review with. Of course, Stark has contacts everywhere, so the sense of danger is combined with a sense of extreme confidence, and the reader is just swept along, absorbing the events.

Cross that with an unreliable narrator -- an admitted unreliable narrator -- and you end up with a story that's nearly as bizarre as it thinks it is. Obscurity is built up, layer upon layer, until you're not sure what is real and what Stark's just making up, or what Smith is making up, and then you pause and realize that of course Smith is making it all up, so why should we care about Stark anyway and then you take a deep breath and put the book down for a minute and watch TV instead.

I'm a TV addict, what can I say?

Seriously, though, it's tough to know what to believe, even at the end where Stark pretty much gives the game away. Or, at least, claims to. There's always the undercurrent that there may be something more to the story, but this is a review, not a critical analysis, so I won't go further than that here. That's not to say I haven't been thinking about this, off and on, ever since I finished reading the book.

At the end of the day, all you have to go on is the text of the story, so you have to either believe something or just mark the book down as a waste of time. And it's not even close to being a waste of time. Smith has managed to tell a story where the reader must constantly reassess what has transpired. You read along, assuming one set of facts, and then learn something new which changes what has gone before and you think to yourself, "Ah, now I get it." And then Smith lets another bomb drop later on and you think to yourself, "Oh, now I understand." And so on, and so on. By the end, your disbelief suspenders have been given an incredible workout.

Rating:
Summary: everyone should read this book
Review: only forward is one of those very few books i recommend to all - even if i suspect they might not like it. it opens doors in your imagination, combining brilliant philosophical insight with indiana jones type action. i've read it more than 10 times, still finding it fun and intelligent. give this book as a gift and see the lights go on in the recipient's mind!