Vellum | ||||||||
Hal Duncan | ||||||||
Macmillan, 600 pages | ||||||||
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A review by Sean Wright
First, I have to say that Hal Duncan is mad, and one hell of a writer. The mad is a compliment in the sense that he has messed about
with narrative structure to such an extent in Vellum that one is ping-ponged all over a variety of points in time, as well as
a lot of character POV changes. The prose is manic, elegant, assured, witty, varied, and memorable for the most part. Strange
combo, I know, but it's how I perceive his work. It took me six months to read Vellum -- on and off. I'd pick it up and
be wowed and confused. I'd put it down. Drawn to it again a few days later. It's that kind of book -- deep, layered, intelligent,
annoying, different, and yet it plays with familiar myths and stereo-types. Vellum has a lot of energy. It's a tiring read,
makes you think, thrills -- and because of its unusual structure, is without doubt a challenging book. And yet there's an
honesty, a ring of truth to Duncan's prose when he gets into full swing. I like that.
Vellum is told through multiple viewpoints. Namely, the characters Seamus Finnan, Jack Carter, Thomas Messenger and
Thomas's sister, Phreedom, whose lives are ruined, exposed and eternally scarred by links with a dimension called the Vellum,
resurface at intervals often decades later. Their narratives in the human, inter-dimensional and cyber universes are undoubtedly
difficult to follow in a linear sense. Duncan paints with a huge ambitious canvas. He takes risks. Perhaps too many. However,
readers who persist will find this a remarkable and rewarding read, despite the ranging narrative and spliced plotlines.
So what does such ambitious risk-taking Vellum add to literature? Strangeness -- very British in its nature, a writer who loves
to toy and play with the genre's tropes and creates something challenging in the process. Jack Flash is pure, over-the-top
brilliance. I loved that guy! His damn-the-devil attitude is one of the book's strong points. But back to the strangeness of the
book. I think Duncan doesn't need the mythical elements as much as he might think. Yes, they add to the strangeness, but the
way he handles them gives the book an antiquated feel. To my mind at least. This jars with the newness of Jack Flash, for
example. This strangeness, the bizarre, the weird cannot be named. As soon as it is: it's dead! Known and therefore no longer
a mystery. Yet there's a race called the unkin who really are a very messed up bunch of... angels! I also like the idea of
the cant language, a key of sorts for re-writing personal histories.
I like these ideas of a multiverse (thanks Mr. Moorcock), this frontal, lateral, and residual time motif is also something I
can relate to. I think Hal Duncan's treatment of these elements is intriguing and complex. The characters are strong enough to
carry the whole thing off. They appear as many incarnations at various points of time, and flesh out the overall feel of them
as people we can sympathise with and relate to.
This is a very commendable debut novel -- with some beautiful writing, which is wise beyond Mr Duncan's years in regard
to insights into myth, human behaviour, and the complexities of notions of good and evil, angels, creation, and many of
the larger questions of life. It's not an easy read, I think because of its structure, but also because of its subject
matter. The mythical elements require some knowledge of them if you want to get the full picture. It's a clever book,
from a clever, intellectual writer. It may even be some kind of benchmark for things to come. Time, indeed, in its
many forms, will tell.
Sean Wright is three-time British Fantasy Award finalist, editor and publisher at Crowswing Books, and an outspoken voice at Lotus Lyceum, a multi-user open community of fantastic fiction. He's the author of books set in the mythic mindscape world called Jaarfindor. His vibrant blog is a port of call for many sff readers, writers and editors at www.seanwrightblog.blogspot.com |
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