The Gone-Away World

As if to disprove some schoolyard taunt that reading is for sissies, British novelist Nick Harkaway has written The Gone-Away World, a testosterone-riddled genre-bender incorporating elements of science fiction, the apocalypse thriller, and the ninja epic. Told by an unnamed narrator, Gone-Away follows a group of trucker-heroes on a mission to save a world left in a shambles after The Go-Away War—so named for a bomb deployed in battle that removes "itness" from matter so that objects themselves disappear. Once the now-devolved matter begins manifesting itself in the thoughts of any person it comes into contact with, existence becomes a bloody mess and, Michael Crichton fans will recognize hints of Sphere in all the psychosomatic chaos that results. Using their wits and their martial arts skills, the wisecracking narrator and his lifetime pal Gonzo Lubitsch stick their necks out for the safety of the world and, though it might sound exciting, you've seen it all before: the dynamic duo, the dystopian near-apocalypse, the thoughts-beget-scary-stuff psych-suspense. What makes Harkaway's debut novel unusual is that it smushes these elements together. And such are the strengths and weaknesses of The Gone-Away World: it's a creative coup delightful for its mash-up of influences but also suffering from serious ADD.