A Short, Sharp Shock - Softcover

Robinson, Kim Stanley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0990573346 ISBN 13: 9780990573340

Publisher: Anti-Oedipus Press, 2015

Synopsis

A man tumbles through wild surf, half drowned, to collapse on a moonlit beach. When he regains consciousness, he has no memory of who he is or where he came from. He knows only that the woman who washed ashore with him has disappeared sometime in the night, and that he has awakened in a surreal landscape of savage beauty-a mysterious watery world encircled by a thin spine of land. Aided by strange tribesmen, he will journey to the cove of the spine kings, a brutal race that has enslaved the woman and several of the tribesmen. That is only the beginning of his quest, as he struggles to find his identity in this cruel and dreamlike land-and seeks out the woman whose grip on his imagination is both unfathomable and unshakable. Haunting and lyrical, filled with uncommon beauty and terrific peril, A SHORT, SHARP SHOCK is an ambitious and enthralling story by one of science fiction's most respected talents. Kim Stanley Robinson is the author of over twenty books and has won every major award in the science fiction genre. Originally published in 1990, A SHORT, SHARP SHOCK remains a singular work in his canon that engages his interests in the evironment and plumbs the absurdities of the human condition while charting unique narrative terrain. This anti-oedipal edition includes an insightful introduction by esteemed science fiction scholar and critic Robert Crossley as well as a study guide, both of which encourage readers to explore the literary prowess that makes this novel a rare gem of twentieth century American literature.

About this title

Review

Kim Stanley Robinson, justly famous for his science fiction, has created a mesmerizing fantasy work in A Short, Sharp Shock. Each brief chapter (with evocative titles such as "Beauty Is the Promise of Happiness") explores a little further along the path of the amnesiac protagonist, Thel. Thel finds himself on an amazing world, which has just one narrow ridge of land encircling the globe, with endless ocean on either side. And Thel is on a quest, searching for the woman who was with him when he first awakened, but who was taken by the murderous spine kings. In his travels along the ribbon of land, Thel encounters exotic local peoples and their legends of the origin of the world, and learns more about his companions and himself. Robinson's imagination is far-ranging and he has a pointed way with words: in a scene where Thel is slowly pushed through a magical mirror, Robinson's evocation of pain is unforgettable. A Short, Sharp Shock is guaranteed to haunt the reader for a long time. --Blaise Selby

Review

‘IF I HAD TO CHOOSE ONE WRITER WHOSE WORK WILL SET THE STANDARD FOR SCIENCE FICTION IN THE FUTURE, IT WOULD BE KIM STANLEY ROBINSON’
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Edition details

• Publisher: Anti-Oedipus Press
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0990573346
• ISBN 13: 9780990573340
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 152