The Flies of Memory

By Ian Watson

Book Overview

Based on Ian Watson's novella of the same name. When insectoid aliens arrive on Earth, the dome of St Peter's disappears, and then whole cities. Charles Spark and his colleagues embark on a bizarre... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0881847828
• ISBN13: 9780881847826
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers
• Length: 220 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Visionary stuff!

I almost gave up on this book. Watson's quirky style; almost stream-of-consciousness in places and frequent changes of tense and 1st person, made "Flies" quite difficult to get into. Suddenly though, things clicked into place and the hidden layers within this powerful fable came bubbling to the surface. Politics, religion, sexuality, jealousy, friendship, mob culture, class, sanity, the human spirit etc; Watson has something profound to say about each, all in his inimitable style. The sometimes startling use of imagery is particulary vivid and I often found myself thinking "I wish I'd written that!" (a sure sign that I'm enjoying this book). OK, so sometimes the science may be a bit questionable; the survivors on Mars and the erm... unorthodox method of matter transfer seemed rather unlikely scenarios to me - but made for a highly entertaining read. Clearly Star Wars this isn't! If however you like your Sci-Fi to be a little more thought-provoking and demanding, then you won't be disappointed with "Flies". I found the ending well-balanced and logical if rather enigmatic. Is there a sequel on its way Ian?