Only Forward

Michael Marshall Smith
1994

This is an interesting mix of cyberpunk and gumshoe detective. The story is not only first person, but it is done in a conversational style. Stark describes all the events and experiences as though he is having a casual, but very honest, conversation with you.

The humour varies from slapstick to absolutely dead pan, and Smith manages to convey it even through fairly gory and graphic scenes. The casual violence and the chase scenes are interspersed with wry observations and clever irony.

Stark is a person who lives in a world where most of the planet is covered in city. The city is divided into neighbourhoods, which are all different. They have different rules, different people. Stark lives in colour, which is where people who are really into colour live. He lives there because it’s nice and fairly peaceful.

His friend Zenda lives in the Action Centre neighbourhood, where people are very efficient and spend their time doing things. She calls him in for a Thing That Needs Doing. One of the top Actioneers has gone missing, and Stark has to find him.

But as the assignment gets more complex, Stark realises that there are other things going on, and old scores to settle.