Moxyland – Two Essays

I say “essays”, rather than “reviews”, as the authors of the two pieces of Moxyland literary criticism over at Strange Horizons have gone way beyond the usual 250-word Summary/Synopsis/Verdict that we normally read. Short reviews are incredibly important to the reader – they help make purchasing decisions easier, and are often entertaining in their own right.

Ocassionally, however, we come across longer thoughts, where the critics have delved deeper into the subject matter. Over at Strange Horizons, James Trimarco and Paul Raven have done just this – both focussing on Lauren Beukes‘ excellent near-future Moxyland  and both coming to an agreement about the value of the book as both a commentary on the socio-political environment of modern (in the case, near-future) South Africa, and as a piece of entertainment.

Lauren Beukes

James Trimarco:

But Moxyland isn’t the kind of book readers turn to for uplifting messages about the future. Instead, it provides a curious and stylish look at the way four very different people deal with a world that measures their worth by the number of eyeballs they can attract.

Paul Raven:

It’s a strong fast zap to the brain that eschews science fiction’s lingering tendency to chase technological gosh-wow in favour of using its toolkit to vivisect the kids of tomorrow.

Grab yourself a coffee, tea or can of Ghost, settle back, and read the full thing here.