Idlewild

I'd forgotten entirely whatever I'd read about this book when I finally started it, which made the disorienting opening surprisingly effective. A person wakes up, in pain and somewhat to be surprised to be alive, with complete amnesia. He slowly pieces together who and where he is, or so he thinks, but unexpected layer after layer of reality reveals itself. I haven't read any science fiction in quite some time, and this was a good reintroduction. Author Nick Sagan is the son of Carl Sagan, so I imagine I can expect his science, at least, to be convincing!

Halloween wakes up disoriented, confused, with no memory, and is temporarily paralyzed. All he knows is someone (something?) is trying to kill him via electrocution, but he has no idea how to even begin to investigate.

Slowly but surely, our protagonist reunites with his friends and his environment, the pieces of the puzzle slowly clicking into place as time moves forward. Plagued by intermittent holes in his memory, Halloween re-integrates himself back into the land of the ... living?

Sort of.

Quickly we learn that Halloween and his quirky and enigmatic friends are living in a inter-conscious virtual reality termed IVR (Immersive Virtual Reality) where they are receiving an education unlike anything they'd find in the "outside" world. show more With virtual nannies, instructors, vampires, and the ability to travel anywhere in the world instantaneously, what could be better? What could go wrong?

Pesky time to interrupt and remind the reader of the paralyzing electrocution - a failed, yet very much attempted assassination.

Through searching for simply his own memory, Halloween uncovers an epic reality nobody could have imagined. Peeling back multiple layers (a la Inception) bring the reader to a shocking and haunting realization, and hurl our cast of characters into a sobering pit of responsibility that they won't all survive.

Nick Sagan's Idlewild is disorienting at first, and fairly so given the state of our protagonist. I am confused as much as Halloween is. As the light of understanding brightens slowly upon him, so do I gain my bearings and try to make sense of this world around me. As the story progresses and the intensity increases, I find myself enlightened and darkened at the same time. What a wonderful thing to gain understanding, but when what you're understanding is fraught with danger and the threat of being buried alive? You long for a sense of normalcy. My emotions were highly charged while reading this book, and I am already well into book #2. I look around and appreciate the world around me, all the while wondering if what I'm perceiving is what really IS. show less

Nick Sagan is the son of astronomer and writer Carl Sagan, whose recorded greeting "Hello from the children of planet Earth" accompanied the Voyager spacecraft that is already traveling beyond our solar system.

The plot starts out strong and shows potential as a dystopian, cyber-punk novel, but falls apart halfway through. Neil Gaiman called this book a "roller coaster ride" of a story - and that's why I bought it. However, I think that's just his nice way of saying the book takes too many quick, sloppy turns. An element of surprise is always welcome in fiction, but Idlewild becomes choppy - as though Sagan couldn't decide where he wanted to take the plot. The climax seems to come out of nowhere and doesn't quite satisfy, while the show more ending is too rushed.

Such faults could possibly be overlooked if Sagan's writing compensated for the plot flaws, but sadly that disappoints as well. The characterization of the protagonist (Halloween) is a trifle cliché (typical angst-ridden teenage goth boy), and the other characters are never fully developed.

I understand this is the first in a series - here's hoping Sagan develops his skills as it goes along. show less

A man awakens with no memory of who he is, or where he is. But he's sure someone is trying to kill him. As he slowly recovers his memories and hunts for his assassin, he is forced to look more closely at his own world and discover the deeper truths of who he is, and why.

This is a brilliant take on post-apocalyptic fiction, taking place in part in a convincing immersive virtual reality. Fast paced, and filled with tantalizing clues, this is both imaginative and deep. Exactly what sci-fi should be, and a worthy inheritor to the Sagan name.

A quick, fun, genre mixing read. There's not a lot of seriously original ideas, but the crazy combination of genre tropes and plot twists that change the nature of the novel every other chapter keeps you guessing right up until the end, even when you think you know what's going on.

I know that's vague, but it's hard to talk about it without giving any spoilers away. Suffice to say it'd make an excellent SF/Fantasy action adventure.

Sci-fi, mystery or pseudo-thriller, Idlewind had me hooked from the beginning. You never know what twists and turns the plot will take as you follow an exploration of the mind which truly makes you question the reality of life itself. I found it so hard to put this book down that I read it in a single day. Gripping.

I couldn't really get into this book for some reason. Which is a little surprising as I see a lot of myself in Halloween. I will probably read the next 2 books I'm the series, but I'm not going to rush right out and get them. The present tense chapter openers and past tense narration was a bit confusing (especially as the present tense text took place in the past before the past tense narration... sheesh), but did serve to give an impression of the urgency of that present tense time. Some major character motive points are left open at the end, and all in all it was just a rather unsatisfactory ending to an okay book.