Normal: A Novel

I just love Warren Ellis. There, I said it. I was lucky enough to read Gun Machine first, since then I've devoured pretty much everything else he's written (in Kindle format) as soon as it appears. I even made my first highlighter quote a few pages in, despite never having used it in the five years or so I've had the option to do so.Mental instability. What's normal? If looking round the internet into highly specialised (and murky) areas is your day-to-day job, then things might start to get a little uncomfortable.As far as price and format go, I thought £1.50 for (let's call it what it is) a short-ish novella was a little over the top. 40 minutes later from buying Normal: Book 1, I had 2, 3 and 4 whispering down onto my kindle in double-quick time. £6 is not so bad for a book that makes you laugh at awful things, and you can stop at any time in £1.50 chunks. For my money, that's a steal.Go on, dip a toe... What's the worst that can happen?

Adam Dearden is a futurist, he looks at what is happening and tries to work out what will happen in the near future. This is now a big part of the corporations planning, but has the unfortunate side effect of what they call the Abyss Gaze. A mental condition where you basically break down. Fortunately he is well enough respected by the corporation he works for to be sent to Normal Head, a clinic for recovering futurists. Unfortunately for him, while there he stumbles across an issue which will have ramifications both within and outside the clinic.Originally published in 4 pieces, you can tell, it doesn't quite stitch together at the joins. Saying that, it's an old concept that maybe is due to come back. The book does contain 4 afterwords, one written for every piece and all by different authors in conversation with Ellis.This is typical Ellis, dark, yet believable, with little touches and flourishes that make you glad he's still writing. My Advice would be to get the full book, once you've read the first part, you're going to want the others.

A fascinating murder mystery techno-thriller, where part of the mystery is whether there was a murder. It put me in mind a bit of Agatha Christie early on, with the isolated venue, and an oddball array of suspects - although the actual culprit is easy to overlook. But any hopes of the crime's resolution offering a return to normality is undercut by the gleeful nihilism permeating the story.One element that could have been intrusive is the lectures on the state of the world and technology, primarily the things that caused the patients to be committed to the Normal Head facility. But these elements are the story, and even when a paragraph goes on for a few (kindle) pages it retains the personality of the speaker and the voice of the story (and Ellis).Darkly humourous, and fast paced, Normal is definitely worth reading.

Burnt out futurists end up in a remote sanatorium in the woods. But perhaps things are not quite what they seem.it is interesting to see something new in digital publishing, and Ellis repeats the trick of Elektrograd, publishing another short affordable story. Here he adds a fresh spin by making it the first in a series of four.The opener is dark and intriguing, and piques the interest sufficiently for me to pre-order #2, but at £1.49 it does feel a little pricy for something you can read in half an hour.

Anyone who has read his work before will recognise the familiar themes and character traits.Loved this first chapter, clough is already a standout for me, and can't wait to crack on with the rest.

Welcome to Normal Head where geniuses go after they have a breakdown. Told with Warren Ellis' usual fetish for technology and mordant wit, this is the first part of a story and I'm not wholly sure where is going but it is a lot of fun.

This book is slight, which drags it down from what would be a five star review. I really enjoy Warren Ellis' writing but this is more of a taster than full meal.However if you like Warren's other work I would recommend it, because even a short Warren Ellis book is better than most other books.

Intriguing setup. Just the pace I'd expected from the first entry in a series of shorts. Some lovely snippets of description of the world and the self. Looking forward to the next instalment.