Book Review – Viriconium

Author: M. John Harrison
Publisher: Bantam Spectra
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: 2005

I had heard M. John Harrison credited with influencing such talents as China Mieville and K.J. Bishop among others, so it was with some anticipation that I picked up a copy of “Viriconium”, the recently released collection. “Viriconium” gathers together Harrison’s Viriconium novels and stories into one volume, starting with “The Pastel City” and concluding with “A Young Man’s Journey To Viriconium”.

As a whole, “Viriconium” conjures up an oft-hallucinogenic vision of the impossibly ancient city of Viriconium, existing in the shadow of the vanished Afternoon Cultures, struggling to survive in a decaying world where even reality can no longer be depended upon. Rusting machinery and poisons litter the landscape, locusts swarm from beyond the stars, madness and plagues run rampant, and remnants of the Afternoon Cultures haunt the world.

“The world is so old that the substance of reality no longer knows quite what it ought to be. The original template is hopelessly blurred. History repeats over and again this one city and a few frightful events-not rigidly, but in a shadowy, tentative fashion, as if it understands nothing else but would like to learn.”

This theme is exemplified throughout the various stories as we return time after time to Viriconium, where nothing is ever the same. People and events re-appear constantly but as half-remembered shadows of their former selves, with only a fragment of a name or distinguishing feature to recall them to the reader’s memory, in a fashion reminiscent of Gene Wolfe’s “Latro in the Mist”, and even particularly vivid turns of phrase are repeated albeit changed. In the end, one can never be certain of the true nature of Viriconium.

Despite the malleable nature of Viriconium’s reality, the stories do run the gamut from somewhat straightforward to dense. They are beautiful, terrifying, compelling and above all, vividly imagined and written. Harrison’s influence on the aforementioned authors is plain to see and I would be hard-pressed to name another talent so deserving of that homage.

Without a doubt, “Viriconium” should be a must-read for any serious reader, let alone the serious fantasy readers, as it goes beyond mere literature to a masterpiece.

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