The Extremes
| File:TheExtremes.jpg First edition | |
| Author | Christopher Priest |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Holly Warburton |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 1998 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 393 pp |
| ISBN | 0-684-81632-6 |
| OCLC | 41267264 |
The Extremes is a 1998 science fiction novel by the English writer Christopher Priest. The novel received the BSFA Award.
Plot introduction
Teresa Simons is drawn to a quiet English seaside town in the aftermath of an apparently motiveless massacre by a gunman. Her husband, Andy Simons, who was an FBI agent like Teresa, had died in a similar outburst of violence in a small Texas town, on the exact same day. Similarities between the two incidents of spree violence (a term often used in the novel), apparently taking place at random, are shocking and inexplicable. Teresa finds she can come to terms with the senseless nature of the murders only by immersing herself in the world of virtual reality—to be precise, the American-built technology that allows her to enter into the frightening world of the Extremes simulations.
Critical reception
Publishers Weekly described the novel as a "forensic thriller with a strong science fictional element": "Priest (The Prestige) keeps one eye on his suspenseful plot, another on the SF angles that underpin it and a third, camera-eye on the real implications of worldwide instant communication, virtual reality and media-driven violence. If his lingo can get a bit thick ("It's the same thing, in algorithmic terms, as your basic what-the-hell symbolic adumbration"), his plot will keep most readers raptly amazed."[1] Booklist wrote, "This enthralling fantasy seems tailor-made for film, filled as it is with images blurring time and space."[2]
Awards and nominations
The Extremes won the BSFA Award in 1998 for Best SF Novel,[3] and was nominated for the 1999 Arthur C. Clarke Award.[4] In the 2000 Locus Poll Award it ranked No. 23 Best SF Novel.
References
- ↑ "The Extremes". Publishers Weekly. 246 (11): 44. 15 March 1999.
- ↑ Scott, Whitney (15 May 1999). "The Extremes". Booklist. 95 (18): 1682.
- ↑ "1998 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
- ↑ "1999 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
External links
- Christopher Priest's website
- A Retreat from Reality – an article by Christopher Priest
- A Quick Chat with Christopher Priest about The Extremes
- The Edge interview: Christopher Priest: Taken to the Extremes
- Review at Science Fiction Weekly
- Review at the SF Site
- The Extremes at Worlds Without End