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The Dream Of Perpetual Motion (2010)

by Dexter Palmer(Favorite Author)

3.52 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0312558155 (ISBN13: 9780312558154)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

St. Martin's Press

review 1: This book creates an alternate twentieth century that is both old-fashioned and advanced, a steampunk city that is incredibly vivid and fascinating. Prospero’s inventions throughout the book range from frivolous to amazing to deeply disturbing, but they are the heart of the city and the power this affords him makes him a very interesting antagonist. There are tons of stories within stories, and while everything is told from Harold’s perspective as he recounts his life story, there are pieces inserted from other characters’ writings to give a greater picture of the world Harold lives in. I did have one large complaint though, which is that the book is broken into so many small sections that it’s difficult to feel a sense of narrative momentum. Many sections are no l... moreonger than a couple pages, and a good portion of those are just a couple paragraphs, meaning you’re constantly coming to the end of a section, and jumping into a different aspect of the narrative so often makes it difficult to feel a focused story within all the information bombarding you. While this does feel like it’s purposeful given that one of the most prominent themes of the book is destructive interference (the concept that for every sound, there is an exact opposite of that sound that would effectively cancel it out and create nothingness rather than noise), the most engaging portion of the novel is the last fifty or so pages when it becomes its most narrative. At that point, the events are escalating to the climax in such a way that the tension isn’t broken by segments outside of the linear events, though there are a couple of tales within the last chapters that are told to Harold by other characters, but these tales contribute to the suspense because they’re directly related to the outcome of the story. Overall, the book is very engaging, especially given how consistently and incredibly visual it is, and the main story of the novel is amazing, but I think it would benefit from being just a bit more linear in the telling.
review 2: This is a science-fiction tale of a dystopian society with influences from Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and also some elements of horror. The story opens near its ending, with Harold trapped on a zeppelin purported to be run by a perpetual motion machine that appears to be failing. He is plagued by the voice of a woman who sounds quite mad, but is unable to find her on board. The story then flashes back in history. A wealthy inventor and industrialist is known as Prospero and he keeps his daughter, Miranda, away from society in a tower. As a child, Harold receives an unusual invitation while visiting a theme park with his sister. He is given a whistle that will allow him to go to Prospero's tower and attend Miranda's birthday party. He promises each child attending the party that they will get their heart's desire. Prospero chooses Harold to be Miranda's friend and he visits her island playground populated by robot players. However, as they grow up, their closeness leads Prospero to banish Harold. As Prospero descends into madness, he is unwilling to accept the maturation of his daughter into a young woman. Horror elements include how he creates a "real" unicorn for his daughter, the dramatic art installation created by Harold's sister, the terrible events and creatures of the tower, to his creation of the perpetual motion machine. The machine is the culmination of Prospero's interpretation of Harold's heart's desire. While intriguing, the story was not what I had expected and was much darker in tone. less

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