
Rating: 4/5 Best Intentions
Give me the short version: Uploading humanity's battered survivors to a virtual world fails to go as well as hoped.
Back when I was studying archaeology my lecturer was fond of trumpeting this one golden catchphrase: Always know where your money's coming from. As we find in Noah's Ark, the same applies quite well when you're poking around in the human mind. I would have perhaps fancied a touch of harder science; but on the other hand one of my favourite experiences is to be dropped into a world with little-to-no pre-served backstory; immersed in the moment as the characters are and free to discover and wonder as they do. In that respect, Noah's Ark had me at mysterious traumatic explosion. Also I think it's about time for a little note on length. There are a lot of critics out there who pound their fists on the table and insist on a short, tight story. I however have always advocated the longer the better. There's such tantalising promise when you begin a book, notice how far there is to go and realise holy crap! This could go ANYWHERE! Mr Morgan writes with a crisp, precise and intensely visual style and it's not at all difficult to imagine a film adaption in the works. Although my reading taste tends more toward the visceral, I found Noah's Ark thoroughly enjoyable and look forward to what this author brings us in future.
Favourite moment:
" ... the chairs and desks and the computers on them twisting then stretching, the colours switching through rotating, kaleidoscopic patterns, and even the people sitting in the chairs flickered and distorted like a television with a broken signal. One by one they turned to look at him, their faces unrecognisable blurs that slid down their skulls again and again with sickening repetition."