From Publishers Weekly
Based on the first part of the 13th-century Icelandic Volsunga saga, this searing novel by the author of Junk combines a gory and incestuous revenge story with a futuristic premise that recalls The Island of Doctor Moreau. The result is a page-turner, a shocker and a resonant piece of writing. Post-apocalyptic London is populated by halfmen and humans; the former are slave-composites of people and animals, achieved through genetic engineering; the latter are prejudiced, power-hungry rulers, crippled by economic depression. Two warring human gangs have dominated the city for years, and now attempt to unite by marrying 14-year-old Signy to "King" Conor of the opposing crew. Treachery ensues, and innocent Signy soon becomes a vengeful deceiver: "I'll open my legs with a loving smile.... If I have to bear his children, I'll do that too, just so that I can slit their throats before his eyes," she says. People are eaten alive by a pig halfman, others are hung by their heels until dead; Signy and her twin brother have fairly graphic sex while she is inhabiting the body of a shape-changing creature, and the resulting baby is cloned; the dead are resuscitated; Signy's hamstrings are cut in two; and cyborg/animal gods control people's fates. Narrated alternately by various characters and by an omniscient narrator, the storytelling may challenge less proficient readers; yet without a doubt, Burgess's bleak and breathless vision will spark imaginations and discussions. Ages 14-up.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In a far future, two warring gangs, the Conors and the Volsons, rule the ruins of London. When the leader of the Volsons gives his daughter Signy in marriage to the leader of the Conor family, the stage is set for a tale of vengeance and tragedy. This postmodern retelling of the saga of the Volsungs from Iceland by the author of Smack does not stint on graphic portrayals of violence. Twin themes of love and death provide an inexorable tension in this dark dystopian fable. For most fantasy or general fiction collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
