Three Moments of an Explosion

January 7, 2016 8:45 PM - by China Miéville;

Today, another story from this book: Keep.

A mysterious, contagious infection causes a moat to form around infected people, crumbling the ground and structures nearby. We follow a researcher working for the remains of the military as she attempts to find the origins of the phenomenon, as the world literally and figuratively collapses around her.

posted by latkes (3 comments total)

This book was up and down for me. I wish I hadn't powered through the whole thing in a few days, as I got weary of the vibe of "isn't this a wacky, creepy idea?!!" that taken in aggregate, I got from the collection. Had I read this slowly, alternating a story with reading from another book, I think I could have appreciated everything more. Anyway, despite some of my annoyance, especially with the more fragmented mini-stories, this particular story stood out as having the qualities of the best speculative fiction: writing good enough to have me immersed in a completely alien experience, in part because it's just so alien, and in part because it's clearly metaphorical.
posted by latkes at 8:51 PM on January 7, 2016

FYI, I think this will be the last post on this book. Not seeing a lot of interest so doesn't make sense to do multiple posts, so if you want to comment on other stories from this book, go for it!
posted by latkes at 8:52 PM on January 7, 2016

I had the same feeling about the book after I too read the whole thing too quickly.
posted by moonmilk at 7:28 AM on January 25, 2016 [1 favorite]