The Half-Made World

By: Felix Gilman

Narrated by: Tamara Marston

Here is a fantastical reimagining of the American West that draws its influence from steampunk, the American Western tradition, and magical realism.

The world is only half made. What exists has been carved out amidst a war between two rival factions: the Line, paving the world with industry and claiming its residents as slaves; and the Gun, a cult of terror and violence that cripples the population with fear. The only hope at stopping them has seemingly disappeared - the Red Republic that once battled the Gun and the Line, and almost won. Now they're just a myth, a bedtime story parents tell their children, of hope.

To the west lies a vast, uncharted world, inhabited only by the legends of the immortal and powerful Hill People, who live at one with the earth and its elements. Liv Alverhyusen, a doctor of the new science of psychology, travels to the edge of the made world to a spiritually protected mental institution in order to study the minds of those broken by the Gun and the Line. In its rooms lies an old general of the Red Republic, a man whose shattered mind just may hold the secret to stopping the Gun and the Line. And either side will do anything to understand how.

©2010 Felix Gilman (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Vivid and accurate prose, a gripping, imaginative story, a terrifically inventive setting, a hard-bitten, indestructible hero, and an intelligent, fully adult heroine." (Ursula K. Le Guin)

"The Half-Made World is refreshingly unlike any other novel I've read. Felix Gilman writes like a modern-day Dickens drunk on rich invention and insane war." (Stephen R. Donaldson)

• Best SF and Fantasy Books of 2010: Readers' Choice (SF Site)

Fabulous novel, awkward reader

The Half-Made World is wonderful, a brilliantly clever and engrossing reworking of the Western genre into the language of steampunk and magical realism. I was constantly delighted and surprised by Gilman's intelligent ways of adapting the tropes and conventions of the Western into a fairy-tale like allegory of civilization and colonialism. It's a beautiful, complex and thought-provoking piece.

The reader is hard work though, as she doesn't have the warmth or the vocal range for this novel. She only has two voices (throaty and not throaty) and they're not enough to distinguish the characters easily. And her strangely precise, stilted delivery would almost be tolerable if she didn't keep putting intonations in the wrong place. It's quite a struggle to listen to her.

Overall, the novel surmounts the reader and I'm glad I held on, but I'd love to hear a different reading.

A fun and imaginative read.

A mostly well-paced story set in a creative, well fleshed-out setting with characters you find yourself surprised to be rooting for.

Great characters, great world - best narrator.

Stick with this book for a richly nuanced world with compelling characters framed against a fantastic, alternate world. When the characters started frustrating me because of who they were, I realized how deeply under my skin the author had gotten. Bravo! Also, have to say that Tamara Marston is an outstanding narrator. Although I've only listened to a couple of dozen audiobooks so far, she really stands out for her outstanding ability to differentiate between voices without feeling forced or artificial. Can't wait to hear her other work and hope they bring her back for the sequel.

Intriguing blend of Steampunk and Western.

I was quite intrigued to listen to The Half-Made World after reading io9's review that begins with:

"Sick of predictable books that fill your subgenre bingo card with the same subgenre elements over and over? With The Half-Made World, Felix Gilman has blended elements from alternate history, Steampunk, Westerns, and epic fantasy to create something truly original."

It does take a few chapters to get this new world storted out, but once hooked, I found myself quite loathe to stop listening. I hope to read more of the Half-Made World.

Incredibly imaginative!

Any additional comments?

I definitely felt as if I was in the hands of someone who knew what they were doing and where they were going and I was happy to be along for the ride. A great re-imagining of the wild west, mixing in mythology, and making a world that felt like a combination of the U.S. west while being settled and Australia. John Creedmoore may not have been a nice man but he certainly was an interesting one. Serving a power that he both craves and despises we follow him on a journey to the very edges of the made world along with Liv, a sheltered psychology professor who has come out west seeking, well, seeking herself and a way to heal.

if you are looking for something different--a story that feels both completely unfamiliar and familiar, that you can't predict where it is headed--then I'd recommend "The Half-Made World."