Empty Space: A Haunting

By: M. John Harrison

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

One of science fiction’s premiere stylists, M. John Harrison has received abundant praise and awards for his wildly imaginative ideas and transcendent prose. Now he returns to the richly complex universe of Light and Nova Swing with a stunning new novel that braids three glittering strands into a tapestry that spans vast reaches of time and space.

In the near future, an elderly English widow is stirred from her mundane existence by surreal omens and visitations. Centuries later, the space freighter Nova Swing takes on an illegal alien artifact as cargo, with consequences beyond reckoning. While on a distant planet, a nameless policewoman tries to bring order to an event zone where ordinary physics do not apply, only to find herself caught up in something even stranger and more sublime....

©2013 M. John Harrison (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Final installment in the Kefahuchi Tract trilogy

M John Harrison’s Empty Space: A Haunting is the final installment in his Kefahuchi Tract trilogy. There are three parallel storylines that involve characters as well as the Nova Swing ship from the earlier in-stallments. Kearney’s widow’s life is followed in excruciating detail, while the Nova Swing is carrying an alien artifact, and a police investigation into a murder is also ongoing. All of these storylines sorta come together in an unsatisfying ending.

Harrison appeared to get a bit over his skis with this one, while letting his elegant prose overtake plot substance. The narration is decent with respectable character distinction. Pacing is smooth.