"Walker is my name and I am the same, Riddley Walker. Walking my riddels where ever theyve took me and walking them now on this paper the same."
So writes Riddley Walker, the titular protagonist of the novel by Russell Hoban. Written in 1980, Riddley Walker isn't just a post-apocalypse science fiction novel - it is much more.
The novel is a memoir written by 12 year old Riddley, an inhabitant of "Inland" - post-apocalypse England, specifically the area that is currently County Kent. The entire novel is written in a broken, pidgin form of English, a language that was recreated from dim memories of the original after it was almost completely lost. This post-apocalypse world is (if it can be believed) even darker than something like Fallout 3 - there aren't any guns or high technology to be scavenged, leaving the people at an Iron Age level. Only crude spears and bows protect them from rival settlements and roving packs of wild dogs. A loose government exists, the "Mincery" - travelling puppet shows that serve as propaganda and religious mystery plays. They tell the mythic story of "Eusa", the man who was tricked by "Mr. Clevver" into pulling apart the "Littl Shyning Man" and dooming the world to it's current state (an allegory for nuclear war). But Riddley increasingly finds himself in close encounters with wild dogs (people who are "dog frendy" are suspicious and largely distrusted), like they have some message or task for him. Then one day, while digging for ancient iron to be melted down and reused, he finds an old hand puppet, similar to those in the Eusa show. When a government liasion tries to confiscate it, Riddley flees and falls in with a dog pack. His mysterious journey begins...
This is no light read, but not because of it's length or even the manner in which it is written - the broken english is a bit confusing at first, but any capable reader will become accustomed to it shortly. It even brings a rough poetic quality to the prose. But instead there are some very weighty themes, with no easy, ready answers. Hoban drew on many different sources - mythology, history, etymology, allegory - to weave a heady, mysterious, primal story.
I would highly recommend Riddley Walker to any reader (not even necessarily sci-fi fans) that enjoys really digesting what they read, drawing their own conclusions from a dense, thought-provoking story.
(And, because I'll take any opportunity to plug my favorite band, here [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMA2fAAFUs4] is "The Rapture of Riddley Walker" by Clutch - a song inspired by the novel, and from where I first heard of it)
So writes Riddley Walker, the titular protagonist of the novel by Russell Hoban. Written in 1980, Riddley Walker isn't just a post-apocalypse science fiction novel - it is much more.
The novel is a memoir written by 12 year old Riddley, an inhabitant of "Inland" - post-apocalypse England, specifically the area that is currently County Kent. The entire novel is written in a broken, pidgin form of English, a language that was recreated from dim memories of the original after it was almost completely lost. This post-apocalypse world is (if it can be believed) even darker than something like Fallout 3 - there aren't any guns or high technology to be scavenged, leaving the people at an Iron Age level. Only crude spears and bows protect them from rival settlements and roving packs of wild dogs. A loose government exists, the "Mincery" - travelling puppet shows that serve as propaganda and religious mystery plays. They tell the mythic story of "Eusa", the man who was tricked by "Mr. Clevver" into pulling apart the "Littl Shyning Man" and dooming the world to it's current state (an allegory for nuclear war). But Riddley increasingly finds himself in close encounters with wild dogs (people who are "dog frendy" are suspicious and largely distrusted), like they have some message or task for him. Then one day, while digging for ancient iron to be melted down and reused, he finds an old hand puppet, similar to those in the Eusa show. When a government liasion tries to confiscate it, Riddley flees and falls in with a dog pack. His mysterious journey begins...
This is no light read, but not because of it's length or even the manner in which it is written - the broken english is a bit confusing at first, but any capable reader will become accustomed to it shortly. It even brings a rough poetic quality to the prose. But instead there are some very weighty themes, with no easy, ready answers. Hoban drew on many different sources - mythology, history, etymology, allegory - to weave a heady, mysterious, primal story.
I would highly recommend Riddley Walker to any reader (not even necessarily sci-fi fans) that enjoys really digesting what they read, drawing their own conclusions from a dense, thought-provoking story.
(And, because I'll take any opportunity to plug my favorite band, here [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMA2fAAFUs4] is "The Rapture of Riddley Walker" by Clutch - a song inspired by the novel, and from where I first heard of it)
