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Gig by James Lovegrove
pub: PS Publishing. 235 page book. Deluxe Hardback:
Price: £60.00 (UK), $90.00 (US). ISBN: 1-902-880-84-6. Hardback:
Price: £35.00 (UK), $50.00 (US). ISBN: 1-902-880-83-8.
check out website: www.pspublishing.co.uk
James Lovegrove's novellas are presented end to end or rather one
is upside down. Each of them have an introduction and then comes
the big decision: which one to read first?
Already he has captured the reader: to choose is to make a commitment,
to follow through a timeline. Already I can feel the choices unmade
peeling off into an infinite number of alternate universes Stephen
Hawking would be proud.

Having made the decision to follow 'Mik' first, I set up a series
of expectations for the second, 'Kim', which may have been reversed
if I had chosen to follow her first. Yes, I've confused myself as
well! Mik is the ultimate rock star. He writes all the songs and
is the heart and soul of his band, God Dog.
He has generously allowed his band members to share the royalties
and so they are fairly put out when he declares that their final
gig of the tour in his home town of Rotor City will be the last.
His friend Dave, best mate since childhood, has supported Mik through
thin and thick, but even he cannot understand what is happening
in Mik's head. Kim is Mik's biggest fan, so much so that she dresses
exactly like and is occasionally mistaken for him.
She is on a mission. She has to get into his final gig because
there is something very important she has to do. To explain any
more would be to spoil the elegant plot and the stories that intertwine
each other even though you are forced to read them one after the
other. This idiosyncratic fantastic proposition of a book had me
gripped from the first page. It promises much but ultimately leaves
a mystery which the reader fills in.
One thing is sure, whichever order you read these stories in,
you will wish to go back to the first to see if you missed anything.
Once again, PS Publishing has picked up a strand of story-making
that could easily fall between the cracks if they were not around
to publish it.
All of their publications offer a fresh look at the creation of
narrative whether SF with rockets or a fantastic tale that explores
new ideas. Read, enjoy and ponder on the decisions we all have to
make in life and what new routes they might lead us to.
Sue Davies
News Editor and Reviewer
www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk
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