Great book, 27 Jun 2008
Simply a great read - you will not want to put the book down till the end, and I promise you will then tell everyone how great it is and they wont listen - till they actually read it themselves.

His first key release. Start here then buy the rest. Enjoy.





Started off interesting..., 20 Jan 2008
This one started off interesting but gradually ended up cliched with a rather dull payoff. Some of the reviews suggested it had a pretty big payoff at the end but it wasn't the case!

Funny, elegiac and moving, 19 Oct 2007
Only Forward tells the story of Stark, all round nice guy and problem-solver extraordinaire. Stark is asked to locate a missing Actioneer, apparently kidnapped from the Action Centre, home to the sort of dynamic go-getters who'd think of a lifetimes indenture to McKinsey as a shortcut to heaven. Stark's mission takes him to Colour (where the dress code is time-dependent and rigorously enforced), Red (bring your CRUNT launcher), Stable, Turn, Fnaph, and many other of the eccentric Neighbourhoods making up his fractured home city.

Smith's language is superb, moving from witty dialogue to compelling descriptions of the increasingly disturbed landscape of the city and its dismal seashore `to muted colours and grey pebbles endlessly made cold by the ebb and flow of heavy water ... the place where it was most clearly dead because it was still there ...' Stark's life is beautifully and obliquely revealed as the book progresses.

Only Forward is by turns funny, exciting, thoughtful and, towards the end, sad and ironic. It is one of my favourite books, and I highly recommend it.

A pleasure, 10 Jul 2007
A very imaginative story and wonderfully funny. A beautifully written book, some of the passages are just breathtaking, I telephoned people to read bits out! and even out of context they provoked gasps. The story is captivating and the characters are great fun. A friend recommended this book to me and what a recommendation, even if you're not a sci-fi fan this book is really worth a read. It can get a little silly in places but it doesn't matter; it works and you'll read it again...and again.

Only Forward - but you'll be back, 30 Apr 2007
Are you ready to take a journey? There's no need to prepare yourself, you don't know where you're going yet.

I credit this book with making me want to read. Before this, it was just a hobby to pass time, and not even something I really enjoyed. This book isn't a story that's been put on paper, its one that's desperately trying to get off the page! Such an immense and fascinating world has been created for you here, you can get lost in it till the end. Truly wonderful. This book shows our human emotion, aspirations and nature more than anything I've ever read. It does it all tied in with a fantastic story, a perfect character (Stark), and some nice shirts.

If the people who make the thesaurus read this, the 'brilliant' section would be expanded by at least 30 pages just so people can more accurately describe just how good this book is.

READ IT! READ IT! READ IT! Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.

Great book, 27 Jun 2008
Simply a great read - you will not want to put the book down till the end, and I promise you will then tell everyone how great it is and they wont listen - till they actually read it themselves.

His first key release. Start here then buy the rest. Enjoy.





Started off interesting..., 20 Jan 2008
This one started off interesting but gradually ended up cliched with a rather dull payoff. Some of the reviews suggested it had a pretty big payoff at the end but it wasn't the case!

Funny, elegiac and moving, 19 Oct 2007
Only Forward tells the story of Stark, all round nice guy and problem-solver extraordinaire. Stark is asked to locate a missing Actioneer, apparently kidnapped from the Action Centre, home to the sort of dynamic go-getters who'd think of a lifetimes indenture to McKinsey as a shortcut to heaven. Stark's mission takes him to Colour (where the dress code is time-dependent and rigorously enforced), Red (bring your CRUNT launcher), Stable, Turn, Fnaph, and many other of the eccentric Neighbourhoods making up his fractured home city.

Smith's language is superb, moving from witty dialogue to compelling descriptions of the increasingly disturbed landscape of the city and its dismal seashore `to muted colours and grey pebbles endlessly made cold by the ebb and flow of heavy water ... the place where it was most clearly dead because it was still there ...' Stark's life is beautifully and obliquely revealed as the book progresses.

Only Forward is by turns funny, exciting, thoughtful and, towards the end, sad and ironic. It is one of my favourite books, and I highly recommend it.

A pleasure, 10 Jul 2007
A very imaginative story and wonderfully funny. A beautifully written book, some of the passages are just breathtaking, I telephoned people to read bits out! and even out of context they provoked gasps. The story is captivating and the characters are great fun. A friend recommended this book to me and what a recommendation, even if you're not a sci-fi fan this book is really worth a read. It can get a little silly in places but it doesn't matter; it works and you'll read it again...and again.

Only Forward - but you'll be back, 30 Apr 2007
Are you ready to take a journey? There's no need to prepare yourself, you don't know where you're going yet.

I credit this book with making me want to read. Before this, it was just a hobby to pass time, and not even something I really enjoyed. This book isn't a story that's been put on paper, its one that's desperately trying to get off the page! Such an immense and fascinating world has been created for you here, you can get lost in it till the end. Truly wonderful. This book shows our human emotion, aspirations and nature more than anything I've ever read. It does it all tied in with a fantastic story, a perfect character (Stark), and some nice shirts.

If the people who make the thesaurus read this, the 'brilliant' section would be expanded by at least 30 pages just so people can more accurately describe just how good this book is.

READ IT! READ IT! READ IT! Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.

totally loses track of itself - but is fun nonetheless, 31 Jul 2008
So 'Spares' by Michael Marshall Smith is at once a sci fi thrill ride of intricate cyberpunk proportions. It is fueled by a great idea and loads of invention - such as the sentient computer systems and viruses. all very interesting.
its well written and witty to the point of sniggering in places.
However, the premise of Spares begins as an interesting jaunt into the ethics of cloning and the spare humans it involves. This section is great (roughly the first 3rd) then suddenly Smith wants to write a different book, so he begins the second premise halfway through this one, an alternate reality you can enter where Earth's brain resides called The Gap. this story is more fantasyesque and very annoyingly, the clones story is almost completely...forgotten. The spares are mentioned every 30 pages or so from then on, but the book becomes some weird race against time in this drugfueled vietnam. The title and premise of the story is lost.
The postrationalised ending is very annoying - smith seems to not have known how to end it and tacked on a weird magicesque thing that leaves much to be desired and many holes.
overall, if you want a story about clones - like your led to believe on the blurb - avoid this book.
but if you want a well written, witty, noir-ish and fun rollok through a great science fiction detective hunt then you could do worse.
never gonna be a classic novel - coz its too messy - but its a fun read.
6/10 for the messy losing track story
8/10 for the writing.
equals 7/10

So Good I read it in German, 27 Jun 2008
Why add another review? - well, because its great to shout about a class act.

Horrific, Funny, Intelligent, Thrilling.

I have even chosen this as my first book to read in German - one way to make the lessons more fun.

Ps - enyone else notice that the film `The Island` with Ewan McGregor totaly rips this book off - not that Smith ever got the credit? Coincidence? - perhaps(not that the film is fit to polish the boots of Spares)

Been There, bought the t-shirt, 20 Nov 2007
I had to read this as the choice of the month for my book club. Science Fiction is not my favourite genre, and I have to say, that to disagree with almost everyone who has written a review of this book, it really didn't do it for me at any level.
This is a kind of Crime Noir thriller set in the future, and dealing with the usual science fiction preoccupations of a dystopian hierarchical society which has squandered most of its natural resources, and where humans are forced to live in giant space stations where they are only allowed access to certain areas depending on their social levels. I wonder why the class system is always so in evidence in these instances, and always plays such an important part as a plot device.
The hero, Jack Randall, is a burned out has been, whose family have been ground up in some hideous accident for which he bears guilt. He is also a casualty of war/military/police action, which has left him competent enough for his role in the book, but conveniently maverick enough to exist on the fringes of a society in which he can make some attempt to right wrongs and stop the 'voices' in his head.
This book also deals with the old chestnut of genetic engineering and body farming in which Jack finds himself an unwilling abettor, for which he must again, make amends.
The only good point about the book is the embracing of the Schrodinger's Cat/Quantum theory and the use of the parallel, ghost like universe of horror which manifests itself at alarmingly frequent intervals throughout the book. This was new to me, and as such made for interesting reading, but everything else has been said before.

Send in the clones..., 18 May 2007
M.M.Smith's SF novels are little gems and for me this is the biggest jewel in his crown of triumphs. Dark, witty and with a hero that you just can't help but empathize with, Spares is an excellent book, whether you are 'in' to SF or not. Even if read on the thriller/detective level and you forget about the cyber-punk, futuristic setting you'll still enjoy this story. Although Smith's non-SF novels rock too, I really love his take on SF and heartily recommend this one.

SPARE ME!, 30 Apr 2007
Any information you want about this book can be found in the other reviews. I'm going to give you an honest opinion. DON'T READ THIS BOOK! It's literally too good. Once you have finished it, you will feel sad that there is no more. This is a phenomenal story. It's astonishingly well written, dark, funny, scary and heart warming. Wonderful beyond all reason. Read it, but you will miss it when its gone. Good luck!

There are those SF readers who resent the authors and publishers who attempt to downplay the genre aspects of their books to grant them more mainstream credibility. This resentment is fair enough, in that no one need be ashamed of creating a top-notch SF novel. But these readers will be doing themselves a great disservice if they do not pick up Michael Marshall Smith's superb collection of short stories What You Make It merely because the jacket has been designed to suggest mainstream fiction without the slightest SF association.

Smith has always been one of the most quirkily inventive and surprising of writers, with novels such as Only Forward and the remarkable Spares demonstrating an imaginative grasp all too rarely encountered these days. But his greatest achievement is his totally individual use of language and dialogue, and this highly diverse collection has 17 brilliant microcosms of his style. From terror in cyberspace to bizarre fusions of man and machine, through twisted manifestations of the artistic impulse to highly disturbing future sex, Smith has the measure of it all. And his gift for the bizarre image remains as acute as ever:

About a week afterwards, I noticed that my back was looking a little hairy. I figured, what the hey, maybe some hormonal thing. Then it started getting harder to hold things. My thumb seemed to be going a little weird, not as opposable as it used to be. There were a couple of days when it looked like there was some kind of tail deal developing.

--Barry Forshaw

Great book, 27 Jun 2008
Simply a great read - you will not want to put the book down till the end, and I promise you will then tell everyone how great it is and they wont listen - till they actually read it themselves.

His first key release. Start here then buy the rest. Enjoy.





Started off interesting..., 20 Jan 2008
This one started off interesting but gradually ended up cliched with a rather dull payoff. Some of the reviews suggested it had a pretty big payoff at the end but it wasn't the case!

Funny, elegiac and moving, 19 Oct 2007
Only Forward tells the story of Stark, all round nice guy and problem-solver extraordinaire. Stark is asked to locate a missing Actioneer, apparently kidnapped from the Action Centre, home to the sort of dynamic go-getters who'd think of a lifetimes indenture to McKinsey as a shortcut to heaven. Stark's mission takes him to Colour (where the dress code is time-dependent and rigorously enforced), Red (bring your CRUNT launcher), Stable, Turn, Fnaph, and many other of the eccentric Neighbourhoods making up his fractured home city.

Smith's language is superb, moving from witty dialogue to compelling descriptions of the increasingly disturbed landscape of the city and its dismal seashore `to muted colours and grey pebbles endlessly made cold by the ebb and flow of heavy water ... the place where it was most clearly dead because it was still there ...' Stark's life is beautifully and obliquely revealed as the book progresses.

Only Forward is by turns funny, exciting, thoughtful and, towards the end, sad and ironic. It is one of my favourite books, and I highly recommend it.

A pleasure, 10 Jul 2007
A very imaginative story and wonderfully funny. A beautifully written book, some of the passages are just breathtaking, I telephoned people to read bits out! and even out of context they provoked gasps. The story is captivating and the characters are great fun. A friend recommended this book to me and what a recommendation, even if you're not a sci-fi fan this book is really worth a read. It can get a little silly in places but it doesn't matter; it works and you'll read it again...and again.

Only Forward - but you'll be back, 30 Apr 2007
Are you ready to take a journey? There's no need to prepare yourself, you don't know where you're going yet.

I credit this book with making me want to read. Before this, it was just a hobby to pass time, and not even something I really enjoyed. This book isn't a story that's been put on paper, its one that's desperately trying to get off the page! Such an immense and fascinating world has been created for you here, you can get lost in it till the end. Truly wonderful. This book shows our human emotion, aspirations and nature more than anything I've ever read. It does it all tied in with a fantastic story, a perfect character (Stark), and some nice shirts.

If the people who make the thesaurus read this, the 'brilliant' section would be expanded by at least 30 pages just so people can more accurately describe just how good this book is.

READ IT! READ IT! READ IT! Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.

totally loses track of itself - but is fun nonetheless, 31 Jul 2008
So 'Spares' by Michael Marshall Smith is at once a sci fi thrill ride of intricate cyberpunk proportions. It is fueled by a great idea and loads of invention - such as the sentient computer systems and viruses. all very interesting.
its well written and witty to the point of sniggering in places.
However, the premise of Spares begins as an interesting jaunt into the ethics of cloning and the spare humans it involves. This section is great (roughly the first 3rd) then suddenly Smith wants to write a different book, so he begins the second premise halfway through this one, an alternate reality you can enter where Earth's brain resides called The Gap. this story is more fantasyesque and very annoyingly, the clones story is almost completely...forgotten. The spares are mentioned every 30 pages or so from then on, but the book becomes some weird race against time in this drugfueled vietnam. The title and premise of the story is lost.
The postrationalised ending is very annoying - smith seems to not have known how to end it and tacked on a weird magicesque thing that leaves much to be desired and many holes.
overall, if you want a story about clones - like your led to believe on the blurb - avoid this book.
but if you want a well written, witty, noir-ish and fun rollok through a great science fiction detective hunt then you could do worse.
never gonna be a classic novel - coz its too messy - but its a fun read.
6/10 for the messy losing track story
8/10 for the writing.
equals 7/10

So Good I read it in German, 27 Jun 2008
Why add another review? - well, because its great to shout about a class act.

Horrific, Funny, Intelligent, Thrilling.

I have even chosen this as my first book to read in German - one way to make the lessons more fun.

Ps - enyone else notice that the film `The Island` with Ewan McGregor totaly rips this book off - not that Smith ever got the credit? Coincidence? - perhaps(not that the film is fit to polish the boots of Spares)

Been There, bought the t-shirt, 20 Nov 2007
I had to read this as the choice of the month for my book club. Science Fiction is not my favourite genre, and I have to say, that to disagree with almost everyone who has written a review of this book, it really didn't do it for me at any level.
This is a kind of Crime Noir thriller set in the future, and dealing with the usual science fiction preoccupations of a dystopian hierarchical society which has squandered most of its natural resources, and where humans are forced to live in giant space stations where they are only allowed access to certain areas depending on their social levels. I wonder why the class system is always so in evidence in these instances, and always plays such an important part as a plot device.
The hero, Jack Randall, is a burned out has been, whose family have been ground up in some hideous accident for which he bears guilt. He is also a casualty of war/military/police action, which has left him competent enough for his role in the book, but conveniently maverick enough to exist on the fringes of a society in which he can make some attempt to right wrongs and stop the 'voices' in his head.
This book also deals with the old chestnut of genetic engineering and body farming in which Jack finds himself an unwilling abettor, for which he must again, make amends.
The only good point about the book is the embracing of the Schrodinger's Cat/Quantum theory and the use of the parallel, ghost like universe of horror which manifests itself at alarmingly frequent intervals throughout the book. This was new to me, and as such made for interesting reading, but everything else has been said before.

Send in the clones..., 18 May 2007
M.M.Smith's SF novels are little gems and for me this is the biggest jewel in his crown of triumphs. Dark, witty and with a hero that you just can't help but empathize with, Spares is an excellent book, whether you are 'in' to SF or not. Even if read on the thriller/detective level and you forget about the cyber-punk, futuristic setting you'll still enjoy this story. Although Smith's non-SF novels rock too, I really love his take on SF and heartily recommend this one.

SPARE ME!, 30 Apr 2007
Any information you want about this book can be found in the other reviews. I'm going to give you an honest opinion. DON'T READ THIS BOOK! It's literally too good. Once you have finished it, you will feel sad that there is no more. This is a phenomenal story. It's astonishingly well written, dark, funny, scary and heart warming. Wonderful beyond all reason. Read it, but you will miss it when its gone. Good luck!

What have I let myself in for?, 03 Feb 2007
The first story in this book "More Tomorrow" really made me start to wonder what I'd inadvertently bought - as it was an inadvertent purchase on my part. I was reading it in bed and I just lay there, staring at the last line of the story, images that I didn't need swirling around in my head just before I was about to go to sleep... I decided I didn't like it and I put it down.

The night after (suitably, it's a night book for me!) I was back... onto the second story. "Everybody Goes" was intriguing... on the first pass I will admit that I didn't truly 'get it'... so I read the last page and a half again and it clicked, "Oh yeah, kinda clever!" and I started to like it again.

Each night I've read one, two or three stories and I must say there are larger number of hits in there than there are misses. There's been one or two that I didn't like... but you've, basically, got to almost steel yourself for the last line (more often the last page or last half page) 'cos it's about to turn you on your head and spin you around.

I have bought several other books by the same author - novels as opposed to collections of short stories... so that's the effect an introduction to his writing has had on me... let's see how well he does with longer material.

Direct, dark and gripping, 29 Jan 2007
Writing (almost?) exclusively in the first person, MMS's style is very direct, immediately drawing you in. Although I don't read a huge amount, it reminded me a little of the Nick Hornby books I'd read and held my attention in exactly the same manner.

It is, of course, in a totally different genre - or rather, a mix of genres. The majority of the stories are really quite dark, varying on theme from technology-related to vampires to living-nightmare scenarios. Actually, that last category is one that MMS does really well - the protagonist living through something so nightmarish that they have to question their own sanity. "The Dark Land" in particular stands out for the horrible lucidity of its depictions.

Having read a number of glowing reviews of his books, I bought What You Make It as a gentle introduction to Michael Marshall Smith's writing. While it felt at times like the author had only really presented a series of compelling ideas rather than fully-rounded stories, it was never less than gripping. As a result, I'll now be getting another couple of his books, so that should say something. If you're after a lightweight time-filler and don't mind a bit of dark, sci-fi tinged stuff, this should be right up your alley.

Not what was expected = but wow, 24 Aug 2004
This was bought after I had read the other (sci-fi) novels and was expecting more of the same humour/horror. Read the first story and .... I don't think a last line has ever hit me so hard before. Found it hard to put down (as I do any MMS book) and did find some humour, but overall this is a collection of dark horror stories. This is well worth a read, but be prepared for the darker side of sci-fi

Very Disturbing, 28 Aug 2003
I read this book after reading other titles by Michael Marshall Smith and was slightly perturbed. The style is similar to the other titles by the author, but the content is less on the dry humour and more on the desturbing. Don't get me wrong, the book is very thought provoking and a damn good read, and in places you can see the Stephen King influence, but it seems that the author is playing more on the dark twists and the macabre that made his other books interesting and left behind the humour that made them readable. The most distracting thing is that in some of the stories you are in the head of the lead character who you may believe is normal for most of the story until you get to the end and they inadvertently kill someone and chopped them up. I've never read anything quite like "More Tomorrow".

Sigh...more money., 04 Feb 2003
This, was very dodgy indeed. Lent to me by a friend and dubiously started, i finished the book in a day. Consdering school that was actually quaite an acomplishment. The book was incredible. Personally, I love the macarbre and the disturbing, and so this fitted me perfectly. The characters were ranging from the normal to the surreal, and the plots from the basic to the gasp out loud horror that makes you quirm in your chair. MMS is a great fan of one liners that sum up the story and leave you hanging, and it was over these that I pored at 3am, afraid to turn off the light. A fantastic book. You may wonder why the title for this review? As soon as I finished this book, I gave it back to the friend, ordered it, and every other book that MMS had written off Amazon. Brilliant. Buy it now.

If you like the brain-stretching work of William Gibson (author of Neuromancer) and Philip K. Dick (author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep?, which was the basis for Blade Runner), you'll feel right at home with this latest futuristic thriller from the author of the well-received Spares (available in paperback). It's 2017, and the first time we meet Hap Thompson he's being hassled in a bar in Ensenada by his alarm clock, which not only talks but walks and has a bad attitude. Hap, a prodigious computer hacker with a pretty bad attitude himself, works for an outfit called REMtemps, which offers a unique service--removing clients' bad dreams by sucking them into the heads of paid professionals. (Could Smith have been influenced at all by the title of one of Dick's best stories, "I Can Dream It for You Wholesale"?) Unfortunately, one of the bad dreams Hap is called on to swallow involves a real murder, and the search for the woman who dreamed it in the first place takes him--and us--on a literally mind-bending journey of scientific and philosophic discovery. But there's plenty of action, gadgetry, and snappy noir dialogue to make it all go down easily. --Dick Adler

Great book, 27 Jun 2008
Simply a great read - you will not want to put the book down till the end, and I promise you will then tell everyone how great it is and they wont listen - till they actually read it themselves.

His first key release. Start here then buy the rest. Enjoy.





Started off interesting..., 20 Jan 2008
This one started off interesting but gradually ended up cliched with a rather dull payoff. Some of the reviews suggested it had a pretty big payoff at the end but it wasn't the case!

Funny, elegiac and moving, 19 Oct 2007
Only Forward tells the story of Stark, all round nice guy and problem-solver extraordinaire. Stark is asked to locate a missing Actioneer, apparently kidnapped from the Action Centre, home to the sort of dynamic go-getters who'd think of a lifetimes indenture to McKinsey as a shortcut to heaven. Stark's mission takes him to Colour (where the dress code is time-dependent and rigorously enforced), Red (bring your CRUNT launcher), Stable, Turn, Fnaph, and many other of the eccentric Neighbourhoods making up his fractured home city.

Smith's language is superb, moving from witty dialogue to compelling descriptions of the increasingly disturbed landscape of the city and its dismal seashore `to muted colours and grey pebbles endlessly made cold by the ebb and flow of heavy water ... the place where it was most clearly dead because it was still there ...' Stark's life is beautifully and obliquely revealed as the book progresses.

Only Forward is by turns funny, exciting, thoughtful and, towards the end, sad and ironic. It is one of my favourite books, and I highly recommend it.

A pleasure, 10 Jul 2007
A very imaginative story and wonderfully funny. A beautifully written book, some of the passages are just breathtaking, I telephoned people to read bits out! and even out of context they provoked gasps. The story is captivating and the characters are great fun. A friend recommended this book to me and what a recommendation, even if you're not a sci-fi fan this book is really worth a read. It can get a little silly in places but it doesn't matter; it works and you'll read it again...and again.

Only Forward - but you'll be back, 30 Apr 2007
Are you ready to take a journey? There's no need to prepare yourself, you don't know where you're going yet.

I credit this book with making me want to read. Before this, it was just a hobby to pass time, and not even something I really enjoyed. This book isn't a story that's been put on paper, its one that's desperately trying to get off the page! Such an immense and fascinating world has been created for you here, you can get lost in it till the end. Truly wonderful. This book shows our human emotion, aspirations and nature more than anything I've ever read. It does it all tied in with a fantastic story, a perfect character (Stark), and some nice shirts.

If the people who make the thesaurus read this, the 'brilliant' section would be expanded by at least 30 pages just so people can more accurately describe just how good this book is.

READ IT! READ IT! READ IT! Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.

totally loses track of itself - but is fun nonetheless, 31 Jul 2008
So 'Spares' by Michael Marshall Smith is at once a sci fi thrill ride of intricate cyberpunk proportions. It is fueled by a great idea and loads of invention - such as the sentient computer systems and viruses. all very interesting.
its well written and witty to the point of sniggering in places.
However, the premise of Spares begins as an interesting jaunt into the ethics of cloning and the spare humans it involves. This section is great (roughly the first 3rd) then suddenly Smith wants to write a different book, so he begins the second premise halfway through this one, an alternate reality you can enter where Earth's brain resides called The Gap. this story is more fantasyesque and very annoyingly, the clones story is almost completely...forgotten. The spares are mentioned every 30 pages or so from then on, but the book becomes some weird race against time in this drugfueled vietnam. The title and premise of the story is lost.
The postrationalised ending is very annoying - smith seems to not have known how to end it and tacked on a weird magicesque thing that leaves much to be desired and many holes.
overall, if you want a story about clones - like your led to believe on the blurb - avoid this book.
but if you want a well written, witty, noir-ish and fun rollok through a great science fiction detective hunt then you could do worse.
never gonna be a classic novel - coz its too messy - but its a fun read.
6/10 for the messy losing track story
8/10 for the writing.
equals 7/10

So Good I read it in German, 27 Jun 2008
Why add another review? - well, because its great to shout about a class act.

Horrific, Funny, Intelligent, Thrilling.

I have even chosen this as my first book to read in German - one way to make the lessons more fun.

Ps - enyone else notice that the film `The Island` with Ewan McGregor totaly rips this book off - not that Smith ever got the credit? Coincidence? - perhaps(not that the film is fit to polish the boots of Spares)

Been There, bought the t-shirt, 20 Nov 2007
I had to read this as the choice of the month for my book club. Science Fiction is not my favourite genre, and I have to say, that to disagree with almost everyone who has written a review of this book, it really didn't do it for me at any level.
This is a kind of Crime Noir thriller set in the future, and dealing with the usual science fiction preoccupations of a dystopian hierarchical society which has squandered most of its natural resources, and where humans are forced to live in giant space stations where they are only allowed access to certain areas depending on their social levels. I wonder why the class system is always so in evidence in these instances, and always plays such an important part as a plot device.
The hero, Jack Randall, is a burned out has been, whose family have been ground up in some hideous accident for which he bears guilt. He is also a casualty of war/military/police action, which has left him competent enough for his role in the book, but conveniently maverick enough to exist on the fringes of a society in which he can make some attempt to right wrongs and stop the 'voices' in his head.
This book also deals with the old chestnut of genetic engineering and body farming in which Jack finds himself an unwilling abettor, for which he must again, make amends.
The only good point about the book is the embracing of the Schrodinger's Cat/Quantum theory and the use of the parallel, ghost like universe of horror which manifests itself at alarmingly frequent intervals throughout the book. This was new to me, and as such made for interesting reading, but everything else has been said before.

Send in the clones..., 18 May 2007
M.M.Smith's SF novels are little gems and for me this is the biggest jewel in his crown of triumphs. Dark, witty and with a hero that you just can't help but empathize with, Spares is an excellent book, whether you are 'in' to SF or not. Even if read on the thriller/detective level and you forget about the cyber-punk, futuristic setting you'll still enjoy this story. Although Smith's non-SF novels rock too, I really love his take on SF and heartily recommend this one.

SPARE ME!, 30 Apr 2007
Any information you want about this book can be found in the other reviews. I'm going to give you an honest opinion. DON'T READ THIS BOOK! It's literally too good. Once you have finished it, you will feel sad that there is no more. This is a phenomenal story. It's astonishingly well written, dark, funny, scary and heart warming. Wonderful beyond all reason. Read it, but you will miss it when its gone. Good luck!

What have I let myself in for?, 03 Feb 2007
The first story in this book "More Tomorrow" really made me start to wonder what I'd inadvertently bought - as it was an inadvertent purchase on my part. I was reading it in bed and I just lay there, staring at the last line of the story, images that I didn't need swirling around in my head just before I was about to go to sleep... I decided I didn't like it and I put it down.

The night after (suitably, it's a night book for me!) I was back... onto the second story. "Everybody Goes" was intriguing... on the first pass I will admit that I didn't truly 'get it'... so I read the last page and a half again and it clicked, "Oh yeah, kinda clever!" and I started to like it again.

Each night I've read one, two or three stories and I must say there are larger number of hits in there than there are misses. There's been one or two that I didn't like... but you've, basically, got to almost steel yourself for the last line (more often the last page or last half page) 'cos it's about to turn you on your head and spin you around.

I have bought several other books by the same author - novels as opposed to collections of short stories... so that's the effect an introduction to his writing has had on me... let's see how well he does with longer material.

Direct, dark and gripping, 29 Jan 2007
Writing (almost?) exclusively in the first person, MMS's style is very direct, immediately drawing you in. Although I don't read a huge amount, it reminded me a little of the Nick Hornby books I'd read and held my attention in exactly the same manner.

It is, of course, in a totally different genre - or rather, a mix of genres. The majority of the stories are really quite dark, varying on theme from technology-related to vampires to living-nightmare scenarios. Actually, that last category is one that MMS does really well - the protagonist living through something so nightmarish that they have to question their own sanity. "The Dark Land" in particular stands out for the horrible lucidity of its depictions.

Having read a number of glowing reviews of his books, I bought What You Make It as a gentle introduction to Michael Marshall Smith's writing. While it felt at times like the author had only really presented a series of compelling ideas rather than fully-rounded stories, it was never less than gripping. As a result, I'll now be getting another couple of his books, so that should say something. If you're after a lightweight time-filler and don't mind a bit of dark, sci-fi tinged stuff, this should be right up your alley.

Not what was expected = but wow, 24 Aug 2004
This was bought after I had read the other (sci-fi) novels and was expecting more of the same humour/horror. Read the first story and .... I don't think a last line has ever hit me so hard before. Found it hard to put down (as I do any MMS book) and did find some humour, but overall this is a collection of dark horror stories. This is well worth a read, but be prepared for the darker side of sci-fi

Very Disturbing, 28 Aug 2003
I read this book after reading other titles by Michael Marshall Smith and was slightly perturbed. The style is similar to the other titles by the author, but the content is less on the dry humour and more on the desturbing. Don't get me wrong, the book is very thought provoking and a damn good read, and in places you can see the Stephen King influence, but it seems that the author is playing more on the dark twists and the macabre that made his other books interesting and left behind the humour that made them readable. The most distracting thing is that in some of the stories you are in the head of the lead character who you may believe is normal for most of the story until you get to the end and they inadvertently kill someone and chopped them up. I've never read anything quite like "More Tomorrow".

Sigh...more money., 04 Feb 2003
This, was very dodgy indeed. Lent to me by a friend and dubiously started, i finished the book in a day. Consdering school that was actually quaite an acomplishment. The book was incredible. Personally, I love the macarbre and the disturbing, and so this fitted me perfectly. The characters were ranging from the normal to the surreal, and the plots from the basic to the gasp out loud horror that makes you quirm in your chair. MMS is a great fan of one liners that sum up the story and leave you hanging, and it was over these that I pored at 3am, afraid to turn off the light. A fantastic book. You may wonder why the title for this review? As soon as I finished this book, I gave it back to the friend, ordered it, and every other book that MMS had written off Amazon. Brilliant. Buy it now.

Fluid writing, well paced and a fusion of genres, 11 Aug 2008
I do not have a clue how this book ended up on my shelf, I can only remember it appeared there about a year ago and was subsequently neglected until I picked it up last week.

Needless to say, this was my first novel by the author and I was, especially for someone who doesn't read sci - fi all too often, thoroughly impressed. Smith's writing style is so fluid, full of matter - of - fact British humour and throughout the book you have the impression he is sitting opposite you, while he is telling you the story.

The storyline is at times complex but perfectly paced and his characters(even the white goods) are beautifully coming to life.

There is only one point of criticism: The denoument of the story and Smith's deus ex machina are slightly disappointing, but the book as such is worth a read.


an excellent read, 26 Mar 2008
I am not normally a big fan of sci-fi and so approached a book featuring sentient machines with some scepticism. Where my book group leads I follow, however, and so I read this over one weekend while spending an inordinate amount on a train. The plot is hard-boiled pulp fiction, the dialogue crackles along and the whole book is very witty. There are twists and turns galore as the plot races on to its climax with a long-ish exposition around God and humankind's relationship to Him. Definitely worth reading and it has certainly whetted my appetite for more by the same author.

One Of Us Is Wrong, 19 Mar 2008
Although this book gets 10 out of 10 for originality, I can only award it 3 out of 5 for the final package.
A great idea of an organisation that hives off nasty dreams and memories, is undoubtedly spoilt by the way the book twists towards the end with none other than God popping in to sort it out.
The electrical appliances taking on a life of their own was quite amusing, but somehow you get the feeling that the follow-through could have been done so much better.
Still, if there's a film on the way, what the hell do I know about anything?

absolutely great!, 17 May 2007
The first thing you should know: DO NOT read the first review after this one, it contains A HUGE spoiler.
actually, that's all I'm telling you about this book, along with the fact it's an amazing piece of literature, anyone who happens to own a heart should read it, and you just cant go wrong with Michael Marshall Smith.


Vert, very good - dissapointing ending, 12 Jan 2007
Loved the fantastic and original ideas presented in this novel and the stark honesty of the emotions. Also the themes of loss of time and significance memory and the effect they have on our lives in the present day. Indeed some of it was actually extremely moving (not something you expect from a sci-fi thriller).

However I felt that the author really started to lose the plot towards the end of the novel - I disliked the whole abduction part and especially the explanation of the origin of the 'man in the suit' and other suited men, and especially the philosophical rantings about the nature of the universe and 'the invisibles' which just didn't work for me and was weak and was completely unbelievable and spoilt the ending in my opinion.

However despite this are some absolute 'gems' in this novel and I would be interested to hear what other readers felt about the ending. I am looking forward to reading some of Marshall-Smith's other books.

Great book, 27 Jun 2008
Simply a great read - you will not want to put the book down till the end, and I promise you will then tell everyone how great it is and they wont listen - till they actually read it themselves.

His first key release. Start here then buy the rest. Enjoy.





Started off interesting..., 20 Jan 2008
This one started off interesting but gradually ended up cliched with a rather dull payoff. Some of the reviews suggested it had a pretty big payoff at the end but it wasn't the case!

Funny, elegiac and moving, 19 Oct 2007
Only Forward tells the story of Stark, all round nice guy and problem-solver extraordinaire. Stark is asked to locate a missing Actioneer, apparently kidnapped from the Action Centre, home to the sort of dynamic go-getters who'd think of a lifetimes indenture to McKinsey as a shortcut to heaven. Stark's mission takes him to Colour (where the dress code is time-dependent and rigorously enforced), Red (bring your CRUNT launcher), Stable, Turn, Fnaph, and many other of the eccentric Neighbourhoods making up his fractured home city.

Smith's language is superb, moving from witty dialogue to compelling descriptions of the increasingly disturbed landscape of the city and its dismal seashore `to muted colours and grey pebbles endlessly made cold by the ebb and flow of heavy water ... the place where it was most clearly dead because it was still there ...' Stark's life is beautifully and obliquely revealed as the book progresses.

Only Forward is by turns funny, exciting, thoughtful and, towards the end, sad and ironic. It is one of my favourite books, and I highly recommend it.

A pleasure, 10 Jul 2007
A very imaginative story and wonderfully funny. A beautifully written book, some of the passages are just breathtaking, I telephoned people to read bits out! and even out of context they provoked gasps. The story is captivating and the characters are great fun. A friend recommended this book to me and what a recommendation, even if you're not a sci-fi fan this book is really worth a read. It can get a little silly in places but it doesn't matter; it works and you'll read it again...and again.

Only Forward - but you'll be back, 30 Apr 2007
Are you ready to take a journey? There's no need to prepare yourself, you don't know where you're going yet.

I credit this book with making me want to read. Before this, it was just a hobby to pass time, and not even something I really enjoyed. This book isn't a story that's been put on paper, its one that's desperately trying to get off the page! Such an immense and fascinating world has been created for you here, you can get lost in it till the end. Truly wonderful. This book shows our human emotion, aspirations and nature more than anything I've ever read. It does it all tied in with a fantastic story, a perfect character (Stark), and some nice shirts.

If the people who make the thesaurus read this, the 'brilliant' section would be expanded by at least 30 pages just so people can more accurately describe just how good this book is.

READ IT! READ IT! READ IT! Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.

totally loses track of itself - but is fun nonetheless, 31 Jul 2008
So 'Spares' by Michael Marshall Smith is at once a sci fi thrill ride of intricate cyberpunk proportions. It is fueled by a great idea and loads of invention - such as the sentient computer systems and viruses. all very interesting.
its well written and witty to the point of sniggering in places.
However, the premise of Spares begins as an interesting jaunt into the ethics of cloning and the spare humans it involves. This section is great (roughly the first 3rd) then suddenly Smith wants to write a different book, so he begins the second premise halfway through this one, an alternate reality you can enter where Earth's brain resides called The Gap. this story is more fantasyesque and very annoyingly, the clones story is almost completely...forgotten. The spares are mentioned every 30 pages or so from then on, but the book becomes some weird race against time in this drugfueled vietnam. The title and premise of the story is lost.
The postrationalised ending is very annoying - smith seems to not have known how to end it and tacked on a weird magicesque thing that leaves much to be desired and many holes.
overall, if you want a story about clones - like your led to believe on the blurb - avoid this book.
but if you want a well written, witty, noir-ish and fun rollok through a great science fiction detective hunt then you could do worse.
never gonna be a classic novel - coz its too messy - but its a fun read.
6/10 for the messy losing track story
8/10 for the writing.
equals 7/10

So Good I read it in German, 27 Jun 2008
Why add another review? - well, because its great to shout about a class act.

Horrific, Funny, Intelligent, Thrilling.

I have even chosen this as my first book to read in German - one way to make the lessons more fun.

Ps - enyone else notice that the film `The Island` with Ewan McGregor totaly rips this book off - not that Smith ever got the credit? Coincidence? - perhaps(not that the film is fit to polish the boots of Spares)

Been There, bought the t-shirt, 20 Nov 2007
I had to read this as the choice of the month for my book club. Science Fiction is not my favourite genre, and I have to say, that to disagree with almost everyone who has written a review of this book, it really didn't do it for me at any level.
This is a kind of Crime Noir thriller set in the future, and dealing with the usual science fiction preoccupations of a dystopian hierarchical society which has squandered most of its natural resources, and where humans are forced to live in giant space stations where they are only allowed access to certain areas depending on their social levels. I wonder why the class system is always so in evidence in these instances, and always plays such an important part as a plot device.
The hero, Jack Randall, is a burned out has been, whose family have been ground up in some hideous accident for which he bears guilt. He is also a casualty of war/military/police action, which has left him competent enough for his role in the book, but conveniently maverick enough to exist on the fringes of a society in which he can make some attempt to right wrongs and stop the 'voices' in his head.
This book also deals with the old chestnut of genetic engineering and body farming in which Jack finds himself an unwilling abettor, for which he must again, make amends.
The only good point about the book is the embracing of the Schrodinger's Cat/Quantum theory and the use of the parallel, ghost like universe of horror which manifests itself at alarmingly frequent intervals throughout the book. This was new to me, and as such made for interesting reading, but everything else has been said before.

Send in the clones..., 18 May 2007
M.M.Smith's SF novels are little gems and for me this is the biggest jewel in his crown of triumphs. Dark, witty and with a hero that you just can't help but empathize with, Spares is an excellent book, whether you are 'in' to SF or not. Even if read on the thriller/detective level and you forget about the cyber-punk, futuristic setting you'll still enjoy this story. Although Smith's non-SF novels rock too, I really love his take on SF and heartily recommend this one.

SPARE ME!, 30 Apr 2007
Any information you want about this book can be found in the other reviews. I'm going to give you an honest opinion. DON'T READ THIS BOOK! It's literally too good. Once you have finished it, you will feel sad that there is no more. This is a phenomenal story. It's astonishingly well written, dark, funny, scary and heart warming. Wonderful beyond all reason. Read it, but you will miss it when its gone. Good luck!

What have I let myself in for?, 03 Feb 2007
The first story in this book "More Tomorrow" really made me start to wonder what I'd inadvertently bought - as it was an inadvertent purchase on my part. I was reading it in bed and I just lay there, staring at the last line of the story, images that I didn't need swirling around in my head just before I was about to go to sleep... I decided I didn't like it and I put it down.

The night after (suitably, it's a night book for me!) I was back... onto the second story. "Everybody Goes" was intriguing... on the first pass I will admit that I didn't truly 'get it'... so I read the last page and a half again and it clicked, "Oh yeah, kinda clever!" and I started to like it again.

Each night I've read one, two or three stories and I must say there are larger number of hits in there than there are misses. There's been one or two that I didn't like... but you've, basically, got to almost steel yourself for the last line (more often the last page or last half page) 'cos it's about to turn you on your head and spin you around.

I have bought several other books by the same author - novels as opposed to collections of short stories... so that's the effect an introduction to his writing has had on me... let's see how well he does with longer material.

Direct, dark and gripping, 29 Jan 2007
Writing (almost?) exclusively in the first person, MMS's style is very direct, immediately drawing you in. Although I don't read a huge amount, it reminded me a little of the Nick Hornby books I'd read and held my attention in exactly the same manner.

It is, of course, in a totally different genre - or rather, a mix of genres. The majority of the stories are really quite dark, varying on theme from technology-related to vampires to living-nightmare scenarios. Actually, that last category is one that MMS does really well - the protagonist living through something so nightmarish that they have to question their own sanity. "The Dark Land" in particular stands out for the horrible lucidity of its depictions.

Having read a number of glowing reviews of his books, I bought What You Make It as a gentle introduction to Michael Marshall Smith's writing. While it felt at times like the author had only really presented a series of compelling ideas rather than fully-rounded stories, it was never less than gripping. As a result, I'll now be getting another couple of his books, so that should say something. If you're after a lightweight time-filler and don't mind a bit of dark, sci-fi tinged stuff, this should be right up your alley.

Not what was expected = but wow, 24 Aug 2004
This was bought after I had read the other (sci-fi) novels and was expecting more of the same humour/horror. Read the first story and .... I don't think a last line has ever hit me so hard before. Found it hard to put down (as I do any MMS book) and did find some humour, but overall this is a collection of dark horror stories. This is well worth a read, but be prepared for the darker side of sci-fi

Very Disturbing, 28 Aug 2003
I read this book after reading other titles by Michael Marshall Smith and was slightly perturbed. The style is similar to the other titles by the author, but the content is less on the dry humour and more on the desturbing. Don't get me wrong, the book is very thought provoking and a damn good read, and in places you can see the Stephen King influence, but it seems that the author is playing more on the dark twists and the macabre that made his other books interesting and left behind the humour that made them readable. The most distracting thing is that in some of the stories you are in the head of the lead character who you may believe is normal for most of the story until you get to the end and they inadvertently kill someone and chopped them up. I've never read anything quite like "More Tomorrow".

Sigh...more money., 04 Feb 2003
This, was very dodgy indeed. Lent to me by a friend and dubiously started, i finished the book in a day. Consdering school that was actually quaite an acomplishment. The book was incredible. Personally, I love the macarbre and the disturbing, and so this fitted me perfectly. The characters were ranging from the normal to the surreal, and the plots from the basic to the gasp out loud horror that makes you quirm in your chair. MMS is a great fan of one liners that sum up the story and leave you hanging, and it was over these that I pored at 3am, afraid to turn off the light. A fantastic book. You may wonder why the title for this review? As soon as I finished this book, I gave it back to the friend, ordered it, and every other book that MMS had written off Amazon. Brilliant. Buy it now.

Fluid writing, well paced and a fusion of genres, 11 Aug 2008
I do not have a clue how this book ended up on my shelf, I can only remember it appeared there about a year ago and was subsequently neglected until I picked it up last week.

Needless to say, this was my first novel by the author and I was, especially for someone who doesn't read sci - fi all too often, thoroughly impressed. Smith's writing style is so fluid, full of matter - of - fact British humour and throughout the book you have the impression he is sitting opposite you, while he is telling you the story.

The storyline is at times complex but perfectly paced and his characters(even the white goods) are beautifully coming to life.

There is only one point of criticism: The denoument of the story and Smith's deus ex machina are slightly disappointing, but the book as such is worth a read.


an excellent read, 26 Mar 2008
I am not normally a big fan of sci-fi and so approached a book featuring sentient machines with some scepticism. Where my book group leads I follow, however, and so I read this over one weekend while spending an inordinate amount on a train. The plot is hard-boiled pulp fiction, the dialogue crackles along and the whole book is very witty. There are twists and turns galore as the plot races on to its climax with a long-ish exposition around God and humankind's relationship to Him. Definitely worth reading and it has certainly whetted my appetite for more by the same author.

One Of Us Is Wrong, 19 Mar 2008
Although this book gets 10 out of 10 for originality, I can only award it 3 out of 5 for the final package.
A great idea of an organisation that hives off nasty dreams and memories, is undoubtedly spoilt by the way the book twists towards the end with none other than God popping in to sort it out.
The electrical appliances taking on a life of their own was quite amusing, but somehow you get the feeling that the follow-through could have been done so much better.
Still, if there's a film on the way, what the hell do I know about anything?

absolutely great!, 17 May 2007
The first thing you should know: DO NOT read the first review after this one, it contains A HUGE spoiler.
actually, that's all I'm telling you about this book, along with the fact it's an amazing piece of literature, anyone who happens to own a heart should read it, and you just cant go wrong with Michael Marshall Smith.


Vert, very good - dissapointing ending, 12 Jan 2007
Loved the fantastic and original ideas presented in this novel and the stark honesty of the emotions. Also the themes of loss of time and significance memory and the effect they have on our lives in the present day. Indeed some of it was actually extremely moving (not something you expect from a sci-fi thriller).

However I felt that the author really started to lose the plot towards the end of the novel - I disliked the whole abduction part and especially the explanation of the origin of the 'man in the suit' and other suited men, and especially the philosophical rantings about the nature of the universe and 'the invisibles' which just didn't work for me and was weak and was completely unbelievable and spoilt the ending in my opinion.

However despite this are some absolute 'gems' in this novel and I would be interested to hear what other readers felt about the ending. I am looking forward to reading some of Marshall-Smith's other books.

Smith does it again, 17 Aug 2003
Get it for Michael Marshall Smith, because if you're in any way a fan you'll want to read all of his work, no matter how short. Don't bother flipping it over and readong the other story, which should never have been combined with MMS anyway ;-)

As always, Michael's work is cutting satire, mystery and plain weirdness. Love it, can't get enough.

2 novellas - both intriguing but neither great, 15 Jan 2003
A very quick read and quite entertaining, but I can't help feeling both could have been so much more if they've been novels rather than novellas. Worth a read, though - some great ideas in both stories.

Appetiser for the real thing., 05 Jan 2001
Its easy to see where the comparisons lie between 'The Vaccinator' and Men in Black. Maybe Mr Smith cribbed the idea but he regurgitates it very well. I must admit I thought ths story, judging from its start, was going to be a far nastier animal. As ever Smith is hugely entertaining and seems to concentrate more on humour than horror here.

Its hard to tell with this man what he's really thinking but can we detect a parody on American culture here, presant most prominantly in the classic 'American Bozo' character? Mike loves to toy with us and probably made the heroes British just for the hell of it and to be objectionable.

This serves as a rather tasty appetizer for the main event later this year, 'The Straw Men', alledgedly his darkest novel yet. 'The Vaccinator' certainly isn't Smiths finest hour but then I'm a man who considers him beyond Genius.

All in all the novella flows along nicely with a cheeky wink, a sligh smile and its tonge firmly lodged to the interior of its face. A good nights read.

Having bought the thing I thought I might as well read Newman's offering. Having never read any of his stuff before I found it entertaining and an interesting take on the Vampyre myth.

The humour crackles away underneath saving the story from the absurdly pompouse and taking it into the realms of satisfactorily twisted.

Look I know I'm bias but if anyone goes 'twoes up' with Mike then they're going to come out a little bruised. All in all a good effort.

Double vision works for me, 02 Jan 2001
You see, reading 'Binary 2' is like making love to a beautiful woman. You've got to take your time, savour the atmosphere, go with the flow - and when you're finished, you can turn it over and start again...

But enough of the Swiss Tony impression. Being far more familiar with Michael Marshall Smith's work than with Kim Newman's, I picked up 'Binary 2' on the basis that it offered me a fresh fix of MMS while I'm waiting for 'Straw Men' to be published. 'The Vaccinator' reads like a cross between 'Men in Black' and 'Hawaii 5-0', and as one might expect from an MMS story, it's eventful, eminently readable and cooler than Frosty the Snowman in dark glasses.

'Andy Warhol's Dracula' is a slightly different kettle of fish, being darker in tone but matching the knowing humour of 'Vaccinator'. I've only read a few of Newman's short stories, but it's clear that his favourite pastime is remodelling the twentieth century around a fictional conceit, then mixing in a variety of real and fictional characters to suit the situation. 'Warhol' presents a late twentieth century in which vampirism is not only genuine, but romanticised and even fetishised in Europe. It follows Dracula's hippest son on an odyssey to the New World and through Andy Warhol's pop art world, intercut with mock academic critique to add a depth of background flavour not often found in a novella. 'Warhol' demands more of its reader than 'Vaccinator', requiring at least a passing familiarity with the 1970s world on which Newman hangs his sleight-of-reality references, but is just as entertaining as Michael Marshall Smith's more easy-going piece.

All in all, good light reading. Not so much a literary snack as a midnight feast.

Great book, 27 Jun 2008
Simply a great read - you will not want to put the book down till the end, and I promise you will then tell everyone how great it is and they wont listen - till they actually read it themselves.

His first key release. Start here then buy the rest. Enjoy.





Started off interesting..., 20 Jan 2008
This one started off interesting but gradually ended up cliched with a rather dull payoff. Some of the reviews suggested it had a pretty big payoff at the end but it wasn't the case!

Funny, elegiac and moving, 19 Oct 2007
Only Forward tells the story of Stark, all round nice guy and problem-solver extraordinaire. Stark is asked to locate a missing Actioneer, apparently kidnapped from the Action Centre, home to the sort of dynamic go-getters who'd think of a lifetimes indenture to McKinsey as a shortcut to heaven. Stark's mission takes him to Colour (where the dress code is time-dependent and rigorously enforced), Red (bring your CRUNT launcher), Stable, Turn, Fnaph, and many other of the eccentric Neighbourhoods making up his fractured home city.

Smith's language is superb, moving from witty dialogue to compelling descriptions of the increasingly disturbed landscape of the city and its dismal seashore `to muted colours and grey pebbles endlessly made cold by the ebb and flow of heavy water ... the place where it was most clearly dead because it was still there ...' Stark's life is beautifully and obliquely revealed as the book progresses.

Only Forward is by turns funny, exciting, thoughtful and, towards the end, sad and ironic. It is one of my favourite books, and I highly recommend it.

A pleasure, 10 Jul 2007
A very imaginative story and wonderfully funny. A beautifully written book, some of the passages are just breathtaking, I telephoned people to read bits out! and even out of context they provoked gasps. The story is captivating and the characters are great fun. A friend recommended this book to me and what a recommendation, even if you're not a sci-fi fan this book is really worth a read. It can get a little silly in places but it doesn't matter; it works and you'll read it again...and again.

Only Forward - but you'll be back, 30 Apr 2007
Are you ready to take a journey? There's no need to prepare yourself, you don't know where you're going yet.

I credit this book with making me want to read. Before this, it was just a hobby to pass time, and not even something I really enjoyed. This book isn't a story that's been put on paper, its one that's desperately trying to get off the page! Such an immense and fascinating world has been created for you here, you can get lost in it till the end. Truly wonderful. This book shows our human emotion, aspirations and nature more than anything I've ever read. It does it all tied in with a fantastic story, a perfect character (Stark), and some nice shirts.

If the people who make the thesaurus read this, the 'brilliant' section would be expanded by at least 30 pages just so people can more accurately describe just how good this book is.

READ IT! READ IT! READ IT! Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.

totally loses track of itself - but is fun nonetheless, 31 Jul 2008
So 'Spares' by Michael Marshall Smith is at once a sci fi thrill ride of intricate cyberpunk proportions. It is fueled by a great idea and loads of invention - such as the sentient computer systems and viruses. all very interesting.
its well written and witty to the point of sniggering in places.
However, the premise of Spares begins as an interesting jaunt into the ethics of cloning and the spare humans it involves. This section is great (roughly the first 3rd) then suddenly Smith wants to write a different book, so he begins the second premise halfway through this one, an alternate reality you can enter where Earth's brain resides called The Gap. this story is more fantasyesque and very annoyingly, the clones story is almost completely...forgotten. The spares are mentioned every 30 pages or so from then on, but the book becomes some weird race against time in this drugfueled vietnam. The title and premise of the story is lost.
The postrationalised ending is very annoying - smith seems to not have known how to end it and tacked on a weird magicesque thing that leaves much to be desired and many holes.
overall, if you want a story about clones - like your led to believe on the blurb - avoid this book.
but if you want a well written, witty, noir-ish and fun rollok through a great science fiction detective hunt then you could do worse.
never gonna be a classic novel - coz its too messy - but its a fun read.
6/10 for the messy losing track story
8/10 for the writing.
equals 7/10

So Good I read it in German, 27 Jun 2008
Why add another review? - well, because its great to shout about a class act.

Horrific, Funny, Intelligent, Thrilling.

I have even chosen this as my first book to read in German - one way to make the lessons more fun.

Ps - enyone else notice that the film `The Island` with Ewan McGregor totaly rips this book off - not that Smith ever got the credit? Coincidence? - perhaps(not that the film is fit to polish the boots of Spares)

Been There, bought the t-shirt, 20 Nov 2007
I had to read this as the choice of the month for my book club. Science Fiction is not my favourite genre, and I have to say, that to disagree with almost everyone who has written a review of this book, it really didn't do it for me at any level.
This is a kind of Crime Noir thriller set in the future, and dealing with the usual science fiction preoccupations of a dystopian hierarchical society which has squandered most of its natural resources, and where humans are forced to live in giant space stations where they are only allowed access to certain areas depending on their social levels. I wonder why the class system is always so in evidence in these instances, and always plays such an important part as a plot device.
The hero, Jack Randall, is a burned out has been, whose family have been ground up in some hideous accident for which he bears guilt. He is also a casualty of war/military/police action, which has left him competent enough for his role in the book, but conveniently maverick enough to exist on the fringes of a society in which he can make some attempt to right wrongs and stop the 'voices' in his head.
This book also deals with the old chestnut of genetic engineering and body farming in which Jack finds himself an unwilling abettor, for which he must again, make amends.
The only good point about the book is the embracing of the Schrodinger's Cat/Quantum theory and the use of the parallel, ghost like universe of horror which manifests itself at alarmingly frequent intervals throughout the book. This was new to me, and as such made for interesting reading, but everything else has been said before.

Send in the clones..., 18 May 2007
M.M.Smith's SF novels are little gems and for me this is the biggest jewel in his crown of triumphs. Dark, witty and with a hero that you just can't help but empathize with, Spares is an excellent book, whether you are 'in' to SF or not. Even if read on the thriller/detective level and you forget about the cyber-punk, futuristic setting you'll still enjoy this story. Although Smith's non-SF novels rock too, I really love his take on SF and heartily recommend this one.

SPARE ME!, 30 Apr 2007
Any information you want about this book can be found in the other reviews. I'm going to give you an honest opinion. DON'T READ THIS BOOK! It's literally too good. Once you have finished it, you will feel sad that there is no more. This is a phenomenal story. It's astonishingly well written, dark, funny, scary and heart warming. Wonderful beyond all reason. Read it, but you will miss it when its gone. Good luck!

What have I let myself in for?, 03 Feb 2007
The first story in this book "More Tomorrow" really made me start to wonder what I'd inadvertently bought - as it was an inadvertent purchase on my part. I was reading it in bed and I just lay there, staring at the last line of the story, images that I didn't need swirling around in my head just before I was about to go to sleep... I decided I didn't like it and I put it down.

The night after (suitably, it's a night book for me!) I was back... onto the second story. "Everybody Goes" was intriguing... on the first pass I will admit that I didn't truly 'get it'... so I read the last page and a half again and it clicked, "Oh yeah, kinda clever!" and I started to like it again.

Each night I've read one, two or three stories and I must say there are larger number of hits in there than there are misses. There's been one or two that I didn't like... but you've, basically, got to almost steel yourself for the last line (more often the last page or last half page) 'cos it's about to turn you on your head and spin you around.

I have bought several other books by the same author - novels as opposed to collections of short stories... so that's the effect an introduction to his writing has had on me... let's see how well he does with longer material.

Direct, dark and gripping, 29 Jan 2007
Writing (almost?) exclusively in the first person, MMS's style is very direct, immediately drawing you in. Although I don't read a huge amount, it reminded me a little of the Nick Hornby books I'd read and held my attention in exactly the same manner.

It is, of course, in a totally different genre - or rather, a mix of genres. The majority of the stories are really quite dark, varying on theme from technology-related to vampires to living-nightmare scenarios. Actually, that last category is one that MMS does really well - the protagonist living through something so nightmarish that they have to question their own sanity. "The Dark Land" in particular stands out for the horrible lucidity of its depictions.

Having read a number of glowing reviews of his books, I bought What You Make It as a gentle introduction to Michael Marshall Smith's writing. While it felt at times like the author had only really presented a series of compelling ideas rather than fully-rounded stories, it was never less than gripping. As a result, I'll now be getting another couple of his books, so that should say something. If you're after a lightweight time-filler and don't mind a bit of dark, sci-fi tinged stuff, this should be right up your alley.

Not what was expected = but wow, 24 Aug 2004
This was bought after I had read the other (sci-fi) novels and was expecting more of the same humour/horror. Read the first story and .... I don't think a last line has ever hit me so hard before. Found it hard to put down (as I do any MMS book) and did find some humour, but overall this is a collection of dark horror stories. This is well worth a read, but be prepared for the darker side of sci-fi

Very Disturbing, 28 Aug 2003
I read this book after reading other titles by Michael Marshall Smith and was slightly perturbed. The style is similar to the other titles by the author, but the content is less on the dry humour and more on the desturbing. Don't get me wrong, the book is very thought provoking and a damn good read, and in places you can see the Stephen King influence, but it seems that the author is playing more on the dark twists and the macabre that made his other books interesting and left behind the humour that made them readable. The most distracting thing is that in some of the stories you are in the head of the lead character who you may believe is normal for most of the story until you get to the end and they inadvertently kill someone and chopped them up. I've never read anything quite like "More Tomorrow".

Sigh...more money., 04 Feb 2003
This, was very dodgy indeed. Lent to me by a friend and dubiously started, i finished the book in a day. Consdering school that was actually quaite an acomplishment. The book was incredible. Personally, I love the macarbre and the disturbing, and so this fitted me perfectly. The characters were ranging from the normal to the surreal, and the plots from the basic to the gasp out loud horror that makes you quirm in your chair. MMS is a great fan of one liners that sum up the story and leave you hanging, and it was over these that I pored at 3am, afraid to turn off the light. A fantastic book. You may wonder why the title for this review? As soon as I finished this book, I gave it back to the friend, ordered it, and every other book that MMS had written off Amazon. Brilliant. Buy it now.

Fluid writing, well paced and a fusion of genres, 11 Aug 2008
I do not have a clue how this book ended up on my shelf, I can only remember it appeared there about a year ago and was subsequently neglected until I picked it up last week.

Needless to say, this was my first novel by the author and I was, especially for someone who doesn't read sci - fi all too often, thoroughly impressed. Smith's writing style is so fluid, full of matter - of - fact British humour and throughout the book you have the impression he is sitting opposite you, while he is telling you the story.

The storyline is at times complex but perfectly paced and his characters(even the white goods) are beautifully coming to life.

There is only one point of criticism: The denoument of the story and Smith's deus ex machina are slightly disappointing, but the book as such is worth a read.


an excellent read, 26 Mar 2008
I am not normally a big fan of sci-fi and so approached a book featuring sentient machines with some scepticism. Where my book group leads I follow, however, and so I read this over one weekend while spending an inordinate amount on a train. The plot is hard-boiled pulp fiction, the dialogue crackles along and the whole book is very witty. There are twists and turns galore as the plot races on to its climax with a long-ish exposition around God and humankind's relationship to Him. Definitely worth reading and it has certainly whetted my appetite for more by the same author.

One Of Us Is Wrong, 19 Mar 2008
Although this book gets 10 out of 10 for originality, I can only award it 3 out of 5 for the final package.
A great idea of an organisation that hives off nasty dreams and memories, is undoubtedly spoilt by the way the book twists towards the end with none other than God popping in to sort it out.
The electrical appliances taking on a life of their own was quite amusing, but somehow you get the feeling that the follow-through could have been done so much better.
Still, if there's a film on the way, what the hell do I know about anything?

absolutely great!, 17 May 2007
The first thing you should know: DO NOT read the first review after this one, it contains A HUGE spoiler.
actually, that's all I'm telling you about this book, along with the fact it's an amazing piece of literature, anyone who happens to own a heart should read it, and you just cant go wrong with Michael Marshall Smith.


Vert, very good - dissapointing ending, 12 Jan 2007
Loved the fantastic and original ideas presented in this novel and the stark honesty of the emotions. Also the themes of loss of time and significance memory and the effect they have on our lives in the present day. Indeed some of it was actually extremely moving (not something you expect from a sci-fi thriller).

However I felt that the author really started to lose the plot towards the end of the novel - I disliked the whole abduction part and especially the explanation of the origin of the 'man in the suit' and other suited men, and especially the philosophical rantings about the nature of the universe and 'the invisibles' which just didn't work for me and was weak and was completely unbelievable and spoilt the ending in my opinion.

However despite this are some absolute 'gems' in this novel and I would be interested to hear what other readers felt about the ending. I am looking forward to reading some of Marshall-Smith's other books.

Smith does it again, 17 Aug 2003
Get it for Michael Marshall Smith, because if you're in any way a fan you'll want to read all of his work, no matter how short. Don't bother flipping it over and readong the other story, which should never have been combined with MMS anyway ;-)

As always, Michael's work is cutting satire, mystery and plain weirdness. Love it, can't get enough.

2 novellas - both intriguing but neither great, 15 Jan 2003
A very quick read and quite entertaining, but I can't help feeling both could have been so much more if they've been novels rather than novellas. Worth a read, though - some great ideas in both stories.

Appetiser for the real thing., 05 Jan 2001
Its easy to see where the comparisons lie between 'The Vaccinator' and Men in Black. Maybe Mr Smith cribbed the idea but he regurgitates it very well. I must admit I thought ths story, judging from its start, was going to be a far nastier animal. As ever Smith is hugely entertaining and seems to concentrate more on humour than horror here.

Its hard to tell with this man what he's really thinking but can we detect a parody on American culture here, presant most prominantly in the classic 'American Bozo' character? Mike loves to toy with us and probably made the heroes British just for the hell of it and to be objectionable.

This serves as a rather tasty appetizer for the main event later this year, 'The Straw Men', alledgedly his darkest novel yet. 'The Vaccinator' certainly isn't Smiths finest hour but then I'm a man who considers him beyond Genius.

All in all the novella flows along nicely with a cheeky wink, a sligh smile and its tonge firmly lodged to the interior of its face. A good nights read.

Having bought the thing I thought I might as well read Newman's offering. Having never read any of his stuff before I found it entertaining and an interesting take on the Vampyre myth.

The humour crackles away underneath saving the story from the absurdly pompouse and taking it into the realms of satisfactorily twisted.

Look I know I'm bias but if anyone goes 'twoes up' with Mike then they're going to come out a little bruised. All in all a good effort.

Double vision works for me, 02 Jan 2001
You see, reading 'Binary 2' is like making love to a beautiful woman. You've got to take your time, savour the atmosphere, go with the flow - and when you're finished, you can turn it over and start again...

But enough of the Swiss Tony impression. Being far more familiar with Michael Marshall Smith's work than with Kim Newman's, I picked up 'Binary 2' on the basis that it offered me a fresh fix of MMS while I'm waiting for 'Straw Men' to be published. 'The Vaccinator' reads like a cross between 'Men in Black' and 'Hawaii 5-0', and as one might expect from an MMS story, it's eventful, eminently readable and cooler than Frosty the Snowman in dark glasses.

'Andy Warhol's Dracula' is a slightly different kettle of fish, being darker in tone but matching the knowing humour of 'Vaccinator'. I've only read a few of Newman's short stories, but it's clear that his favourite pastime is remodelling the twentieth century around a fictional conceit, then mixing in a variety of real and fictional characters to suit the situation. 'Warhol' presents a late twentieth century in which vampirism is not only genuine, but romanticised and even fetishised in Europe. It follows Dracula's hippest son on an odyssey to the New World and through Andy Warhol's pop art world, intercut with mock academic critique to add a depth of background flavour not often found in a novella. 'Warhol' demands more of its reader than 'Vaccinator', requiring at least a passing familiarity with the 1970s world on which Newman hangs his sleight-of-reality references, but is just as entertaining as Michael Marshall Smith's more easy-going piece.

All in all, good light reading. Not so much a literary snack as a midnight feast.

Great book, 27 Jun 2008
Simply a great read - you will not want to put the book down till the end, and I promise you will then tell everyone how great it is and they wont listen - till they actually read it themselves.

His first key release. Start here then buy the rest. Enjoy.





Started off interesting..., 20 Jan 2008
This one started off interesting but gradually ended up cliched with a rather dull payoff. Some of the reviews suggested it had a pretty big payoff at the end but it wasn't the case!

Funny, elegiac and moving, 19 Oct 2007
Only Forward tells the story of Stark, all round nice guy and problem-solver extraordinaire. Stark is asked to locate a missing Actioneer, apparently kidnapped from the Action Centre, home to the sort of dynamic go-getters who'd think of a lifetimes indenture to McKinsey as a shortcut to heaven. Stark's mission takes him to Colour (where the dress code is time-dependent and rigorously enforced), Red (bring your CRUNT launcher), Stable, Turn, Fnaph, and many other of the eccentric Neighbourhoods making up his fractured home city.

Smith's language is superb, moving from witty dialogue to compelling descriptions of the increasingly disturbed landscape of the city and its dismal seashore `to muted colours and grey pebbles endlessly made cold by the ebb and flow of heavy water ... the place where it was most clearly dead because it was still there ...' Stark's life is beautifully and obliquely revealed as the book progresses.

Only Forward is by turns funny, exciting, thoughtful and, towards the end, sad and ironic. It is one of my favourite books, and I highly recommend it.

A pleasure, 10 Jul 2007
A very imaginative story and wonderfully funny. A beautifully written book, some of the passages are just breathtaking, I telephoned people to read bits out! and even out of context they provoked gasps. The story is captivating and the characters are great fun. A friend recommended this book to me and what a recommendation, even if you're not a sci-fi fan this book is really worth a read. It can get a little silly in places but it doesn't matter; it works and you'll read it again...and again.

Only Forward - but you'll be back, 30 Apr 2007
Are you ready to take a journey? There's no need to prepare yourself, you don't know where you're going yet.

I credit this book with making me want to read. Before this, it was just a hobby to pass time, and not even something I really enjoyed. This book isn't a story that's been put on paper, its one that's desperately trying to get off the page! Such an immense and fascinating world has been created for you here, you can get lost in it till the end. Truly wonderful. This book shows our human emotion, aspirations and nature more than anything I've ever read. It does it all tied in with a fantastic story, a perfect character (Stark), and some nice shirts.

If the people who make the thesaurus read this, the 'brilliant' section would be expanded by at least 30 pages just so people can more accurately describe just how good this book is.

READ IT! READ IT! READ IT! Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.

Great book, 27 Jun 2008
Simply a great read - you will not want to put the book down till the end, and I promise you will then tell everyone how great it is and they wont listen - till they actually read it themselves.

His first key release. Start here then buy the rest. Enjoy.





Started off interesting..., 20 Jan 2008
This one started off interesting but gradually ended up cliched with a rather dull payoff. Some of the reviews suggested it had a pretty big payoff at the end but it wasn't the case!

Funny, elegiac and moving, 19 Oct 2007
Only Forward tells the story of Stark, all round nice guy and problem-solver extraordinaire. Stark is asked to locate a missing Actioneer, apparently kidnapped from the Action Centre, home to the sort of dynamic go-getters who'd think of a lifetimes indenture to McKinsey as a shortcut to heaven. Stark's mission takes him to Colour (where the dress code is time-dependent and rigorously enforced), Red (bring your CRUNT launcher), Stable, Turn, Fnaph, and many other of the eccentric Neighbourhoods making up his fractured home city.

Smith's language is superb, moving from witty dialogue to compelling descriptions of the increasingly disturbed landscape of the city and its dismal seashore `to muted colours and grey pebbles endlessly made cold by the ebb and flow of heavy water ... the place where it was most clearly dead because it was still there ...' Stark's life is beautifully and obliquely revealed as the book progresses.

Only Forward is by turns funny, exciting, thoughtful and, towards the end, sad and ironic. It is one of my favourite books, and I highly recommend it.

A pleasure, 10 Jul 2007
A very imaginative story and wonderfully funny. A beautifully written book, some of the passages are just breathta