Your Humble Blogger mentioned The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm a month or so ago in a note about Inkheart. From that point it was only a matter of time before I re-read it. And it’s even better than I remembered.
Seriously, if you have any interest in Young Adult specfic, you should read this book. It’s more fantasy than science fiction, despite holoscreens, aircars, and mutations. There’s a good deal of Shona magic, or rather, a good deal of Shona atmosphere, which is much the same thing. The main character is a fourteen-year-old boy who is growing out of a sheltered childhood in late 22nd century Harare. The older and younger characters are played with a certain sympathy, rather than as total buffoons, which is nice. The plot is episodic within the general lost-in-the-city arc, which is a little disappointing to me, but probably better for the intended audience. The scary stuff is seriously scary, but within the young-adult frame, that is, the threats are real, but the violence never quite happens.
Anyway, it’s a terrific book. I haven’t yet read her others, but I will.
Thank you,
-Vardibidian.