Book Review #53: Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith

Hello Dear Reader!

I apologize for the numerous months of going without a book review. Reading slumps are fantastically awful. But, this week, I’ve got a traditional read that was recommended to me by a friend of mine, called Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith! Also, we’ll call my friend Ebay XD. It’s a rather unique read with concepts and world building I personally have never read before, so if you’re into trying new things, keep reading, because this might be the read for you!

Now, onto the back-cover summary! (from Barnes & Noble):  

May we introduce you to Stark.  

Oh, and by the way — good luck.  

Stark is the private investigator who goes to work when Something Happens to you. And when a Something happens it’s no good chanting ‘go away go away go away’ and cowering in a corner, because a Something always comes from your darkest past and won’t be beaten until you face it. And that’s not easy in a city where reality is twisting and broken, a world in which friends can become enemies in a heartbeat — and where your most secret fear can become a soul-shredding reality.  

And the worst of it is, for this nightmare you don’t even have to be asleep… 

I’ll be honest, there are a few variations of the back cover summary of this book, so I decided to go with this one because I personally liked it the best. Anyway, on to the review!

Only Forward is narrated by Stark, the private investigator who takes on the most interesting and challenging of cases, and in this book, the great task he’s given is to find Fell Alkland, a valued and high-ranking Actioneer who lives in the Neighborhood known as the Centre. Soon, his mission becomes bigger than finding this Actioneer when he realizes a figure from his past comes back to haunt him in his dreams, and it’s Stark’s job to face him head-on.

Stark is introduced as someone who gets by and doesn’t really view life in a positive manner. He’s introduced at the beginning of the book in his messy apartment and struggling to move to answer a phone that doesn’t stop ringing. Though he doesn’t seem to have any motivation to do much, he’s rather good at what he does, and we soon learn that he’s athletic, empathic, and fantastic at thinking on his feet. This man is surrounded by a cast of quirky characters who feel real, and these include the hard-working Zenda, the wholesome elderly man Alkland (who I can’t help but imagine as the Monopoly guy for some reason), the extremely forward and crude Ji, and the eccentric and bubbly Shelby. With characters like these, you’re bound to have a favorite!

The world Stark explores in his adventure is none that I’ve ever read about before! Taking place far into the feature, the world as we know it is now divided into Neighborhoods, and the people who live in them genuinely want to be there because they like what a particular Neighborhood is all about. For example, there’s a neighborhood completely dedicated to cats, one where the streets and buildings will match what you’re wearing and flash with color, and one where there is nothing but complete silence. Stark travels through only a handful of these, and there are so much more that are mentioned that he doesn’t explore, which makes it feel massive.

While this book is as action-packed as the back-cover summary suggests, it’s surprisingly so much deeper than his basic mission. Without spoiling too much, this book is about facing your past problems and overcoming them so you can move forward, as that is the only direction you can really end up going, hence the title. Though most of this actual progression and true plot is revealed at the end of the book, I think it’s done rather well, as all the elements that go into it are introduced throughout the entire book and are tied up rather nicely at the end. It’s almost beautiful in a way, seeing Stark grow into a person who’s willing to give himself a second chance at living the life he wants.

I absolutely enjoyed reading Only Forward; however, there were a few things about it I had to get used to. One is how it was written. The book jumps quite a bit between what’s going on in Stark’s head, his explanations about the things he knows, and what’s actually going on in front of him, and it can be a bit disjointed at first, but I personally slowly got used to it. Another thing is that he’ll tell these stories that seemingly don’t make sense at the beginning, but once you get deeper into the story, they do start to tie in with what’s going on.

As for content ratings, if you are weak to blood, gore, and intense swearing, you may want to avoid this book. Stark doesn’t curse consistently throughout the entire book; however, there are a couple characters who do whenever they show up, and these characters are also behind a lot of the disturbing violence and gory scenes that happen in this book. While there aren’t many, they’re just that disturbing to read. I normally don’t get queasy at written gore, but this managed to get me to grit my teeth. Finally, this book does touch on a lot of sensitive topics, such as abortion, death, murder, and mental health. So, if you’d like to give this book a try, just know that these topics eventually become rather prevalent in the story.

So, Only Forward rating:

4.75/5 and I highly recommend! This is a really unique book with a deep underlying that in my opinion is done really well! If you’re looking for something new and different to read, this one may be for you!

Thanks for reading!