Roadmarks

Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny

There’s a continuous road which you can journey up and down leading to different points past, present, and future. Different decisions can cause different turning points and events. Few people know about the road, but those who do, have endless possibilities.

It’s an extremely intriguing premise which opens itself to a lot of story, and because of that, I felt this book was a little underserved. The idea of the lead character Red being chased up and down this impossible road by essentially displaced hitmen is pretty damn cool, but it also meant that the most wasn’t being made of the fantastic concept.

It’s also one of those very rare occasions when I wish something was longer. I generally like my ninety minute movies, novella’s, and thirty minute ten song albums, but this story really could have done with an extra hundred pages to explore the possibilities more. Just as the road began to open up, the author headed into a rushed final act. I wanted a little more.

That’s not to say I disliked the book. As mentioned, it’s a great concept, and Red is a cool character. The one, two character structure was something different, and you can’t say no to having the Marquis de Sade riding a T-Rex in any book. It just all ended rather abruptly. It felt like there were chapters missing.

It’s the type of story which would have made a wild graphic novel, and therefore you can’t help but feel it wasted its premise a little. If I hadn’t have known it was a short book, I would have sworn someone had ripped a hundred pages out when the story abruptly pivoted towards the final act.

I hope there’s plenty of readers out there that love this story. It’s bold and unique in so many ways, but it just didn’t quite capture me. I needed a little more time with the characters, and a bigger descent into the end of the story. That said, it’s not a book i’ll forget due to the brilliant concept, and the wacky visuals the book paints.