M John Harrison's 'The End of Everything' Review: A Near-Future Vision

The Masterful Near-Future Vision of M John Harrison

M John Harrison's prose has thrilled readers for decades, yet snobbery about his genre - science fiction and fantasy - has hindered the respect his achievement deserves. His latest novel, 'The End of Everything', is a rigorously realistic and uncompromisingly peculiar work, set in a near-future world invaded by alien entities called the iGhetti.

The Event Details: A Post-Apocalyptic World

The story takes place in an unnamed town on the Kent coast, where a catastrophe has occurred, but it's already old news. The news media seem to have collapsed, and citizens are doing their best to Keep Calm and Carry On. The main characters, beachcomber Phillip Tennent and his elderly aunt Marnie, navigate this new world, where order is maintained through vestigial community cohesion and survival of the toughest.

The Data Analysis: A World Without AI?

Despite the sci-fi elements, there's no mention of AI in the narrative - the world wide web has evidently unravelled. However, the eerie non-humans that insert themselves into the neighbourhood could be interpreted as LLMs made flesh. These artefacts, dumped into the sea by the iGhetti, exhibit alarming signs of humanity, growing back severed hands and making infant attempts at speech.

The Impact Analysis: A Reflection of Our Civilization

'The End of Everything' is a novel that burrows deep into our psyches - into the psyche of our civilization - and exposes the terrifying insecurity of life right now. It shows us a society that has long since forgotten Trump, social media, and Middle Eastern genocides. Unlike most novels with such ambitions, it ticks no hot-topic boxes and appears uninterested in our daily news feeds.

The Prediction: A New Era of Science Fiction

'The End of Everything' is a dreamlike and baffling novel that elucidates humanity's disintegrating existence with strange clarity. While it may not be for everyone, it's a work that will leave readers questioning the nature of reality and our place in the world. As a reflection of our civilization, it's a timely and thought-provoking read.