20th June 2015

The third and final book in Robert Llewelyn's trilogy exploring possible futures. Following his two trips to different future utopias, this time Gavin lands in a distopian vision where the world is barely habitable.

As well as presenting a third view of things, this book spends some time wrapping things up and providing a nice bookend to the series which, while unexpected, was welcome, and certainly left me with a few things to think about.

Llewelyn manages to leave the reader wanting more - I was a little disappointed we didn't get to see more of the world of the 'clouds' (but then I'm a sucker for good world building) - and this is a good decision, not overburdening the reader but giving them, and the character, enough to be drawn in.

A really interesting trilogy overall which I'm glad I took the time to read. The writing style and the story itself may not be right to appeal to a mass audience, but I certainly found it fascinating and will keep an eye on the author's future projects.

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28th October 2013

The sequel to Llewellyn's News from Gardenia follows Gavin Meckler's attempt to get home, which leaves him in yet another strange version of the world which he struggles to understand. The style is very reminiscent of the first book, though it explores some different ideas that I found even more interesting.

Like the previous book, it's very much about exploring the possible future that Llewellyn has imagined rather than about the characters or plot, though both feel stronger in this. The plot in particular is much grander and Gavin is a slightly more active character in what's happening, rather than just observing and learning.

While it's not a thrilling adventure, it certainly gives the reader plenty to think about and shows a quantity of character growth that was absent from the first book. It does however repeat the slightly rough feeling, as if it's not been edited or proof-read as thoroughly as it could have been.

An interesting read that's left me looking forward to the next book in the series. The texture of the hardback cover though was horrible on my fingertips, and I found it hard to hold onto the book for any length of time - I doubt this will bother most people though.

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21st March 2013

News from Gardenia is a delightful book that looks at a possible future for the world. Gavin Meckler sets out for a short flight in his electric plane, only to discover when he lands that two hundred years have past, and he's now living in an idyllic and slightly creepy utopian future.

I found the world Robert Llewelyn has envisioned to be a fascinating and almost entirely plausible future for Britain and the rest of the world, and the concept of his novel refreshingly different.

The plot however felt like it was only the supporting act - there to give a way to show off the imagined future rather than being of any particular interest in itself. Gavin is a surprisingly bland character (although there are hints this might be by design) and doesn't generate much sympathy in the reader.

I wasn't sure quite what to expect from a story of a positive future, but it works well and made for an interesting read. I look forward to finding out what happens in the sequel and whether we can learn a little more about what's going on and whether there is something more to the plot.

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