[blog, lit_crit] Deus Ex Machina

Another book added to the shelf below is a favorite book of mine called Deus Ex Machina, a lyrical soft sci-fi book about the end of the world by J.V. Brummels. It was written in 1989 and I've owned my copy since the early 1990's. It's one of those I can't help rereading every so often.

That I'm telling you that it's about the end of the world isn't a spoiler; it's mentioned in a intiguingly cryptic chronology at the front of the book. And the method of destruction isn't a secret either; it's depicted rather luridly in the cover art.

The real charm and romance of this book are the characters which, while somewhat simply drawn, seem real, and react authentically with thier environment in ways that get you to care. The backdrop of the Sun slowly exploding is captivating in its own way, as is the author's imagining of a post-modern near future where human civilization is doing its own slow imploding.

I recommend this book. I think it's one of the great overlooked bits of American literature