HIGH-RISE (JG Ballard) - June 14/10

Quite literally one of the worst books I've ever read, High-Rise is an utterly interminable and pervasively pointless novel that is completely devoid of positive attributes. Ballard's complete and total (and shocking) lack of talent is reflected in the absence of interesting or even developed characters, and the increasingly outlandish storyline is nothing short of absurd. There's absolutely nothing here to hold the reader's interest. Ballard is an atrocious writer who seems to lack even a rudimentary understanding of what it takes to craft a marginally interesting story. My god. You could take a Chinese novel and translate it directly into English and it would still be more coherent and compelling than this piece of shit. Ballard, there's a special place in hell for you for writing something this oppressive and worthless. no stars out of ****