Ack-Ack Macaque (Ack-Ack Macaque #1) by Gareth L Powell was recently named the joint recipient of the British Science Fiction Association’s best novel award for works published in 2013. High honours indeed, and given the competition it was up against one can only ask: was it deserved? All I can say for sure is that I certainly enjoyed it very much.
Ack-Ack Macaque came to my attention before its original release in 2013. I’d read Powell’s earlier work, both his Silversands novella and his full-length novel, The Recollection, and enjoyed both. The Recollection came across as a very easy-to-read space opera, spanning multiple star systems and big ideas. It reminded me very much of Eric Brown’s work, an author whom I admire greatly – and that’s no small praise. Powell didn’t pull it off completely successfully, but there was enough promise within its pages to hint at something greater.
And this leads us to Ack-Ack Macaque. I’ll be honest and say that when this was announced as Powell’s next novel I wasn’t overly thrilled. The synopsis suggested an alternate history/future novel that mashes itself with various other genres to deliver the story, and I really didn’t think it would be my cup of tea. Following the BSFA announcement I picked up the novel to browse, interested to find out a little more about it, but ended up a quarter of the way through before I realised – and the story had so much more to offer than I initially expected.
Rather than complicate matters by giving my rambling synopsis, let’s start with this one from the publisher:
In 1944, as waves of German ninjas parachute into Kent, Britain’s best hopes for victory lie with a Spitfire pilot codenamed ‘Ack-Ack Macaque.’ The trouble is, Ack-Ack Macaque is a cynical, one-eyed, cigar-chomping monkey, and he’s starting to doubt everything, including his own existence.
A century later, in a world where France and Great Britain merged in the late 1950s and nuclear-powered Zeppelins circle the globe, ex-journalist Victoria Valois finds herself drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse with the man who butchered her husband and stole her electronic soul. In Paris, after taking part in an illegal break-in at a research laboratory, the heir to the British throne goes on the run. And all the while, the doomsday clock ticks towards Armageddon…
Sounds a little crazy! In all honesty, it really doesn’t do the novel justice, and glosses over one of the larger focuses of the novel: artificial intelligence. Ack-Ack Macaque is, in fact, a popular online game set during the Second World War where players only get one life – after that they’re out. But the titular character is more than just an icon, it’s promoted as an AI that learns as it goes, offering much more than the usual challenge. When the heir to the British throne, Prince Merovech, gets involved with a break-in to Céleste Tech’s labs – his mother’s company, no less – he discovers that not only is Ack-Ack Macaque an AI, but an uplifted, gel-ware implanted, living and breathing monkey that is plugged into the game 24/7. Until, that is, they break him out.
While this is one thread of the novel, another is that of a killer who has been searching and killing various researchers, removing part of their gel-ware known as the soul-catcher, a device intended to imprint the wearers’ personality and therefore allowing final goodbyes to be said by their family after their death. It’s this plot that leads to lots of questions being raised about recorded personalities and the concept of immortality through such means. And, of course, as the story progresses it all starts to tie in with the other plot threads, making for some very interesting scenarios.
While it seems that there is a lot going on in Ack-Ack Macaque, it’s surprising how it all fits together so smoothly, and works so well. Powell has created a world that is believable, with the world-building taking place as part of the narrative so not give any needless info-dumps. There are the odd sections presented as news reports to give some backstory or other pieces of information, but it isn’t out of place. In fact, the whole structure of the novel works in its favour, not dragging anything out, yet also not dwelling needlessly on small and irrelevant details for extended periods.
As for the characters, well, Powell certainly has created an interesting bunch. Merovech, while the heir to the throne, is more down-to-earth than expected, and his forced lifestyle is used well, as is his relationship with Julie. Victoria is an interesting character and the situation she’s in – the sister of a murder victim whose backed-up soul now resides in her gel-ware – really does bring out many different aspects of her character. And, of course, we have Ack-Ack Macaque, the foul-mouthed, straight-talking, cigar smoking, gun-toting titular character. All I can do is quote Powell: ‘Everybody loves the monkey!’ He’s a great character and has a surprising amount of depth and back-story that is slowly revealed as the plot progresses.
All-in-all I have to say that I very much enjoyed Ack-Ack Macaque, much more than I thought I would. It’s ridiculously readable, thoroughly entertaining, and packed full of ideas that make great sci-fi. It’s also a refreshing change, and has all the promise of leading to a great series of novels.
Publisher: http://solarisbooks.com
Author: http://www.garethlpowell.com
January 2013, 384 pages
Paperback, ISBN: 9781781080597
Review copy received from the publisher
© 2014 Mark Chitty
