Marcher by Chris Beckett (book review).

‘Marcher’ is the second published novel by Chris Beckett, with the cover proclaiming loudly that it is a winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award. According to Beckett’s own author’s acknowledgements at the end of the book, it is actually a fix-up of several previously published short stories. This is my first Beckett book, and I didn’t know until I read the acknowledgement. Therefore, I accolade the skill with which the author has combined them.

The book begins abruptly, asserting the existence of all possibilities, and swiftly transitions to the protagonist, Charles Bowen. Charles receives an invitation to a university friend’s 30th birthday party, although he is unfamiliar with many of the attendees. But he does meet an enigmatic and attractive lady whose name we only find out later when Charles starts up an exotically quizzical relationship with her. For the time being, the mysterious lady uses an oddly earnest light party conversation to find out and examine Charles’ profession, that being immigration officer.

Characters describe Charles as obsessed with boundaries and, less obviously, the possibilities of crossing them. His home has a singularly defining characteristic, which is the ubiquitous presence of mirrors. They hang everywhere in Charles’ home, and his collection is very impressive. At a few points in the book, he looks at himself either in the mirror or between two, seeing infinite possibilities imaged within and separated by the boundaries that are the surface of the mirror.

By day, Charles works out of an office in the Thurston Meadows Social Inclusion Zone in the city of Bristol. Charles has either lived in Bristol or has thoroughly researched the city, as his descriptions of it are evocative and economical. Beckett seems to easily evoke the feel of a UK city in the winter and the kind of bleakness they can present. The Social Inclusion Zone is basically a walled area for housing those needing benefit payments. Billed as a helping hand by the local government, in reality, they are viewed as dumping grounds for the undesirables in society, walled away from all the good folk with money. It is certain that this is the way the denizens of the Zone view it. Very few residents ever manage to escape. Note that in another career , author Beckett is a social worker. He uses his experiences to great effect in this writing.

The local office maintains a relationship with all of them. Despite limited success, efforts persist to assist individuals in improving their behaviour. We meet a number of Charles’ co-workers, some of whom become more important later in the narrative. We also get to know some of the residents of the Zone, including Tammy Pendant, which brings us to the central oddity of the story.

In the course of his usual duties, Charles has become aware that certain of the downtrodden residents have spontaneously vanished. Occasionally, they abruptly disappear from an interview room. Even stranger is that some folk are spontaneously appearing as if from nowhere. However, this only seems to be happening to folk in or associating with the Social Zones.

When questioned about this, some of the appearances talk about slip, the name given to strange little glowing balls of exotic matter. When the authorities confiscate the slip from the appeared individuals, they become agitated and frequently plead for their return. Charles is certain that the slip is linked to the appearances and disappearances, yet he struggles to accept the idea that if slip is left alone for a while, it can replicate on its own. No one seems to have actually observed this, but a lot of witnesses claim that ten balls of slip left in a drawer overnight might well be twelve the next day.

Meanwhile, we also follow a typical resident of the Zone named Carl. Like many, he is frustrated with life, his home, women, you name it. One night in the pub, after drinking four pints and a whisky, he meets Olaf. Tall, cadaverous, and downright dangerous-looking, Olaf does not fit as a Zone resident, which, in fact, he is not. When Carl challenges him, Olaf seems amused and introduces himself as a warrior of Dunner. Olaf decides Carl has a bit more to him than the average broken resident and invites him to become a warrior of Dunner himself. Soon, Carl is introduced to Erik, who clearly is vastly better educated and far more sophisticated than those around him and the undisputed leader of the Dunner folk.

Erik is the book’s antagonist, almost the only character who understands what’s happening and gave the band its name. The cult he is leading is recognisably similar to Norse religion but uses some of the older English terms for the similar religion in the isles prior to Christianity’s arrival. Woden for Odin— that kind of thing. This is very inspiring to his band of warrior followers, and the freedom, like Vikings, to plunder and rape as they see fit before using slip to move on is an attractive concept for Carl. All he has to do is prove himself first.

Beckett knows how to tell a realistic-feeling story. Some authors write neat tales that feel comfortable to read and wrap themselves up in a satisfying denouement. Becket is more concerned with the atmosphere of the story, which feels correct. This gives his work a sense of realism that is often absent in fantasy or science fiction. This book almost reads like contemporary fiction. Making a comparison with Margaret Atwood would no doubt be flattering to Beckett, but the approach is similar. SF— that doesn’t feel like it.

Becket also knows not to wrap up the ending in a perfect solution. Charles does get a character arc, leading him places he never thought he would go, both figuratively and literally. There is satisfaction in Charles’ tale, but the antagonists do not, in the traditional sense, lose. Beckett ends the book with the reader feeling that there should be more, as not everything is resolved. Nonetheless, the novel ends at the correct place. The ambiguity of the ending complements the realism of the rest of the novel. When in real life did the story conclude neatly?

So I am happy to recommend the book, but with a caveat. If you are looking for space opera or dragons, then look elsewhere. If you want a thoughtful novel with some unusual ideas presented in a believable way, then this might well be the award-winning book for you!

Dave Corby

February 2025

(pub: Newcon Press. 212 page small enlarged paperback. Price: £11.99 (UK), $17.99 (US). ISBN: 978-1-90069-74-1. Also available as a signed limited edition hardback: £21.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-907069-74-4)

check out website: www.newconpress.co.uk