Science Fiction

The Evidence

The Evidence

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  • Create Date：2021-09-04 06:51:03
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Christopher Priest
  • ISBN：1473231388
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Summary

Todd Fremde is an author， a writer of police procedurals and criminal mysteries。 Invited to the remote island of Dearth， far across the Dream Archipelago， to talk at a conference， he finds himself caught up in a series of mysteries。 How can Dearth claim to be completely crime-free， yet still have an armed police force？ Why are they so keen for him to appear， but so dismissive when he arrives？ Is his sense of time confused， or is something confusing happening to time itself？
And how does this all connect with a murder committed on his home island， ten years before， and seemingly forgotten？

Fremde's investigation and research will lead him to some dangerous conclusions。。。



Christopher Priest is a genre-leading author of SFF fiction。 His novel， THE PRESTIGE， won a number of awards and was adapted into a critically acclaimed， Oscar-nominated film directed by Christopher Nolan （TENET， INCEPTION） starring Hugh Jackman （THE GREATEST SHOWMAN， X-MEN）， Christian Bale （THE BIG SHORT， BATMAN BEGINS）， Michael Caine （THE ITALIAN JOB） and Scarlett Johansson （MARRIAGE STORY， THE AVENGERS）。

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Reviews

Nicholas Whyte ，

https://nwhyte。livejournal。com/3687296。htmlChristopher Priest's latest book returns us to the Dream Archipelago， with the story of Todd Fremde （which is almost German for "strange death"）， a mystery writer who gets sucked into a real mystery in the course of giving a lecture at a far-off university， in a world which is very like ours， except that a phenomenon called "mutability" blurs reality often and confusingly。 Twins and magic pop up again， as they have done in a lot of Priest's other work （ https://nwhyte。livejournal。com/3687296。htmlChristopher Priest's latest book returns us to the Dream Archipelago， with the story of Todd Fremde （which is almost German for "strange death"）， a mystery writer who gets sucked into a real mystery in the course of giving a lecture at a far-off university， in a world which is very like ours， except that a phenomenon called "mutability" blurs reality often and confusingly。 Twins and magic pop up again， as they have done in a lot of Priest's other work （notably The Prestige）。 I see some reviewers complaining that the situation， and the mystery， are not adequately explained at the end， but I felt very much that the journey is its own reward （we are practically told as much in the text）。 Recommended， though I think I would not tell anyone to start reading Priest with The Evidence。 。。。more

Toby ，

I love Priest and all his works set in the Dream Archipelago。 This one is compulsively readable as usual and fascinating until the end， when it really does fizzle out with a metafictional whimper。 A real shame。 Still， 4 stars for the first 90% or so。

Ian ，

As always， Christopher Priest drew me into this novel with his prose and the somewhat disorientating worlds of the Dream Archipelago。 And by the end I was not exactly sure what had happened and why， but there was a story and there were characters and it all seemed to hang together as it should。 It seems in part a book about crime writing and also crime， and very much about people。 I enjoy visiting the Dream Archipelago， and was not at all disappointed。

Steve Gillway ，

I am a big fan of "looping" and here the writer gives an immaculate rendition of how to do it convincingly。 Bascically， he explains the workings of a crime/ thriller novel by writing a crime/thriller。 Priest is not content with achieving that， he also manages to incorporate a measure of unease and eerieness into the story。 Great to listen to The Little Unsaid while reading。 I am a big fan of "looping" and here the writer gives an immaculate rendition of how to do it convincingly。 Bascically， he explains the workings of a crime/ thriller novel by writing a crime/thriller。 Priest is not content with achieving that， he also manages to incorporate a measure of unease and eerieness into the story。 Great to listen to The Little Unsaid while reading。 。。。more

Tyler ，

The Evidence is about Todd Fremde， a crime fiction writer who is invited to speak at the southerly island of Dearth。 He meets an unusual woman who drives him home， and on the way provides details about a past murder - than results in Todd investigating much deeper。I'm in two minds about this novel - I loved the first thirds or so - the trip to bitterly cold Dearth， the strange customs of the inhabitants， and especially the gravity nodes across the island with peculiar effects on gravity， time， a The Evidence is about Todd Fremde， a crime fiction writer who is invited to speak at the southerly island of Dearth。 He meets an unusual woman who drives him home， and on the way provides details about a past murder - than results in Todd investigating much deeper。I'm in two minds about this novel - I loved the first thirds or so - the trip to bitterly cold Dearth， the strange customs of the inhabitants， and especially the gravity nodes across the island with peculiar effects on gravity， time， and electricity - expressed as "mutability"。But for much of the remainder of the story there was quite a bit of standard fair crime investigation （which I'm not a huge fan of）， and I also found there were many instances of the author veering into explanations of why and how crime novels should or shouldn't work - I really wasn't that interested。At least his prose was in his usual easy to read style， and the ending was built up well （though I thought two character's abrupt turn was a bit implausible）。 I was really hoping for more on Dearth， mutability and it's effects on people， but thought too much of it felt like general （crime） fiction。 。。。more

Des Lewis ，

A fascinating， increasingly entrammelling chapter， when back home， with all manner of clues as to frustrations and dislocations and putting out of mind of the Carnival Museum Murder， a crime now with a spur to things of its possible financial implication， and realisations that I am a bit of a reviewing fraud and have always been aware of the correct spellings of certain names， and I somehow recognised Fremde’s tapping into ‘mutability’ itself to write his latest crime fiction with developing cha A fascinating， increasingly entrammelling chapter， when back home， with all manner of clues as to frustrations and dislocations and putting out of mind of the Carnival Museum Murder， a crime now with a spur to things of its possible financial implication， and realisations that I am a bit of a reviewing fraud and have always been aware of the correct spellings of certain names， and I somehow recognised Fremde’s tapping into ‘mutability’ itself to write his latest crime fiction with developing characters and the eventual culprit， and later there is possible quarantine or viral infection on his computer stemming from a key from the Dearth hotel that it still knew he possessed。 The hotel at which he had stayed， I now recall…。and how this book is infecting my own computer by transposing my thoughts to it about the book， infecting my computer if not my brain， say， with the dawning enormity of the Archipelago as a group of endless-seeming islands， the divorcement of authors from some pragmatic verities …。 and how I once worked in high finance， as this author claims he didn’t。 You are where you are and nowhere else。The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long to post here。Above is one of its observations。 。。。more

Cheryl ，

I love it！The Evidence focuses once again on one or two islands of the Dream Archipelago。 Dream Archipelago is a series of islands created by Christopher Priest and it has appeared in his novels The Affirmation， The Gradual as well as having it further elaborated in The Dream Archipelago and The Islanders。 It is definitely my favourite make belief place because everything strange can happen in these islands。I love how The Evidence is a mystery novel with references to the strange islands geograp I love it！The Evidence focuses once again on one or two islands of the Dream Archipelago。 Dream Archipelago is a series of islands created by Christopher Priest and it has appeared in his novels The Affirmation， The Gradual as well as having it further elaborated in The Dream Archipelago and The Islanders。 It is definitely my favourite make belief place because everything strange can happen in these islands。I love how The Evidence is a mystery novel with references to the strange islands geography and the ever enigmatic brief reference to magic。 The pace was good and I finished this in 2 days。 I hope there is more stories from Christopher Priest focusing on the Dream Archipelago！ 。。。more

Borja ，

Ojalá la mitad de los libros del mundo estuvieran escritos con la prosa de Priest。

Chris Gilmore ，

This is Priest's latest novel， recently released， and set in The Dream Archipelago - a setting I've come to love。 This is a sci-fi mystery thriller with a few twists - one being that it takes place in a part of the world where 'mutability' is a factor and the circumstances on the ground can change as things revert back to previous time streams， or jump to future ones。 This has implications on crime solving， particularly from the perspective of evidence collection and what's admissible in court。 This is Priest's latest novel， recently released， and set in The Dream Archipelago - a setting I've come to love。 This is a sci-fi mystery thriller with a few twists - one being that it takes place in a part of the world where 'mutability' is a factor and the circumstances on the ground can change as things revert back to previous time streams， or jump to future ones。 This has implications on crime solving， particularly from the perspective of evidence collection and what's admissible in court。 It also means that travellers to certain places need to purchase 'mutability insurance'。 And what about the stock market？ It's all touched on in this novel。 This 'mutability factor' ended up being more of an interesting background element than pivotal to the mystery， which I think was probably just as well。 Amusing for me， the second twist is that the protagonist is himself a mystery novel writer who likes to explain his trade to the reader。 He frequently tells the reader that there are a number of trusts and rules that a good mystery writer would never break， though it is obvious that Christopher Priest has broken all of them in the writing of his tale！Overall， and enjoyable tale with some subtly suspenseful moments - particularly the car ride with the cop and the visit to the amusement park。 And why on earth would the main character insert that hotel key card into his PC and hit 'yes' at the prompt？ And also some quite amusing bits - I quite liked the sidekick and police officer's car。The ending is not as climactic as it could be， but this quiet， bemused， weird story is entirely in keeping with the kind of things that happen in the Dream Archipelago， so I'm satisfied。 。。。more

Alteredego ，

So what is The Evidence？ Sci-fi novel？ Detective thriller？ Pastiche of a murder mystery？ Treatise on the craft of thriller writing？ Exploration of the fate of refugees and their contribution to society？ Meta-level novel in which the world changes as the novelist writes？ Allegory of our powerlessness in the face of advanced technology and financial power？ It seems to me to be trying to be all of these things， but in the end the output is considerably less satisfying than the aggregate of the inp So what is The Evidence？ Sci-fi novel？ Detective thriller？ Pastiche of a murder mystery？ Treatise on the craft of thriller writing？ Exploration of the fate of refugees and their contribution to society？ Meta-level novel in which the world changes as the novelist writes？ Allegory of our powerlessness in the face of advanced technology and financial power？ It seems to me to be trying to be all of these things， but in the end the output is considerably less satisfying than the aggregate of the inputs。Question 2， is the end of a book made less rubbish by the author stating in advance that it is going to be rubbish？ Answer - probably not。When I started the book I was unaware that I had already come across two of Christopher Priest’s earlier works。 A few years ago I read his early novel Inverted World， which I thought was extremely poor， hence my forgetting the name of the author。 I have also seen Christopher Nolan’s film of the The Prestige。 He repeats themes from both here， stage magic and deceptions built around identical twins recall the latter。 From the former， there is a temporal anomaly， called mutability， which seemingly alters space and time， but which at the end is unexplained， inconsistent and unsatisfying。 The words literary science fiction used in the blurb for this book tend to describe two distinct genres。 One would encompass John Wyndham， George Orwell， Margaret Atwood， Jeanette Winterson， Ursula K Le Guin。 The other can best be described as pretentiously written poor science fiction。 To my mind， the best science fiction can be as fantastical as it likes as long as it does two things， the characters have to behave believably， and the universe has to be internally consistent。 The epitome of this is probably Iain M Banks。 Here， on the other hand， to give just one example， mutability can change space and time in one place， but be totally unknown on another island a short flight away。 Of course mutability could just be a metaphor for the world being a confusing and unexplained place， if so， it’s a pretty unsubtle one。 There again， it could also be an element of the meta-text， representing the unseen author re-writing peoples lives。 If so， it looks like Priest basically saying “Are you clever enough to work out what I’m saying？”。 Sadly my preference is for my fiction not to be some sort of cheap IQ test。There are two other failures as a science fiction novel。 Firstly， the half hearted attempt at introducing an element of hard sci-fi。 The changes to space and time are explained by the existence of gravitational anomalies。 Er， that’s it。 It’s almost as if the author has read in a Sunday supplement article that there is a link between gravity and spacetime， and decided to leave things at that。 Secondly， this is a novel of world building， shown by very different geography and the odd unexplained “gravitational anomaly”。 But that is it。 Everything else is identical to 21st century earth。Why bother world building when you’re not actually going to do anything with it？A massively unflattering comparison to this book would be Mieville’s The City and the City。 Certainly early on， this seems to be aping the superior work， with its faintly Warsaw Pact East European feel and skewed reality。 That book however is internally consistent， doesn’t try to be hard SF and world builds for a reason rather than as an intellectual exercise。There is some fun to be had here with the detective thriller coupled with the murder mystery pastiche， as a convoluted plot involving corrupt police， sibling rivalries and hidden secrets slowly reveals itself。 That the final denouement is based around one of the oldest country house murder mystery devices is an act of commendable chutzpah。However， to return to the negative side， I said that I didn’t， at first， realise that I’d come across Priest before。 It was only after I’d read 3 or 4 chapters that the dull mechanical style of writing started to trigger a feeling of familiarity， leading me to look up， with a sinking feeling， Inverted World。 。。。more

Konstantinos Georgokitsos ，

I haven't visited the strangeness of the dream archipelago in literally decades。 Observations and comments on reality， perception and truth （the narrator is a crime fiction author） keeps your brain busy。 But the true joy of the book is Priest's prose， which I had mostly forgotten and was anew impressed by。 Wonderful page turner。 I haven't visited the strangeness of the dream archipelago in literally decades。 Observations and comments on reality， perception and truth （the narrator is a crime fiction author） keeps your brain busy。 But the true joy of the book is Priest's prose， which I had mostly forgotten and was anew impressed by。 Wonderful page turner。 。。。more

Peter Garrett ，

Ever since being disappointed by A Dream of Wessex， I’m not a big fan of Christopher Priest。 Some aspects of the reviews of this book （vaguely Nordic names， the Arctic climate and mountainous topography of the initial setting， the speculative crime mystery format）， however， sounded interesting enough to give it a go。Despite Priest’s rather dry authorial style， in the early chapters the evocation of the setting of the island of Dearth， its contrast with the balmy environment of the narrator’s hom Ever since being disappointed by A Dream of Wessex， I’m not a big fan of Christopher Priest。 Some aspects of the reviews of this book （vaguely Nordic names， the Arctic climate and mountainous topography of the initial setting， the speculative crime mystery format）， however， sounded interesting enough to give it a go。Despite Priest’s rather dry authorial style， in the early chapters the evocation of the setting of the island of Dearth， its contrast with the balmy environment of the narrator’s home island， introduction of an enigmatic character， some well-realised action and the promise of a satisfying plot do manage to engage the reader’s interest。 It’s a disappointment that this isn’t sustained。Priest’s unnecessary authorial intrusions soon become wearing。 As early as the second paragraph the narrator tells us that he is “disconsolate”， even though this is already obvious from the action。 Early on， frequent info dumps can be seen as consistent with the narrative style and the narrator’s rather didactic nature， but these become more and more common， and lengthy to the point of tedium。 The writing style is sometimes irritating: long lists are very often completed by “and so on” （and less frequently “and the like” or “etc。”）。 This could perhaps be viewed as a deliberate illustration of the protagonist’s dismissive attitude to his own obsessiveness， except that the quirk continues when the narrative voice switches to a different character。The use of different languages is odd。 Many of the names of characters have a Nordic or Turkish feel， but this doesn’t seem to tie in with any cultural alignments。 The names of four of the five islands in the narrator’s home archipelago are derived from Arabic （the exception is “Sekonda”）， but no special reason for this can be discerned。 Every time one of these islands is mentioned it must be followed， increasingly irritatingly， by a suffix such as “the second” or “the fourth”; on the single occasion this doesn’t happen， the reader’s attention is explicitly drawn to the breach of etiquette。The protagonist – peevish， judgemental and intensely self-centred – fails to elicit the reader’s sympathy。 He seems to recognise that his actions， through some kind of arcane mechanism associated with the bizarre phenomenon of “mutability”， may be the reason for mass unemployment， bankruptcy and civil unrest， but he doesn’t even consider taking any responsibility for this。 By half way through the book， his dry info dumps are taking up more space than the action。 The lengthiest of these take the form of an unenlightening commentary about the structure of crime novels。 While it’s more than probable that this is intended to subvert the novel’s own crime thriller format， the similarity in style to other lengthy asides about the war between northern hemisphere nations or the fictional world’s fiscal structures renders this interpretation unclear。It’s also possible that the notion of mutability， a tendency to vaguely defined anomalies of causality， is intended to indicate that the world of experience is not amenable to logic。 This interpretation， though， would be at odds with the novel’s otherwise rather encyclopaedic worldbuilding。Ultimately the anticlimactic ending is pre-empted by yet another authorial intrusion。 Does this metafictional device help the reader to appreciate that the very concept of an end is itself a fiction？ And has the journey to this revelation （or lack of revelation） been enjoyable？The answer to both of these questions is no。 。。。more

Dan Trefethen ，

Christopher Priest's novels are slippery。 He plays with perception。 The books can be very metafictional。 For instance， this book is sort of a murder mystery thriller that is narrated by a writer of murder mystery thrillers。 While the events are occurring， he tells you how thrillers are constructed， and how real life differs from thrillers – or at least they should， until the 'reality' of the book starts to conform to the thriller formula。The book is set in Priest's Dream Archipelago， where reali Christopher Priest's novels are slippery。 He plays with perception。 The books can be very metafictional。 For instance， this book is sort of a murder mystery thriller that is narrated by a writer of murder mystery thrillers。 While the events are occurring， he tells you how thrillers are constructed， and how real life differs from thrillers – or at least they should， until the 'reality' of the book starts to conform to the thriller formula。The book is set in Priest's Dream Archipelago， where reality is a slippery concept anyhow。 There are gravitational anomalies， and 'mutability' effects that warp reality so that what happened before may not be what really happened， or what is recalled。 This all calls into question what is happening in the book and what the narrator's understanding of it is。Priest couches his narrative in a dense thicket of quotidian details， with the narrator providing excruciatingly precise information of his daily activity and what is happening。 I believe this is Priest's attempt to establish a normalcy that he can then subvert with the Dream Archipelago's tendency to warp reality。When done properly， this effect provides the reader with an intriguing sensation of cognitive dissonance （as in his previous novels “The Prestige” and “The Separation”）。 Although there was some of that here， it was not as effective。 However， I did enjoy the idea that high finance is simply a chimera; a consensual hallucination that can blow away in an instant。 Here's his take-away on that:“The onset of mutability was a kind of belief system similar to high finance。 There were practical effects and consequences （the effects were real） but afterwards only the results counted， so no one believe that the process had really happened （the events became abstract）。。。So that money was both real （actual spending） and abstract （a belief system）。”Those of us who have puzzled over the financial implosion of 2008-09 and the disturbing tendency to disagree about basic facts （There is no virus！ It's a hoax！） can empathize with Priest's narrator。 。。。more

Aelfwine ，

An intriguing setting - something about the mix of modern technology with feudal politics reminded me of Jasper Fforde， only without the humour。 Intriguing concepts too， especially around the idea of 'mutability' （and finance！）But bogged down by incredibly dull prose， endless boring digressions into minutiae of the writing life， and thin-as-cardboard characters。 The ending is a huge anticlimax - and Priest signpointing it didn't make it any less painful to read。 Big disappointment for me。 An intriguing setting - something about the mix of modern technology with feudal politics reminded me of Jasper Fforde， only without the humour。 Intriguing concepts too， especially around the idea of 'mutability' （and finance！）But bogged down by incredibly dull prose， endless boring digressions into minutiae of the writing life， and thin-as-cardboard characters。 The ending is a huge anticlimax - and Priest signpointing it didn't make it any less painful to read。 Big disappointment for me。 。。。more

Tinanz ，

On the last page of this novel， Priest writes “A perfect conclusion， one anticlimax leading into another。 It would never make a book”。 And yet here it is。The author uses a protagonist writer of crime fiction to invert and critique the genre itself。 I found his insights thought-provoking and enjoyed spending time in this very believable world which both mirrors and distorts our own。 In a way， it’s a risky book that deliberately and explicitly yanks the rug from under the readers expectations of h On the last page of this novel， Priest writes “A perfect conclusion， one anticlimax leading into another。 It would never make a book”。 And yet here it is。The author uses a protagonist writer of crime fiction to invert and critique the genre itself。 I found his insights thought-provoking and enjoyed spending time in this very believable world which both mirrors and distorts our own。 In a way， it’s a risky book that deliberately and explicitly yanks the rug from under the readers expectations of how fiction should ‘behave’。 。。。more

Jenny ，

Entertaining to listen to， so many interesting ideas， great descriptions， but unsatisfying ending

Leonard ，

Not the self-consuming classic-Priest text I was hoping for， given the subject and the setting。 The most charitable metafictional reading I can muster is that， at heart， The Evidence both is and is about a compulsively readable yet flimsy story made from next to nothing—from a Dearth of evidence， if you will。A must-read， however， if you’re busy murder-boarding the geography， politics， and space-time anomalies of the Dream Archipelago。 Whether by accident or misdirective design， the portions of t Not the self-consuming classic-Priest text I was hoping for， given the subject and the setting。 The most charitable metafictional reading I can muster is that， at heart， The Evidence both is and is about a compulsively readable yet flimsy story made from next to nothing—from a Dearth of evidence， if you will。A must-read， however， if you’re busy murder-boarding the geography， politics， and space-time anomalies of the Dream Archipelago。 Whether by accident or misdirective design， the portions of the book concerning those are by far its most substantial。 。。。more

Genevieve Paquette ，

I hated this， but I think it's probably a good book？ I 100% was not the right reader for this one。 I hated this， but I think it's probably a good book？ I 100% was not the right reader for this one。 。。。more

Liviu ，

A return to The Dream Archipelago in a book that is very hard to put down; The Evidence contains many nuggets （social and political structure of the Archipelago， many interesting musings on the nature of the writer's craft， subtle sf with the notion of "mutability" and its implications）， has quite a lot of ironic/darkly funny passages very relevant to our world。 However， I think that its main strengths are the flow and the prose as one is really compelled to turn the pages not only to find out w A return to The Dream Archipelago in a book that is very hard to put down; The Evidence contains many nuggets （social and political structure of the Archipelago， many interesting musings on the nature of the writer's craft， subtle sf with the notion of "mutability" and its implications）， has quite a lot of ironic/darkly funny passages very relevant to our world。 However， I think that its main strengths are the flow and the prose as one is really compelled to turn the pages not only to find out what comes next （as the novel zigs and zags） but also for the pure enjoyment of the prose of a master of the craft。 As the narrator - a "crime" fiction writer who has recently been more and more interested in the human aspects of the genre rather than a clever plotline - keeps emphasizing， it is the way a novel develops rather than its final destination per se， that is important and The Evidence indeed follows that dictum。Overall an excellent novel and one of my top 10 books of the year 。。。more

David Harris ，

For me， a new novel by Christopher Priest is always an Event and this one had me awake till after midnight: I couldn't stop till I'd finished it。The Evidence takes us back to the Dream Archipelago， in a story that plays with - and critiques - the rules of detective fiction， as well as taking in feudalism， the world financial system and the literary scene。Todd Fremde is a successful crime writer， living a comfortable life on the island of Salay Raba， the fourth: a warm and pleasant place， if over For me， a new novel by Christopher Priest is always an Event and this one had me awake till after midnight: I couldn't stop till I'd finished it。The Evidence takes us back to the Dream Archipelago， in a story that plays with - and critiques - the rules of detective fiction， as well as taking in feudalism， the world financial system and the literary scene。Todd Fremde is a successful crime writer， living a comfortable life on the island of Salay Raba， the fourth: a warm and pleasant place， if overrun in parts by financiers and bankers。 Certainly a world away from the bitterly cold and industrialised nation of Dearth， where he's gone to give a talk on "The Role of the Modern Crime Novel in a Crime Free Society"。 This gives Priest a wonderful lunch for the story as we follow the slightly nervous and peevish Fremde on his journey - a two day sleeper ride across Dearth， with a flight beforehand。 I'm not a natural traveller and I slightly sympathised with Fremde's niggling concerns - about missing connections， being late， having to travel as advised with extra bulky， thermal clothing， missing his usual routines - while also thinking: two days closeted in a sleeper cabin - what an opportunity to catch up on the reading！ At the same time， there are some oddities slipped into the story， and if you read Priest's last Dream Archipelago story， The Gradual， you may feel that the central figure， an artist despatched on a lengthy cultural jaunt， may be something of an innocent abroad， likely to run into all sorts of trouble。As he does， and there is an element of SF to it， with the mysterious "mutability" which nobody can quite explain but which notices in Fremde's hotel room warn him about - but Priest's writing here almost makes it just one of things that you have to cope with in a foreign business trip。 A strange foreign law， perhaps， a way of living， in a distant city， that you don't quite grasp， like the peculiarities of the Metro pricing。 Certainly not something to worry about much。 Especially not when a senior member of the local police （in a crime free society？） takes an interest in you， and insists on telling you about a strange case she was once involved with。To begin with， Fremde hates that attention。 He's already discussed the philosophy of the crime novel - the aspects which are deliberately unrealistic， the things one avoids as passé （the locked room， twins， the "perfect crime"）， features of the market which drive the writing one way or another。 Now （and here Priest writes with perceptible feeling） we get that horror of horrors for a writer， the fan who wants to suggest an Idea which surely only needs to written up to make a novel。 As well as the palpable sense of unease from Fremde's travails in a foreign land， the book now picks up a dash of humour as Fremde has to try and control his annoyance。 Eventually， though， he does become interested in the story he's being told - not so much as material， more from the nature of what he hears， and its connection to his homeland。 Can it be a coincidence that he was invited to Dearth in the first place？What follows is best not described in detail - that would spoil the enjoyment of the plot， which contains many little moments of recognition。 I will only say that Fremde's life， and the sort of fiction he writes， seem to be crossing over - at many levels - as a result of his visit to Dearth。 The concept of mutability becomes important - Fremde relates it to his writing （what's more mutable than fiction？） but it also proves to have real-world effects， serious ones for Todd and for his island。In the background， this is the same Dream Archipelago we've become familiar with， the endless war between the two Northern states gridding on and escapees from their conscript crimes。 In keeping with the detective theme， we also meet a grizzled ex-policeman with secrets （he， also， keeps trying to foist Ideas on Fremde） and another cop who never travels without an assault rifle。 There are written confessions， obfuscated records and hints of a cover-up。 It's an immensely enjoyable book where - in keeping with Fremde's theory of crime writing - the point is less to discover what happened， even where that seems to depend on the most outrageous of crime writing conventions， still less to establish guilt， but to tease out the relationships and personalities involved， to become acquainted with participants and come to know them。Which is all very well， but there are people it's better not to be acquainted with。。。I simply loved this book。 It will appeal to the crime enthusiast， the SF reader， followers of Christopher Priest's fiction （onvioulsy） and those who enjoy an intelligent novel where all isn't as it seems。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Evidence

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Evidence&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Evidence&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0