Only Forward - by Michael Marshall Smith (Paperback)

About the Book

When Stark fixes a problem, a lot of other things get broken. Now he's assigned to finding a missing VIP. But there's something about this job that makes Stark wary. It can't be just an ordinary kidnapping. It seems too easy. And unfortunately, he's right. The author's other books, "One of Us" and "Spares", are headed for the big screen.

Book Synopsis

Michael Marshall Smith has written a tale that from page one hurtles us only forward in this unsettling, suspenseful, and wildly imaginative novel

Call him Stark. If you have to. If you're lucky, you won't call him at all. Because if you do, it means you've got trouble. Big trouble. And the problem is that before Stark is done fixing something, a whole lot of other things usually get broken. Like laws and lives--and anyone who gets in the way.

It's that attitude that's earned him his latest assignment: finding a missing VIP named Fell Alkland. The authorities believe Alkland has been kidnapped. Stark doesn't. He hasn't stayed alive this long without learning the basics of survival in a world hurtling straight to hell: Things are always more complicated than they seem. And when a job seems too easy, that's when something really ugly is about to happen.

For Fell Alkland is about to become Stark's worst nightmare, a nightmare where anything can happen at any time--where friends can become enemies in a heartbeat and your most secret fear a soul-screaming reality. And the worst of it is that for this nightmare you don't even have to be asleep.

"Shocking, moving, and surreal . . . It offers us a journey from which we return both shaken and exhilarated. . . . Extraordinary."--Clive Barker

From the Back Cover

Only a handful of authors write with such startling originality that the uniqueness of their vision has become synonymous with their name. In Spares and One of Us, Michael Marshall Smith has earned that distinction. In this unsettling, suspenseful, and wildly imaginative novel he's written a tale that from page one hurtles us....

Call him Stark. If you have to. If you're lucky, you won't call him at all. Because if you do, it means you've got trouble. Big trouble. And the problem is that before Stark is done fixing something, a whole lot of other things usually get broken. Like laws and lives -- and anyone who gets in the way. It's that attitude that's earned him his latest assignment: finding a missing VIP named Fell Alkland. The authorities believe Alkland has been kidnapped. Stark doesn't. He hasn't stayed alive this long without learning the basics of survival in a world hurtling straight to hell: Things are always more complicated than they seem. And when a job seems too easy, that's when something really ugly is about to happen.

For Fell Alkland is about to become Stark's worst nightmare, a 07nightmare where anything can happen at any time -- where friends can become enemies in a heartbeat and your most secret fear a soul-screaming reality. And the worst of it is that for this nightmare you don't even have to be asleep.

Review Quotes

"Shocking, moving, and surreal . . . It offers us a journey from which we return both shaken and exhilarated. . . . Extraordinary."--Clive Barker

About the Author

Michael Marshall Smith is a critically acclaimed and award-winning author who lives in London. One of Us has been optioned by Warner Bros. Spares, his American debut, is under option with DreamWorks SKG.