I’m currently coming to the end of Orbit Horror Mr Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett. I get to the train station early every weekday morning in order to get a parking spot, which is fine because the precious pocket of time this creates is for reading. Today I was so engrossed in Mr Shivers that I managed to miss my train, despite turning up 25 minutes early for it.
Orbit have set up an ace site for this title, where you can click on all of the ‘hobo’ symbols – placed throughout the book too on chapter headings – and unlock different parts of the Mr Shivers mystery. This appeals to the part of me that likes to think I could have been a detective. For example, I have ‘discovered’ that the symbol on the front cover of the paperback version means ‘Get out fast, hobos are not welcome in this area’. I like the thought of someone taking the time to put this in a visible spot despite the danger that requires any hobo to exit at speed.
Instead of chapter titles there are symbols, for example the chapter I’m reading at the moment has the symbol for: 'Hit the road! Quick!' If you’re interested (and you should be), have a look here. The hobo language is beautiful.
As a side note, ‘hobo’ feels like a terribly un-PC term to use, however as practically everyone in the America portrayed in Bennett’s title is homeless, the term hobo takes on a whole new meaning. Review coming soon.
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