The premise of this book is so interesting. An area in Africa suddenly appeared thirty years ago that challenges the laws of physics, and no one knows how or why. And surely people have set up a profitable business around it. There are people who want to go to Sungoback, and one and all have their own reasons for going.
The book starts slowly. The characters are introduced and they spend some time in Xanadu, a luxury resort, before their journey. The journey itself seems very brief compared to the preparations. The travelers find out the secret of Sungoback in the end. The ending was very rushed. It felt like a rug had been pulled under my feet.
The author died before the publication of this book. That might explain why this book did not reach it's full potential.
Thank you LibraryThing and Five Rivers Publishing for a copy of this book. ( )

A bit of an oddity. It starts off as a cyberpunkish story in the near future. The world has changed; climate change is one part, but the major change is an anomaly in Africa. A zone of antitechnology, it attracts people; but as entering is mostly a death sentence, seeking to enter is analogous to committing suicide and is strictly forbidden by most governments.

However, people do enter, and are catered for by various ‘resorts’ eking out a quasi-legal status around the edges of the zone. They do their level best to discourage entrants to the zone. The story follows one such group of entrants, all with reasons to enter.

The story is rather like the Christie story, Ten Little xxx (whatever the current PC title is). As attrition kicks in, and their possessions are gradually winnowed away by the changes in antitechnology level, we see how people cope.

In the end though, I felt the tension about who lives, dies or falls by the wayside wasn’t ratcheted high enough and the story disappoints in that respect. Otherwise, it’s a perfectly reasonable SF story.

OK, but could do with higher tension.

A great little read, with Duncan's trademark original spin on a known theme, though it is sorely in need of going over by a copy editor... I suspect Duncan's sad passing before this was published contributed to the publishers putting it out there without checking for errors (of which there are a few... changes in spelling of names, wrong character names used at times, missing words, etc.).

I would also have preferred a less rushed ending, though I did very much enjoy where this story ended up. ( )

Who among us would willingly enter a forbidden zone from which only a small percentage of people return? Driven by anger and a need for vengeance, the main character of the Pillar of Darkness, Rita Wright, decides to overcome all obstacles to do just that.

While incurring a considerable expense for entry into an alien created area is no matter for Rita as she is unfathomably rich, finding trusted allies to help her is more difficult. She must convince a human trafficker to facilitate her entry. He is reticent as he fears being ruined by a probable liability action from her family if she doesn’t return.

Moving forward, Rita learns more about herself and, at one point, even wonders if the search for vengeance is enough to justify what she continues to go through. After all, with her wealth, she could have hired someone to take on the physical hardships that she’s enduring on her quest. Moving ahead with a team of like-minded but desperate people, she enters the forbidden zone.

The story is about discovery and overcoming obstacles. It’s also about giving up everything of worth in order to discover and experience the challenge of pioneering a new world. This book captivated me with the interaction between the principal characters and with its ever-present mystery.

The book’s pace was moderate and I liked the interplay between the characters. Their discourse helped to both develop the characters and to further the story.

This book is a quick read that will satisfy anyone with a love of sci-fi and mystery. ( )

I have enjoyed every book I've read by Dave Duncan, and this is no exception. A physics-defying, moving, geographical area called Sungoback appeared in Africa 30 years ago. Modern technology drops off as one travels into it, losing levels of technology in a zone system, so that by the time one is deep into it, even modern textiles fall apart.

People enter this region for different reasons, usually on an all or nothing basis. Why would you go there? The characters in an expedition each have different reasons. The main character, Rita, goes there to find a family member. Her full agenda is revealed as you progress through the book. Her companions seek God, a peaceful death, escape from the law, a new beginning, revenge, and a Nobel Prize in physics. The first half of the book takes place at a resort on the edge of of Sungoback and introduces the characters and the properties - as much as they are known - of Sungoback. The second half takes place within Sungoback, and this is where it becomes difficult to stop reading.

The diverse characters and their reactions to this unknown region make this an excellent book for a group discussion. Even readers who do not usually read science fiction will likely find much food for thought in this novel.

However, I did feel the absence of Dave Duncan himself in this final version of the book. I was so sad to hear of his death last year but thrilled to see this book of his published posthumously. However, as other reviewers have mentioned, I felt his absence in the final process of preparing the manuscript for the public. There are editing errors in naming the characters, which makes the book confusing at times. Once the reader realizes this, it is easy enough to determine which character has been misnamed, but this could have easily been fixed by an editor. I feel certain that Duncan himself would have made sure this had not happened. Also, I felt at times that the characters could have been fleshed out more, particularly their ideas about Sungoback. The biggest gap I felt was in the character of Mrs. Davenport, who enters Sungoback for religious reasons. Spoiler: We later find out that she is also a physicist, or at least a former physics teacher who knows more than most of the other characters about the possible scientific explanations for the laws of physics as they exist in Sungoback. However, the theme of science vs. religion - or science with religion - within this character is presented and then dropped. I wanted to know more.

I enjoyed reading this book but was greatly disappointed in the ending - both its abruptness and its lack of detail. A new theory is introduced at the very end - with no explanation and nothing to prepare us for it. It is not a bad ending, it just feels unfinished in terms of the transition into it, and the final wrap up of the book. This is where I felt the absence of Duncan in the final editing and possibly writing process. I do not know how much of the book he had completed before his death. I am thrilled to get to read another book by him, but I wish he had been here to finish this book. (I wish he were here to write more books!)

I highly recommend this book for Dave Duncan fans, in spite of the few flaws in the book. I hope that another edition will be made to correct the names, if not to improve upon the ending. ( )