The Helmet of Horror

It's a plot not unlike many a science fiction movie; a bunch of people wake up one morning, each in an identical hotel room with a bed, a door, and a computer. They don't know how they got there. The door of each room leads to a labyrinth - each person seems to have a different labyrinth, though of course they might simply be at different starting points of the same one. The only thing on the computer screen is a chat room where they can interact with each other, though some unseen moderator keeps censoring any messages that might help them figure out who and where the others are. Each person has been given a nickname (an avatar) which they cannot change. And the only thread in the chat room was started by the member named Ariadne, asking about the labyrinth and Theseus and the Minotaur.

This is the fourth volume in Canongate's Myth series that I've read (after Armstrong, Winterson and Östergren) and of the fictional ones, it's by far the most interesting. Where the others seemed content to simply retell a story, Pelevin gets right down to business and tries to come to grips with what a myth IS, why it can matter, why it can continue to be relevant for thousands of years - in short, how we use it to understand the world and ourselves. You may know the basics of the Theseus myth; the hero enters the labyrinth (using a roll of thread given to him by the King's daughter, Ariadne, so he doesn't lose his way) and kills the monster. Simple enough, it would seem; all our intrepid Internet heroes need to do is figure out how the labyrinth(s) work(s), where the minotaur is, how to kill it, how to get out, and which one of them is Theseus.

But as Pelevin notes in the foreword, every myth takes on a different meaning depending on its context - and since every single one of the protagonists represent a different school of thought (the existentialist, the Christian, the rational scientist, etc etc etc) every attempt they make to make sense of their situation turns into a long discussion of just what the labyrinth, and the minotaur, and they themselves symbolize... and of course, since they can't see each other, they can't be sure that the others (and their viewpoints) even exist or are worthy of consideration. Yet their only way out seems to be co-operation.

When I hear the word ‘discourse’ I reach for my simulacrum.

As you might gather, it's not exactly a fast-paced thriller (though it is both thrilling and a quick read...) and if the book has one great flaw, it is that it tends to forget that it's supposed to be a novel (at least I think it's supposed to be a novel) and settles for an Eco-like lecturing rather than try to advance the plot (such as it is). Since the entire novel is presented in the form of a chat room thread, you have to be interested in stuff like how we construct reality (virtual and "real"), the nature of memories, free will, perception of time etc. If you're into that sort of thing, The Helmet of Horror is a fascinating if deceptively tricky novel, flipping subject and object back and forth, a myth writing itself, how we create future from the past. It's all in your mind; including your mind. So post it ends up pre. Or something. I might still be stuck in that labyrinth - hell, we might all be. But I think I want to read more by Pelevin before I find my way out.