Keeping It Real

Aloha,

While the Beamers frequently divide over the issue of sf versus fantasy, and "elf" can be used as a compliment and a put-down (even in the same sentence), toss in some bikes, leather outfits, and add rock music, and we all come together ecumenically. "Keeping It Real" by Justina Robson fits into an often slighted category, "science fantasy", that borrows from both of the better-known genres, and it fits quite comfortably, in the Beamers' opinion. Ms. Robson's book gives us two protagonists, one from classic sf (the cyborg agent) and the other from fantasy (the elf prince), and it tosses them together in a plot that liberally steals from other genres like spy/espionage thrillers and romance. Adroitly, she kept all the elements well mixed and contributing to the overall story, we found. The interplay of advanced cyborg senses with magic worked to make both seem more realistic to us, as well as making the delights of Alfheim more alive than if they were seen with mere human eyes. So, it took a while for the more critical observations to perk up through our general good feeling about the book. But, being Beamers, we managed to tug on a few loose threads.

We were most impressed by the character development that Ms Robson demonstrated, particularly with Lila Black, the newly built cyborg assigned to guard rock-star elf Zal, subject of magical death threats. Lila's relationships evolve very neatly over the course of the book, taking her from a very understandable physical and emotional dependence on her shadowy employers to a much more independent and well-integrated stance (literally - her human-cyborg joints hurt less after a healing ritual). Working through her trauma of being tortured, by working with and healing her torturer, she learns more about the nature of spy business and its "Don't take it personally" attitude, and she finds her own accommodation, coming to keep her own secrets, for her own reasons. Zal, too, reveals some of his secrets, and the mysterious process of elf competition, The Game, begins to be explored. Especially for a fairly short novel, Ms. Robson packs in quite a bit of information, unveiled with appropriate pacing rather than info-dumped into our laps. In fact, the prologue, giving some of the background about the history of the Quantum Bomb that opened up gateways between Earth and the fantasy realms, had us debating just how accurate its information is and whether the author was trying to inform or mislead us (albeit in minor ways), to make the changes of post-Bomb Earth (now called "Otopia") more immediate to the reader. Plus, the position of the book as the first of a series (currently up to 4 of a projected 7 volumes) put some strain on the resolution, with obvious clues and some not-so-obvious plot devices (like the fate of the Big Bad Elf Queen, Arië) left for us to decipher or to put aside till volume 2 or later. Some Beamers disliked the "bodice-ripping" scenes, particularly the explicitness of the sex in the final scene, but Juliet simply accounted it part of the romance genre conventions (2 steamy love scenes, minimum, per book) that Ms. Robson was borrowing. The cover illustration, featuring prominent heroine with brooding love interest standing behind, also paid homage to the rules of Romance writing, we thought.

Overall, we gave the book high marks, even with some minor complaints raised. We even discussed whether we would continue with the series, but Beamer love of novelty won out, though some of us would keep reading it on our own and the idea of selecting one of Ms. Robson's more sf-oriented books in future was generally accepted.

And, buoyed by our good feeling, we added 3 books to the Beamer schedule, taking us all the way through August. Next month, we join Robert Silverberg inside the mind of a failing telepath who is "Dying Inside". For June, we will run through the days of Harlan Ellison's week with his short-story collection "Shatterday". In July, we sample another series beginning with Diana Wynne Jones's first Chrestomanci book, "Charmed Life" (likely to be within a 2-book combined edition). By August, we start "Old Man's War", John Scalzi's philosophical military sf novel whose rejuvenated protagonist gains decades of life for years of combat duty.

- Eugene, losing years of life for decades of reading ...