Quantum Gravity - Book 1
The Quantum Bomb of 2015 changed everything. The fabric that kept the universe's different dimensions apart was torn and now, six years later, the people of earth exist in uneasy company with the inhabitants of, amongst others, the elfin, elemental, and demonic realms. Magic is real and can be even more dangerous than technology. Elves are exotic, erotic, dangerous, and really bored with the constant Lord of the Rings references. Elementals are a law unto themselves and demons are best left well to themselves.
Special agent Lila Black used to be pretty, but now she's not so sure. Her body is more than half restless carbon and metal alloy machinery, a machine she's barely in control of. It goes into combat mode, enough weapons for a small army springing from within itself, at the merest provocation. As for her heart, well, ever since being drawn into a game by the elfin rockstar Zal (lead singer of The No Shows), who she's been assigned to protect, she's not even sure she can trust that any more either.
Phew was this book a challenge. One of the things I love about Science Fiction is how it pushes you make sense of the world you've been thrown in without giving you a map. It's up to you as the reader to untangle all of the different strands of the story, the world and it's rules. The Earth a.k.a Otopia that Robson imagines is super complex! She re-imagines elves, elementals, demons, ghosts and androids in a way I've never read before which may explain why I was having such a hard time putting everything together. This book continued to push the boundaries of my expectations and giving me a minor headache some moments. Most of the time I relished the challenge of deciphering the world but sometimes I was reading a page three times because I had no idea what was going on. Robson's attention to detail is phenomenal, she knows what's what and why, giving a depth to her world that some fantasy and sci-fi books struggle with.
