Lila Black is off with the faeries . . .
Ever since the Quantum Bomb of 2015 things have been different; the dimensions have fused and suddenly our world is accessible to elves, demons, ghosts and elementals and their worlds are open to us. Things have been different for Special Agent Lila Black too: tortured and magic-scarred by elves, rebuilt by humans into a half-robot, part-AI, nuclear-fueled walking arsenal, and carrying the essence of a dead elfin necromancer in her chest, sometimes she has trouble figuring out who she is.
And a mission to the world of the fae may not help her work it out.
The fae are beautiful, glamorous, exotic, and talented. Their inventions make food taste better, make beer divine, and bring sparkle and mischief to the world but that's only the surface. And Lila is being sent in at the deep end, to the deepest, darkest levels of Faerie: on the primal level, nothing about the fae is glamorous at all.
In a winter-locked, raw, and primitive world, Lila has to deal with the fae at their most basic levels, as tricksters and dealmakers and the only deals worth making are bloody ones. If Lila's quest is to succeed, and if she is ever to escape Faerie, the right question must be asked, the right sacrifice must be made, and the right quarry must be hunted down on the winter solstice. All of which is difficult, when the only aides Lila brought to Faerie are her friends . . .
Justina Robson's new series combines her trademark themes of identity and reality, magic and technology, break-neck plots, a mischievous sense of fun, and a seriously sexy new heroine.
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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Non-Stop Thrill RideNov 23, 2008
This book is an excellent continuation of a fantastic series. It answers many questions left from the previous book, while leaving you hanging for yet another sequel. Ending up deep within ancient Fairy, left to solve an ancient quest, many of our favorite characters come face to face with pasts they had long ago left behind. Yet another nonstop, heart pumping, action and drama filled episode in the life of Lila Black, unwilling superheroine extraordinaire.
1 of 5 found the following review helpful:
A very special dark urban fantasySep 03, 2008
Males are a pain in her metallic butt so special agent Lila Black thinks, but women even ones with robotic gizmos inside her body needs these blackguards though she is not sure why at the moment. Still Lila wonders if two spouses is one, two or three too many as she and her mates Zal the elf-lord and Teazle the demon argue with her; while inside her chest resides whatever is mentally left of the deceased elven necromancer Tath also bickering with her.
Dispatching the assassins as a side activity, Lila and her horde travel to the land of the fae on what she assumes is a simple mission though anything involving fairies is by definition convoluted. She soon finds herself digging deep past the best beer in the world into the ooze of the realm where only hideous blood thirsty charlatans reside. To complete her mission and escape alive, she must navigate the ruses and pranks of those who abet her by trying to kill her and her retinue.
Although the heroine's whining about males causing her hemorrhoids (does prove artificially intelligent beings understand men) is overly extended, fans of the third Quantum Gravity saga (see KEEPING IT REAL and SELLING OUT) will enjoy Lila's latest escapades. The story line picks up about a third of the way in when the lead protagonist begins her quest into a realm no one escapes from. Readers will relish the twisted mission as the fairy glamor realm gives way to a dark despairing repulsiveness.
Harriet Klausner
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based on 2 reviews
