Judged by one to be a "plausible near-future description of current world wide politics going fruitbat" the group were generally impressed by Ken's depiction of an Edinburgh we could all still recognise while introducing intriguing ideas like the silent (club) scene, with its VJs and lolitas. The use of technology never intruded while underpinning many elements of the plot and even the individuals - Ferguson's sidekick Skulk (aka Skullcrusher) who is a "leki" i.e. law enforcement kinetic intelligence - an artificial but self-aware police robot. This led to lots of chat about robots, robotic sentience and robophobia (yes, it is a word - apparently). We even had to resort to the dictionary to resolve a dispute about the definition of sentience!
That said, the plot kept us going and no one stalled due to failure to understand the scenario or boredom from too much tech or religion / theology.
Taking us on to a favourite character - if only because he created lots to talk about: Campbell. He starts out as a preacher to a unusual congregation with a seemingly fundamental take on his form of presbeterianism backed by a truly naive failure to see what his beliefs might lead others to conclude. In other words, his preaching (which he sees in isolation) leads others to actions he couldn't even imagine - and neither can Ferguson and his team until its almost(?) too late...
We had more to say, but it would give away too much of the plot to talk about it all - though we'd suggest that its worth reading to meet characters such as Jessica, the Kinky Kazakh, and Piltdown Man!
Verdict: highly recommended, a book to share, intelligent while entertaining!
| Comments |
|
Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.26
