Customer Reviews

Chasing the Dragon (Quantum Gravity, Book 4)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

CHASING THE DRAGON, the fourth installment in Justina Robson's "Quantum Gravity" series, opens with our cyborgified heroine Lila Black wandering the beaches of Otopia -- that is, Earth -- distracted and silent, in a tattered dress. It's fifty years after the main events of the previous book, GOING UNDER, but only a few months have passed for Lila since she parted from the mostly-dead Zal, nearly killed by the late and unlamented faery Jack the Giantkiller. It's not clear why Lila and her demon husband Teazle got kicked forward in time at the end of GOING UNDER, but a lot has changed on Otopia and elsewhere, and not for the better.

Having lost her parents, her sister, her sister-in-law Sorcha, her husband Zal, and others, not to mention being displaced from her time, Lila is depressed, suicidal, homicidal, and most of all desperately seeking Zal. She sends Teazle off on a mission that involves him slaughtering half of the ruling demons in Demonia, and gets recruited by the seriously weird new Agency head Temple Greer (a dead ringer for James Lester in the TV show "Primeval") ... to hunt down and kill Teazle. Meanwhile, Zal is being held in some kind of strange limbo, Teazle gets caught in a serious trap, and Ghost hunter Calliope Jones washes up, along with a whole lot of ghost ships, along Otopia's shores. Somebody, somewhere, is doing something intensely dangerous and foolish, and it is up to Lila and her friends to figure out who, what, where, why, and how to stop him/her/it.

As in the earlier books, Lila spends the first half of the book or so in Otopia as the scene gets set, and then ventures off into a new realm -- in this case, the boundary between the ghost lands and the Void, the place from where the first dragon -- or whatever she was -- came forth to create the universe. I have to say that, even though this place gives Robson space to contemplate a warped version of contemporary cosmology, it isn't all that interesting. The goose that's being chased also turns out to be an odd and not very compelling bird, and the resolution of the chase -- the cataclysmic climax that we've come to expect from the three earlier books -- is a serious let-down.

On the plus side, CHASING THE DRAGON continues the development of a cast of interesting characters and continues to deepen our understanding a of a complex set of parallel worlds. It is sprinkled with humor, including not only Lila's sardonic takes on events, but Temple Greer's facetious remarks and the behavior of Lila's faery armor-with-a-mind-of-its-own, which sometimes kits her out as a southern belle, and at other times tends towards the even more bizarre. On the minus side, the book lacks a clear focus. The identity of the "villain" -- and even the existence of such a person -- doesn't come until very late, and we learn much less about dragons than you might expect from the title. Some of the side plots, like about the rogue "androids", lead nowhere, and others are too lengthy. In other words, CHASING THE DRAGON isn't likely to meet the high expectations of fans, but also isn't likely to be a huge disappointment.

I just finished reading this book and I'm pleasantly surprised at the optimistic tone and happy ending. By the time I had gotten to the third book in the quantum gravity series, I was getting tired and worn out by the mainly cynical tone of the stories and the tragic occurrences in the protagonist's life. I was about ready to get rid of the three books I had and give up on the series, but when I flipped through this book in the bookstore, I discovered that it seemed more optimistic than the others. So I decided to give this series another shot. I'm glad I did, because it appears to be a major turning point in the series where things start going right in the characters' lives.
Another thing I liked about this novel is the revelations about the nature of several characters' natures and the transcendent powers that "chose," them.
However, the reason I gave this book four stars is because the author wasn't as good in depicting the alien environments as in previous books. And also, about the first half of the book was slow with all of the action taking place in our world, and nothing much happens except for the main character moping around alot. This moping around seems to be the general case with her for most of the series. However, by the second half of this novel, Lila begins to get out of it and even laughs in happiness by the end.

you will like this author, but start with the first book because it IS a series. This is adult fun- I do NOT mean sexual, I just mean that it is intellectually playful for adults- it combines fairies and science fiction and grumpy administrators and clumsy heroines and a lot of adventures that work because they are so clever. Okay, it isn't Lord of the Rings, but not much is, so enjoy!!!!!

The 4th book in the altered universe of agent Lila Black takes up several months after the startaling conclussion of the last volumn. An engrossing blend of hard SF and delightfully insightful speculative fiction these novels never fail to suck me in and leave me wanting more! If you don't love this series you may have no soul.

This is the fourth book in the Quantum Gravity series by Justina Robson. I know a fifth book "Down to the Bone" is planned for a 2010 release, I couldn't find any information on how many books overall are planned on this series. This book was a good addition to the series and started to tie together a lot of the loose ends that appeared in books 2 and 3.

A lot is happening in this book. It starts where the 3rd book left off; with Lila showing up on the beach 50 years after she went into fairy. In the mean time Teazle has taken over half of Demonia, Zal is still missing/dead, and Mal is leading up a branch of the agency. Ghosts are appearing with increasing frequency in Otopia. Lila is offered a position heading up the AI branch of the Agency. There is a lot to sort out, both personal and political. Lila is armed with an ever changing dress/armor that is more than it first seems to be and with an..uh...ink pen that has powers she could have never imagined.

This book was a good addition to the series. It brings together some of the plot elements that seemed somewhat random in the previous book. Finally we begin to understand how the Ghosts are all tied together with the Fates, Zal, and Lila...and how all of that is tied to the stability of the universe. The pace of the book is pretty good, although the action is not as non-stop as it was in book 2. Again if book 1 was about the elf world, book 2 about the demon world, and book 3 about fairy...then this book is mostly about the realm of the dead...although it does a good job of bringing all the realms together.

This is a complex story-line and there are still points at which I am not completely convinced that Robson knows what she wants to do with everything that is going on. The book switches viewpoint a lot...going between Teazle, Lila, Zal, Mal, and Tath. So, sometimes the story gets a bit fractured from all the viewpoint changes. Also the story gets a bit metaphysical with Lila in Thanatopia/Void and although Robson makes a good effort at describing it, sometimes it is a bit hard to picture exactly what is going on. The discussions between various characters (for example Tath and Mal) can get a little crazy and drawn out as they debate the cause of various metaphysical aspects of the parallel realms. I am also a bit confused on how in the previous book the worlds were on the edge of destruction and now here it is fifty years later and they are still on the edge of destruction...it's like nothing really happened so maybe destruction wasn't as imminent as it was portrayed in the last book....

The above being said there are some great character additions to this book. Temple Greer, the new head of the Agency, is an awesome character. He brings a lot of humor to the story and a wit that really lightens the whole plot. Lila's crazy dress/armor was also an awesome addition to the story and added a lot of fun.

I am impressed with the creativity in this book and with the depth of the worlds that Robson has created. The plot is getting increasingly complex; I am hoping that Robson has a reason for all these plot elements and that in the end they weave a wonderfully complex, yet complete story. The characterization is good; Lila starts to come into her own as she spends less time doubting herself and more time looking out for her interests. I also enjoyed Teazle's development as he exercises the new powers he gained in fairy.

You definitely need to read the previous books to follow what happens in this book. Robson does not dumb down her writing to remind readers of things that have previously happened. Things happen quickly and every word counts; so this book is a bit of a harder read than some. Still overall the complexity of the world intrigues me and I have grown attached to the very interesting characters Robson has created. This was a great addition to the series and I hope the next book has clear path forward.

Lila, Zal and the crew are at it again. No spoilers, but it is a good book on its own, even though I almost went back and reread the last few chapters of the previous book. It moves faster than some of the others, covers a lot of ground (skipping some stuff along the way), but ties things together well in the end. Looking forward to Book Five.

Great story arc! However, there is a metric ton of unanswered questions at the end of QG4. This is not written as the final story of the series by any stretch. No worries, as long as there is going to be a QG5 (is there going to be a QG5??).

Answers a lot too... Why Lila Black... I mean, she is about the last person Uncle would pick to "upgrade". Also, what would have happened had Lila squared off against Jack... and Zal.

Read this series! You won't be sad.

In 2015 the release of the quantum bomb destroyed the dimensional divides enabling humans to cross into other realms; and the occupants (elves, demons, and ghosts, etc.) of those worlds to enter the mortal realm. Otopian Secret Service Special Agent Lila Black understands the danger having been magically tortured but "saved" by humans who turned her into an android of sorts. She is married to the demon Teazle and in love with a dead elf Zal.

Her superiors order her to execute her missing spouse, accused of mass murder killings. Lila knows the evidence is overwhelming but refuses to believe her husband would commit atrocities. She is determined to prove his innocence and catch the real culprit before other innocents die. However, her biggest objective is to find a way to bring her beloved back from the dead. Her efforts lead her to uncover a plot by an ancient evil who is manipulating the suspicions between species with diabolical plans to become the multi-dimensional God.

The latest Quantum Gravity is a terrific entry as the heroine with her sentient dress and sword is mightier than the pen investigates the crimes her husband allegedly committed under the guise of searching and destroying Teazle the demon. The story line is fast-paced with plenty of action and gore as is the norm of this thrilling sci-fi fantasy. In some ways this is more of a Noir as kick butt Lila stalks the mean cold (it is winter) streets of Bay City barefoot, fans will enjoy her escapades while newcomers could read this entry by itself, but reading previous tales provides a better sense of how the world changed.

Harriet Klausner

I listened to the audio book of first three novels of the Quantum Gravity and loved them. Being too impatient for this one to be released as an audio book, I decided to get the Kindle version. Big mistake. The publisher decided not to use the Kindle's default font and force a different size. Neither would be bad if reading on paper, which has a greater contrast, but is unreadable for on the Kindle. The stroke width of the font is variable, with the vertical center being the widest, making all the letter too similar. Second, the font size - publishers please understand that readers switch between book on the Kindle and forcing me to manually adjust the font size is hostile.

Sorry, Justine Robson. The book may be good, and I look forward to the audio book release, but this edition is unreadable.