The Electric Church (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: hover displacement, mod chip, Jeff Somers, New York, Avery Cates (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Somers packs his techno-thriller debut with enough gunplay and explosions to satisfy a Hollywood producer. Earth is now the System of Federated Nations, governed by the Joint Council and policed by local cops and the hard-nosed System Security Force (SSF). Most people are have-nots, struggling to get by through any means. Avery Cates is one of them, a respected 27-year-old bodyguard and assassin for hire working in Old New York. When Avery kills a cop by mistake, SSF chief Richard Marin hauls him in and gives him two choices: execution or taking on the Herculean task of assassinating the founder of the Electric Church, which creates converts by killing people and transplanting their brains into robot bodies that quash free will. The job would be a lot easier if Avery wasn't being hunted by a couple of cops who don't know when to quit. Somers's plot sprints along through the nicely detailed (if slightly unoriginal) world, but the characters are the real prize in this entertaining near-future noir. (Sept.)
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Product Description

In the near future, the only thing growing faster than the criminal population is the Electric Church, a new religion founded by a mysterious man named Dennis Squalor. The Church preaches that life is too brief to contemplate the mysteries of the universe: eternity is required. In order to achieve this, the converted become Monks -- cyborgs with human brains, enhanced robotic bodies, and virtually unlimited life spans.

Enter Avery Cates, a dangerous criminal known as the best killer-for-hire around. The authorities have a special mission in mind for Cates: assassinate Dennis Squalor. But for Cates, the assignment will be the most dangerous job he's ever undertaken -- and it may well be his last.

"Some debuts simply set new bars in a genre. Jeff Somers' THE ELECTRIC CHURCH is one such book, a gritty noir story that challenges and surprises with every page. A novel that is equal parts Raymond Chandler and William Gibson. A major new talent has arrived -- and it's about time!"
-- James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of MAP OF BONES and BLACK ORDER

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Product Details

• Paperback: 353 pages
• Publisher: Orbit (September 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316021725
• ISBN-13: 978-0316021722
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #238,191 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre Dystopia, December 10, 2007

By	J. Wesemann "The Best Knee Boarder In The World" (Poplar Bluff, Mo. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Electric Church was a mediocre read, lacking depth, and character development, and most notably the development of our lead character from a hit man into a violent revolutionary. This is my primary concern, from one minute to the next we have a killer (with a heart of gold) suddenly transform himself into a revolutionary guerilla. There is very little development in this regard, at least not enough for our hero to morph that much.
Other than that, the novel isn't bad for a 1st time novelist & I enjoyed the near apocalyptic state of humanity.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Futuristic Shoot-em-Up, September 19, 2007

By	A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Set in a near future dystopian New York and London, this high-energy story pits mid-level hitman Avery Cates against the two most powerful forces in the quasi-fascist world. The first of these is the System Security Force (SSF), the totally tricked-out elite troops who keep the peace in the name of the System of Federated Nations. (If is the "SS" in their name reminds you of another group of elite soldiers, it's probably intentional.) Of course, in this class-stratified future, keeping the peace pretty much means keeping the plebes in line and protecting the wealth and health of the upper crust. They don't pay too much attention to small fry like Cates until one of his hits goes bad, and he kills an undercover SSF officer.

Alas, if you kill an SSF officer, all bets are off, and you're lucky if you live 24 hours. As it happens, Cates is incredibly lucky -- instead of being stomped into a pink puddle, he is made an offer he can't refuse and is directed to kill a very high profile target. This brings him up against a sinister religion known as The Electric Church, whose membership is growing at an exponential rate. The reason for its growth may lie in the wild rumors of forced conversion and brainwashing, rumors that Cates' new assignment will prove or dispel.

Jam-packed with fast and furious cinematic action, the book's real distinguishing feature is its colorful cast of characters. Cates assembles a team to help him -- including a weedy acquaintance with mysterious mental abilities, a British techie on the lam, and strange twin sisters specializing in transportation -- and then leads them to London for the big showdown. It's crucial in these kind of stories (or movies) that the hero be likable and his henchmen interesting. Cates, as the hitman with a heart of, well, silver if not gold, is charismatic and flawed enough to carry the story (until the end, when he kind of loses it), and the cast of supporting characters have enough personality and surprises to keep one interested. The overall effect is kind of comic-booky (not in a bad way), and while it's not exactly groundbreaking or earth-shattering stuff, it should fit the bill for those looking for an action-packed futuristic shoot-em-up.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Promising but needs work, November 2, 2007

By	Chuckpa "Sci-reader" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

It's original and the character is certainly interesting, but there are problems. The writer spends way too much time repeating his mantra about how tough the uber cops are and how corrupt the system is. He doesn't need to say after the first chapter. It would have saved time and been a better read for him to have just shown us his point instead of his endless repetition.

In a world of increasing interconnectedness the author didn't do a very credible job of explaining how the protagonist was able to slip through so many cracks. It seemed to me that the monks should have been much more adept at tracking him down. These are high tech scion, but they don't use cellular phones? 3 monks with blackberry's would have ended this story fast. On one hand the main character is able to dodge his foes with the help of his reliable deus ex machina, but the reasons his savior could help him should have made his detection easy.

The climax has a few plot holes concerning the security of the bad-guy installation. A supertech strong hold should have been harder to enter...harder to crack.

All in all the work is a good first effor that needed more editing, and a little more reveiw by someone who had more than a passing interest in technology. Any editor who read 3 issues of popular science, or even had paid attention inside a Best Buy, or read a sharper image catalog could have made this a truly great work.