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Keeping It Real (Quantum Gravity, Book 1) Paperback – March 6, 2007

by Justina Robson (Author)

60 customer reviews

Book 1 of 5 in the Quantum Gravity Series

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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.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Life is anything but real in this entertaining fusion of SF and fantasy spiced with sex, rockin' elves and drunk faeries, the first of a new series, from British author Robson (Mappa Mundi). In 2015, the quantum bomb at Texas's superconducting supercollider blew a hole in spacetime's fabric, revealing "a total of five other realities" unknown to the human inhabitants of Otopia (formerly Earth). One of these is Alfheim, a home to elves. By 2021, Alfheim extremists, who despise Otopian technologies (and Otopians), have targeted Zal, a rebel rocker elf and his band, the No Shows, for thriving in a human realm. Death threats prompt the Otopian security agency to assign Lila Black, a nuclear-powered cyborg still adapting to her AI abilities, to Zal as his undercover guard. After Zal is kidnapped, Black travels to Alfheim, where she meets an old foe and tangles with a wicked necromancer. Deft prose helps the reader accept what in lesser hands would be merely absurd. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Robson lets loose and has fun with this tale, a rock 'n' roll saga including elves, magic, and cyborgs. After the Quantum Bomb of 2015, Earth proper has coexisted with alternate dimensions peopled by elves, demons, elementals, faeries, and the dead. Government agent Lila Black was nearly killed by elves while on a diplomatic mission, and now she is mostly machine. She has been assigned to guard the legendary band the No-Shows, especially lead singer Zal, who's precisely opposed to every elf stereotype out there, first and foremost in his music. Lila becomes trapped with him in a game caused by wild magic and, in the process of protecting him, discovers some of the complicated plots swirling just under the surface of Alfheim, the elves' dimension. Robson creates fascinating characters and worlds for them to inhabit, meanwhile sacrificing none of her other strengths and not once succumbing to the easy genre cliches, at least not without keen irony. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product details

Paperback: 345 pages
Publisher: Pyr (March 14, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1591025397
ISBN-13: 978-1591025399
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.7 x 8.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 60 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,314,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18615 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Science Fiction
- #28561 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Paranormal & Urban
- #46939 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers & Suspense > Suspense

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A very good beginning to a very good series

June 2, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Justina Robson has her own idiosyncratic take on where supernatural creatures like elves, faeries, demons, elementals, ghosts, and the undead come from: other universes that touch and leak through to our own. In Robson's "Quantum Gravity" world, a catastrophe known as the "Quantum Bomb" revealed this truth, and made it not only possible but mandatory that Earth (now known as "Otopia") establish relations with and learn more about its neighboring universes. Given that the elves, faeries, and demons know a great deal more about humans than vice-versa, and given that none of them seem particularly interested in revealing their secrets, the Otopian authorities have taken to spying. When the snooping of low-level Otopian diplomat Lila Black brings her to the attention of some nasty elves in Alfheim (the home of the elves), she's captured, tortured, and returned to Otopia in pieces.

In the aftermath of that disaster, Lila has become a very reluctant Bionic Woman. She's super-strong, has built-in weaponry, and can fly thanks to rockets in her boots. She's also depressed and psychologically damaged. Her first big assignment as a cyborg spy is to protect Zal, an elvish rock star who has been receiving credible death threats, and figure out who's after him. When the assignment unexpectedly takes Lila back to Alfheim, she must confront her confront her painful past, accept who she is now, and learn that the multiverse is a lot weirder than she ever thought possible.

Robson's writing is vivid and fluid. Lila's story is both humorous and poignant. Although some story elements are ridiculous -- like rocket boots and elvish rock stars -- these silly touches enliven what might otherwise be a maudlin tale of pain and loss. In this book and in the (currently) three that follow, Robson does a creditable job of exploring her "Quantum Gravity" world while developing interesting and distinctive characters. If you enjoy stories with both high fantasy and science fictional elements, humor, and psychological/emotional depth, you should enjoy this series.

Note that there are sexually explicit passages, so the book is definitely "R" rated. Also, if you're someone like Fred Savage's character in "The Princess Bride", who, on encountering romance in a story, complains "They're kissing again. Do we have to read the kissing parts?", you will probably want to skip this series.

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BPRJam

Romance heavy, "meh" characters and plot

January 3, 2012

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Some of the ideas in this book, especially in the "pre" chapter were interesting and show a creativity beyond what's common in the fantasy and sci-fi I've read.

However, the story-telling is a bit average and the writing average as well. In an effort to make the world(s) feel "lived in", Robson invents places, characters, and concepts seemingly on the fly, resulting in what feels like deus ex machina solutions to plotlines. Some of the better developed concepts initially seemed to be integral to the plot (e.g., Game magic), but the story could very well have excluded these concepts (e.g., the game between Lila and Zal) and been none the worse.

I was looking for a nice fusion of sci-fi and fantasy, and on some level this book delivers. It is an honest attempt at bringing elves and demons into a reductionist/futuristic scientific framework, but the romance elements make it feel too much like a love story than the interracial epic about the future of the elven world that it wanted to be. Combining the excessive use of internal monologue with the unnecessary sex scenes made it feel like the chick lit that some of the one star reviews make it out to be. The problem is that it's not as bad as one star - it's just okay, hence the 3 stars.

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S Gaime

Cyborgs and elves, oh my!

November 8, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Aside from some of the formatting issues (such as some thoughts not being italicized) this was a decent read. I give kudos to Robson for mixing it up elves and cyborgs. Very cool concept and something I like to see from more writers.

However, the concept alone couldn't sell me on this book. Like I said, it's decent and it kept me entertained to the end but the whole thing is so shallow. And I don't mean just the themes (I wasn't expecting deep themes anyways) but just the characters themselves. Lila the cyborg has somehow fallen in love with the rock star elf Zal. We're told the Game had something to do with this and I admit Zal has his cute, funny moments but there really isn't much in common between Lila and Zal. I actually thought Lila had more chemistry with Dar (a double agent elf) because they were both in positions that they didn't want to perform, plus the whole healing thing and them becoming one. They just went through so much more together. So when it came to the ending where Lila and Zal consummate their love it just didn't feel real. Especially with Lila "yearning for his touch" just made it cheesy.
Oh and not to mention (sorry, spoiler ahead) how Lila showed more concern over Tath's death (an elf whose spirit has possessed her), who was a complete stranger, than Dar's death! This was a guy she cared about and even shagged and yet there's hardly any remorse over his death, only her "need" to shag Zal. Apparently one elf is as good as another.

As much as I enjoyed the descriptions of the elf realm, it just felt really out of place for a cyborg to be running through LOTR country. I mean these elves have not advanced technologically and I can understand their reserve about using technology yet there are several instances of elves using technology or at least being impressed by it. I suppose I was expecting these elves to be more tech-savvy instead of using bows and arrows.

And that was another thing I didn't enjoy was how magic ALWAYS trumped technology. Lila is a friggin cyborg!! She should have been punching scrawny elves left and right. Instead she just waits and waits. It's just sad that with all that cool gear Lila has that it's still no match for a binding spell or a sleeping charm or what have you.

Personally, I won't be checking out the rest of the series as I hear it only gets more confusing from here. It's an interesting book that boldly mixes two genres together but Robson seemed bent on making cyborgs look like pansies. Lila looked like a character who should have kicked a lot of ass but she didn't. And Lila's personality was too inconsistent to keep up and the whole shallowness thing just made me dislike her. Great world building but fail on the characters.

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