Take your typical noir detective and recast him in the role of a street hustler. Then situate that street in a grimy Muslim city of the future and addTake your typical noir detective and recast him in the role of a street hustler. Then situate that street in a grimy Muslim city of the future and add in tech world where people run personality programs in their heads to actually become famous people or characters. It's an interesting world that I haven't seen before, and I enjoyed the diversion of Muslim-based language and cultural notes, but ultimately, I found the mystery less mystifying than it should have been, and the ending somewhat flat and anticlimactic....more
There's a quirkiness to the world building here that I found refreshing. Odd, but in a humorous sort of way. Evolved animals that can talk are not altThere's a quirkiness to the world building here that I found refreshing. Odd, but in a humorous sort of way. Evolved animals that can talk are not altogether unheard of in SF worlds of the future, but babies force-aged to have adult intellects matched with infantile senses of humor? Bizarre. A drug-addicted society in which drugs to forget your life are all the rage and asking questions is a crime? It's little touches like this, pulled off with a wry matter-of-factness, that makes the story stand out against many of the also-rans....more