Alternative Worlds
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A Fire in the Sun
George Alec Effinger
Tor, Mar 2006, $14.95, 304 pp.
ISBN: 0765313596
In the twenty-second century, private detective Marid Audran wonders if he gave up too much of his independence when he agreed to delete the adjective private from his occupation and work exclusively for two century old Budayeen kingpin Friedlander Bey. Marid lives much better as the pay is excellent compared to the scraps he earned before he became Bey’s man, but he feels guilty, having sold out to the system, dropped all his former friends to become a “cop” with a Christian slave Kmuzu.
Taking time off though still on call Marid travels to the Mauretania region of Algeria looking for his family especially information on his North American mother Angel Monroe. However that proves a big bust though he meets her so he quickly returns to Budayeen to investigate the gruesome cases of someone mutilating and murdering children and prostitutes. Having experience with a serial killer (see WHEN GRAVITY FAILS), he feels he can stop the culprit though clues lead to Bey’s dangerous and powerful rival Abu Adil and an unwanted partner is fostered on him.
This is an intriguing sequel that combines elements of an urban noir inside a futuristic science fiction. The story line is action-packed from the moment Marid returns to the Budayeen following his disappointment upon meeting his mom and never slows down until he confronts the killer, but unlike the first tale, WHEN GRAVITY FAILS, the investigation takes away from rather than enhances the twenty-second century ambience. Still this is a fine who-done-it starring an interesting protagonist whose conscience never lets him fully relish his rise in materialism at the cost of his freedom.
George Alec Effinger
Tor, Mar 2006, $14.95, 304 pp.
ISBN: 0765313596
In the twenty-second century, private detective Marid Audran wonders if he gave up too much of his independence when he agreed to delete the adjective private from his occupation and work exclusively for two century old Budayeen kingpin Friedlander Bey. Marid lives much better as the pay is excellent compared to the scraps he earned before he became Bey’s man, but he feels guilty, having sold out to the system, dropped all his former friends to become a “cop” with a Christian slave Kmuzu.
Taking time off though still on call Marid travels to the Mauretania region of Algeria looking for his family especially information on his North American mother Angel Monroe. However that proves a big bust though he meets her so he quickly returns to Budayeen to investigate the gruesome cases of someone mutilating and murdering children and prostitutes. Having experience with a serial killer (see WHEN GRAVITY FAILS), he feels he can stop the culprit though clues lead to Bey’s dangerous and powerful rival Abu Adil and an unwanted partner is fostered on him.
This is an intriguing sequel that combines elements of an urban noir inside a futuristic science fiction. The story line is action-packed from the moment Marid returns to the Budayeen following his disappointment upon meeting his mom and never slows down until he confronts the killer, but unlike the first tale, WHEN GRAVITY FAILS, the investigation takes away from rather than enhances the twenty-second century ambience. Still this is a fine who-done-it starring an interesting protagonist whose conscience never lets him fully relish his rise in materialism at the cost of his freedom.
