Going Under

From Publishers WeeklyUneven pacing and an overcrowded cast try the reader's patience in Robson's third Quantum Gravity novel (after 2007's Selling Out). Though the part Goth, part rock-and-roll tone is consistent throughout, the template shifts halfway through. Series protagonist Lila Black mopes through the book's first half with occasional interruptions from would-be assassins, pausing at intervals to puzzle over her built-in robotic weaponry's new self-upgrading abilities or to bicker with her two husbands—elf-lord Zal and demon Teazle—and with Tath, the dead necromancer whose consciousness she's hosting. Little of note happens until Lila and her entourage journey deep into faery realms, where a seemingly simple mission quickly turns into a surprisingly traditional fairy-tale quest with potentially world-altering consequences. The novel belatedly sparkles in this final section, suddenly sprouting a cleverly nuanced plot. Newcomers should look up prior volumes first, but series fans will be reasonably satisfied. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistIn the third Quantum Gravity novel, Lila is in Demonia, dealing with husbands Zal and Teazle, the challenges her presence among the demons brings, and the results of a healing received in Alfheim, the elves’ world, which has caused her cyborg parts to do some very interesting things. Her Otopian bosses call to send her to the fey lands to stop the infestation of Moths rampaging across the human world. She accidentally ends up in the depths of faerie, with her only allies the motley crew she has acquired so far. The series remains an immensely entertaining mixture of rock and roll, introspection, and action. --Regina Schroeder