Dag lief boek,

Je kon niet boeien, zowel bij mij niet als bij mijn collega.
Nieuwe lezer, laat je wat van je horen?

Bas

Het is een interessante YA/A SF-Fantasy mix en het eerste deel uit een serie. Als je van de genres houdt, is dit een heel interessant boek, al valt het einde redelijk tegen. Ik wil nu wel het volgende deel lezen.

Je stond er nog toen ik vertrok, wie zal jou mee naar huis hebben genomen?

Ikke, dus! How could I resist a book said to be "full of sex and elves and motorbikes"? To be honest, it might not be my cup of tea, but I'm hoping my son might be tempted to read it.

Keeping It Real by Justina Robson

My Goodreads rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is probably not a book for die-hard fantasy or sci fi fans, but it's amusing and entertaining enough for the rest of us, and if you enjoy the sort of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' episode which concentrates on relationships or holodeck fun, you'll probably enjoy this. Outwardly fantasy, featuring elves, demons, faeries and elementals, with a series title which hints at sci fi (Quantum Gravity) and a cyborg for a heroine, I was a bit puzzled by the lack of science in this book, and I'm at a loss to explain the title. I wasn't entirely sure if I was going to enjoy 'Keeping It Real', billed on the back cover as "full of sex and elves and motorbikes". Nevertheless, it really was an extremely enjoyable tale with sexual tension between the main characters, a journey of discovery into the unfamiliar world of the elves with the promise of more to come in the other books in the series.

Taking away the fantasy background, this story is about trying to break down barriers between races, breaking cultural taboos and proving that mixing races will not lead to the breakdown of society. It is also about identity: “I was born elf, and I need to be in Alfheim sometimes”, says Zal, the rockstar elf whose identity is confused by his time spent in Demonia and his artistic life in the human world. Our heroine, Lila is prejudiced against elves, mostly because one did a pretty good job of trying to kill her. Now she’s been repaired as a cyborg, and her first job since her recovery is to act as bodyguard to Zal, a rebellious elf who has scandalised elven society by performing hard rock music to humans, who are despised by high elves. What's more, he is consorting with demons (strangely reminiscent of heavy metal fans), faeries and elementals. Lila has a big chip on her shoulder about elves but is drawn into a magical Game with Zal, ensnared by wild magic; they share an irresistible chemistry. As the plot thickens and everyone is under suspicion of threatening Zal, the couple finds itself being pursued by members of the elf secret service, one of whom turns out to be Dar, the elf who nearly destroyed Lila. As in the best fantasy, a magical journey ensues with many dangers along the way with twists and turns, surprises and revelations and mutual suspicion between the characters. Nobody can be trusted to tell the whole truth. It turns out that Zal is not the only elf attracted to Lila, against all the odds. There’s an evil queen, strange creatures in the mountains, forbidden magic. There is action in the lake which couldn't help but remind me of the scene in the lake in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Just when you think the plot is dragging and you don’t know how they’re going to get out of a situation, up pops something completely unexpected to save the day or complicate the issue.

Justina Robson has fun mentioning various cultural references, some of them exceptionally British, so they might be lost on other nationalities; this doesn't detract from the plot but does mean you could miss some of the humour. Sometimes that goes a little awry. “Oh dear, how sad, never mind”, for example sounds like a catchphrase from English comedy, but the correct phrase was “Oh dear, what a pity, never mind”. I wonder how deliberate that was.

Things I’ve learned about elves (according to Justina Robson):
- “The first rule of engagement with elves, like dragons, is that you never play Games with them.”
Andalune is a sort of magical aura which elves use as an extra sense but also to communicate and share feelings – of all sorts.
- The elf kingdom itself has powers of healing for humans as well as elves.
- There are different elf castes. Attitudes are very inflexible.
- Metal can weaken elves. They are disgusted by it.
- Words and music have a far deeper emotional impact on elves who are therefore very careful about the words they use. A full name has a deep magic allowing one elf to control another; elves guard their full names jealously and try to keep them out of their enemies' hands.

This is a very feminine take on fantasy, so if you are looking for Bladerunner-style hard-edged sci fi, this isn't the book for you. If you like your elves sexy, your heroines intelligent and strong and don't mind some magic in the mix, I'd recommend 'Keeping It Real' (whatever that means). Also recommended for fans of Jasper Fforde's 'Thursday Next' series.




View all my reviews on Goodreads

This book has been released as part of the following BookCrossing challenges:
- The Ultimate Challenge - read and release books, with extra points for a monthly theme
- Reduce Mount TBR (To Be Read) - read and release books on the TBR list since before the end of the previous year. My reading goal is 36 books.

Hey,

Caught this book during Mainz bookcrossing convention.
Seemed like my type so i picked it up.

I'll update this post once i'm done with it :)

Thanks