Keeping It Real

Author: Justina Robson

What do you get when you cross fantasy, hard science fiction and robot fiction? You get Justina Robson, proving that sci-fi doesn't need to be male written, or full of sex and violence to be entertaining. Well, there still is a little bit of sex, but what's a world without sex, right? The quantum bomb shatters reality, and magical creatures descend on Otopia (Earth, as it is known in this world). Keeping It Real follows Agent Lila Black, a cyborg operate for Earth Security who is assigned to protect the first Elven rock star (who said only humans could be rock stars, after all?), Zal, who has decided, to the disapproval of his people, to live amongst the humans. And what would a robot novel be without the main character uncovering political secrets that are keeping tenuous relationships between races in place? This story is action packed, the characters are intense, the humor is sharp, and the dialogue is intelligent. There's also a bit of romance and same Lord of the Rings references. And in following Lila's journey after becoming half human, half cyborg, rebuilt with robotics after she is tortured, the novel raises the issue of what it means to be human, and whether our humanity can be taken away. A Clarion West graduate, Robson is also an Arthur C Clarke Award and British Science Fiction Award winner. She has been described as one of the best new British hard sci-fi authors.