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Keeping It Real (Quantum Gravity 1) | 
| Author: Justina Robson
Publisher: Gollancz
Category: Book
List Price: £10.99
Buy New: £7.69
You Save: £3.30 (30%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 177198
Media: Paperback
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0575078626
EAN: 9780575078628
ASIN: 0575078626
Publication Date: May 18, 2006
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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 Not for this sci-fi reader July 2, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Having had Book II in the series recommended to me, with the caveat of having to read Book I (i.e. this one) first, I was looking forward to settling in to a new series. As you can see from the two star rating, I was disappointed.
The central conceit of the series (connected parallel fantastic worlds) struck me as under explored and clunkily implemented. A traversable connexion between parallel worlds is a fine idea for a sci-fi/fantasy novel to work with. However, as the under pinning of everything else that goes on in this series, this central idea needed greater attention than it was given. Sundered space/time might be expected to connect to either a single alternate world or infinite parallel ones. The limiting of the connected worlds to The Normal One, The Elven One, The Demonic One, The Elemental One, The Faery One and The Dead One (have I got that right?) felt a tad clunky. The history and nature of inter-world connexion is sketchily glossed over, leaving it an all too exposed plot device.
Other aspects of the book, such as the interplay of the sci-fi and fantasy elements or the distinction between the human, cyborg, elf, demon and faery characters, didn't work as well for me as they might have.
I suppose that whilst I enjoy some fantasy novels, I am more of a sci-fi reader and this could account for the problems I had with this book. If you're more of a fantasy reader than I am, you may well enjoy this book more than I did.
 Unexpectectedly enterteining... November 4, 2007
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I found it on an Italian bookshelf and first read it in its Italian translation. I bought it just out of curiosity for the unusual mixture (at least down here, though) of Fantasy and Sci-Fi. I have to be honest, as I was going through its very first pages, I thought it was a very boring plot, with all the usual American-low-rate-telefilms action & attitude.
But the more I went throught the pages, the more I was intrgued by the way the author puts you through the heroine's thoughts, who's not absolutely a granitic ever winning character. The way she fears about her body self-acceptance, the idea of being seen as something monstrous (which is something extremely close to us, I think) was very well developed, probably more than the making-up of the World Outside her istelf.
At the end of the day, I believe this is not a book about fairies or a weird romantic affair, but a sort of way to rediscuss how techology interferes with biology. Moreover, I found it extremely enterteining and fun.
When I reached the first half of its Italian edition, I immediatly ordered the English copy and also a copy of the second book of this saga... and I have to admit, I'm looking forward the third too!!!
 Some good ideas, but overall weak execution June 8, 2007
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
Keeping It Real is the first novel in the Quantum Gravity series by British SF author Justina Robson. Robson is a noted author of hard SF novels such as Silver Screen and Mappa Mundi, but for her latest project she has ventured into Science Fantasy, giving us a world where cyborgs and elves coexist with fairies and advanced AIs.
In 2015 the Quantum Bomb exploded. An accident at an atom-smasher has fractured reality and opened Earth - now called Otopia - to waves of immigration from other dimensions, home to demons, fairies, elves and elementals. It is now 2021 and Lila Black, a special operative condemned to live as a cyborg after losing her limbs on a dangerous mission, has been assigned as bodyguard to Zal, a charismatic elven rock star. Zal's decision to live among humans and do unelven things such as eat meat and exist as a celebrity has made him many enemies among his own people in Alfheim, some of whom have made threats against him. Black has to protect Zal from death or capture whilst uncovering secrets that threaten the relationships between the realms.
Keeping It Real is a book with a lot of excellent ideas. The combination of SF ideas and fantasy tropes works pretty well for the most part and the plot fairly clips along, as it has to in a relatively short (270-page) book. However, there is no denying that the central idea is pretty zany, and the reader is probably expecting a zany, funny book to explore it. This isn't what you get with Keeping It Real. This is a serious book which treats the central daftness of its concept with grim severity. There is some humour in the book - the demon bouncers at a party for example - but overall this is a mostly laughter-free zone.
This wouldn't matter if the characters are likable and interesting. They are not. When she's not dwelling on her horrific injuries, being cut off from her parents and her somewhat tedious 'Game' relationship with Zal, Lila Black is an intriguing character. Unfortunately this is in only about a quarter of the book. The rest of the time her character is engaged in moody introspection about how awful it is to be welded into a metal body with enough firepower to level a small city secreted about your person. Zal is completely unlikeable from the second you meet him to the very last page of the book: a selfish hedonistic egotist with no redeemable features at all. Some of the other characters were much more intriguing - Black being forced to work alongside a rival intelligence agent who was responsible for her injuries is an interesting plotline - but with the two central characters being rather unsympathetic, this made engaging with the novel very hard work.
Luckily, the story kicks into gear towards the end, after the action moves from Otopia to Alfheim. The last 50 pages or so are much faster-paced and you do find yourself drawn more into the narrative. However, for most readers I fear this improvement will come too late in the day to keep them interested.
Too much romance overwhelms the SF May 24, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I bought this for the concept of a robot enhanced woman battling against what we've always imagined to be only in fairytales, i.e. elves, fairies, demons, elementals etc etc. And expected to be entertained by the idea, it was a little disappointing... Robson impressed me with Mappa Mundi but I felt let down with this. Too much damned romance for my liking and the main female protagonist is the type of character you want to shout 'pull your finger out and do something!' to, all very tiresome when all said and done and I for one won't be buying the sequel. Close Justina, but I think you went off track.
 disappointing April 11, 2007
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
The characters are cardboard, the imagined worlds are worse. The plot is ridiculous. If you want sex and fairies try Diane Duane or even Laurell Hamilton.
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