Not at all what I was expecting. Having read Lucifer's Dragon which was basically cyber-punk, I expected this to be similar, but it is more of an old-fashioned detective story (and there's nothing wrong with that) in a vaguely sf setting.
The setting is the near future of an alternative timeline in which the Ottoman and Austria-Hungarian empires have survived. The main story takes place in Alexandria (Al-Iskandria) in Egypt. The protagonist is a genetically/surgically/electronically enhanced petty criminal who has some standing in the community by virtue of being the son of the Emir of Tunis. He is invited to Egypt for an arranged marriage to thhe daughter of a nouveau-riche businessman, but a murder intervenes and he has to solve it.
The plot is fairly lightweight, but the atmosphere and setting are good and the writing runs along nicely.
7/10
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
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