author: Jonathan Lethem

name: Steev

average rating: 4.00

book published: 1994

rating: 5

read at: 2011/06/02

date added: 2011/06/02

shelves: crime, fun, own-it

review:
This might not be quite 5 stars, but why not? It's pretty much perfect at what it sets out to do as a book: a futuristic noir potboiler, expertly mixing the style of Raymond Chandler with the surreal world-building of P.K. Dick.

In a near future where society is controlled by puritanical ubercops called "Inquisitors," nobody but they and a few private eyes are allowed to ask questions (literally). The protagonist of this story is one of those private eyes, trying to make sense of a weird case. He continually runs afoul of corrupt Inquisitors and has his "karma points" repeatedly docked, while getting into tussles with an evolved kangaroo and other thugs. He eventually solves the mystery but never solves the problem of his own failed life.

One thing I really love about this book is that Lethem leaves so much unexplained. He doesn't break the flow to expound on a bunch of sociohistorical background. How did the Inquisitors seize control of the country? Why are children turned into accelerated-growth "babyheads"? What's the details of the "karma" system? How did snortable mood-altering addictive drugs become legal and trendy? None of these things are explained, but that's okay, we don't need to know them to enjoy the story, and to interrupt the story with those details would ruin it. This is so rare in science fiction, where often half the wordcount is spent on lengthy asides about how warp drives or teleporters work or how the world government was set up 100 years ago. That kind of thing annoys me so much that this book was quite refreshing.