Kage Baker had interesting ideas, particularly about time travel. Where I find difficulty with her books is the relationships she writes, which don't ring completely true to me. Whether that's due to her Asperger's or whether it was deliberate, I don't know.
Who doesn't like a good time travel paradox? Most stories in the genre feature one and Baker's series is no exception. Dr. Zeus company is a shadowy, mysterious entity, it's mission is murky. But, once again, we get a bit more information revealed and the suggestion that interference from the future creates the company, whose employees then create the company…and round and round we go! This is the issue that is really keeping me reading at this point.
Still, it was nice to see Mendoza again. She makes her appearance on the very first page, delighting me since I really missed her in the previous book. Her immortal outlook is fun, despite her obsession with Alec/Edward/Nicholas. In this book, we get the back story about how this guy keeps recurring (and it gets pretty silly by the end).
Baker takes the idea of being politically correct and pushes it to the outer limits in her 24th century. Current virtuous prejudices have become law in parts of her world. Almost everything that brings any comfort or fun is verboten: coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate, dairy products, and meat, not to mention being outdoors and exercise. Of course there is a black market. For example, Ireland stubbornly insists on producing dairy products. But most people hide in their homes and play video games. Few are able to read. And because you need a permit to reproduce, populations are way down. Sex is frowned upon as “animalistic," leaving sleep as one of the few pleasures remaining. For everyone's sake, I hope we get to skip this particular future!
Book Number 443 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project
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