[ashel]

Anyone read...darn, I don't know how to do a hyperlink and feel pretty foolish, but the book is 1) called Zoo City, it's 2) by Lauren Beukes, and this 3) is the link to the kindle version on amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-City-ebook/dp/B003ZSIT0M/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

I'm halfway through and it's all kinds of awesome so far. Urban fantasy? I think? Tho described as science fiction? Anyway: guilt for misdeeds has started manifesting as animal familiars. You do something bad, you get an animal, linked with you for life. They give you a special magical ability, separation caused unbearable pain, and when your animal dies, something called the Undertow comes for you. The main character has a Sloth, from that time she got her brother killed. She lives in the animalled ghetto now, and finds things for people, with her magic talent. She gets hired to find a person.

So...urban fantasy noir. Beukes even has a penchant for Chandleresque similes, and her antihero is also a smart ass.

The world creation is fantastic. Obviously a lot of that is the whole animal Shift thing, but there's also a lot of atmosphere with the Joburg music scene...I'm kind of wondering how much is the author just dreaming up stuff and ow much she managed to capture something.

Anyway. So far it gets my hearty recommendation. Anyone else in here read it?

 

[PhoenixS]

I just purchased it a couple of days ago but haven't started it yet, so the rec is welcome. (I nearly fell over myself grabbing it at 99c.) I may just move it higher up in my TBR stack.

The author recently won the Arthur C. Clarke award and there's been a LOT of buzz around this book. Of course, I follow the publisher's blog so I might be seeing a tiny bit more promo for it than most people . Good to know it deserves the buzz!

(And you did great with the link, btw.)

 

[ashel]

Ok, I finished it, and I'm gonna double down on my rec. Really fantastic. Breathes new life into noir. Like, i am jealous that I did not write this, and now I am nervous that parts of my current WIP share similarities with Zoo City, but only enough to be obviously not as good. Anyway, I loved it enough that I went and immediately bought the author's first book, Moxyland (which appears to be more straight science fiction, set in Cape Town this time), which is not on sale for 0.99. Did I mention Zoo City is on sale for 0.99? Ridiculous, ridiculous deal.

 

[Julia March]

I loved that book.

A review I wrote of it.

 

[Klip]

Yes - I liked it a lot more than Moxyland too. 

It's so amazing to find fantasy/science fiction /whatever genre it is books set in my own country, you have no idea!

I thought Moxyland was good, but it gets really, really gross out gory.  The plot justifies the level of yuck completely, but still - yuck!  Zoo City is a much subtler book.

Lauren Beukes is very active on Twitter by the way, worth following her there.

 

[ashel]

It's so amazing to find fantasy/science fiction /whatever genre it is books set in my own country, you have no idea!

Oh man, I didn't realize how totally bored I was of everything being set in the US or the UK. It's like I was eating the same thing every night for the past...forever, without even thinking about it, and then one night I randomly go to an all you can eat buffet, and there's just all this cool stuff I've never seen before! Fantastic. Now I'm going to gorge myself disgustingly. Actually, if you have any other recs, I'd love to hear 'em.

I thought Moxyland was good, but it gets really, really gross out gory. The plot justifies the level of yuck completely, but still - yuck! Zoo City is a much subtler book.

This is a good heads up. I can usually handle stuff like that (well, depending), but I do like a warning.

 

[Klip]

Not sure if this is available in e-book form. Not in my region, but maybe in yours?

Tad William'ss Otherland series (which I love) - some of it set in South Africa, some all over the place:



Central Amercia - quite grim, too: House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer



Africa: The eye, the ear and the arm by Nancy Farmer

 

[Klip]

...and not fantasy or sci-fi, but thrillers:

Deon Meyer is fantastic.



The house I live it is featured in one of his books. In the book, it's used by governments spies who are keeping track of the secret terrorist hide out across the street

 

[ashel]

Smorgasbord! Dude, thanks!

 

[robertk328]

Bumping this a bit as I came here and did a search for Zoo City ... was going to put it in my DNF pile but think I'll keep at it.  Not that every book is for every person, and there's a chance I don't like the style, but you all have me convinced to give it another shot.

 

[robertk328]

Got to 30% and had to stop. Just couldn't get into it, and the chapters with info about other books or movies seemed out of place. Weird.

Might try again another time...

Next book I started reading is flowing along nicely, though a bit tough in parts.