The Electric Church
Jeff Somers
Reviewed by Barb Radmore
The setting is the world in the future, a future that haas been
described in other sci fi or fantasy books before this one. But that is
part of the appeal of this debut novel, it takes the familiar, the
acceptable and turns it into a terrifying prediction. It is the feeling
of reality, the possible changing of our world into the one
portrayed in The Electric Church that propels this work. It is easy to
create the absurd, the fantastic. It is harder to take the already
written and tweak it into new realms.
The world has fallen apart, police control the surface and the citizens
are cowed by fear and starvation. Avery Cates is surviving but only
from his talent as an assassins. While many hold the title it is not an
easy job, or one with a long life expectancy. And after he is wanted
for killing a policeman his life seems like is done with. But
even he is surprised when he is approached by one of the most powerful
men in the world and given an impossible task- kill the leader of
the Electric Church. The Electric Church is the religion of the Monks,
cyborgs with plastic faces, mirrored eyes and eternal life. It is the
major religion, one of strength and immortality. The job of killing its
leader is impossible but it is Avery's only chance for survival. His
journey to undertake this feat is an adventure not to be missed.
The plot is well paced, the action is unusually nonstop, and the
setting fits both. The book will grab and keep the reader's attention
which really is the point of a good book. It is a nice entry into the
literary world of contemporary, dark science fiction. But is goes
one step into becoming more of a flag ship for a newer genre. It could
possibly be called hard boiled sci fi.
That step is the characterization. What Sam Spade did for hard-boiled,
Avery Cates will do for science fiction. Avery even has his beloved
sidekick and an assortment of helpers, each one strongly created by
Somers. They are not your traditional good guys which is what adds to
the fun of the book. They are your hard boiled heroes, tough with
tarnished hearts and souls. The dialogue even matches the bar set by
masters of pulp fiction. Somers was able to write characters that can
hold their own in a fast moving plot. His creation of The Monks
and the story behind their creation is both horrifying and brilliant.
It is these two developments in the book, the main characters and The
Monks, that show case the talent and potential of Jeff Somers.