Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The Night Sessions--Ken MacLeod

The Night Sessions


Ken MacLeod

PYR, Apr 24 2012, $17.95

ISBN 9781616146139



By 2012, most people have turned their backs on organized religions following the Middle East Faith Wars culminated with nuke strikes at Megiddo. Politicians who seek office avoid any mentioning of religion as the Second Enlightenment has ripped religious posturing from politics though there remain millions of fanatics around the globe.



In Edinburgh, a bomb blows up a small church killing the Roman Catholic priest. St Leonard's Police Detective Adam Ferguson and his sentient robotic aide Shulk investigate the bombing murder. As other incidents occur, he realizes terrorist acts against the maligned mistrusted minority most likely by militant atheists are occurring. However, the evidence soon points to the sinister return of the God Squads trying to reignite the End of Days that never happened during the Faith Wars Armageddon.



This is a great police procedural science fiction that condemns people (especially politicians who send someone else’s child off to war) for invoking God on their side as a rationale for war. The inquiry is terrific as it not only relates a strong whodunit but uses the inquiry to provide insight into the near futuristic world of Ken Macleod. Although the climax is acceptable albeit weak compared to the storyline’s journey, readers will appreciate this action-packed thought provoking investigative thriller.



Harriet Klausner

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