Seb Doubinsky

Just last week I commented that I missed a good detective novel that made me crave a good cup of coffee. To my delight, The Invisible was that novel, gritty, full of coffee and whisky, it was what I call my literary “comfort food”. Despite its dystopian label and it’s Gotham-like atmosphere, New Babylon was a familiar landscape with a refreshing amount of optimism not usually found in this genre.

It doesn’t take long before you notice the political and social parallels, sometimes eerily similar to today’s headlines. Ratner’s attitude throughout the entire story makes the tension palpable, rolling with the punches and putting his best foot forward.

Dashes of quirkiness set this story apart from other detective novels, adding a little bit of the unexplained to further distinguish this plot from the rest. Short chapters make the timeline move quickly, a slow burn that sneaks up on you, a resolution that satisfies but leaves you wanting more.

Doubinsky has created a welcome respite to the chaotic ups and downs of the traditional mystery. A paradoxically rich palate cleanser that rests and rejuvenates the mind while still delivering an engaging plot.

Many thanks to Meerkat Press for a galley copy of the book. The opinions are my own.… (meer)

Kurt Wagner is the head of a massive arms manufacturing company, hated by millions around the world. Susan deVeere is an award-winning filmmaker who is feted for her progressive work. How the two ended up sleeping together fuels the start of “Paperclip,” but is soon superceded by the activities of Omar, Kurt’s bodyguard and an ex-patriot from SankaraVille in Africa; Jet, Kurt’s driver who is studying magick (definitely *with* the “k”); and the newly minted International Court for Economical Crimes in SankaraVille, which is prepared to kidnap industrialists to force them to stand trial for their crimes. And that’s not even to mention Waldo, a human who has somehow become a bird…. This novella is part of Mr. Doubinsky’s “city-state cycle,” depicting a world containing many city-states in competition with one another rather than countries doing the same; otherwise, though, the world is rather like our own. He tends to write in short chapters, in this case alternating between the various voices of his main characters, and even though the chapters are often only a few paragraphs long, there is never any confusion as to who is describing what because each character is so well delineated, and this reader at least found herself rooting for each of them in turn (well, not for Kurt obviously). Not quite sure what Waldo’s there for, but other than that, I found the author’s storytelling to be very much flowing in nature, and a joy to read. Recommended!… (meer)