Going Under

"For Fans of ... Tolkien, had he gone electric, dropped acid, and discovered tantric sex...."

Entertainment Weekly

"This is a novel that, like the realities that shatter into one, tears apart all genre conventions and mixes them together into something new. And if that weren't enough to stack against it: In a male-dominated industry, this is a novel written by someone channeling her inner teenage girl, writing for teenage girls.... Keeping It Real may turn out to be one example of the change that SF may want to embark on. Because this isn't SF for SF readers. This is SF for a generation raised on anime, manga, and MMORPGs. This is SF for the Wii gamer."

Ain't It Cool News

"If you are a fan of sci fi or fantasy, Keeping It Real has something for you! ... I really enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were inventive and interesting.... Robson did a great job of connecting the reader to her characters. The universe that she has created, or multi- verse (not sure which would be correct), is also very imaginative and I believe the melding of sci fi and fantasy elements was extremely well done. 4 out of 5 stars."

SFSignal.com

"The author of Silver Screen skillfully builds a seamless connection between sf and fantasy in this fast-paced series opener featuring a strong, action-oriented heroine and a unique world setting. With appeal to fans of contemporary culture and mature YAs, her latest effort belongs in most libraries."

Library Journal

"There's a treat in store for you all, as the new Justina Robson is out. Lila Black is a spy, and a bodyguard, and every so often she breaks into the sheer joy of the toys she carries within her. It's good to see that almost naive geek love you see among born techies translated into a character so beautifully. The only truly bad thing about this book is that it isn't stand-alone and now I've got to wait until she's finished writing the next one, wanting much, much more."

Starburst (five-star review)

"Robson lets loose and had fun with this tale, a rock 'n' roll saga including elves, magic, and cyborgs.... Robson creates fascinating characters and worlds for them to inhabit, meanwhile sacrificing none of her other strengths and not once succumbing to the easy genre cliches, at least not without keen irony."

Booklist

"This is by far the most entertaining book Robson has written, a novel packed with memorable characters and ideas but that doubles as holiday-reading escapism."

SFX

"Life is anything but real in this entertaining fusion of SF and fantasy spiced with sex, rockin' elves, and drunk faeries, the first of a new series from British author Robson.... Deft prose helps the reader accept what in lesser hands would be merely absurd."

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Setting out

"... just the thing for paranormal and fantasy adventure readers."

Publishers Weekly

"It's good. It's really very good indeed. I loved it."

Peter F. Hamilton

"... deserves the readers' attention. Selling out? Definitely not." SFF World

"... highly entertaining ..."

Strange Horizons

"... an excellent read that'll challenge imaginations and hook its talons deep."

Wistful Writings

"This absorbing and exciting second installment lives up to expectations with the six parallel worlds of humans, elves, demons, faeries, elementals, and undead further developed with tantalizing hints of a seventh world dropped in for good measure. Lila's strong character is nicely balanced by enough self-doubt and concerns about her autonomy to be interesting without being overplayed. A lot more background is provided for the other key protagonists, giving this a well-rounded feel while setting up the next book with a couple of potential showdowns. Fans of Joel Shepherd's Cassandra Kresnov series, think Sandy with six realms' worth of creatures, politics, and villains to run afoul of."

MonstersandCritics.com

"Clearly having fun in a world of elves, fairies, and high-tech toys, Robson has a great sense of rock and roll, too, which helps lots in this almost-over-the-top confection."

Booklist

"Ms. Robson's blending of pretty hard sci fi with classic fantasy elements is flawless. Her characters are all flawed in very human ways and therefore approachable if not downright likable. I really hate to admit it, but Pyr has brought out yet another great speculative work that deserves to be read."

Of Science Fiction

GOING

UNDER

Silver Screen

Keeping It Real: Quantum Gravity Book One

Selling Out: Quantum Gravity Book Two

GOING

UNDER

JUSTINA ROBSON

an imprint of Prometheus Books
Amherst, NY

Published 2008 by Pyr®, an imprint of Prometheus Books Going Under. Copyright © 2008 by Justina Robson. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a Web site without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Inquiries should be addressed to Pyr 59 John Glenn Drive Amherst, New York 14228-2119 VOICE: 716-691-0133, ext. 210 FAX: 716-691-0137 WWW.PYRSF.COM

12 11 10 09 08 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Robson, Justina. Going under I by Justina Robson. p. cm. - (Quantum gravity ; bk. 3) Originally published: London : Gollancz, an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group, 2008. ISBN 978-1-59102-650-1 (pbk.) 1. Title.

PR6118.028G65 2008 823'.92-dc22 2008030490 Printed in the United States on acid-free paper

n unkempt dawn with ragged clouds crept to daybreak in Demonia. Fitful winds swung the gather-baskets outside the windows and made small trails of raw magic fizz and evaporate out of their tiny holes as Lila watched them move to and fro. Presently the grumbling, muttering form of the Collector appeared on Lila's balcony.

The old demon was almost petrified with age but his movements were sure. Horned, thorned, blue, and knot-sided he climbed along the walls on his sticky feet and plucked the baskets from their hooks, replacing them with empties and chucking the full ones into a large sack on his back with all the expertise of a hundred years of practise. He ignored her, even though she was standing right in front of the full height windows that overlooked her private balcony and in turn she fixed her stare beyond the western edge of the city to the lagoon. It wasn't polite to stare at old demons and they had some interesting curses to award for gawpers.

One of the Collector's feet adhered briefly to the crystal pane in a biologist's miracle of exquisitely tiny scales, hairs, and magic, then was gone without leaving a mark. It was said there was no surface that those creatures (she couldn't remember the name, there were more kinds of demon than there were species in Otopia) couldn't walk on, even the face of eternity.

They said a lot of things like that in Demonia, Lila reflected. To a human these gnarly little gnosticisms became irritating and portentous after a while. It was even more irritating later on at some point, if you stuck around, to discover that most of them were true. A frown made itself on her brow as she drew her silk dressing gown closer around her and folded her arms more tightly. The sight of the rising city was not comforting.

In the dawn's light the dirigibles and boats that never ceased to ply the air and water dimmed their enchantments and changed their signal flags from the glowing night colours to day's brilliant but ordinary hues. Blimps and zeppelins lost their resemblance to giant lightning bugs and became simple balloons. Then the giant gaudy fancy of the Theatre Des Artes suddenly blazed up from the Mousa Precinct as the sun rose high enough to catch its roof. Lila changed the filtering in her eyes to adjust for the shocking glare and continued her monitoring of the activity-demons everywhere, busy, active, full of energy as if there was no tomorrow. She felt tired with the kind of tiredness that follows frenetic activity, fear and grief once it has all passed. Pleasant, but still tired and in need of a lengthy, solitary rest.

There was a sigh and a yawn from behind her in the room. It was followed by the soft sound of silk sheets. From the voice's tone she knew it was her husband, Zal, turning over and stretching out into her part of the bed. He was a heavy sleeper, for an elf, and had a fondness for pretending to lie comatose late into the morning whilst secretly being awake the entire time and composing songs in his head. He said it was the best time of day to imagine new things, before you opened your eyes and the world grabbed your attention and tried to make it fit yesterday instead of today. So she guessed he was wide awake, and faking.

A messenger sprite, decked in house colours, flitted up over her railing and deposited yet another covered basket with a beribboned handle onto the balcony floor after a momentary struggle to find a space among all the other baskets that were already set there, covering the table, the chairs, and some of the larger plant pots. It tipped its ridiculous little blue porter's cap to her when the job was done and zipped off over the roof, farting methane that ignited on contact with its sparking tail and sent it jolting into the sky. The wind made all the ribbons flutter and dance. A few minutes later the clouds disbanded entirely and the sun shone with spring heat through the windows. It was deliciously warm.