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Saturday, November 22, 2008

Dantec - Babylon Babies

Babylon Babies, Maurice G. Dantec, Semiotext(e)2005, Trans. Noura Wedell.

Babylon Babies is a cyber-punk novel on which the movie Babylon A.D. was very loosely based. The novel has Russian and Canadian mobsters, mercenaries, psuedo-religious groups, cyborg societies, genetic engineering, brain implants, psychic powers, killer robots, bio-enhancement and control drugs, ghosts and visions, solid historically - based stuff and science- fiction set in an alternate 2005. There is perhaps too much 'stuff' in the book. Some things are introduced which deserve more development then they receive, other things get more story time then they are worth. The early flashbacks are both effective and needed, but the later flashbacks take us away from the main action too often.

A cool, strange book.