Monster by A. Lee MartinezMonster by A. Lee Martinez

As you may guess, “Monster” is a comedy, and Martinez plays his tropes very well, but at the core of the novel is an attempt to give the whole Occult metaphor a more solid footing, employing ideas out of superstring theory, quantum mechanics, and Omega Point concepts of cyclic universes. The language never strays into the scientific, which would be out of keeping with the almost jocular voice Martinez maintains, but the ideas are there. The world-building is reminiscent of Poul Anderson’s “Operation Chaos.” Keeping everything firmly centered on the two more-or-less ordinary people (one of whom turns out to be anything but ordinary) lifts “Monster” out of the froth of magic for magic’s sake.

via Of Monsters and Metaphors.

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