It just was thrown in at really odd times. I've never understood stories where the main characters are running for their lives but they have more than enough time to stop and shag as Lila puts it. And the bad guys never catch up — except in a horror flick.
All in all, I couldn't put it down, it was a fast read. Mar 23, Tim Pendry rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Anyone with a sense of fun. Now this one is really fun. It postulates a surprisingly believable universe of us, demons, faeries, elementals and elves and all sorts with a hard science of sorts back story. The heroine is a tough girly fantasy figure but not stupidly so. She's a bit of a lonely ladette and I suppose she's been written up for the modern twenty something rather than old salts like this reviewer. But she seems real enough and characterisation is good.
Be prepared for some genuinely raunchy sex scenes find Now this one is really fun. Be prepared for some genuinely raunchy sex scenes find out how elves make out with humans and a bit of violence so this is not for the kids - but worth a try. I'll certainly be reading the next in the series. Feb 07, Tammie rated it did not like it. This was such an awesome idea — part android, part woman, suppressed memories, elves, technology, spies, and fast motorbikes… Such a great idea… It starts with a boring introduction — two and a half pages of technical explanation of what the world is, and how it came to be that way.
An explosion that fused a whole bunch of different fantasy worlds to Earth? That could have been awesome! Imagine fire, dust clouds, tall people with pointy ears, demons… You'll have to try hard to imagine it, 'cause This was such an awesome idea — part android, part woman, suppressed memories, elves, technology, spies, and fast motorbikes… Such a great idea… It starts with a boring introduction — two and a half pages of technical explanation of what the world is, and how it came to be that way.
Imagine fire, dust clouds, tall people with pointy ears, demons… You'll have to try hard to imagine it, 'cause you don't get any help from the author! Then enter the hero.
See a Problem?
Spy… Well, at least we think she's a spy. It's hard to tell. The description is vague and caught up in too much uninventive technical jargon. There's this whole "this woman is an enigma wrapped up in a puzzle which you have to solve" which would be wonderful, intellectual, edge-of-seat reading, except you're struggling to work out who's who.
Oh and there's Jimmy Choos on page nine. I cannot forgive Jimmy Choos on page nine. Jimmy Choos by page nine is chick lit formulaic. It's all downhill from here. This could have been so much fun. These two worlds were meant to join — to be thrown against each other in an explosion of culture, beautiful adjectives, and witty dialogue. Mar 22, Danielle rated it liked it Shelves: Uniquely envisioned story, another satisfying combination of Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres.
I have to admit I enjoyed the first half sci-fi a little more than the second half fantasy ; can't really pinpoint exactly why. Harder to put down. I really just enjoy a good chase scene on a motorcycle. I am waffling as to whether or not to put it on my lesson-in-feminism shelf or not, but I think I won't. Yes, it's a revisionary female character And her sexuality felt less "acted upon" and more of an active kind than most sex scenes I've had the misfortune to read.
And different is good--but they aren't a solution, to be sure. So I'll give kudos where due to the author, but can't endorse it as a lesson in feminism. Specifically, kudos are due for how the female character Lila had to develop the mental and emotional strength to support the drastic new life she was forced to lead, to make something of it she could live with and even be proud of. She didn't spend a lot of time thinking about it, or breaking it down or conscious-raising; she just was. Good to see a writer who understands this and appreciates the process without throwing pacing, plot and suspense out the window.
Jan 01, Coffcat rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: I really enjoyed reading this book. I was a little skeptical at first because I thought the title was kind of stupid. I'm still not really certain what the title has to do with the story, eh well But I was intrigued by the book cover and the plot that included both fantasy and sci-fi.
I admired the author's ability to create a such a well rounded central character-bein I really enjoyed reading this book. I admired the author's ability to create a such a well rounded central character-being able to play up her tough image is easy enough since she's part cyborg, but also knowing of her as a young woman filled with sorrow was interesting.
The author also does not pull any punches when it comes to keeping the story moving along. She is not afraid to make big changes to locations, characters and takes the assumptions you make and tosses them right out the door. I found myself many times thinking that I'd put the book down and bam! I read the whole book in one sitting and I can't wait to read the next two. I can only hope that they're as good as the first.
Dec 08, Heidi rated it really liked it. New series that looked intriguing from the blurb on the back. NOT your typical fantasy at all! Humerous writing, clever, and unique. Lila Black is a survivor of a magickal attack, saved only by technology that makes her body more machine than human, except for her heart. Her first job out of recovery is to protect Zal, rockstar and somewhat renegade elf, from a death threat from his own people. What seems like a simple bodyguard job New series that looked intriguing from the blurb on the back. What seems like a simple bodyguard job turns into so much more when Zal is kidnapped and she has to find him before his enemies decide to sacrifice him in a misguided attempt to seal the rift that formed when the Quantum bomb exploded on the world formerly known as Earth and opened the gates to six other worlds.
And in the middle of it all, she has to deal with her feelings about what she's become, and whether or not her attraction to Zal is real, or just part of the game. Loved this book enough to buy books two and three of the series. Can't emphasize enough that this isn't your typical fantasy or alternate universe series. Its raw, edgy, and darkly humerous.
Jan 26, Jeffrey rated it liked it Shelves: I would have given this book 4 stars in a minute because it has great action, a super heroine, more shooting things than you can shake a stick at and seems to be a kind of urban fantasy all set in a really cool and imaginative tableau plus it has elves and motorcycles and a lot of action, oh yeah did I mention a lot of action, this book runs away with you, but I really did not like the ending all that much, so I docked it a star. But if you like fun reads and um action, you should give it a try.
Mar 05, Helen rated it did not like it Shelves: Gave up after about 70 pages. I found the story dull and confusing, and the writing clumsy. It starts with some massive information dumps, and just nothing makes sense! Apr 20, Liam Hey Ashers! This is a ranty review originally posted on Hey Ashers! It's too long for Goodreads; to read it in its entirety and see full-size versions of the pictures , click here! High Hello again, Katie! I blame the latter on watching Aliens as an impressionable young thing, and being smitten with Ripley's Cat This is a ranty review originally posted on Hey Ashers!
I blame the latter on watching Aliens as an impressionable young thing, and being smitten with Ripley's Caterpillar Powerloader. So imagine my delight when a friend let me borrow Keeping It Real , which features a cyborg woman defending an elf man who's a rock star, FYI against politically-motivated assassination attempts. There's not much plot in its synopsis; it's presented as more of a romance than anything else—which I probably should have taken into consideration when I first started reading. Let me tell you why. And by that I mean "spoil practically the entire novel.
The elves are especially horrified by this development; they're isolationists, staunchly anti-technology, and prefer peace and calm and communing with nature to, well, anything else. So when one if their own, the highborn Zal, moves to the human realm and starts eating meat horror! She's posing as a bodyguard from some random bodyguard agency, and let me tell you, she is really bad at being an undercover operative.
Anyway, Zal is kidnapped by the evil?
There are some double-crossings and some uncertain loyalties and whatnot, which I approved of. There's some neat elf magic stuff, which I also approved of. There's a deus ex machina dragon at the very end, and you know how I adore dragons regardless of their deus ex machina status. So why do I only give this book two stars?
It's either too rocky to dig, the clay is too unstable, or the water table is too high. Unfortunately, this is the very first sentence in the book, and immediately set my eyes a-narrowing. It's definitely a minor detail, and as a Texan I am perhaps picky about Texas-related details as previously noted. However, this is the kind of detail that I would expect an editor to pick up on—and it's only the first in a series of should-have-been-edited errors of the factual, stylistic, and continuity variety. Don't Skimp on the Logic Aspect of Worldbuilding I was definitely fascinated by the elves' realm which I'll describe a bit more later , but was pretty confused about the human one.
The story takes place in —five years after the explosion that made inter-realm travel possible—which makes it kind of hilarious to read: Because if there's one thing humans are good at, it's unifying efficiently and without conflict. Also odd is this: So demons and elves have both been intimately aware of the existence of extradimensional regions, and both called this type of reality the Aetherstream—but upon meeting the humans, they both adopted the human phrase for it: Even though humans weren't aware of I-space until the demons showed them that it existed.
Don't Think Readers Won't Notice the Story's Illogical Premise A premise is a fairly important aspect of a story, being, you know, what the story is built upon. An illogical premise makes for an illogical story. And boy does this story have some premise problems. A year couple of years? Things went, shall we say, badly. Now, I love her cyborgness, and I'll describe that in more detail in a little while.
Why is this a problem? Lila is terrified of elves as a result of the whole tortured-nigh-unto-death experience. Oh, and deeply prejudiced against them, might I add. I don't remember if it was explained why Lila is the operative chosen for this mission, though this tidbit does come up during a mild argument between Lila and Zal about whether or not he should do what she tells him to: So not only is she terrified of elves, she doesn't even have to be on this mission because there are plenty of others who would happily accept it.
Now, I'm not a psychologist, but it seems a tad bit unlikely that Lila would work through such deep-rooted psychological issues within, say, fifteen minutes. As a reader, I'd want to see this sort of emotional progress take, oh, the majority of the book, at least. But as the synopsis suggests, the romance is more important than any realistic character development or arc, and almost as soon as Lila is over her fear of elves, she's telling herself not to be so attracted to Zal.
Oh, and since I mentioned psychologists: This poor woman quite desperately wants Lila to open up about being tortured and the transition from human to cyborg, but apparently Lila has other ideas. Let me restate that to accurately express my astonishment: Lila was tortured to the brink of death while on a mission in the elves' realm Alfheim , and saved only by being transformed into a cyborg. She's essentially a one-woman army now.
She's been physically rehabilitated and sent back out into the field, working as a lone operative on solo missions. The latest of which is to be the personal bodyguard of an elf. And the Agency never once made her sit down and talk with a psychologist. Only after Lila has begun her mission to protect Zal does this happen: You read that correctly.
She was just patched up to be flippant about it and sent back out in the field. Specifically, into a mission working for an elf. What kind of Agency is this? How could thorough psychological rehabilitation not be included in Lila's post-operative treatment? Katie, I'm despairing over here. It doesn't get better from there. I'll repeat that for emphasis: To stock up on weapons and supplies.
After being on the job for less than a day. This is their top operative, really? I'm not sure why she thinks she needs backup for a potential kidnapping situation, but doesn't need backup for potential assassination attempts. Also, she doesn't actually get backup. During the time Lila spends as Zal's bodyguard, her skills are tested three times.
She basically fails the first two, and definitely fails the third. She fights two small assailants presumably an assassination attempt and gets poisoned and then knocked out. She fights two adult assailants and is so badly outmatched that she goes into Battle Standard mode which is awesome! She faces off with two adult assailants, and although she holds her own much better this time, Zal is still kidnapped.
After the first time, surely someone—Lila or her superiors—should have thought, "You know, maybe having a single bodyguard on this mission isn't enough. Maybe two would be better. But if the story requires Lila to a be an elite operative with the National Security Agency, and b suck at her job, I want to know why she is elite if she sucks as much as she does. This would've been a great time for her fear of elves to make itself known, for example—except, of course, that would accentuate how dumb the premise is.
Also, she's able to shut down her fear responses through the use of her Artificial-Intelligence-self, which is cool. This isn't the explanation for how she got over her fear of elves so quickly, alas. It's obviously necessary to have a flawed protagonist, one who makes mistakes and messes things up. No one enjoys reading about the bad ass who is so good at killing that she doesn't so much as break a sweat , because there's no tension or stakes involved when she's obviously going to win every battle.
The problem is when the character's mistakes and limitations should receive a certain type of response say, from her superiors but don't. If an operative is struggling with her mission, her superiors would send assistance. So there's another logic flaw for you: Cyborgs As I mentioned, I'm into cyborgs. Like, everything about cyborgs fascinates me.
I think it started young watching Star Trek was a family affair when I was growing up, and man those Borg were scary , but didn't really become an obsession until I read Donna Haraway's A Cyborg Manifesto halfway through my master's program. That one article changed the whole course of my master's degree, and has greatly impacted both what I look for in a book and what I write, myself. But suffice to say that I'm thrilled with Lila's cyborgness. She looks pretty neat: Do I wish it had been more carefully and thoroughly explored?
But there are some acceptable nods toward the issues inherent in cyborgness, and I appreciated those. Such as, of course, her sense of self: I've already referenced two of my favorite things about Lila's cyborg self: Her AI-self is almost exactly what it sounds like: It's not intelligent in the sense that she has conversations with it, though. Her control over it is pretty thorough, and it allows her to do some neat stuff. The only complication with her AI-self so far is that its Battle Standard mode is a tad bit Battle Standard is that super hardcore mode she can turn on when she's in a really bad spot, and I love both the AI-self and the glitchy Battle Standard, and all the cool things Lila can do with her cyborg body.
Interesting Elf-Related Concepts Elves have kind of been done to death across all media, but a I still love them, and b I get quite excited when I come across a new or not-often-seen twist on the traditional elf. Keeping It Real offered some of that! First is the andalune , which is something like an elf's In the elves' realm, however, it extends further than just a short distance from the elf's body, actually becoming one with the energy field of nature. The andalune does a great job of providing some additional explanation for why the elves are so nature-centric; they are literally connected to and dependent on nature at every level of their being.
This is neat, particularly when so many elvish societies out there are nature-loving because that's just what elves are. The other neat thing is the Game—a sort of trap that ensnares an elf and a human or two elves, or an elf and a demon The wild magic loves secrets, and seeing them manifest in the real world—so if an elf and a human are at odds, and one or both has desires that they are denying, wild magic is likely to initiate a Game to see that those desires are forced into the open. Of course, there's a science-fictiony sort of explanation offered: Needless to say, Lila and Zal almost immediately get sucked into a Game revolving around it's assumed Lila's repressed attraction to Zal.
Each Game has a Victory condition in their case, the loser begs the winner to end the Game—and by "end the Game" I do mean "sate the loser's lust" and a Forfeit punishment here, the one who forfeits will never be able to love anyone but the winner. Honestly, I think this is super neat. Humans are generally acknowledged as the predetermined losers, because elves and demons are such more more adept at them.
Games between faeries and powerful human businessmen almost led to an economic collapse on earth, and everyone knows that if you commit a homicide as a result of a Game, you can easily get that charge downgraded to manslaughter. Yes, the Game is an excuse to up the sexual tension between Lila and Zal, but I love the concept of the Game for its own sake. A Reversal of Stereotypical Gender Roles You are of course shocked to hear that I'm keenly interested in gender issues identity, representation, roles, etc. Not terribly surprising, I guess, since this story is about a female protecting a male, but it goes beyond that basic premise.
First, there are the physical differences. Lila and Zal are the same height unless Lila artificially alters her height by manipulating her cyborg legs , but where Lila is all metal and muscle, Zal is willowy grace, big eyes, and long hair. Not surprising, I guess, because he's an elf, and the stereotypical elf male these days is super androgynous—but nonetheless, I enjoyed it. Zal's personality is cocky and playful, which leads him to tease and test the businesslike Lila when they first meet.
Her first official duty as his bodyguard is to transport him from his home to his recording studio, and she has her fancy motorcycle all ready to go for just that. Naturally, this becomes an opportunity for him to try to push her buttons: Lizzy would've loved all the motorcycle stuff.
Keeping It Real
I'll give Keeping It Real a solid two stars for effort. But it did have its neat points including one in particular that I didn't mention because I want there to be at least one good surprise in there if you read it yourself. I might consider reading the next in the series, Selling Out, but it'd be low on my to-read list.
Jul 01, Bookguide rated it really liked it Recommends it for: This is probably not a book for die-hard fantasy or sci fi fans, but it's amusing and entertaining enough for the rest of us, and if you enjoy the sort of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' episode which concentrates on relationships or holodeck fun, you'll probably enjoy this. Outwardly fantasy, featuring elves, demons, faeries and elementals, with a series title which hints at sci fi Quantum Gravity and a cyborg for a heroine, I was a bit puzzled by the lack of science in this book, and I'm at This is probably not a book for die-hard fantasy or sci fi fans, but it's amusing and entertaining enough for the rest of us, and if you enjoy the sort of 'Star Trek: Outwardly fantasy, featuring elves, demons, faeries and elementals, with a series title which hints at sci fi Quantum Gravity and a cyborg for a heroine, I was a bit puzzled by the lack of science in this book, and I'm at a loss to explain the title.
I wasn't entirely sure if I was going to enjoy 'Keeping It Real', billed on the back cover as "full of sex and elves and motorbikes". Nevertheless, it really was an extremely enjoyable tale with sexual tension between the main characters, a journey of discovery into the unfamiliar world of the elves with the promise of more to come in the other books in the series.
Taking away the fantasy background, this story is about trying to break down barriers between races, breaking cultural taboos and proving that mixing races will not lead to the breakdown of society. It is also about identity: Our heroine, Lila is prejudiced against elves, mostly because one did a pretty good job of trying to kill her. What's more, he is consorting with demons strangely reminiscent of heavy metal fans , faeries and elementals.
Lila has a big chip on her shoulder about elves but is drawn into a magical Game with Zal, ensnared by wild magic; they share an irresistible chemistry. As the plot thickens and everyone is under suspicion of threatening Zal, the couple finds itself being pursued by members of the elf secret service, one of whom turns out to be Dar, the elf who nearly destroyed Lila. As in the best fantasy, a magical journey ensues with many dangers along the way with twists and turns, surprises and revelations and mutual suspicion between the characters.
Nobody can be trusted to tell the whole truth. It turns out that Zal is not the only elf attracted to Lila, against all the odds. There is action in the lake which couldn't help but remind me of the scene in the lake in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Justina Robson has fun mentioning various cultural references, some of them exceptionally British, so they might be lost on other nationalities; this doesn't detract from the plot but does mean you could miss some of the humour.
Sometimes that goes a little awry. I wonder how deliberate that was. Attitudes are very inflexible. They are disgusted by it. A full name has a deep magic allowing one elf to control another; elves guard their full names jealously and try to keep them out of their enemies' hands. This is a very feminine take on fantasy, so if you are looking for Bladerunner-style hard-edged sci fi, this isn't the book for you. If you like your elves sexy, your heroines intelligent and strong and don't mind some magic in the mix, I'd recommend 'Keeping It Real' whatever that means.
Also recommended for fans of Jasper Fforde's 'Thursday Next' series. View all 13 comments. Dec 30, Karissa rated it really liked it. This is the first book in the Quantum Gravity series by Justina Robson. So far there are four books in the series with a 5th being planned for future release. I wasn't able to find the number of books actually contracted for this series. Anyway, I really liked it. It is a great first book in the series and I want to learn a lot more about both the world and the characters. A quantum bomb exploded in ripping a hole in reality and revealing five other realities; an elven realm, an elemental re This is the first book in the Quantum Gravity series by Justina Robson.
A quantum bomb exploded in ripping a hole in reality and revealing five other realities; an elven realm, an elemental realm, a demon realm, the realm of death, and Otopia Used to be known as Earth. Zal is an elf that has abandoned his homeland and become half demon; he then entered Otopia and started performing as a rock star. The elven community wants him dead and Lila Black is the one assigned to guard him. Lila is not quite human.
She got into a horrible accident and the only way to save her life was for her to agree to be part of an experiment. Now she is part AI, part cyborg, and part human. Initially she thinks that she is guarding a rock star This was a very creative book. I loved the five realms with a possible sixth somewhere they were awesome. We really only get to visit Otopia and the Elven realm, Alfheim, in a lot of depth and I am eager to visit the other realms. The characters are very engaging. All of them have their heroic points and their flaws. Lila and Zal both struggle with being different in a world where things are more bizarre than ever before.
Keeping It Real (novel) - Wikipedia
The dialogue was witty and funny most of the time; Lila in general is a kick butt character always ready with a quick jibe and tease. The plot is complex and densely packed. There is a ton of action and Robson does a very good job writing the action scenes. Robson's writing style is pretty straight-forward, there is not a lot of flowery language here or over-description, the writing style fits the story well so it all works out.
There were some small problems with the book. The whole world actually five worlds are a lot to throw at a reader all at once; it can get a little bit confusing. I thought this was handled okay. Also most of the book is written from Lila's viewpoint, then suddenly in the second half some chapters are from Zal's point of view. This was a bit odd; although it worked okay, it took me a few moments to figure out what was going on.
The last problem was that a lot hinges on The Game that Lila and Zan are bound up in. I never really understood what a Game was or how it got initiated; I understand it happens through Wild Magic but I though that aspect of the plot could have been clarified better. Other than the above, I thought the complicated world and plot was handled pretty well.
The characterization, world-building, and action scenes were fantastic. I am really, really looking forward to reading more books in this series. I stumbled upon this series in a special display at a bookstore and I am wondering why this series isn't getting better coverage. It is a good series. People who have described it as Dragonlance meets Star Trek are right on. I can't wait to see what the next book holds. Jun 23, Janice Janicu rated it it was amazing. The basic premise is that Lila Black, a special agent with a body that is mostly machine, has been tasked to protect the lead singer of The No Shows - an elf named Zal.
Zal is unusual amongst his kind and has made a strange choice to be "slumming" down on Earth. Someone from Alfheim, who disapproves of Zal's lifestyle is sending him death threats. Half of the book takes place on Earth and the other on Alfheim, but I don't think I can even begin to start describing it. It was so much fun to read!
How do I explain why!? First of all - this was not done in a fluffy silly way - when I tried to explain it to someone: It's not like that at all. The characters are compelling. Lila is a woman who has guns popping out of her body and rides a black motorbike, but she's very confused about how she feels about elves - they almost killed her and that's what made her this way. She has difficulties with accepting what she looks like now. And Zal is a bit of a mystery at first, an elf who has chosen to defy his people and "go native" in another world, exiled because of his choices.
His character is rather complex and undefinable. There were a couple of other very interesting characters I wish I could get into but I can't without giving away big chunks of plot. Speaking of the the plot, it unlike anything else I've read, unpredicable, full of action and thrills. There are a lot of pop culture references and jokes other reviews say many funny LoTR references, which totally went past me, I haven't read those books since I was 14 , but you don't need to get them to enjoy the story.
The only thing I'd complain about is that there were times in the story where, especially dealing with elves, I felt like they understood something about what was going on that I did not why did they do that now? Maybe this lends itself to the whole clash of cultures between human and elf, or maybe I just need to reread those parts. I felt like Robson was an intellectual writing something fun instead of something with a serious agenda.
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Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time. Definition of keep it real. Learn More about keep it real. Share keep it real. Resources for keep it real Time Traveler! Explore the year a word first appeared. Dictionary Entries near keep it real keep in touch keep in with keep it down keep it real keep it simple keep kosher keep off.