In Keeping it Real we met Lila, Miss Cyborg Protector of the Year and Zal, Mister Improbable Elf Rocker. Lila was to protect Zal, Zal just had to stay alive...it was pretty simple at first. So of course things had to go hairy real quick, causing all sorts of problems (not the least of which Lila reuniting with the Elf who messed up her body to begin with) and ending all sorts of problems.

Selling Out, the second book, at least grants the fact that Lila is getting a crappy job with little chance of real success and high probability of death, dismemberment and lack of back-up. Sent to Demonia to retrieve whatever information she could on Zal the half demon elf, Lila is ill-prepared for much of what awaits. Nothing new, since she was ill-prepared for most of Keeping it Real as well, but her ingenuity and stubbornness once again helps her to survive. Zal meanwhile is on a mission to protect her, since the Game they are both playing has not played it self out (well that's one of the reasons) and that's when things get really weird.

I can definitely say I read through this sequel with more reluctance than the first book. The first book was such a wonder and filled with such keen things that the fact I lost track of things on occasion didn't bother me overmuch. It bothered me more in this book. True, Robson does an outstanding job describing Demonia and its societal structuring (middle management really is hell), but its not enough to hold together some of the fragmented pieces of plot.

Between the abrupt shifts in narrative focus (Lila, Zal and even Malachi each have separate adventures that we follow), somewhat pointless nature too much of what happens to all three characters and lack of adequate bantering time for Lila and Zal, the book had me spending more time wondering when things would make sense then concentrating on the story itself. I will say this, I liked Malachi quite a bit in the first book and was sad by how little we saw him, Robson makes up for it twofold in this book. Sadly I'm not sure the screen-time he had was completely necessary.

As of this review there are two more books already out in the Quantum Gravity series Going Under (Book 3) and Chasing the Dragon (Book 4). It’s my assumption that what happened to each character will have more impact in the next novels, but that's just a guess on my part. While this was a fun ride, it was too often confusing and jumbled to be truly entertaining. ( )

This book is exciting, romantic. This series is definitely worth a read.
( )

It did not catch my interest as much as the first book, and I was sort of willing myself to get to the end.

Saying that though, I will read the next book!

A light, easy quick read :) ( )

There is a phrase to describe this sci-fi slash fantasy read: bat-shit crazy. If I could still follow book #1, this one had a lot of infodumps and incredibly detailed complex worlds. My head was spinning, but I still enjoyed Lila and Co. adventures. She is a secret agent and a cyborg falling for a dark elf/demon. What's not to love? Add a loyal fae friend, different dimensions and incredible vicious beauty of demon realms, and you have one mesmerizing pain in the butt of a book. Similar reads: none. Maybe Fifth Element and Final Fantasy? ( )

I really enjoyed the first in this series, which was a pleasant inter-genre affair with an interesting main character. Lila's attempts to survive politics, deadly mysteries and hot elf action were entertaining, and Robson presented her setting with a fair amount of subtlety.

This book was a big turnaround. Gone is most of the romance angle, with Lila's best boy stranded in a different dimension, so we can't enjoy their interactions. Both are also separated from Lila's buddies, which also cuts down on characterisation. Instead, the novel focuses on two things: dimensional politics, and the convoluted metaphysics of this multiverse. The problem here is that I really wasn't interested in these, and there's an awful lot of it. It doesn't help that every universe is somewhat arbitrary because of the mystical-magical thing that's going on, so not only is there a new fantasy culture and appearance to learn about, but the basic laws of the universe can differ. And I just don't particularly care about that. I don't mind learning this stuff as you go along, but I don't want it as the focus of the book.

From what I've heard, the rest of the series is even more focused on the metaverse stuff, so I'll give it a pass. I came for tongue-in-cheek technofantastical romance adventure, not a DM's guide. ( )