Published By: Angry Robot
Pages: 400
Released On: 09/01/2024
Set in a world of the near future, the celebrity elite have access to a technology that allows them to make perfect copies of themselves, known as Portraits. These Portraits exist to fulfil all the various duties that come as the price of fame.
Our protagonist is the thirteenth copy made of the actress known as Lulabelle Rock. Her purpose is very simple: to track down and eliminate her predecessors.
While initially easy, her task is made difficult by the labyrinthine confusion of Bubble City and the unfortunate stirrings of a developing conscience. When she makes the mistake of falling in love with one of her targets, the would-be assassin faces the ultimate question; when you don’t want to kill yourself, what’s the alternative?
*****
Thanks to Angry Robot for the advanced proof of this title in return for an honest review.
I am really torn about this book. In some ways I liked it, but there were just a few too many negative points about it for me.
But first, the positive.
It really grabs you from the start. There’s no fluffing, no scene setting as such, no hanging about. You’re introduced to the main characters and the set up of the plot within the first chapter, so you’re thrown into the action almost instantly.
It’s weird and unique and plays with your mind and your morals, and so in that sense, I think it was good, to be able to produce such a weird story but make it make sense in context is, I think, much harder than it looks.
Each chapter is focussed on one of the other 12 clones. On the surface, I felt this was a good way to format it because it gives you a dedicated space to focus on each clone and how they differ from each other and how they’re the same.
However.
It felt a bit…a bit like it was following a template. Each chapter, whilst interesting, is very similar, quite, dot-to-do, almost: sit in the car, look at the file, drive to the clone, kill the clone, get in the car, look at the file, drive to the clone, kill the clone, etc. etc. It didn’t spoil the reading as such, but it was quite repetitive and in the end became quite boring.
If I’m being honest, I felt it opened with such high expectations and I was really excited about reading it, but it gradually lost my interest. I can’t say anything bad about the writing itself as such, but it got repetitive and I was often tempted to skip a few chapters, knowing the story probably wouldn’t change much.
It did pick up by the end, but I felt the main third or so was just the same thing over and over again and didn’t hold my attention, but a promising start and finish.
It is Maude’s debut novel and whilst it may not have 100% been for me, I think she’s going to be a very interesting author to read.
Books By Your Bedside 