Most of the flavor of the first 50 pp. consists of showing how by 2026 the Edinburgh ultra-rationalist oligarchy has become completely totalitarian, Edinburgh itself decrepit, its economy shot (barring fawning to the sacred tourism-cow), its people fearful and everyone ignorant of the outside. [Time to write a cataclysmic finale to the series, I'd say. No wonder Johnston moved on to a Greek series soon after this.] The main secondary characters (Davie and Katherine, Hel and Tam) have edge, but no depth, meaning their banter is not convincing or amusing, just annoying and irrelevant.I suspect Johnston is a lazy researcher - unlike his Edinburgh contemporaries, Jardine and Rankin. His style is descriptive, not nearly allusive enough to engage the imagination. References to real historical events are contrived, and for some reason need to be explained - assuming his readers are as ignorant as most of the characters. The plot is fairly interesting once it gets going, taking Quint, for his first outing of the series, to Glasgow , the much-detested 'democratic' city-state that is a huge economic success. The plot-link that binds the two cities is genetic engineering, with a couple of early mis-products playing a role. Much too long, but after a bit you can suss the bits to skip!Next stop: his second Greek novel... stay tuned.
This book is one in a series set in Edinburgh, Scotland in the 2020's after the world economy has collapsed into scattered city-states due to wars and drugs. Edinburgh is tightly run by the Guardians with the support of auxiliaries, who are referred to by their numbers rather than their names. The Guardians proclaim the city crime-free, but then hire Quint (Quintilian) Dalrymple to solve the crimes that occur. Quint is supported by a great group of friends and acquaintances who are interesting and well fleshed out. The series is amusing and entertaining. In the fourth book, Quint, Davie and Katherine travel to Glasgow to retrieve some Edinburgh teenagers who have been kidnapped, at the same time as Quint is trying to solve murders that are occurring bad in Edinburgh.
