Publisher's Weekly Review

This urban dystopia is set in a futuristic South Africa where having one's cell phone disconnected is tantamount to exile and holding a corporate job is the only way to avoid becoming a "Rural" or worse. Bio-engineered dogs and remote-controlled electrocution help the government maintain control. Beukes writes from the perspectives of four main characters; one of which, Toby, is a reality-show blogger whose coat is both camera and screen, while another, Kendra, is an artist who has rediscovered the film camera. While Kendra has herself injected with new nanotechnology in exchange for becoming a corporate brand sponsor, her friends are hacking computerized billboards and scamming online game companies. But Beukes' novel is more than "standard anti-corp" protesting youth, it's reminiscent of Gibson, Stephenson or Doctorow-at times, predictably so. Nevertheless it's a good ride, even with some awkward futuristic slang and a few too many cliffhanger chapters. (Oct.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.