Book Review
Aug. 21st, 2023 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe Shamshine Blind
by Paz Pardo
This noir-ish detective novel is set in an alternate 2009 where Argentina won the Falklands war and has become a major world power while the US has declined. Argentina won the war through the invention and deployment of colored powders that induce emotions in people. In the intervening years, these powders have been further developed as weapons, psychiatric treatments, and recreational drugs. Psychopigment Enforcement Agent Kay Curtida works in Daly City, a run-down suburb of San Francisco. When a routine case involving illegal pigment development turns out to be more than it seems, Curtida becomes involved in unraveling a dangerous conspiracy.
While the mystery plot was pretty interesting, what I liked best about this book was the setting and characters. Curtida is very much a noir detective in her attitude and approach to life. I loved the unfolding of her relationships with her fellow agents, her mother, and the various townspeople, both shady and not-so-shady, that she interacts with. The bleakness and weirdness of the setting made it fascinating even if it's not a future I would want to experience. Plus, the way emotional manipulation and its dangers are made physical and visible in this world makes for some interesting observations about psychology and its uses.
by Paz Pardo
This noir-ish detective novel is set in an alternate 2009 where Argentina won the Falklands war and has become a major world power while the US has declined. Argentina won the war through the invention and deployment of colored powders that induce emotions in people. In the intervening years, these powders have been further developed as weapons, psychiatric treatments, and recreational drugs. Psychopigment Enforcement Agent Kay Curtida works in Daly City, a run-down suburb of San Francisco. When a routine case involving illegal pigment development turns out to be more than it seems, Curtida becomes involved in unraveling a dangerous conspiracy.
While the mystery plot was pretty interesting, what I liked best about this book was the setting and characters. Curtida is very much a noir detective in her attitude and approach to life. I loved the unfolding of her relationships with her fellow agents, her mother, and the various townspeople, both shady and not-so-shady, that she interacts with. The bleakness and weirdness of the setting made it fascinating even if it's not a future I would want to experience. Plus, the way emotional manipulation and its dangers are made physical and visible in this world makes for some interesting observations about psychology and its uses.
