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Zootsuit Black by Jon George
01/10/2006 . Source: Phil Jones 
pub: TOR-UK. 324 page enlarged paperback. Price: £10.99 (UK). ISBN: 0-4050-3398-3. Buy Zootsuit Black in the USA - or Buy Zootsuit Black in the UK  check out website: www.panmillan.com and www.toruk.com
The world appears to edging toward an apocalyptic precipice, but some people like Scott Anderson are involved in an interactive reality show broadcast over the web - a sort of Internet big brother with the contestants being voted off. Contestants go about their lives with a small webcam hovering around them linked to their mobile/computer they can choose when they are on air, but they lose votes for every 5 seconds they are off air. Scott is not a contestant for himself but using it as a platform to get his views about Pascal Toluene aired. Pascal is a dark right wing media mogul figure who we never really get told about in great depth.
Scott likes to visit old sites, especially World War II sites, giving his web viewers a potted history and guide to the places and areas he visits. He is often interrupted by flashes where he is involved in historical war events and places. The flashes become more real having an effect on his physical state back in the 'real' present world. He starts realising he is reliving his grandparents' lives in small snippets back in WWII. Going from being a bomber to a Czech Special Ops resistance freedom fighter.
Scott's friends are a mixed bunch. TC is traumatised after losing her mother in a car crash. Jenny is a new age type who Scott falls in love with, but we find out little else about her. Jake is an American headhunted to work in a research centre specialising in crowd control. He is running experiments with mice studying group behaviour. Jake, too, experiences flashes where he enters alternate reality where he fights mythical beasts such as dragons and the like and finds that physical effects are carried over from the flashes.
Throughout the book, there are hints of people disappearing. This is hinted at with TC's mother's crash. There was someone else in the car as she wasn't driving. Later, Scott joins TC in her mother's bedroom and are both puzzled by a strange man in a photo with TC's mother. They come to realise that it must be TC's dad, but no one can remember him.
The situation heightens when the mice Jake is studying form a collective mind and then suddenly disappear. Jake has a revelation of what is going on and needs a way to communicate this to as many people as possible.
The conclusion of the book involves some impressive use of time travel and although the book starts from a scientific point of view it evolves into something discussing a more mystical standpoint. There are some interesting points raised such as civil liberties and privacy and evolution not only in a physical but mystical sense as well.
There are problems though. We only really get to know Scott and, to a lesser extent, Jake. Scott driven by a sense of subversiveness with regard to his family and this is heightened by further revelations towards the end of the book. This gives Scott's character a single-mindedness in both behaviour and outlook and leaves him a little myopic. That's not to say I didn't like the character of Scott or Jake for that matter. A broader aspect to characters wouldn't have gone amiss.
One area which did fall short is the description of scenes. They feel lifeless and lacking except for the WWII scenes which were the complete opposite. Totally immersive and bursting with Jon George's love of history. It's just a really shame the scenes in the books present weren't as involving.
There is a lot to like about this book. It brings some interesting ideas to the table and there is nothing wrong with mixing Science Fiction with mysticism. It just a shame the writing sometimes wasn't just that bit tighter and less meandering. A worthy read and I think Jon George with a bit more editing could produce really impressive books.
Phil Jones
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