marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
marycatelli ([personal profile] marycatelli) wrote in [community profile] books2023-01-29 02:33 pm

Babylon Blues

Babylon Blues by Kit Sun Cheah

In a post-apocalyptic Earth, in the midst of cyberpunk wonders, the New Gods have arrived. They offer their Elect enormous powers -- and the peril of becoming a Husk.

This is story cycle (novelette and novella rather than short) with each episode a contained story, but with continued connections. This is the first collection.

It opens with a rookie joining the STS team, which takes down the worst horrors in Nova Babylonia. He's an Elect of a Bright Power (very rare among the New Gods, which is why it's hard for him to join), and other teammates include a sharpshooter, a hacker, and a man who does syncretistic anti-diabolical prayers. Following up a Husk and learning the scale. Other tales involve a trip to the countryside for a new drug and a god not known in the city; a rescue from becoming an Elite; a hacker friend and the issues with DNA encoding on computers; political troubles and being taken off active duty; the Box, the prison that holds even Elite; and more.