Description:

Pining away in a dead-end job for which she endlessly meters out a powerful energy substance known as plasm, Aiah discovers an unlimited plasm supply and arranges a daring plan with a mysterious rebel to overthrow the government.

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From Publishers Weekly

The world created in Williams's (Aristoi) latest novel is similar enough to our own that the SF aspects blend with noir stylings to create a potent atmosphere of urban dystopia. Williams tells the tale of Aiah, a lower-level government functionary whose investigation of a "plasm" leak leads her into a macabre alliance with the powerful rebel Constantine, whose financial success has been built in part on a failed revolution he instigated several years before. Joined by Constantine's associate and occasional paramour Sorya (who declares, paraphrasing Leona Helmsley, that "laws are made by little people"), the three valiantly plan to restart the revolution. The action is often hectic, complete with several red herrings concerning who will betray whom first. Williams's great strengths, though, are his depiction of future society-in "the city that girdles the world," street vendors sell roasted pigeon-on-a-stick-and his understanding of the roots of political rebellion; here, he presents a solid case that rebellion arises not in response to large evils but to small slights. Ever the expert storyteller, Williams is also careful to provide more than enough suspense to maintain reader interest.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As an executive employed by the Plasm Authority, an organization responsible for monitoring the distribution of the geo-plasmic energy that fuels the workings of the world's elite technomancers, Aiah dreams of escape from her confining and stagnant existence. When she discovers a limitless source of unregistered plasm, she embarks on a daring scheme that raises her to the threshold of political power. Set upon a planet dominated by one globe-spanning metropolitan sprawl, Williams's latest novel envisions a world in which magic and technology form an unbreachable coalition. Although the author of Days of Atonement (LJ 3/15/91) continues to explore new territory, his focus rests solidly on the creation of believable, sympathetic characters supported by a well-turned plot. Libraries should consider this a priority purchase.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.