The Invisible by Seb Doubinsky

The Invisible Reviews

• 
  Bandit

  This was quite a strange book. I actually selected it based on the publishers who are known to put out some interesting and very different sort of literature into the world and this novel was definitely very much within those criteria. I’ve never read the author before, but having done some research afterwards, it turns out all of his books are set in the same universe, a world of city states and their complex politics. Although it stands to mention that this book read perfectly well as a standalone as the author gradually expanded his world building throughout the story. So the story itself is about a freshly appointed city commissioner of New Babylon. An honest man, a man of integrity, a former police detective, he tries to do the right thing as he is tasked with finding out more about the LSD de jour, Synth, a new brain altering chemical on the market, something that allows its users to change their world perception. Not just a new way to get high, but possibly a new way of living. Definitely subversive enough to investigate. Then there’s a dead body, so it turns into a murder investigation. Then there’s an election coming up, wherein the current POTUS Delgado (perfectly modeled on the US popular choice of 2016) has to compete with the populist Rust (perfectly modeled on the US somehow actual political choice of 2016). So that’s a lot for the justgothere city commissioner to navigate and he does so nicely to his credit. The man lets his integrity be his compass (unusual as that is in politics) and lets his conscience and maybe an occasional visitation from an Egyptian deity steer him through the increasingly muddy waters of New Babylon. That probably would have been enough for a story, but the author threw more into that kitchen sink, there’s also subversive poetry and a secret society dedicated to watching out for a very specific sort of occurrence based on collective will and projection (my favorite aspect of the story) and so on. It’s pretty great, actually, It’s one of those novels that improves itself progressively as it goes along. Deceptively simplistic at first with minimal paragraphs and streamlined narrative, this tale gets more and more intricate and intriguing as it unravels. It remains sparse and streamlined throughout, very quick read, but there’s a lot in here for the world count. It’s certainly an inviting introduction to the author’s imaginary world of city states. Different. Interesting. Clever. Entertaining. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
• 
  Katie

  The Invisible is a noir police mystery set in the not-quite-New-York city of New Babylon. Georg Ratner is the police commissioner, and finds himself walking the tightrope of politics during an election year while investigating the murder of his former partner and the appearance of a new and mysterious drug called Synth. Not only that, but he also has to contend with a city-wide strike, a dead poet, and a secret society who believe that corruption is a living entity.
  
  The mystery deepens when he finds that there seems to be no central s0urce for the drug, and moreover it seems to have no negative side effects, but enhances creativity and peaceful feelings. Yet his superiors seem to want to crack down on it even more.
  
  The book consists of very short, choppy chapters, most less than a page, and is divided into sections named after the major arcana in Tarot. This imbues the story with a mystical feel which contrasts with the gritty reality of murder and corruption in a very intriguing way. The magic intensifies when it's revealed that the Egyptian goddess Nut occasionally appears to Ratner in his dreams, giving him advice and answering questions. Music also plays an important part, with Ratner listening to songs inspired by the drug Synth and seeking out its creators. Despite the brevity of the text, the author pauses to describe a smell or the beauty of the season, which also helped to add a sense of the ethereal.
  
  The Invisible is part of the City-States Cycle series. I wasn't able to find a numbered listing but it seems to be at least the tenth book set in this world so far.
  
  I have to admit, it annoys me when I read a book and don't find out until later that it's one of the latter books in a series. I'm just a bit OCD that way. I was confused about some questions that presumably would have been explained had I read the series from the start. For example, the setting -- very similar to Earth but with different city and country names. Is it an alternate history or something else? Is it the kind of universe where magic is real? Can a goddess really help Ratner or is he just hallucinating?
  
  The story also ended quite abruptly, with the mystery on the verge of being solved. It's hard to say whether the author intended it to be a self-contained ending, or if the mystery is solved in the next novel. If it's the author's style to leave major questions unanswered at the end of a novel, I can accept that, but if it's an attempt at drawing the reader in to continue on to the next in the series, it's kind of annoying.
  
  Despite this, I did enjoy the story and found the concept of a harmless drug and a police commissioner guided by a goddess to be intriguing, and I have to admit, the brief chapters appealed to my ever-shrinking attention span.
  
  
  Would I read more by this author? Yes!
  
  

  Please note: this book was provided for me to read and review by LibraryThing's Early Reviewer programme. You can rest assured however, that this is (as always) an honest review!
• 
  Jodie "Bookish" Cook

  Book Review
  Title: The Invisible
  Author: Seb Doubinsky (The City-States Cycle)
  Genre: Noir/Crime/Dystopian/Sci-Fi
  Rating: *****
  Review: I didn’t know there were multiple books in the City-States Cycle but from my understanding they are stand alone novels in a shared universe, so I should be ok. I didn’t know anything about this book before getting into it but from what I understood of the synopsis, it seems to be a noir crime novel with dystopian and sci-fi elements. I didn’t know what to expect from The Invisible, but the opening was interesting as we are introduced to the newly appointed City Commissioner Georg Ratner, who is taking over from a dead man. This world of New Babylon seems to be very politically driven as almost all the characters we have been introduced to are involved in politics and also seem very corrupt. Ratner even weighs people by how corrupt they are and the people he seems to trust are the least corrupt but even he himself can’t say he isn’t corrupt as he has done small favours for friends although nothing serious or criminal, yet. An interesting thing to note is up until a new law is brought in right at the beginning of the book, politically driven assassinations have been legal, which puts politicians in an extremely dangerous profession. Ratner is visited very quickly by his old partner from the police force, Captain Jesse Valentino asking for a search warrant he was refused, he is investigated a coffee company he believes are importing drugs. Jesse produces email between the CEO and Helena Gonzalez who is known in the underworld and the head of his department is a politician named Thomsen who Ratner knows is extremely corrupt and agrees to give him the warrant as long as he is discreet and keeps him in the loop. Ratner has an interest in this as it is linked to the upcoming election as some of the parties involved are close to Ted Rust, the presidential candidate running against Maggie Delgado.
  As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we start to see the development of the plot at the core of the novel as DA Flowers asks Ratner to personally take responsibility for dealing with the new drug, Synth, meaning he would be accountable for something that he can’t personally deal with. However, as it will help the current President Delgado with her possibly re-election, she promises him another term as City Commissioner and in Ratner’s eyes she is the lesser of two evils, so he agrees. He also uses his background as a cop to help in the investigation but it seems that the drug is really advanced and supposedly allows the user to see new realities, an ultimate escape, but the dealers have no connection other than they are all students or work, so they aren’t the typical types for dealers. He ends up meeting with Jesse again and he explains they found some information on the dead man’s laptop and that it might be big stuff, however, in the middle of the night, Ratner gets a call about a colleague being killed and has to rush into work. An old army friend now on the police force investigating Synth tells Ratner that this drug is political as it offers an escape from reality something the politicians cannot afford to stay on the street when they need to bend people to their ideas and agendas. So far, The Invisible was enjoyable, but I was a little confused about the world, political system and where the book is going to go.
  As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, the person who has been murdered is Jesse, and the laptop he found and his notebook are missing which makes Ratner believe that Jesse was on to something and someone didn’t want that knowledge becoming public but they didn’t know about the USB drive that Jesse had. On the back of all this, Ratner wants to find out who killed his friend but he is also dealing with the Synth crisis and a lot of political shifts from a lot of different people which makes following things a little difficult but we get the gist of where the story is going. I really liked Ratner’s relationship with Laura as through her we get an outside perspective on the state of New Babylon in the wake of a financial crisis and a fight for political power leading to strikes and a general discontent among the people. As City Commissioner, Ratner has a difficult line to walk in order to please the people above him while serving his own agenda to find the murderer of his former partner. The race for power is also heating up as Rust seems to be a well-loved if corrupt person and it seems like he is moving ahead in the Presidential race which isn’t something that Ratner or anyone else wants.
  As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, things are starting to move forward as the tech team manage to break the encryption on the USB drive found on Jesse’s body but all it contains are a lot of spread sheets that the police have to go through but they lack man power due to budget cuts. Two strange things also happen back to back, Ratner receives an email from Inspector General Ali Shakr Bassam from Samarqand saying that he heard about Jesse’s death and what he was investigating and might have some valuable information to send his way and they arrange a time to speak over Skype to discuss this. On the back of this, there is a death being related to Synth which has never happened before, so a lot of pressure is being put on Ratner to produce results when he doesn’t have anything to go on. After meeting with the narcotics teams, he begins to suspect that Synth is an elite drug as it isn’t cheap and a lot of the junkies in New Babylon are sticking to tried and tested drugs like cocaine. He suspects that this drug is designed to appeal and target the elite, which would explain the politicians desire to see it gone from the city. He also believes that there isn’t a larger network as many believe, as the drug is only sold in limited quantities which would only produce small profits. Ratner is being to suspect that this drug is being used as an experiment of some kind and needs to get to the bottom of the mystery before his head is on the chopping block as Rust is gaining traction in the polls and if the current President loses power, then everything is going to go to Hell.
  As we cross into the second half of the novel, I was really starting to enjoy The Invisible after getting used to the writing style and rather strange set up of the novel. When Ratner finally speaks to Inspector General Ali, he learns that Ali among many others are members of the Egregorians, a group fighting for the forces of good. Ali explains that the deaths of many writers all over the world including Jesse is a sign that very dark times are ahead but if it is developing into what Ali believes then there is still a chance for them to fight back and he asks Ratner to keep him informed and he agrees. That night Ratner dreams of Nut, an Egyptian goddess, who has helped him in the past but all she gives this time is a cryptic message that Ratner knows he will understand when he needs that information. While I was expected a group like the Egregorians to pop up at some point, I don’t know what the purpose of the Gods and Goddess are as they come from a variety of origins and they seem extremely real but I am not sure how they fit into the wider world. Ratner ends up in a Synth commune talking to Warren, and he realises that a lot of the information they have about Synth is false or misleading at best. Warren also lets slip that Synth is a drug of freedom as it has a set price that never changes, and you can only get it if you are connected to the right people. When Ratner asks if Warren is on Synth, his response is amazing as you wouldn’t know which is the point of the drug, to offer an escape to those that need it. Shortly after a general strike is called meaning there is even more pressure on Ratner to sort it out but he makes the right call in contacting the union rep in order to discuss a plan of action, but everything seems to be leading to the conclusion that Synth is a politically motivated drug and that someone high-ranking might be distributing it and this leads us back to the Green Star coffee company which both Jesse and John were looking into when they were killed.
  As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Ratner learns that Jesse’s publisher has been killed in an arson attack and he informs Ali as he promised, in return Ali gives him the location where he can get his hands on Jesse’s last collection of poetry before his death. Ratner also gets the information for the spreadsheets back and it is bigger than he imagined. It turns out that Green Star is owned by S & G, which seems to be involved with some seriously shady business which all links back to Rust and politics. With Jesse’s former boss, Ratner decides they should continue their investigation into S & G, but they need to keep it quiet as they don’t want the investigation to be any more political than it already is. Ratner has Warren tracked and eventually breaks up a Synth festival where deals are going down, Warren agrees to help the police with a identification sketch in return for a lesser sentence but the name Vita, is one that was mentioned earlier and she seems to be the only person making deals with people using the drug. The political system is also changing as the President does a 180 on her ideal agreeing with the strikes, most likely in an effort to gain some left minute votes and maintain her lead and it seems to be working.
  As we cross into the final section of the novel, we see the final pieces of the puzzle come together and while it isn’t a happy ending, it is a satisfying one. However, I did have a lot of lingering questions about the world, political system and the involvement of the Gods and Goddesses. I think this might be something that might satisfied by reading the other books in this series, just to get more immersed and in tune with this particular universe, which is something I will definitely be looking into in the future. As a political/crime noir novel, The Invisible definitely hits all the right spots but the dystopian and sci-fi elements were very light, and I hope they are expanded on in the other novels too. As I mentioned, I haven’t read many crime noir novels and The Invisible was definitely an interesting introduction to the genre and I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future.
• 
  Linda Hepworth

  This gripping story is divided into twenty-three parts, each comprising a number of short chapters, many of which are just a page long, some just a paragraph. When I first started reading I did wonder whether this style would feel too disruptive but it never did, if anything I found that it added an intensity and urgency to the story-telling. I think this is testament to the virtuosity of the author’s writing style, his total control over his use of language, making every word count as, step by step, he revealed the multi-layered depths to this complex, thought-provoking and unsettling story. I’m going to resist the temptation to go into detail about any specific aspects of how the story unfolds because it’s the surprising twists and turns which make for such a pleasurable reading experience. However, Seb’s well-paced and evocative story-telling quickly drew me deep into the dystopian city-state of New Babylon, a world which, with its political corruption, tyranny, power struggles, xenophobia, economic uncertainty and the threat from a powerful new drug, felt all too recognisably topical! Georg Ratner’s reflection that “morals was a word that had been erased a long time ago from New Babylon politics” felt chilling in its familiarity.
  I found the author’s portrayal of such totally convincing and vibrant characters to be a constant source of delight, especially the multifaceted and deeply-loving relationship between Georg, who enjoys punk music and industrial rock and drinking whisky, and his wife Laura, a teacher and political activist, always ready to challenge injustice and be prepared to take action in order to bring about change. Although in his role as a cop Georg is part of the establishment, it’s clear that his instincts are liberal and Laura’s challenges, reflecting her role as his alter-ego, enable him to negotiate a path through the inevitable conflicts he experiences when doing his job. However, there is another woman in Georg’s life from whom he seeks support and guidance, She is Nũt, the Egyptian goddess of the sky who had first visited him in a dream when he was investigating a murder, and who is now someone to whom turns and silently communicates when he needs to find focus and clarification of his confused thoughts and feelings. I loved the mystical and the philosophical elements which this relationship brought to the story, all contributing to me finding Georg such an interesting and likeable character.
  A theme reflecting how art and culture can be used as subversive weapon in any regime which uses oppression to control its citizens ran like a central thread through the storytelling, just as the hallucinogenic drug Synth came to feel almost like a character in its own right as the effects of its presence in the city wove through the story. Regarded as a “political drug” by the politicians, dangerous because “it makes people believe in other realities … makes them escape the system”, it became central to the candidates’ electioneering campaigns, with demands that its source must be tracked down and the drug eradicated. These themes alone would provide rich material for discussion, making this an ideal choice for book groups.
  Each of the twenty-three parts of this novel begins with a brief epigraph introducing illustrated tarot-style cards – The Fool, The Magician, The Lovers, The High Priestess, Justice, to name just a few. These not only provided a rich source of enjoyment and humour but were also thought-provoking – as I finished each section I frequently found myself re-visiting them to reflect on the ideas they contained! One of the characters is a hierophant, a person who shows or reveals secret things … this seems a particularly apt description of Seb’s talents as a writer!
  Although it has elements of science fiction, political satire, thriller, dystopian-noir, spiritualism and mysticism, I think this is a story which defies being constrained by being shoe-horned into a single genre. Rather, the brilliance of the writing lies in the fact that the author has been able to combine all these elements into such a coherent and satisfying whole. When I finished the book, I felt bereft of the company of its main characters so a plea to Seb – I hope it won’t be too long before you offer your readers an opportunity to become reacquainted with them!
  With many thanks to Tricia at Meerkat Press for an ARC of this wonderful story in exchange for an honest review.
  
• 
  Vincenzo Bilof

  The Death of a Poet
  
  If Roberto Bolano and Kurt Vonnegut wrote a Dystopian novel, it would be The Invisible.
  
  Politics and poetry, Dystopia and crime-noir; Sebastien Doubinsky’s latest concoction spins the speculative-fiction genre into a new dimension. New Babylon’s latest City Commissioner, Georg Ratner, is tasked with maintaining his city’s fragile social balance against the threat of a new, xenophobic regime that promises an economic rebound, while the current administration struggles against the disenfranchisement of its population in the wake of prevalent financial corruption. Ratner quickly becomes a haunted man, as a greater conspiracy involving a powerful drug—called Synth—threatens to unravel the power structure simply by existing.
  
  The heart of this novel is truly a larger reflection on a middle-aged man’s life; what am I doing, and why am I doing it? Can I enjoy life while all of this is happening? Ratner’s musings are complemented by a blue-collar work ethic; we have a working man’s philosopher stranded in a bleak, gray city that he absolutely adores. Ratner is easy to connect with, and his struggle between two shades of corruption is the very mirror that we hold up against the political games that are played out for us every day. The balance that Ratner seeks in his profession is the same balance he attempts to keep with his wife, Laura. Laura adds a subtle and powerful element to Ratner’s struggle, and readers can absolutely empathize with her insistence on political change—and her willingness to fight for it.
  
  The power of art is a strong theme throughout this novel, and it would be a disservice to the work to explain how it becomes a greater character during the narrative. In the Invisible, politics, revolution, and murder encircle our perception of culture as the most powerful weapon we have against tyranny. Lies and truths embody the shades of gray that are New Babylon, and Ratner has to decide which of these stories will keep his city as safe as he can make it.
  Politics might be an exhausting topic for many people; personally, it’s an arena that I don’t like to fight in. Thankfully, this isn’t a “political novel”, or even a “political thriller”. The undercurrent of spirituality and mysticism is far more important to the narrative than any of the politics, and this, along with the composition itself, are the greater reasons why this book stands tall amongst other Dystopian novels.
  
  It’s almost impossible for me to explain how much I appreciate the layers of depth to Doubinsky’s deliberate writing style; “simple” and “easy to read” are the dirtiest words a reviewer could use to describe most writers, but it’s perhaps the best way to convey the idea that the construction of sentences and chapters is far more important than flowery language within the context of this novel. Most importantly, the writing style seemingly juggles a hundred different ideas at once, much like the protagonist, Ratner.
  
  I reflected upon the novel’s title several times, and I believe its meaning will be different for everyone. Is poetry “the invisible?” Is it violence? Political lies? Maybe it’s the revolution, and maybe it’s Synth…
  
• 
  A

  This novel is the 8th book in his City-State cycle and the second book within the Vita cycle within the City-State cycle. Coming into this I did not know that this was the second book of a cycle within a larger cycle. So if you know me, then you know I’ll be going back to read the others. That being said, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. Seb Doubinsky himself says they can be read in any order. So that makes my completionist heart feel a little better, anyway. So, let’s talk about the story a bit. The City-State universe takes place in an alternate history where countries are broken up into City-States as the name suggests. The world uses contemporary technology, for example the characters use Skype in one scene, but world events and politics are different. Doubinsky says that he writes dystopias but, for this novel at least, the world is no more dystopian than our own and there aren’t any technological advances that are important to the plot. It is pretty easy to follow what’s happening from the get-go.
  
  Speaking of that, the book is really a mystery hung on a frame of SF and romance. The story focuses on Georg Ratner a police commissioner recently appointed to his position. Political pressure forces him to start cracking down on a drug called Synth. Synth seems to create shared hallucinations, but it remains unclear throughout the novel. Then Ratner’s friend and fellow policeman is murdered and he has to figure out how the murder ties in.
  
  I really enjoyed this book. It was written in a very straight-forward style, without much embellishment. However, embellishment does come in the form of the tarot card drawings that name each chapter and the way Doubinsky also manages to keep the theme of each tarot card throughout the chapter. It’s done with subtlety and style.
  
  The characters were also well done. You really get a feel for the characters. One of the things I really appreciated was the relationship between Ratner and his wife. There was no macho nonsense about how marriage is terrible. Ratner, is in fact a remarried widower and not one tied down by bitterness or anger. It was truly a refreshing take after the nonsense Hollywood and many novels shove down your throat. As you can see, there is a lot packed into the 233 short pages. If I had to sum the book up, I’d say it was like PKD wrote an Umberto Eco novel. Or maybe the other way around. Anyway, pick this one up if you like questioning the nature of reality, conspiracies, and straightforward prose.
  
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• 
  Eugen Bacon

  This new offering is part of Doubinsky’s dystopian universe of the City-States series. But you don't need to read the series to find immersion in this fast-paced political thriller in bite-sized chapters.
• 
  Heather Gadd

  Just last week I commented that I missed a good detective novel that made me crave a good cup of coffee. To my delight, The Invisible was that novel, gritty, full of coffee and whisky, it was what I call my literary “comfort food”. Despite its dystopian label and it’s Gotham-like atmosphere, New Babylon was a familiar landscape with a refreshing amount of optimism not usually found in this genre.
  
  It doesn’t take long before you notice the political and social parallels, sometimes eerily similar to today’s headlines. Ratner’s attitude throughout the entire story makes the tension palpable, rolling with the punches and putting his best foot forward.
  
  Dashes of quirkiness set this story apart from other detective novels, adding a little bit of the unexplained to further distinguish this plot from the rest. Short chapters make the timeline move quickly, a slow burn that sneaks up on you, a resolution that satisfies but leaves you wanting more.
  
  Doubinsky has created a welcome respite to the chaotic ups and downs of the traditional mystery. A paradoxically rich palate cleanser that rests and rejuvenates the mind while still delivering an engaging plot.
  
  Many thanks to Meerkat Press for a galley copy of the book. The opinions are my own.
• 
  Alison C

  When Georg Ratner accepts the position of City Commissioner in New Babylon, he knows it is largely a political position and one in which he is likely to be the scapegoat for any number of corrupt politicians. But he decides to take the job anyway, in particular to prevent his nemesis, Thomsen, from getting the position, which he would surely use for corrupt and racist ends. Sure enough, it’s not long before his superiors ask him to look into a new drug, Synth, which seems to be all over the city-state and yet seems to have no big dealer network, which is complicated by the fact that it’s an election year and President Delgado is in a fight of her own….I believe this is an entry in Mr. Doubinsky’s City-State Cycle, of which I need to read more because I’m a bit confused about the geo-politics of New Babylon: since there’s a President and a Mayor, is New Babylon a city or a country, or both? In any event, the story itself is quite entertaining; dystopian states and the introduction of a strange new drug are nothing new in sf/f, of course, but Mr. Doubinsky is a poet as well as a writer of fiction, and his style is very, well, poetic. I also liked the following snippets: although Thomsen is mentioned fairly frequently, he’s actually only in one short scene in the whole book; Ratner is a long-time cop who loves punk and industrial rock; and his wife Laura is a borderline anarchist. Among other attributes. The story is framed by odd descriptions of Tarot cards and most chapters are only one page long or even less; that might suggest a certain choppiness to the novel, but it actually works very well. Recommended!
• 
  Ben Arzate

  
  Full Review
  
  The Invisible is an engaging mystery in a fascinating setting. I had a lot of fun reading this and I look forward to reading more of Doubinsky's work. If nothing else, to learn more about the city-state universe.
• 
  Brian Mcclain

  This was a trip. Satire is rather effective when it both mirrors reality but also expands on it and that's certainly where this lives Our main character is a City Commissioner attempting to just keep his city together. He has to fight a rising xenophobic regime as well as a new hallucinogen sweeping the city.
  
  The characters are interesting with different tidbits that make them real, like Brett (the commissioner's) love of music or his cop colleague being a famous poet. In the end this is much less about where things go and much more about what's discovered on the way there.
• 
  Donald Armfield

  Doubinsky continues his City-States with New Babylon’s election, sketchy politics, a dark drug circle, and a hidden question that lingers in this clever noir. The Invisible, is everything that stays hidden until the truth has to be exposed or banished.
  Great Read!
• 
  Renata

  A political crime drama set around a mysterious hallucinogenic drug, with people getting killed on the way for knowing too much. Politics, crime, poetry, fantasy, an alternate universe of noir. A place where the culprit is not a person, but a system. A strange book that I came across on Meerkat Press, a publishing house that comes out with some very different, but very good books.
• 
  Michael

  ★★★★1/2
  
  Slightly miffed by the abrupt ending that just screams "sequel" -- I mean, c'mon...finish the damned story, will ya?!
  
  Loved the frequent nods to certain genres of music that I'm into -- especially krautrock!
  
  Recommended. Will definitely read the follow-up, but really wish there wasn't a need for one.
• 
  b

  Another simply wonderful piece of the Synth pie. Seb Doubinsky is brilliant.
• 
  Gerry Huntman

  Note: I received an ARC copy of this book from Seb Doubinsky without any strings attached. I am a friend of Seb’s and he knew I was interested in reading it.
  
  The Invisible, by Seb Doubinsky, will be released in May 2020. I had the good luck to receive an early copy and dive into Doubinsky’s New Babylon universe (The City-States Cycle).
  
  The book was a godsend for me, as I had just had elective surgery and I needed something to distract me from a painful post-operative recovery. Doubinsky has a poet’s style to his writing, infusing poetry or poetic-prose where he can, and writing with an extremely lean, precise manner. And yes, it works. It carries vibrant descriptions, staccato-style scene changes, and a mathematical (yet natural) heartbeat pace. As is often the case, the author effortlessly marries his poetic prose with a rich noir setting and tone, an anarchist’s ear for politics (always triggered through a dystopian narrative), and an ever-present undercurrent of weird. The weird is the key for me – what makes his work particularly original, and which often maintains an uneasiness for the reader, even at a story’s conclusion – and most certainly in the case of The Invisible.
  
  I will refrain from providing details of the plot as it is something that needs to be experienced totally fresh, but it is a delightful slice of his magnificent world building, allowing the reader to taste, smell, feel the grimy city of New Babylon, both on the streets as well as in the off-colour halls of power. There are twists and secret societies, betrayal and love and friendship. There were moments when I thought the love was too good, too well conceived, but I’m sure that this was deliberately constructed to add to the uneasiness of the reader, ever-wondering that there will be disappointment, adding empathy for the protagonist, Ratner. Masterful in my opinion. The story stands alone but is clearly only a stepping stone to the next book in the City-States Cycle – this too was well crafted, with the aid of a cat’s bum (you have to read it to understand).
• 
  American Mensa

  In a present-day city called New Babylon, a frightening new drug is taking to the streets. It is a hallucinogen called Synth that allows users to create their own reality and also turn it off as they choose. The city’s government becomes increasingly nervous as they do not know all of the negative side effects and every lead as to the origin the drugs stops in a dead end. Georg Ratner, the city’s overworked and weary commissioner, feels the pressure beginning to build as not only is the situation getting out of hand, but it is also an election year and the candidate challenging the sitting president is using as many footholds as he can to undermine government officials of the opposing party. Politics are extremely messy and are full of betrayal and even murder. Ratner must navigate the maze of politics and the disaster of the new drug to uncover the truth as to what is happening to the city. I gave this book five stars because while it was slightly confusing and abrupt at first, the author explains the complicated plot soon enough. I enjoyed how the book combines the complicated aspects of politics and conveys the pressure that arises from it while still maintaining enough suspense and action to keep the reader immersed. The layout is unique and slightly disconcerting at first, but it soon begins to effectively simulate how sudden something can change in this world of politics and government. I did not feel that the story ended in a satisfying way. However, it was published recently, and I sincerely hope that there will be a sequel because this story left me craving more. I would recommend this book to mature middle school students or high school students due to some instances of language, sexual scenes, and an overall complicated plot of politics.
  Alex F., Age 17, Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa
• 
  Nóinín

  I could not quite make out what this book was for.
  
  For me, a book should have an end as well as an ending, and this one stopped quite abruptly – so abruptly, in fact, that I thought at first I was experiencing formatting issues with my e-book version. However, I have since learnt that this is maybe supposed to a cliffhanger of sorts, so we might expect a 2nd volume. It seems there’s a collection of short stories with the same protagonist and setting that might have to be read before this to understand all the premises.
  
  The setting is an alternate universe - of sorts. The place names have been changed to: New Babylon (which is, very transparently, New York), New Petersburg (nicknamed “Pete”, same as its namesake Питер), New Berlin, New Moscow, New This and New That - however, apart from this re-christening of real-life places, Doubinsky’s universe does not differ from ours in one single instance*. Virtually everything we have, they have: E-Mail, combustion engines, Guinness, YouTube, Antonioni or Iggy Pop, one and all being firmly in place, making you wonder why the author even bothered with his creation. To avoid being sued for libel? A simple disclaimer would have done the trick more conveniently.
  
  *Edit: I’ve only just seen from other reviews that there is, in fact, one thing: there seems to exist a “legal assassination” concept, which may feature prominently in some of the other books, but gets only such a passing mention in this one that it did not register with me.
  
  Anyway, here we are, witnessing the protagonist, an ageing cop, taking over his new job of city commissioner. A job he, basically, disapproves of as being political, however, there are some (rather benign, on the face of it) cases of corruption going on, which somebody has to uproot, and it’s either him or his arch enemy, so he buckles to. As we go along, we find that he, himself, is not above a spot of lobbying and getting “sponsored”, which even his radically socialist girl-friend does not object to. Ah well, live and let live.
  
  An investigating detective is “stabbed from behind … right into the heart” (can that even be done?) and his notebook taken, however, it seems, not for his case notes, but for the poetry verses from his pen, and which the murderer, naturally, hangs on to. All of which points to some dark conspiracy on a large scale with the aim to suppress poetry, literature and, so, free thought. Also, there is a new illegal drug flooding the market. Said drug is reported to be neither addictive nor in any way harmful to its users, moreover being sold at cost price within a rather small community, making you wonder why it’s illegal in the first place. The Secret Service (?) stake out a drug lab. First appearance of “The invisible”. The end.
  
  What this novel has to offer is: Loads and loads of characters, which I found a bit difficult to keep track of (the protagonist, before consistently called “Ratner”, at some point and quite out of the blue is referred to as “Georg”, leaving me like: “Who is that now?”). Smoking and boozing like in a seventies talk show. Cops happily littering their crime scenes with cigarette butts. An investigation virtually going nowhere. Choppy writing, reiterating parts of conversation verbatim within two consecutive paragraphs. Weird similes (“… her mouth appeared dark red. Ratner thought of cherries in the spring”). An Egyptian goddess acting as the hero’s “occasional detective sidekick”, offering not very helpful advice. I don’t know about “noir”, but there is certainly enough world-weariness and pointlessness floating around to put me off the rest of the series. Not for me, this wasn’t.
  
  Finally, some facts for fiction:
  - Undercovers do not usually make arrests.
  - The bombing of Dresden (on a large scale) took place in 1945.
  - A book burning is not normally called an “auto-da-fé”
  - The DIN series for envelopes is C, not A