The Demi-Monde: Summer

The Demi-Monde Saga #3

by Rod Rees

The Demi-Monde was intended to train today's soldiers to fight tomorrow's wars - but its creator had its own secret agenda, and now no one can be allowed to stand in its way . . . Eight thousand years ago the Deluge destroyed the empire of the Lilithi, setting the race of super-warriors known as the Grigori loose in the outside world. They have lain hidden until now when - thanks to the creation of the dystopian virtual reality that is the Demi-Monde - they at last stand ready to achieve mastery of the Real World - and to cull HumanKind in the Final Solution. Three girls stand between them and Norma Williams, trapped in the nightmare that is the Coven, the viciously misandric Sector of the Demi-Monde; Ella Thomas, enslaved by the spirit of Lilith-come-again; and Trixie Dashwood, consumed by her hatred for Heydrich and his evil ForthRight.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Steampunk, Fiction

576 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2012

Reviews

[Книжни Криле · Rating 4 out of 5]

Лятото дойде през декември! Е, не астрономическото, разбира се. Едно друго Лято, което е изпълнено с не по-малко емоции и приключения от мечтаната ваканция. Ето, че достигнахме и до третия роман от квартета „Деми-монд” на Род Рийс и изд. „Студио Арт Лайн”. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Събитията във виртуалния Деми-монд набират сила и все повече се преплитат с тези в реалния свят. Самият реален свят е всъщност алтернатива на познатата ни историческа действителност, така че в поредицата “реалност” на практика липсва. Но Хайдрих, Мао Цзедун, Николай Кондратиев и маркиз дьо Сад все така творят “пакости” в зловещ мащаб, а на страната на “добрите” се оказват някои съвсем неочаквани особи.

Тук действието се прехвърля във Вещерия, която е еквивалент на Китай и Япония, и се управлява от зловещата императрица Ву, която наред с другите си жестокости, се стреми и към унищожението на всички мъже. От Катранистан пък, в който царуват само мъжете (жените са нищо, просто предмети), амбициозно сключват съюз с Венеция и преродената Лилит, за да разкрият тайните на древен източник на сила. А ГосподАрие все така дебне да завземе целия Деми-монд… и не само него!

На добрите не им е лесно, появяват се и набор нови герои от истинската човешка история, но в доста неочаквано амплоа. Заговорите и битките не секват. Но тъкмо тази несекваща скорост разцентрова сюжета и го разпада на куп случайни епизоди - симпатични, но без грам задълбаване или надграждане. Пародията на различни събития, личности и философски или религиозни течения поддържа интереса, а наблюденията са доста остроумни и понякога плашещо точни. Героите, уви, са все така схематични.

Все пак Рийс е един от малцината в жанра, които правят наистина изненадващи пируети и демонстрират завършена и оригинална концепция, която обаче не успява да се отлепи напълно от пистата. Какъв чудесен сериал би се получил!

3,5⭐️

[Katherina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Falls es euch auffällt - ja, die Rezensionen zu Band 1 und 2 habe ich 2015 gepostet und ja, damals hatten die Bücher einen deutschen Titel und Klappentext. Ich glaube, Band 2 ist dermaßen gefloppt, dass Band 3 nie auf Deutsch erschienen ist. Ich habe mich damals ziemlich geärgert, aber dann doch in die Leseprobe gespinxt, das Buch dann auf meine Wunschliste auf Amazon gesetzt und ... nun ja, neun Jahre gebraucht, um es auch tatsächlich zu bestellen. Trotz der Leseprobe, die mich direkt wieder eingefangen hat, saß erst einmal der Ärger über den Plottwist zu tief.
(Aber ich habe einen sehr langen Atem. Wenn ich zu Leuten sage "Ich komme auf euch zurück" und das dann nicht innerhalb einer Woche tue - ich habe euch nicht vergessen. Es kann halt passieren, dass ich das, was ihr mir angeboten habt, erst acht bis neun Jahre später benötige und ihr dann aus allen Wolken fallt. Und so ... kam ich nach acht Jahren zu dieser Buchreihe zurück.)

Fairerweise: Da ich die Bücher als sehr komplex in Erinnerung hatte, habe ich mir für Band 1 noch zumindest ein paar Posts aus einer alten Lovelybooks-Leserunde zum deutschen Buch gegeben und zu Band 2 zumindest ein paar Rezensionen mit Inhaltszusammenfassung. Darunter auch meine eigenen.

Was ich feststellen musste: Die ganzen Wortspiele wurden zum größten Teil wortwörtlich oder mit nur kleinen Änderungen aus dem Englischen übernommen, für diesen Band war vor allem "HerEticalism", (deutsch "HerEtikalismus") in der Opposition zu "HimPerialism" ein wichtiger Konfliktpunkt, der zu so manchem Chaos führte.
Das Buch war spannend genug, dass ich es permanent mit mir herumgetragen habe und viele Dinge, die in Band 2 unerklärt in der Luft lagen, fanden hier ihre Auflösung. Wobei eine dieser Auflösungen ein Punkt ist, der mich doch ziemlich ärgert. Im Spoiler, da ... es sonst einer ist:
Im Laufe des Bandes wird die Hintergrundgeschichte hinter Lilith, den Grigori/Vampiren und eben ... den Kohanim erklärt. Die Kohanim werden dabei als Vorfahren aller jüdischen Menschen erklärt und ... ich hatte absolut kein gutes Gefühl dabei, dass
1. jüdische Menschen hier als gesonderte Menschenrasse dastehen. Das fühlt sich othernd und unangenehm an.
2. jüdische Menschen in der vorsintflutlichen Gesellschaft von Atlantnis quasi dafür zuständig waren, im Auftrag der Lilithi Eugenik zu betreiben, um diese drei menschlichen "Sonderrassen" herauszuarbeiten und zu differenzieren.
Da steckt für mich was ziemlich Mieses drin, vielleicht auch seitens des Autors eine Spur von Philosemitismus, weil in anderen Textpassagen durchaus Bewunderung für künstlerisches Geschick, für die akademischen Leistungen und andere Errungenschaften jüdischer Menschen durchsickert, aber aufbauend auf antisemitischen Vorurteilen, die hier als Vorwand für Bewunderung dargestellt werden. Aber bleibt othernd.
Also äh, nein, ich möchte bitte nicht als extra auf Klugheit gezüchtete Sondermenschenrasse wahrgenommen werden, bitte, danke, aber nein danke.
In einen ähnlichen Kontext fällt für mich, dass so ziemlich alle Figuren aus dem JAD (autonome Region, in der die nuJus, das Demi-Monde-Pendant zu jüdischen Personen, leben) sehr stereotyp und eher hässlich/eklig dargestellt werden. Außerdem alle korrupt bis ins Mark und ständig darauf aus, der Romanfigur, die sich dort zwischenzeitlich versteckt, Geld abzuknüpfen. Hier könnte ich es mir noch schönreden mit "Der Autor hat ja erklärt, dass die Demi-Monde auf Konfliktmaximierung hin optimiert wurde und liefert innerweltliche Begründungen dafür, warum die Figuren aus dem JAD so arm dran sind", aber ich finde es trotzdem ... unangenehm. Das waren Stellen, an denen mir das Weiterlesen doch recht schwergefallen ist.
Wo ich zwiespältig bin, ist außerdem die sehr großzügige Verwendung von AAVE (African American Vernacular English) und einem (stereotypen?) Englischdialekt, der im JAD gesprochen wird. Rod Rees ist, soweit ich das mit Müh und Not dank eines Lesungsvideos ermitteln konnte, eher weiß und vermutlich selbst eher kein Sprecher von AAVE. Hier fehlt mir Wissen, um zu beurteilen, ob die Verwendung hier sinnvoll und/oder sensibel war.
(In der deutschen Übersetzung fällt das nicht in dem Maße auf.)

Es gibt einige neue Figuren, aber das ist auch dringend notwendig, da die Romanwelt ziemlich brutal ist und es somit nie eine Garantie gibt, dass historische Personen und/oder lieb gewonnene Dupes (Figuren, die keine historischen Personen sind, sondern Kopien von irdischen Menschen, die in die Demi-Monde geworfen wurden) es bis zum nächsten Band schaffen. Das allerdings ist kein Wunder, schließlich treffen hier Intrigen auf Intrigen - wo das Buch wiederum absolut seine Stärken hat: Wo es mir in vielen Medien zu glatt geht ("Gruppe plant irgendwas und dann klappt das, bis auf eine kleine Abweichung, die zwischendurch für ein bisschen mehr Spannung sorgt"), auch wenn ich diese Glattheit auch vor allem in Heist-Plots ziemlich genieße ^^, sind hier Intrigen auf Intrigen gelayert. Jede einzelne Gruppe und innerhalb der Gruppe oft auch jede einzelne Person kocht ein eigenes Süppchen.
Da kann die eine Truppe noch so sehr ausgeklügelte Pläne machen, um bestimmte Dinge zu stehlen oder zu vernichten oder woanders hinzubringen ... Es wird garantiert ein paar Leute geben, die sich das Ganze zu Nutzen machen wollen. Spionage, Verrat, Gegenspionage machen es den Figuren das eine oder andere Mal schwer und ich war oft genug in ziemlicher Sorge um die eine oder andere Romanfigur.

Haupthandlungsort ist dieses Mal allgemein der als "Coven" bezeichnete Bereich, ebenso wie Venedig. Zu den historischen Figuren, die neu hinzukommen, zählen Lukrezia Borgia, Mao und die Kaiserin Wu Zetian.

Das Ende ließ mich auch dieses Mal mit einem ziemlichen "WTF?!" zurück, wobei der Epilog ein paar Hinweise gibt, wie es eventuell weitergehen könnte. Aber ob es dann auch so kommt, wie ich es vermutet habe?
Trotz meines heftigen Unbehagens mit dem Othering habe ich mir jetzt Band vier bestellt, weil ich nun einfach wissen will, wie das Ganze ausgeht und ob am Ende alle Fäden so zusammengeführt werden können, dass ich damit zufrieden bin.

[Math le maudit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tome 3 du Demi-monde, que j'ai mis un peu de temps à attaquer (basiquement, un an) et fort peu de temps à terminer.

Après avoir laissé passer une si longue période de temps avant de lire la suite, il m'a fallu une petite phase d'adaptation avant de me remettre dans l'ambiance si particulière du Demi-Monde. Phase d'adaptation heureusement facilitée par le lexique de fin d'ouvrage que j'ai eu profit à lire avant de me lancer dans le roman à proprement parler.

On retrouve donc avec un plaisir non feint cet univers foisonnant, aux personnages haut en couleur. Chaque chapitre s'attarde donc sur un (ou un groupe de) personnage(s), la narration étant à présent sacrément éclatée depuis la séparation des principaux protagonistes au tome précédent.

L'aspect ésotérico-mystique entrevu dans le tome 2 se confirme, les liens entre le Demi-Monde et le monde réelle semblant reposer sur l'existence de plusieurs races mythiques en compétition pour dominer le monde. Ce volume déborde de sociétés secrètes et/ou mystiques qui cherchent, via des artefacts magiques à asseoir cette domination.

Les trahisons, retournements de situation, et péripéties en tout genre se succèdent donc à un rythme soutenu, pour mon plus grand plaisir. Le gros du récit se passe cette fois dans le Coven, un secteur dirigé par les femmes et à l'idéologie (l'ellétisme) foncièrement androphobe, avec quelques passages du côté de son pendant hyper-masculin (l'ilpérisme) et du quatrième règne (l'équivalent de nos nazis).

Cette suite reste au niveau de ses prédécesseures, même si j'ai regretté le peu de place accordé cette fois au monde réel, pour ainsi dire absent de la narration, alors même que de grandes choses sont supposées s'y passer.

Il s'agit à l'évidence d'un choix assumé qui trouvera sa justification dans le quatrième et dernier tome, mais bon, c'est frustrant.

Plus qu'à lire ce quatrième tome sans laisser filer un an entre sa date d'achat et sa lecture, hum.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm very glad that I enjoyed this book more than the last one. Rees got back on track with an interesting story.
Having read just a few pages, I was weary when I discovered that the Coven, the area of the demi-monde populated by asians, were developing a virus to kill a significant portion of the demi-monde. Not the sort of book I planned in reading at the start of lockdown for a global pandemic. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the end had me completely gripped.

[Chinstrapmcdouchebag · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is even more poorly edited than the first two in the saga.

I think the editing team lost investment and stopped paying attention to the in-world language.

Here are further examples of the problems I outlined in my reviews of the previous books:
- page 176 in my edition: Billy is taken to the temple of lilith for the first time and sees someone preparing to leap over an aurochs. With no in-world justification, Billy refers to a "girl" who appears to be of african heritage as "a black". "black" here is a noun; "a black like Billy". "black" isn't used this way prior in either the Demi-Monde or the (in-world) Real World.
- page 274: Vanka meets (the dupe version of) Josephine Baker again in the JAD. "He'd know that body anywhere and there was a lot of that body on display: the diaphanous material of her loose top served only to colour her breasts rather than to hide them..." is very similar to passages used in previous books use to describe inhabitants of the Quartier Chaud. Vanka is still just tall, dark, and hair-having.
- page 316: Billy talks a lot for someone in a seconds-long fight scene, and speaks, as in the last books, with an erratic spread of dialect and familiarity. Male noirvillians can be "guards", or "hombres", or "brothers". His sister, currently Lilith, is "an unarmed bitch" in "Wonder Woman mode". His Noirvillian mentor is "armed for bear" and when Ella/Lilith dismantles Billy's retinue Billy claims "I was only joshing" and that "all I wanted was to be a good house nigga but that cat Selim started talking smack and I got all puzzled". Maybe in isolation these edgy anachronisms might have served to illustrate Billy's supposed psychopathy or the alternate timeline, but all together they look like lazy abuses of Billy's character as a get out of jail free card to say edgy racist things.
- page 350: this entire chapter (featuring a Norma who has just escaped from the Demi-Monde's "Forbidding City") has the two shoehorned-in pseudo-cockney supporting characters (Rivets and Burlesque) repeatedly referring to Dong E as a "chink" or a "chink bird". Again, you guessed it, with no in-world justification. This slur isn't used previously by any characters. "China" and "chinese" and the equivalent root words in other languages don't appear.
- the chapter headings strengthen a pattern from previous books: Demi-Monde dupes of real (from our world) figures say odd things, which at best I think is intended to highlight the profoundly different sociopolitical climate of the Demi-Monde. Dupe Karl Marx is a Demi-Monde Monarchist and RaTionalist. Dupe Cab Calloway and Dupe Miles Davis apparently support the NoirVillian oppression of women. I can't quite articulate why this rubs me the wrong way.

We've got historical people from our world (like Reinhard Heydrich) behaving roughly as you'd expect in the Demi-Monde. But there are others, like Karl Marx, various name-checked philosophers and musicians who really don't. The stated Dupe-ing logic of the Demi-Monde is initially that certain Real World (the in-world Real World of the books) psychopaths were simulated and introduced to trigger perpetual internecine war at a minimum. I'll leave aside the troubling implicit adherence to the Great Man theory of history for now.

But we later find out that many more fictionalized Real World people were actually included, to use the Demi-Monde as a breeding ground for the Grigori, among other things. None of this explains why suddenly the logic of a character being adapted into a Dupe can in some cases change their priorities or worldview totally. It just seems like indulgent, ill-thought-out literary density; essentially a name-check as I said. These characters mostly don't have a plot purpose. I'm not sure if I can call it appropriation.

But grisly disappointment about it is what has kept me reading. I wanted to know if there was ever going to be an explanation for making Karl Marx a Monarchist, Demi-Mondian or otherwise. At this point, no, there has been no redemption. Rod Rees writes like a teen trying to get back at their Creative Writing teacher by inserting pointless slurs and repetitive, clumsy construction in their prose.

[Neil Carstairs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost gave up on this series after the second book, but this one has pulled me back into the virtual world of Demi-Monde. The different factions (too many to mention) make and break alliances at will and the characters who have lasted this long need to be on top form to survive the war that has now spread to The Coven as the Forth Right army launches its invasion.

Even though Rees’s best writing is reserved for conflict he still manages to create characters that you look forward to meeting again; Burlesque, Trixie, Norma, Vanka, they all get their time in the spotlight as the plots and counterplots lead to a deadly (and shocking) conclusion to this book.

If you are going to read this series then be prepared to stick with it, the rewards come late on as the foundations laid in #1 Winter and #2 Spring make the intricate world-building well worth understanding.

[Kevin Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

So the saga continues.. and what a saga it is! Like it or hate it (and I can absolutely see why many of the reviewers don't like it), you can't but be in awe of the huge sweep of fantastic (in all senses of the word), detailed, and extraordinarily innovative world building that the author continues to achieve as the series rolls on. All I can say is that you simply can't pick this book without reading the two that have gone before... it is a series which simply MUST be read in order. My only beef with this instalment (and I shall try to say this without spoilers) is that we are teased once again with the effect the Demi-monde will have upon the real world, while at the same time hardly mentioning it at all, with all the action centring around the Demi-monde areas of Noirville and the Coven. There is one book left to bring it all to a satisfactory conclusion. I sincerely hope it does!

[Атанас Илиев · Rating 4 out of 5]

... таман да й сложа 3 звезди и прекрасният финал (последните 30 страници) ме убедиха, че няма да е честно. Род Рийс пак напипа интересите ми, вдигайки "Лято" на нужното ниво. Въпросната не отстъпва по никакъв начин на предходните две. По-малкото звезди щяха да дойдат от разнищването на малко по-безинтересните ми държавни формирования: Катранистан и Вещерия. Изглеждат ви странно и много чужди, но започнете ли поредицата ще разберете, че те са толкова много тук и сега, че се питаш - има ли еволюция? Авторът продължава да задълбава и разгръща цялостната идея/концепция/философия на света демимондски. В библиотеката си имам и финалната "Есен", която смятам да си причиня точно тогава. Сигурен съм, че ще бъде нещо много добро. От фантазията на Рийс не очаквам друго.

[The Honest Book Reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third book in the series continues the great story-telling and creativeness that made the first two so entertaining. Rod Rees has definitely created a unique world, blending a number of genres into a well-plotted series.

This book expands the world, and focuses on areas where previous books did not devote a lot of time. That made it interesting and pulled me into the story. The one point I'd mention as a negative is that at times I felt the story lose a bit of focus, especially during times where it felt like we were given a big info-dump, or the author felt the need to explain a philosophy to a fine level of detail. It may add some context, but it slowed down the story.

It remains a series I'm glad to have found.

[Beatrix Starling · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book in the series, really enjoyed the action and storylines.
I appreciate it can be a bit of hard work getting through the series with all the wordsmithing that Mr Rees is doing, but it is very clever therefore enjoyable. A lot of work and planning went into the series. Looking forward to the finishing book now 🙂

[Andy Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

And the fun and adventure continue with Summer, the third book in Rod Rees' quite wonderful Demi-Monde series. For starters though, let me advise that you read Winter and Spring (books 1 and 2 in the series) first because, believe me you will be completely and utterly lost. This is a series that rewards you for sticking with it by opening up a new area of the Demi-Monde with each new book - this being the third we visit the area known as The Coven (Rangoon, Tokyo and Beijing) as well as the places we visited in earlier episodes.

The usual characters are here, but there are a bunch of new "figures from history" again, half of the fun is wondering who will make an appearance next. If you've got this far really you'll know what to expect - the humour and clever wordplay once again running strong throughout.

With Summer things are slowly starting to come to a head, ready for Fall, the fourth and final book in this thoroughly entertaining series. All the major players are starting to show their hands, things in The Demi-Monde and The Real World may never be the same again. It's going to be down to a small group of heroes to save both worlds.

In short, rip-roaring, non stop action in a cyber reality and the real world. Don't miss this series, it's a real treat.

Four and a half stars

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is unique, and it won't appeal to everyone. It's a slow burn. It takes a little patience to get the plot rolling in the first book of the series, but if you stick with it, it's worth it. Characters: Love 'em. The author is exceptional at writing melee fight scenes, gun fights, and large scale battles.
This was not as good as the first two books, but I'll round up from 3.5-stars to 4-stars.

[Florin Pitea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third instalment in the Demi-Monde tetralogy. It is well paced and well plotted, with suspense and narrative hooks in the right places. However, I found it rather long and somewhat tiresome. I definitely enjoyed reading it, but it will be a while before I start reading the sequel, "The Demi-Monde Fall".

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great one, I think this one was better than Spring, and about on par with Winter, I look forward to reading Fall hopefully soon-ish. The whole series is great so far, and I've really enjoyed it, many funny bits, some interesting philosophical questions, and just overall really well written by Rod Rees. I want to read more and more by this author!

[Radomil Dojiva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Přečetl jsem to díky velmi kladné recenzi Romana Lipčíka, ale asi jsem čekal víc. Není to úplně špatné, ale záplava historických postav je příliš velká, jejich vykreslení povrchní, stejně jako celkový děj. Někdy méně bývá více. Mám pocit, že Jota nakonec ani nevydala poslední 4. díl (pokud existuje, jistý si nejsem).

[Arenaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the begining of the book, I didn't really like what the Demi-Monde had become, especially because i don't like Lilith. Well, this improves a lot !
Too bad we don't know more of what happens in the real world.
I was sad by the deaths of severals characters I like but I'm pretty sure some will be reborn because ABBA don't like to be sad. I am curious to know how.

[Abi Ainley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't finish it... The plot's just gone doolally and the characters just don't seem authentic anymore. All the personality changes are making my head ache. Have to say though, the first two were amazing. Just warning, leave it at the second.

[Vojtěch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tak tohle bylo... EPICKÉ!!! Pokud dokáže Rod Rees nahustit tolik zvratů do konce třetího dílu, co bude obsahovat samotný poslední díl??? o.O

[Peter Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit long-winded this one, especially the glossary and Rees' focus on 'Confusionism'; but you still want to know what's going to happen.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enthralling, but I can't help but feel the ending was drawn out somewhat to enable the next series to cover more ground.

[John Wicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW - could not put this one down - cannot wait to read the final book in the series.

[Maryanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

took awhile as I was varnishing floors Onto fall now

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each book gets more complex, but that's the fun. Looking forward to reading the last book in the series.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai eu un peu de mal à rerentrer dans l'histoire mais alors quand j'y étais c'était juste super. La fin m'a laissé sans voix et la suite va pas tarder à être dans mes mains !!!