In an alternative 1990 there's a region of Earth called the Submondo Delta, discovered in the 1800s. Some naturalised humans (Mundinos) live there, but it has independently evolved fauna and flora, including humanoid Duendes. It's surrounded by the Zona de Olvido. Everything that you do there is forgotten when you leave it.
The Duendes' presence causes humans to see themselves more honestly. This scares the Mundinos who kill them, but the Duendes keep encroaching. The UN decide that killing Duendes is murder. A policeman Ben Ronson is sent down to determine how to enforce the law. He meets various people, including a human male, Rico, who's almost gone native. His partner, Jael, is a brilliant scientist who uses Rico to gain an insight into the nature of reality.
Ben has his mind opened to his suppressed nature by the Duendes. He wonders whether the Ben in the Zona de Olvido and the normal Ben share any responsibility for the other's actions (an idea that Beckett's explored elsewhere). The normal Ben worries about what "he" might have done while in the Zona de Olvido. He decides that the issue of killing Duendes is beyond his ability, and probably goes way beyond being a police issue, so he decides to return early, with a woman who's been in the Submondo Delta for 15 years.
There's a measure of human interest - e.g. 'He calls you by your first name I notice!' Mrs Martin pretended to be jokily jealous in order to hide the fact that she actually was jealous - but not enough. In the end I was rather disappointed by the book after the promise of the first few pages.
Other reviews
- Jon Smalldon (the central purpose of the main character fades as the character themselves confront the reality, and possibly, arrogance of their starting position.)
- Eric Brown
- Gareth D Jones
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