I tracked the book down on the basis of a review I read somewhere (NY Times?) citing it as one of the most original and imaginative novels of the year so far. Which it is: a mystery story wrapped in a noir novel built on a scifi framework. In an alternate universe the year is 2009, Argentina won decisively in the Falklands war, its agents have more or less attached everyone in the world to puppet strings that are "psychopigments," psychoactive drugs that promise to cure all ailments, physical and psychological -- and that are enthusiastically embraced as recreational drugs. But dark forces are at work, synthesizing chemicals that induce suicidal despair, and a ragged band of friends sets out to track down the villains and take them down. It just didn't connect with me on most levels: too arcane in plot lines, too bizarre in the fictional workings of the pharma lords' networks, very imaginative but sometimes just confusing.
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