I just found out about this book today. Definitely looks interesting. It’s a semi-near future story about Avery Cates, a criminal who runs afoul of The Electric Church, a rapidly expanding worldwide cult/religion that advocates conversion to the faith by turning individuals into ”Monks,” cyborgs that take the form of human brains in robotic bodies. Every member of the Church looks identical, so the creepy factor is pretty high.

Here’s a quote from the first chapter (via the excerpt I’ve linked to below):

“The Monks all looked alike. Their plastic faces were capable of expression, in weird, programmed contortions that never looked natural, but their faces were identical. At first you saw them here and there, heard rumor of them. Now they’re everywhere. You see Monks in the street, on the trains. The Electric Church was a registered religion. It was all very legal — they claimed to have paperwork on every member, showing voluntary submission to the conversion into a Monk. So far the System Pigs bought it, and left them alone.”

It’s  being published by Orbit books, originally a UK imprint, but now launching in the US in September of this year. This book is being released in trade paperback format, which seems to be a growing phenomenon in the book world. Mass market paperbacks are becoming few and far between, unfortunately. This looks interesting enough that I’ll pick up a copy, though. I’ll post a review in either September or October, depending on when this book is actually available and how long it takes me to get around to reading it.

Here’s a link to an excerpt of The Electric Church at www.orbitbooks.net.

(The image at the top of this post is the cover to The Electric Church, and is from Orbit Books’ site, linked to directly above.)